The Wee Democracy

Life Lessons from the Sopranos

i wrote about sex and the city quite some time ago, and at the end of that entry, i said i'd probably write about the sopranos soon. well, that was before the fifth season started, and now it's almost over - one more episode to go. now, be advised, if you're into the show, and you haven't been apprised of what's going on lately, and you don't want to know, read no further, cause i'm gonna be giving alot away.

there are just a frickin' bunch of things i love about the show -- the characters are so fallible, and emotionally honest. i mean, tony's a criminal, a chronic philanderer, a stone cold murderer, but you like him. and more often than not, you find yourself sympathizing with him. mainly, its because you know where he's coming from, even if he doesn't, and you feel like he's got so many opportunities to do right, the frustration with him mounts as he continually does the wrong thing.

the show is so unflinching about violence. recently, adriana, a more-or-less innocent, if severly naive, girlfriend to one of the mobsters got killed. what i liked about this, as a show, was that it was so fucking cold. i mean, i knew ahead of time what was going to happen, but it was so well constructed, so intelligently crafted, that i still had knots in my stomach. sylvio, a pretty level headed guy, did it. and what made it so horrible was that five minute before he dragged her out of the car into the woods, he was putting his hand on her shoulder and consoling her about something else. like he really cared. then he grabbed her by the hair, called her a cunt and shot her, as she crawled away. these people are fucking animals. there's no getting around it, but you tune in every week, and want them to win.

the ugly scenes are ugly, and not in a phoney way. not in the way where you see some actress on the tv playing a bitch like she's revelling in the role of playing a bitch. the characters on the sopranos play the roles, simply and honestly, and if someone's supposed to be disliked, that will come across naturally. not because the writers beat you over the head with it.

the writing itself is the best writing on television. a while back, janice, tony's sister, killed her fiance. then, three years later, janice gets into a fight with a soccer mom, and later says "that bitch is lucky i didn't kill her". tony says "oh, we know that." then looks at her. that's it, a silent, barely recognizable reference to the fact that she shot her lover in the fuckin face! the looks sell it. damn! i get so excited about shit like that.

stuff pays off like that, sometimes years down the road. and characters barely referenced in the first couple of seasons have major importance in later years - i.e. johnny sack. a ruthless python of a man.

i'm rambling now, but there's so much i get so excited about. even the theme song. i jump up and down for a bit, then i drop two octaves and sing along with it.

best show in the history of televison.



feeling: like a five season sopranos marathon
thinking of: fleeing!
song of the day: no song today