Watching the Sopranos for the 7th Time

Penny Traitor

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Just finished watching the entire series for the first time ever and I am really, really impressed. Took me a while to realize it, but The Sopranos really isn't about the Mafia...that's just scenery. This was a show all about mental health, which is way innovative for twenty years ago. Sure Tony is the obvious one, but by the end of the show..,they put every meaningful character through the psychological wringer. Especially the men. Some notes that don't include any real spoilers.

Three things I loved:

Because the role not only ate up so much of his time, but also probably would have laid down a wicked typecast curse on him...I don't remember seeing James Gandolfini in much at all, other than a thug in a couple of movies like True Romance or The Mexican. I may have to do some homework because his turn as Tony Soprano was amazing. How did he make me care about some fat Jersey psychopathic goombah?!? Those therapy sessions were just memorizing and by the final season...when everything becomes just too crystal clear to Dr. Melfi...I felt every bit as manipulated as she did. Just an incredible performance by Gandolfini. For the first time, I am truly sad he is gone.

Between television and movies, I have seen just about every possible cliche "dream sequence" from the lame showing up to school in one's undergarments to the shifting skyscrapers of Inception. The dream sequences in The Sopranos are the most realistic dreams (if that makes any sense) I have ever seen on screen. There is an episode called The Test Dream that may be my favorite single episode of television ever.

Two words: Silvio. Dante. Seriously, who would have thought some guy from the E Street Band would transform into my favorite mobster character of all time. Also pretty much the only one on the entire show that actually had his shit together. I would love to see this entire story retold from Sil's perspective.

Something I really did not love:

I get why it fit with the overall themes of the show, but I never liked Christopher as a junkie. I thought it was a complete waste of a great character and watered down a far better story line of Chris/Tony/Adrianna. I kind of wished they pushed the Christopher the writer bit a lot further. You could have done some much better "play within a play" moments than just the very "meh" Cleaver bit. If you wanted to really push the drug abuse thing...Paulie would have been an interesting subject just because it would have been so less obvious with his old school Jersey thug persona that he was shooting up heroin.

Something I down right hated:

Holy hell. For such a great show with next level writing and direction...the music sucks SO BAD! Just wow! Adriana is supposed to be running this hot trendy club and only books emo white guys that play the kind of ballads that make John Mayer nauseous? GTFO!!!

And I am sorry hardcore Soprano fans, but I was over that lame theme song before I ever even saw an episode. Thank the heavens for the "Skip Intro" feature on my Firestick or I may have gotten myself a gun.
 

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