[Kieran]

MONKMAN, on 11 May 2011 - 18:05, said:

It was richie aprile that was into all the kinky shit

Spoiler

Until she shot him

Sylvio is my favourite character followed by Pauli

Aj is a little knob

Meadow is sexy

Jennifer Melfi is the biggest cocktease in the history of television

Spoiler

rape incident excluded

It annoys me that you never find out what happened to Furio

Spoiler

It also annoys me how nothing ever happens to the man who raped Melfi.

[Supras]

I have to admit Series 4 was a bit of a disappointment.

Overall, I probably like it more than the Wire although admittedly less is going on and it is less realistic with regards to the FBI continually investigating them.

And put that Furio thing in spoliers, he was my favourite character

I had heard Steve Buscemi was in it before I started the first season and I was always looking out for him and even thought he could be Ralphie at one point. Got him in the fifth, but you could scarcely think of a guy who looks less like a mobster.

[MONKMAN]

Kieran, on 11 May 2011 - 21:17, said:

Spoiler

It also annoys me how nothing ever happens to the man who raped Melfi.

Spoiler

I was kind of hoping Tony was going to chop his dick off and feed it to him

[saint dave]

Funny watching Sylvio rock out in with The E-Street Band, or if you're older like me, watching Little Steven act on The Sopranos.

http://m.youtube.com...h?v=ryEaA5eL9AE

[Supras]

Shawfield Stallion, on 03 February 2011 - 22:11, said:

Tony Soprano: [over the phone] It's a bad connection so I'm gonna talk fast! The guy you're looking for is an ex-commando! He killed sixteen Chechen rebels single-handed!

Paulie Gualtieri: Get the f**k outta here.

Tony: Yeah. Nice, huh? He was with the Interior Ministry. Guy's like a Russian green beret. He can not come back and tell this story. You understand?

Paulie: I hear you. [hangs up]

Paulie: You're not gonna believe this. He killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.

Christopher Moltisanti: His house looked like shit.

The best conversation in TV history

Yeah, my favourite episode and that particular part was absolutely fantastic.

Mel Hutchwright, on 04 February 2011 - 11:33, said:

The penultimate episode of this season, Long Term Parking, is just about as good as The Sopranos gets. I shan't give anything away, but it is gut wrenchingly tense television.

Yep, you really didn't know where that episode was going to turn next.

Jim Lahey, on 06 February 2011 - 13:56, said:

Have to agree with you Mel.

I like "Luxury Lounge" some great cameos in that one & any epsiode with Little Carmine has got to be gold !!! I love his total disregard for the English language - he is a massive twat !!!!!

I read this on wikipedia but I never actually noticed it during the show, strange.

But I watched the entirety of the show in 2, 3 months and it is the best piece of television I have ever seen. As I posted earlier, it did dip a bit in the middle, but overall I would still place it above the wire. At its simplest it is just one guy dealing with a variety of problems that come up throughout his life but they handle it so well.

I also think it finished at the right time. Tony talking to Vitos son showed to me they really can't go anywhere else with it.

AJ does turn into a complete failure, right enough.

[uberman]

I've just started watching these, I'm up to the start of season 2 now, hopefully it will get better!

[MattBairn]

uberman, on 17 June 2011 - 17:57, said:

I've just started watching these, I'm up to the start of season 2 now, hopefully it will get better!

For me it just got better and better as it went on.

[South Lanarkshire Jag]

Just spent the last 2 week's watching the entire series.

Phenomenal stuff.

Spoiler

The ending had me thinking my DVD was faulty

[ICTChris]

Musketeer Gripweed, on 03 February 2011 - 22:56, said:

You're not really meant to like him though, he's a gangster.

It's the one thing that Goodfellas did to the gangster movie industry, keep the bad guy bad. Your symapthy was always meant to be with Carmella and what she was going through.

I don't think Carmela was a sympathetic character at all. The more the series progresses the more you see what a horrible person she is - when Tony buys her a new car she flashes it around to fellow mob wives, including Ginny who was going through getting her possessions sequestrated, but took the nip when she was gazumped by Angie, who earned her flash motor. She was also a complete boot to her daughter, clearly showing jealousy at the fact Meadow was able to make her own way in the world whereas she was tied to Tony. Also, her Catholicism is the worst kind of hypocrisy, a pseudo-religion widely practised by the Mafia both in the US and Sicily. The scene where she goes to the Jewish psychiatrist who tells her she is married to a depressed criminal and lives of blood money is about the only time she is actually confronted with what her life is.

For all his brutality, cruelty and viciousness I think Tony is actually a more sympathetic character at times than his wife. Maybe that says more about me than anything else

[Bert Raccoon]

ICTChris, on 10 February 2012 - 13:31, said:

I don't think Carmela was a sympathetic character at all. The more the series progresses the more you see what a horrible person she is - when Tony buys her a new car she flashes it around to fellow mob wives, including Ginny who was going through getting her possessions sequestrated, but took the nip when she was gazumped by Angie, who earned her flash motor. She was also a complete boot to her daughter, clearly showing jealousy at the fact Meadow was able to make her own way in the world whereas she was tied to Tony. Also, her Catholicism is the worst kind of hypocrisy, a pseudo-religion widely practised by the Mafia both in the US and Sicily. The scene where she goes to the Jewish psychiatrist who tells her she is married to a depressed criminal and lives of blood money is about the only time she is actually confronted with what her life is.

For all his brutality, cruelty and viciousness I think Tony is actually a more sympathetic character at times than his wife. Maybe that says more about me than anything else

I'd have to agree with you. Carmella can be a right c**t at times as you've mentioned above. she has to be the centre of attention, like whenever anyone else is getting attention off Father Intintola, the sheer jelousy off her is ridiculous, a very odd relationship indeed.

[T_S_A_R]

ICTChris, on 10 February 2012 - 13:31, said:

For all his brutality, cruelty and viciousness I think Tony is actually a more sympathetic character at times than his wife. Maybe that says more about me than anything else

i agree with you about carmela being venal and corrupted but she is a completely different case to tony. over the seasons she recognises her hypocrisies and at least attempts to improve herself even if she knows she will be with tony to the end.

tony goes in the opposite direction, he loses his humanity over the years and ends up a total monster. if you ever watch the final season and then go straight back to season one the change in him is incredible. in the earlier episodes he seems to be attempting to enjoy life as best he can while by the end he seems to care about nothing bar his kids.

this scene from chasing it in season six pretty much sums up tony and carmela's relationship.



this is why sopranos is superior to any other show for me. great actors playing complex characters.

This post has been edited by T_S_A_R: 12 February 2012 - 22:03

[McKee]

Started watching this a few weeks ago. I'm at the start of season 4. The scene with Ralph and Janice in bed with the vibrator was revolting. The sound effects made it tenfold worse.

[McKee]

The criticism I have of The Sopranos is that(so far) every series seems to follow the same main storyline. Tensions between Tony and one of his mafia members rise resulting in him being murdered in the finale. It already seems obvious half way through season four who will be clipped at the end of the series:

Spoiler

Ralph Cifaretto

also, whatever happened to

Spoiler

the hit they had out on Jonny Sack? You don't ever see or hear of it being cancelled by anyone, as far as I recall.

[ICTChris]

Supras, on 11 May 2011 - 21:23, said:

Overall, I probably like it more than the Wire although admittedly less is going on and it is less realistic with regards to the FBI continually investigating them.

The FBI continually investigating the mafia isn't unrealistic at all. Every single mafia family in the US is under constant pressure from the FBI, all the time.

[Supras]

ICTChris, on 16 April 2012 - 18:43, said:

The FBI continually investigating the mafia isn't unrealistic at all. Every single mafia family in the US is under constant pressure from the FBI, all the time.

Really? Is it cause of all the mob movies?

You'd think the FBIs priorities would change over time.

[ICTChris]

Supras, on 16 April 2012 - 19:02, said:

Really? Is it cause of all the mob movies?

You'd think the FBIs priorities would change over time.

In the North East of the USA the Mafia, La Cosa Nostra, whatever you want to call them, are the major organised crime threat. The FBI regularly bust these families for labour racketeering, contract manipulation, bookmaking etc. I think the nature of the organisation means that the FBI are vigilant against them. Certainly in areas like New York, Boston, Chicago etc these organisations have proved relatively resiliant. Also, they have their colleagues in Italy who can help them - during the 1980s the Sicilian mafia exported billions of dollars worthof heroin to the US and the FBI mounted raids on both American and Sicilian mafioso a few years ago.

One massive factor in the mafia now is the illegalityof some forms of gambling. These bookies make millions of dollars on sports betting, the sort of thing that you can do on every single high street in Britain. Same with video poker - a Chicago mobster got 25 years in prison earlier this year for bombing a rival 'vending machine' company and his biker cohort got 60 years for this and other offences.

[T_S_A_R]

Supras, on 16 April 2012 - 19:02, said:

Really? Is it cause of all the mob movies?

You'd think the FBIs priorities would change over time.

there are references as the seasons go on that the fbi is focussing less on the mafia and more on the war on terror.

but if anything is unrealistic it's how much shit they get away with, think of tony knocking the guy down outside the health centre in the very first episode or chris, paulie and the french waiter. i've not got a problem with that as it's neither a realist narrative nor a crime procedural so it doesn't matter.

[ICTChris]

T_S_A_R, on 16 April 2012 - 22:16, said:

there are references as the seasons go on that the fbi is focussing less on the mafia and more on the war on terror.

but if anything is unrealistic it's how much shit they get away with, think of tony knocking the guy down outside the health centre in the very first episode or chris, paulie and the french waiter. i've not got a problem with that as it's neither a realist narrative nor a crime procedural so it doesn't matter.

Yeah, I've heard it said that the level of violence is unrealistic. I think there are around 90 murders in the Sopranos, which covers the period from 1999-2007. The level of mafia killings in the US during the 2000s is far, far lower than that - 20-30 people killed in the entire United States during the 2000s. Link. These organised crime sites are full of pish but I can't find anything to significantly contradict the list there.

[EdgarusQPFC]

Im sure to get some red dots for this and several WTF comments. But i didnt like The Soprano's I watched most of the first season as id been told how amazing it was, maybe it gets better or its just been so overhyped, but i didnt see what all the fuss was about. Does it get better in season 2? or is it likely its just not my thing? I think the godfather is overated and i much prefer goodfellas aswell btw

[South Lanarkshire Jag]

EdgarusQPFC, on 06 May 2012 - 04:27, said:

Im sure to get some red dots for this and several WTF comments. But i didnt like The Soprano's I watched most of the first season as id been told how amazing it was, maybe it gets better or its just been so overhyped, but i didnt see what all the fuss was about. Does it get better in season 2? or is it likely its just not my thing? I think the godfather is overated and i much prefer goodfellas aswell btw

I can see where you are coming from. I'd recommend you give it another 13 episode's. If it doesn't catch your attention by them, then you are more than 1/2 way through, so carry on.

Are you watching back to back or weekly? I found back to back more fulfilling than weekly