The Sopranos....

I am almost finished re watching The Sopranos. Would have loved to see a few more seasons but was hard to see what direction the show would have went if they had. Third time re watching it and have to say it is without doubt the best television series ever. Two things about it - firstly what are peoples thoughts on Tony? The reason why i ask is because i have re watched breaking bad (second best tv show) and IMO Walt comes across as a nasty piece of work when i re watched it. I cant say why exactly, when i originally watched it i was always routing for him and hoping that things would work out for him but the second time around i could seem the destruction and suffering he had caused other peoples by his actions. Maybe part of the reason why i didn't like Walt so much is because i am now older and have kids as opposed to been younger and having no kids when i originally watched it. However when i watch The Sopranos i though i would think the same but i don't, i find Tony a likeable kind of a person even though a lot of his actions are very selfish and he also causes a lot of harm. Has anyone ever though the same?

The second thing about The Sopranos is the ending which has been discussed here many times before and will always been controversial. To me I would have like a more definitive ending but at the same time i think it lets the viewer make up their own minds. For some people he lived on and for others he died - you get to decide. I do believe if Galdofini hadn't to have died in real life there would have been a new season (Dexter new season this year, rumours of a new Breaking Bad etc)

Rewatched it recently and was amazed how much I had forgotten.

I'd forgotten all about Chris getting into movies and the Jon Favreau part.

Highlights on rewatch were Ralphie, and the Vito Spatafore closeted lifestyle (and the funny part when spotted in a club dressed up)

Agreed. I could have watched more of Paulie. Watching the episode at the minute where Paulie robs the Columbians and gets roughly $1million. He has to give half to Vito and then $100k to Carmela and there is then a shot of him cutting out supermarket vouchers from the newspaper.

I have it on my sky - not sure what package it is but i can watch it on demand

Re-watching it myself, I have 4 episodes left to go. Tony is a bigger jerk than I remembered but still a fantastic character, one of the best TV shows ever

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Are we about to get into The Wire v The Sopranos for the nth time ? Oh well, in that case, the Wire has my vote, every single effing time. Best thing I’ve ever seen on screen, and I don’t expect anything to ever top it. Sopranos was good, but the Wire is just epic.

Fantastic series, will always prefer it to the wire as the wire isn't as rewatchable imo.

The last two seasons really elevate Sopranos imo. It moves from been an already fantastic gangster / family drama into something so much deeper and existential with its ponderings on life and its meaning. The whole Kevin Finnerty series to me were just so creative and out there and that, coupled with the ending leads to so many theories about its meaning, its use of symbolism and metaphors etc. No TV show comes close to its mix of creativity, humor and sheer entertainment.

I found a great podcast to accompany the series

Watching sopranos

With the actor who played Christopher and the actor who played Bobby baccla. You find it on Spotify.

I was disappointed with the ending.

An arrest would have done me. Possibility of a trial. He could win or lose that.

Re. my thoughts on Tony - On my 2nd or 3rd watch, I realise that I look past how he makes me laugh with his one liners and focus on how fundamentally he is a scumbag. It's the little things you might miss the first time, and come to the conclusion that he is only out for himself (Meadow & A.J. aside) and is a hypocrite. When he gambled away all the money for Vito's son, and then lied to Vito's wife(Carmela's friend) as if it was nothing. His quote to Richie & Jackie junior "those who want respect, give respect", is a bit rich the way he treats people. Janice is annoying but he goes out of his way to be cruel to her. Making Carmela look like like a fool on numerous occasions with his antics. What he did to Irina's man, way after he cut her loose. Didn't he make plans to move against his old friend Johnny Sac, like it was nothing? The measures he takes against Chris and that time when it looks like he is going to do away with Paulie, you are thinking, where is this guy's sense of loyalty? On first watch, I thought he was going to end up very alone with everyone turning against him. There are many more examples, but I personally found my respect for him diminishing the more I watched it.

When you watch it back James Gandolfini goes from overweight to obese. He was potentially obese to morbid but in the early seasons he was what modern society would just consider a big guy but you can really see the change by the mid/late seasons and its unfortunately no surprise he died how he did.

I’m going to rewatch the ‘Pine Barrens’ episode later.

To me the best episode in television history that I have seen. Perfect blend of drama and comedy, Paulies finest episode without doubt.

This!! I thought i was only person who did this!! I have 24/7 sopranos channel n 5 nights a week i watch episode or 2!!!!!