Both mobster and family man... (The Sopranos)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	The Sopranos
Date:	08/07/01 (112 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Characters, Great Storylines

Disadvantages: Some may find the violence off-putting, Need E4 to see the "new" series

Ahhh The Sopranos. I've been waiting absolutely ages to see the "new" series of this masterpiece of television, and it's now finally here - errr, on E4, so I'll have to content myself with the recently started re-runs on Channel 4 for now...

Anyway, for those who've never watched:

The Sopranos follows the life of a Mafia boss, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) as he attempts to juggle "business" and his family life. Whoever chose to cast Gandolfini in the role really should be congratulated, as he seems to be the perfect man to play Tony Soprano. The character is a very complex one, Tony isn't really a stereotypical Mob boss - or maybe he is - but the "behind the scenes" aspects of the Sopranos show the viewer a different side of the man.

When on "business", Tony is everything you might expect from a gangland boss - ruthless and extremely violent - however he also seems to be worried about being a good father whilst struggling quite often with marital problems (brought about by his numerous affairs mainly) and problems with his mother and his sister. I shalln't go too much into the complexities of Tony's family life, as it'd spoil it slightly if you've never watched and decide to get one of the (many) videos or start following it from series two on Channel 4.

Every character in the program is brilliant though, and the casting is superb throughout... I can't think of one example of wooden acting, or a corny line. Tony's interaction with the various characters and their interaction with each other has clearly been given a huge amount of thought - and the final episode is one of the greatest TV moments I've ever seen, as Tony and the rest of the mob "do what they have to do". Again, I don't want to give too much away, but the scene on the boat at the end is very moving.... strange thing to say about a series based on the Mafia, but it
really is.

That's the thing about the Sopranos - because you see the mob members away from "work" it is very easy to feel for them and very difficult to see them as "bad guys". Especially Tony himself... who suffers greatly as a result of his family troubles and his inner moral conflicts and has to resort to visits to a psychiatrist - who he actually becomes rather attached to but refuses to admit it.

Tony seems to be able to order - and carry out - executions without ever batting an eyelid, but yet cries when a family of ducks that made their nest by his swimming pool finally depart...

Everything about the show screams "quality". Even the title music "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3 is superb.

Every episode is probably good enough to stand up as a short movie itself. As a series, it's just one of the best pieces of TV that I've ever seen.

HBO really did themselves proud with The Sopranos.

If you've never seen an episode before, be sure to catch the re-runs on Channel 4 (Thursday nights). Be warned though, there is a huge amount of sex, swearing, and violence so this ones strictly for adults only...

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