The Sopranos

“I was doubled over in laughter over Tony sitting outside the house with an AK47, lighting his cigar, waiting for the bear to show up.

Lots of good laughs last night.

Nice Emmy Lou Harris songs.”

“Good show, I thought. Low-key in places, which I expected. I think it was an excellent set-up for what's to come. The class of '04 plot lines are open to a multitude of possibilities. Feech (Robert Loggia) could be trouble. That's a feisty old coot. Looking forward to seeing where they go with Steve Buscemi's character. The thing with Dr. Melfi wasn't what I expected, but presents an interesting twist in Tony's life. And, of course, The Bear!”

“Also, the mistrust from Johnny Sack is still open to different directions too...”

“onto my HBO Rep. I thought the Bear incident was hysterical. OOOOOh my Dr Malfi says..."tony, your such a goon". Good stuff. Sunday nights just got better. I miss my 4 ladies though.”

“The openning discussion about the Pine Barren Russian was a real teaser.
I thought the Tony/Dr. Melfi stuff was out of charactor and was just plain weird.
Dr. Melfi is one hot chick! ;-)”

“Out of character for Tony Soprano? Can there be such a thing?

The teaser for next week's show was interesting. Looks as though the plot will thicken.”

“I suspect the plot(s) will thicken quite a bit in the next few installments.


Perhaps the bear is plotting a hostile takeover of the family??”

“Well, we still have the missing Russian somewhere in the Pine Barrens, and now we have a bear (the Russian bear?) wandering around northern NJ. Coincidence?

Apparently a bus tour of Sopranos-land went up from Philly over the weekend. Some South Philly gal was on the radio this morning talking about the trip. She was a riot.”

“Great episode. I'm stoked about Buschemi being added to the cast.”

“I thought the Robert Loggia character talking about what he did in prison was a hoot too.”

“I laughed my butt off when he was tellin his story...and the bear scenes were hysterical.”

“Good stuff last night, I thought. Tony B is making a good addition to the cast.

Junior's losing it. Tony's headaches escalate. And Adrianna almost spills the beans. Got my interest so far!”

“Adrianna sure did make life more difficult for the little honey cozying up to Christopher.”

“I think a big plot hint was given.

Adrianna is either gonna wind up dead or she and Christopher will rat all out and go into witness protection.”

“Maybe the first scenario, SS. I don't see Christopher crossing the "blood" line. He's rash and not too bright, but I think he would wind up dead before becoming an informant...”

“It's the final series - you can see the threads leading up to something involving her.”

“In the pre-season trailers, Paulie Walnuts was saying there will be a lot of dead folks this season.

So far, scratch one pushy waiter and one FBI snitch.”

“Ynami, David Chase has committed to another season after this one.”

“Also, 'Deadwood' premiers after The Sopranos next Sunday. Looks like another great show.”

“ooh - well that makes it different”

“Scratch one NY leader (natural causes though).”

“Yeah, dying from natural causes don't count for $hit in the mob. It's like an admission of failure.”

“Is there some kind of mob code against wacking your wife? You never read about a mobster killing their wife.”

“Let me ask Maple what she thinks!”

“You can whack a goomah, but not a wife?”

“the last season is not supposed to be a full season”

“10 episodes”

“I thought this WAS the last season?”

“Why is it every time I watch that show I crave pasta afterwards?”

“I have a copy of 'The Sopranos cookbook'. It's great. They did it like Artie Buco put it together and the recipes are really good. There's a Shrimp Scampi that's awesome in there...”

“Dang, I forgot about that book Treebeard! I'll have to pick it up. I love cooking.”

“It's worth it, Artex. My mom picked it up through a book club...”

“I just made tortellini.”

“mmmmm, sounds good. Not on my diet though!”

“This was supposed to be the last season, but they talked David Chase into signing for another.

Actually, at one point he was not planning on this season. He wanted to end it after last season ended and they talked him into this one, then into another one.

That would be six seasons, and probably as good a time as any to let it rest. Or it could go on forever. Who knows?

I always wonder, when Chase talks about ending it, whether he'd have Tony get whacked, indicted, or let it just end without answer. Probably the last. The individual shows do end at mysterious points. I sometimes have to laugh at the way they end. Talk about mental masturbation ...”

“He always said that he wasn't going to drag Tony through the legal system or have it end in more traditional ways. He said that watching Law and Order or a cop show can give those results. But, he wanted to concentrate on the trials and tribulations of Tony's personal and professional life. So, Geo's probably right. The last scenario will probably prevail...”

“I think Chase has done a great job at keeping the seasons fresh and interesting also. Always lots of good plot twists, and the characters continue to develope and grow. I hope they end up doing a seventh season and beyond.”

“I can't see a seventh season, although anything is possible. Some people think they've gone too far as it is. Hard to come up with new plot lines after awhile, then it becomes maudlin at best. It would be better to leave on the up beat and let the audience wonder.

The interplay between Tony and Carmella now that they have separated is no different than when they were living together.

I wonder if Tony figured out that the painting was bugged.”

“Great episode last night, IMO. Things are heating up. The Feech v. Paulie thing was pretty cool. And the Johnny Sack v. Little Carmine power struggle promises to be trouble in the making. And Unle June's internal problems are an interesting twist. I especially liked the way they put up the "Curb Your Enthusiasm" episode and Junior thought Larry David was himself and Larry's friend was Bobby B. This is shaping up to be a good season.



Also, anyone watch Deadwood? I had high hopes for that show and frankly, was a bit disappointed. I don't think they did enough to define the premises of it nor did they define the characters well. Maybe I was tired or something like that, but it just didn't do it for me...”

“That last little bit where Tony asked Junior "Don't you love me?" was a suprise.
Tony is losing control on all sides.”

“Man, that Sopranos episode was exhausting. I was glad when it ended.

Re Deadwood, I have watched the teaser for the show, and I read the Time article about it. If I hadn't, I may have felt the same way.

Thought the acting was superb, and the set and costuming fantastic. Best line was Calamity Jane walking out of the saloon saying, "I refuse to drink where I'm the only person with balls!"

The show lived up to my expectations. Swearington promises to be an interesting character. The others as well.

Seems like a sort of pre-mob Sopranos!”

“Maybe I need to see it again. I just found it confusing....”

“Swearington is the saloon owner, and he controls everything in Deadwood. He has his hands in just about everything, from who gets to tent on "his" land to manipulating things. His one and only desire is to get the gold from the prospectors and miners.

Enter into that milieu Wild Bill Hickock and the ex-sheriff, and you have the setting for conflict and drama.

The overarching theme is the seediness and dirt of a town existing outside legal jurisdiction, having gotten its start from the Black Hills gold rush.

Swearington seems well fitted for that power vaccuum.”

“Thanks, Geo. That makes sense. I think I will rewatch it and try to put it into perspective...



BTW, Maple didn't like it. Too much pottymouth for our little pottymouth!”

“Noooooooooooooo, not the sensitive ears of our little Pottymouth!”

“I almost cracked up over the miner who was talking to Swearington just before the whore shot her customer. Man, that guy had great lines and he delivered them with aplomb!”

“I thought I'd day laughing when the landscaper fell out of the tree. Great episode.

I think Deadwood is going to take some getting used to. Not quite Roy or Gene.”

“Deadwood is probably closer to the truth than any other western yet produced. The old square-shootin' cowboys are nice nostalgia for days that never existed.”

“I quite liked Deadwood - strange seeing Ian McShane in that role.”

“I have been reading a little on it. Really helps now that I understand what these people were doing and why...”