The Sopranos

[philsfan07]

What happened to this once great show? I watched the first episode this year and said ok, it's the first show, they are setting some background, etc..

Second show was worse and I gave them a pass. Last night absolutely disgusting.

Did the notion of random whackings and sheer arrogant violence just go by the wayside??

[BIG RED]

PualyCakes

(He's a member here,lol)

[Lefty]

Philsfan, don't worry, looks like Tony is getting ready to whack Paulie and in the final episode probably will be whacked himself. Enough blood for everyone...

[PaceAdvantage]

Tony ain't gettin' whacked...if so, nobody would go see the inevitable movie that will be released in about 2 years....

[Dave Schwartz]

PhilsFan,

My wife and I had this very discussion last night.

Pretty disappointing thus far.

As an example, what role, exactly, could Junior in mental lockup possibly play in this to warrant so much time on screen?


Regards,
Dave Schwartz

[Lefty]

I thght last night was a good episode. Jr the old man, still with the cruelness he has had growing up in a crime family his whole life. Tony, shows how he has been killing people for so long or had them killed, he can even think about killing his lifelong friend simply because Pauly is getting on his nerves. He's trying mightily to rationilize it so he can justify it in his own mind. I thght this was a fine character study of the two men.

[JustRalph]

As an example, what role, exactly, could Junior in mental lockup possibly play in this to warrant so much time on screen?
Regards, Dave Schwartz

my wife and I had this same discussion last night. Like I give a F#$ about junior anymore? For a minute I thought they might use juniors asian boy for something if he got out. They mentioned he went to MIT? But with only 5 or so episodes left? What the hell?

[lsbets]

Last week I said the episode wasn't that good, but was building things up to get you ready for the end of the series and setting the stage for a great ending. This week I just thought the episode wasn't that good.

[MikeDee]

I didn't think that the entire last season was so hot.

There does not seem to be any story line that is continuing or building from show to show. They just seem to be unrelated episodes. Since this is the last season you would think that they would try to build up to something.

Did they change writers?

[Dave Schwartz]

The review I read in our local newspaper (syndicated) before the first show said that they had only released the first two shows for review purposes. The reviewer said that he hoped the last 7 were better than the first 2 because there was just nothing exciting coming in those.

It needs to get good in a hurry.



Dave

[Lefty]

I don't think you guys get it. It was a juxtaposition of character study between the old mobster and the middle aged one; showing (i think)how the mob life imbues itself and transforms into pure evil.
PA: Good point about the movie but if Tony is killed in the same merciless way he has killed then it won't be a satisfying ending; at least for me.

[banacek]

The first one was definitely different - almost all in one setting. I quite enjoyed the second one (must be alone!), and the third is taped for tonight. But after those Tony as the salesman ones at the start of last year, I'm happy with the episodes so far this year.

[chickenhead]

ok I'm ready to join the "What the hell" crowd.

almost halfway through the final season burned through...and nothing. Not only that, they are doing things for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

Phil (NY) is boss...then he steps back, and the other guy takes over..who gets whacked (at dinner, with Sil), and then Doc(?) is the boss...but then Phil changes his mind, and has Doc whacked, and now he is boss again. What was all that about? ...this stuff is meaningless...its like treading water, the story is not moving forward. It's action for the sake of action so far as I can tell.

Why does the shylock's girlfriend die all of a sudden? What the hell is that about? She seemed like a healthy enough gal. What an essentially meaningless way to resolve his and Tonys conflict.

I just hope AJ gets sent to sleep with the fishies soon....that is my last hope for the show. Garroted by some Puerto Rican I imagine. And I hope Pauli whacks Chrissy. I want Pauli elected Governor of NJ, for that matter.

[Lefty]

Yes, the shylock's girlfriend dying is meaningless, ulessss....Tony arranged it in some way. That's what happened, i think.

[GameTheory]

This has never been an action show, despite the wishes of many of the fans. It is a character drama, and that is probably the way it is going to end (and should). I'm sure they'll be some violence and some whackings but I don't expect some big slam-bang conclusion. You're going to get more of the same because that is what the show is, and always has been...

[chickenhead]

my complaint isn't lack of action, it's lack of meaning. I feel like they are running out the clock more than anything.

I want AJ killed just because I hate him.

[Tom]

Did you notice the on location shots at beautiful Batavia Downs this week?
Big Deal this week, locally. "Vinny" and a couple thers were here, on all the local talk shows, at a bunch of OTB parlors, and a big public screening at the track last night.

Heh, heh, 20 years ago, the REAL mob guys in Batavia would have been seated at the head table. Most are buried under I490 today. :eek:
But nostalgia ruled......what memories.

[JustRalph]

Did you notice the on location shots at beautiful Batavia Downs this week?
Big Deal this week, locally. "Vinny" and a couple thers were here, on all the local talk shows, at a bunch of OTB parlors, and a big public screening at the track last night.

Heh, heh, 20 years ago, the REAL mob guys in Batavia would have been seated at the head table. Most are buried under I490 today. :eek:
But nostalgia ruled......what memories.


I thought it was funny. The boss puts 18k down on a 2-1 shot at Batavia and the odds didn't move a bit? I don't know what kind of pools they have, but come on? Are they that big?

[Lefty]

JR, I was thinking the same thing. Pitifully, TV shows and movies, when it comes to gambliong always get something wrong; usually the odds. They have acess to all the experts they want and yet always get it wrong. I always tell my wifer they should hire me as their gambling advisor.

[philsfan07]

I thought it was funny. The boss puts 18k down on a 2-1 shot at Batavia and the odds didn't move a bit? I don't know what kind of pools they have, but come on? Are they that big?

This is so sad, I said the exact same thing to my wife. Like there is not $18,000 in ALL the pools in a race at Batavia and his $18K doesn't drop the horse one tick.

She said I was such a dork for noticing that. Thanks JR for making me feel normal again.

[philsfan07]

Did you notice the on location shots at beautiful Batavia Downs this week?
Big Deal this week, locally. "Vinny" and a couple thers were here, on all the local talk shows, at a bunch of OTB parlors, and a big public screening at the track last night.

Heh, heh, 20 years ago, the REAL mob guys in Batavia would have been seated at the head table. Most are buried under I490 today. :eek:
But nostalgia ruled......what memories.

I was shocked to see them at Borgata racebook. I was just there.. They did a real nice job with that new sportsbook, it's impressive for AC standards.

[Dave Schwartz]

The boss puts 18k down on a 2-1 shot at Batavia and the odds didn't move a bit? I don't know what kind of pools they have, but come on? Are they that big?

When was the last time you heard a race caller announce so defintively the winner in a nostril-hair race?

The most realistic part was when, after another loss, Tony throws lamps, chairs and whatever else he can find across the room. This I have seen.

[Dave Schwartz]

This has never been an action show, despite the wishes of many of the fans. It is a character drama, and that is probably the way it is going to end (and should). I'm sure they'll be some violence and some whackings but I don't expect some big slam-bang conclusion. You're going to get more of the same because that is what the show is, and always has been...

GT,

I hope you aren't as good with TV shows as you are horses.

Alas, I fear that is not the case.


Dave

[philsfan07]

clearly the funniest moment from Sun night - Paulie to the kid "You look like an f-ing Puerto Rican prostitute"

[PaceAdvantage]

That was Phil L. who said that, wasn't it?

[chickenhead]

yes

[BetHorses!]

Where did Tony's gambling come from? Is he going broke?
What was with the arabs and the Feds? Did Tony get money from them in exchange for some info :confused:

[JustRalph]

Where did Tony's gambling come from? Is he going broke?
What was with the arabs and the Feds? Did Tony get money from them in exchange for some info :confused:

The FBI guy that comes by and talks to Tony every now and then has been asking him to keep an eye out "for any arab activity that might be suspicious" or something like that.

I think they are setting it up for Tony to get collared on a future show and the FBI come in and help him out because he gave up some terrorist activities prior to being busted..........????

[BetHorses!]

The FBI guy that comes by and talks to Tony every now and then has been asking him to keep an eye out "for any arab activity that might be suspicious" or something like that.

I think they are setting it up for Tony to get collared on a future show and the FBI come in and help him out because he gave up some terrorist activities prior to being busted..........????


I thought he might have got the 200K from the Feds

[DanG]

I just hope AJ gets sent to sleep with the fishies soon....I want Pauli elected Governor of NJ, for that matter.
LOL…

I second both of these motions… :ThmbUp:

As I tell all my Soprano friends…Their worst episode is still better than 99% of the garbage on the air IMO.

The first three seasons in particular set the bar so high it’s almost impossible to reach that level again.

I envy a good friend of mine from Jersey who hasn’t watched a single episode yet. He is retiring to Punta Gorda in a few years and I told him the DVD collection is his welcoming present.

Favorite line among the thousands of classics… (Season-2 I think?)

Tony says something to Richie Aprile; Richie stares back at him…

Tony: “Don’t give me the Manson lamps”

[Stevie Belmont]

I thought the Junior episode was great....The Pride of Rutgers.....LOL



my wife and I had this same discussion last night. Like I give a F#$ about junior anymore? For a minute I thought they might use juniors asian boy for something if he got out. They mentioned he went to MIT? But with only 5 or so episodes left? What the hell?

[Greyfox]

The most realistic part was when, after another loss, Tony throws lamps, chairs and whatever else he can find across the room. This I have seen.

Hope you told your Priest. :lol:

[Gibbon]

On Sunday's episode of The Sopranos, the Italians shoot a man they have mistaken for New York boss Phil Leotardo. Later, Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri is killed at the model-train store. Both times, the killers drop their guns at the scene of the crime. As Clemenza says in The Godfather, "Leave the gun, take the cannoli." How come mafia hit men always drop their guns?

They don't want to be caught with the weapon while fleeing the scene. If they've taken precautions to keep the gun from being traced back to them, it won't be much help to the police. In that case, it's better to leave it for the cops.

The decision is a calculation of probability rather than a question of style. Mobsters aren't the only ones who prefer the cannoli to the Smith & Wesson; it's a move that many professional killers employ when they can, along with ditching the gloves and shirt they wore (which may contain gunshot residue). Only a criminal who is completely confident that his gun can't be traced would abandon the weapon. In this case, his chances of being connected with the weapon are so low that he's more worried about running into law enforcement during the getaway. (Why not toss the gun in the harbor, like they do on The Wire? It's not foolproof disposal. Divers can retrieve weapons.

A killer who drops his gun better be sure it's free of incriminating clues like fingerprints and DNA. As countless crime dramas have taught us, forensics experts can dust a weapon for prints and match them against those from a criminal database or a particular suspect. The police can also sometimes collect DNA from sweat or skin cells left on the gun.

The serial number poses another problem; it can trace the gun's life story, from when and where it was manufactured to who bought the weapon from which dealer. A killer might try to destroy the etched code by drilling or sanding it away. (In some cases, the police can recover the number by applying chemical reagents to the metal surface.) If the gun is stolen, the serial number could lead cops down the wrong path, but a disciplined criminal would probably remove it just to be safe.






____________________________________
The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, “You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.”