I was wrong in my prediction of the finale but not disappointed. I am very surprised by some of the "reviews" I've read this morning about the last episode of this magnificient series. "Fans Get Whacked" said one wag about the lack of "bang boom" ending.
Did these people learn nothing during the past eight years watching this show?
Creator David Chase could have even ended the series with the last episode and that had orignally be the intention. However, a few more loose ends were wrapped up with the finale (not all) but it wasn't a nice, neat package. There were no show-stopping events, not even the slaying of Phil Leotardo qualified for that. That was a typical hit with some interesting car action to add a solid period to the end of that death sentence.
What is it the supposedly disappointed fans of the series wanted? A bloodbath? Dr. Melfi changing her mind about having Tony as her patient? "Ade" showing up, never having been killed by turncoat Silvio? I did predict a death that would be a personal blow to Tony however I did not feel let down by Chase's script for the finale.
The main horror in this show is the life that has been chosen and the lack of psychological freedom. There is always something serious to worry about, usually life threatening. The whackings were a physical manifestion but not the ultimate horror except maybe to the person being whacked, of course.
Can you imagine choosing a life where you always have wonder if your closest friends are people you can really trust? You can't even sit at a traffic light without wondering who the people are pulling up beside you or even behind you. You never sit with your back to the door. I'm not feeling sorry for those who choose the life and have these consequences but it does make me wonder what kind of desperado wants to live this way. Tony Soprano seemed to be having some major breakthroughs in revelations about life and what was important. But those spiritual insights were short-lived.
The horror goes on for Tony and he continues to choose to live that horror. That was what the last episode was about: more of the same. Nothing really did change with Tony. He was continuing to live the life. There was no resolution. No conclusion. One character in his life lives and dies and another moves in to replace that character. The vicious cycle doesn't change. It will never change and neither will Tony Soprano.
That's what the last episode made so clear and evidently so many fans and reviewers missed.
Showing posts with label The Sopranos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Sopranos. Show all posts
Monday, June 11, 2007
Monday, June 04, 2007
My Favorite Murderers
The June 3rd episode of The Sopranos was a blood bath. It is the second to last show of this fabulous, ground-breaking series which is destined to be a TV classic and a model for those who wish to write and produce in television.
Aside from Tony Soprano, my other favorite murderer on the series was Bobby, Tony's agonized brother-in-law. He was killed last night by Phil Leotardo's boys while looking over toy model trains, his much loved hobby. It's funny how you can feel that his murder is so unfair; out of all the sociopaths he associated with, Bobby seemed to have the most to give when not carrying out his mob duties. I felt the same way about Christopher's death/murder only two weeks ago though Christopher was a heartless bastard in so many ways.
Then there is Tony Soprano. It seemed that throughout the series Tony strived to better himself on a human level and gain more insight into his own personality and failings. However, the opposite has happened. Tony is far worse than when he started therapy with Dr. Melfi seven years ago. That's not necessarily because Dr. Melfi is a bad therapist: therapy only works if you put work into it. I sometimes wonder if Tony didn't use therapy to sort out his weaknesses and identify his strengths in order to be a more efficient mob boss. Tony's increasing viciousness comes at a bad time for his son, A.J., in the process of a major mental meltdown. The story with A.J. comes at an odd time: towards the series end. It's because this story has been developing over the past several episodes I'm convinced that in the final show, A.J. will wind up being shot and killed only because the original target - Tony - was missed. One source said that there is a scene in the final episode with Carmella, Tony and A.J. in an ice cream parlor. Will Carmela and A.J. get whacked by "accident"?
It's a fair assumption. Creator David Chase is a longtime fan of mob movies (like myself). The worst thing that happened to Michael Corleone was that his daughter was murdered only because she got in the way of the assasin's bullet and his intended target at the last minute. We are left to assume from the end of that movie (Godfather III) that the death of his daughter because of family "business" utterly broke him and he died a lonely, old man.
Tony talked about the importance of family throughout the series. What is the worst thing that could happen to him?
Being killed by Phil's mob? Or living to see members of his family killed because they got in the way of the intended target: Tony?
Killing Tony off is too easy. In the end, it doesn't punish him much unless you believe in the blazing Hellfire stories. The worst thing that could happen to Tony Soprano is seeing and surviving a shooting that leaves his son or wife (or both) dead or terribly maimed.
We have six days to wait and find out.
Aside from Tony Soprano, my other favorite murderer on the series was Bobby, Tony's agonized brother-in-law. He was killed last night by Phil Leotardo's boys while looking over toy model trains, his much loved hobby. It's funny how you can feel that his murder is so unfair; out of all the sociopaths he associated with, Bobby seemed to have the most to give when not carrying out his mob duties. I felt the same way about Christopher's death/murder only two weeks ago though Christopher was a heartless bastard in so many ways.
Then there is Tony Soprano. It seemed that throughout the series Tony strived to better himself on a human level and gain more insight into his own personality and failings. However, the opposite has happened. Tony is far worse than when he started therapy with Dr. Melfi seven years ago. That's not necessarily because Dr. Melfi is a bad therapist: therapy only works if you put work into it. I sometimes wonder if Tony didn't use therapy to sort out his weaknesses and identify his strengths in order to be a more efficient mob boss. Tony's increasing viciousness comes at a bad time for his son, A.J., in the process of a major mental meltdown. The story with A.J. comes at an odd time: towards the series end. It's because this story has been developing over the past several episodes I'm convinced that in the final show, A.J. will wind up being shot and killed only because the original target - Tony - was missed. One source said that there is a scene in the final episode with Carmella, Tony and A.J. in an ice cream parlor. Will Carmela and A.J. get whacked by "accident"?
It's a fair assumption. Creator David Chase is a longtime fan of mob movies (like myself). The worst thing that happened to Michael Corleone was that his daughter was murdered only because she got in the way of the assasin's bullet and his intended target at the last minute. We are left to assume from the end of that movie (Godfather III) that the death of his daughter because of family "business" utterly broke him and he died a lonely, old man.
Tony talked about the importance of family throughout the series. What is the worst thing that could happen to him?
Being killed by Phil's mob? Or living to see members of his family killed because they got in the way of the intended target: Tony?
Killing Tony off is too easy. In the end, it doesn't punish him much unless you believe in the blazing Hellfire stories. The worst thing that could happen to Tony Soprano is seeing and surviving a shooting that leaves his son or wife (or both) dead or terribly maimed.
We have six days to wait and find out.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
The Sopranos: Got Yourself a Classic
I've been a viewer of The Sopranos since they hit the airwaves nine years ago. My lifelong intrigue with the history and practices of organized crime in America and Italy made the series a natural for me to check out initially; the superior writing and acting sucked me in for the long haul.
And now it's almost over.
When The Sopranos first caught the critics' eye on HBO, it was hailed for being innovative, groundbreaking. The mainstream networks agreed but pointed to the fact the series had more latitude than it's network competition: people could swear up a storm and sex could be more graphic.
As if that was the reason the series was a success. I don't know of a single person of my acquaintance or years of trolling feature stories on this classic who rushed to turn on the TV at 9:00 p.m. Sunday nights for the purpose of watching the characters use profanity and get partially naked for sex. Sour grapes, or sour guns.
It's a sad commentary on television in general that it has to be seen as nothing short of a phenomenon a TV show is tightly written, creative and willing to push the envelope. TV shows ape other success TV series and originality sleeps with the fishes.
When I am teaching scriptwriting - or any kind of creative writing - I point out to my students they should carefully study classics like The Honeymooners and even I Love Lucy in order to understand how tight writing is accomplished, how situations are set up and carried through and sometimes carried over into a future episode because the characters are so well drawn for us, we will understand a reference or minor situation they are in down the road without much set-up from the script.
So does all the tight writing and character development of recent Soprano episodes give us any clue as to how the series will end?
It does appear there will be a lot of blood-letting before the series ends. We have already been surprised by the death of Christopher, one of my favorite characters, and who killed him. The unpredictable Tony is facing in his son what he loathes about himself and couldn't trust Christopher with. Christopher's potential breach could bring Tony down; young A.J.'s mental breakdown and unpredictable behavior nearly cost him his life last Sunday. Tony has much shame to bear, guilt. But the leader in him is not afraid to make the hard choices.
Who will be next? Phil Leotardo? The irritating and creepy Paulie?
Things have gotten much more personal on the series as the unwanted advances and lewd talk to Tony's daughter, Meadow, demonstrates. The old time mob never permitted a member to attack another member's family in any way. Tony is old school. So is Phil when it suits him.
I don't believe Tony will be killed by the end of the series. That would be too easy. Most likely Tony will go into hiding or take over the New York mob after killing everyone he needs to kill to achieve that. He has become increasingly hardened in spite of the occasional lapses into "let's all get along."
I'm sure David Chase will not disappoint. I will miss Tony and company.
And now it's almost over.
When The Sopranos first caught the critics' eye on HBO, it was hailed for being innovative, groundbreaking. The mainstream networks agreed but pointed to the fact the series had more latitude than it's network competition: people could swear up a storm and sex could be more graphic.
As if that was the reason the series was a success. I don't know of a single person of my acquaintance or years of trolling feature stories on this classic who rushed to turn on the TV at 9:00 p.m. Sunday nights for the purpose of watching the characters use profanity and get partially naked for sex. Sour grapes, or sour guns.
It's a sad commentary on television in general that it has to be seen as nothing short of a phenomenon a TV show is tightly written, creative and willing to push the envelope. TV shows ape other success TV series and originality sleeps with the fishes.
When I am teaching scriptwriting - or any kind of creative writing - I point out to my students they should carefully study classics like The Honeymooners and even I Love Lucy in order to understand how tight writing is accomplished, how situations are set up and carried through and sometimes carried over into a future episode because the characters are so well drawn for us, we will understand a reference or minor situation they are in down the road without much set-up from the script.
So does all the tight writing and character development of recent Soprano episodes give us any clue as to how the series will end?
It does appear there will be a lot of blood-letting before the series ends. We have already been surprised by the death of Christopher, one of my favorite characters, and who killed him. The unpredictable Tony is facing in his son what he loathes about himself and couldn't trust Christopher with. Christopher's potential breach could bring Tony down; young A.J.'s mental breakdown and unpredictable behavior nearly cost him his life last Sunday. Tony has much shame to bear, guilt. But the leader in him is not afraid to make the hard choices.
Who will be next? Phil Leotardo? The irritating and creepy Paulie?
Things have gotten much more personal on the series as the unwanted advances and lewd talk to Tony's daughter, Meadow, demonstrates. The old time mob never permitted a member to attack another member's family in any way. Tony is old school. So is Phil when it suits him.
I don't believe Tony will be killed by the end of the series. That would be too easy. Most likely Tony will go into hiding or take over the New York mob after killing everyone he needs to kill to achieve that. He has become increasingly hardened in spite of the occasional lapses into "let's all get along."
I'm sure David Chase will not disappoint. I will miss Tony and company.
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