Aside from being a really great "mob genre" series, Chase did some very interesting things with "The Sopranos". And the thing that stands out for me is the way he didn't sugar-coat the utter nastiness and depravity of the mob.
I'm referring specifically to the tendency of Hollywood to glorify the mob, personified by "The Godfather" movies and the way the mobsters are, ultimately, portrayed as noble warriors. Chase had none of that; he showed them for the pricks and utter contemptible ass-holes that they are. And this was best shown by the way he kept goading Bobby, his brother-in-law, while they were playing Scrabble up at the log cabin. Finally, Bobby could take it no more and beat the shit out of Tony. And then, to get back at him, Tony ordered him to do a hit, something Bobby had never done. I also liked the way that Chase showed us how mobsters REALLY treat the ordinary working class guy, struggling to make a living and he did that several times during the last few years: how they shake down landscapers to give them a piece of the action (how much worse can you be than to steal from the labor of people doing hard, back- breaking work). The ending was absolutely wonderful and I'm as pleased as punch to see that Chase shocked everyone with it. Best ending I've ever seen to a series! --- In [email protected], TurquoiseB <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > --- In [email protected], Peter <drpetersutphen@> wrote: > > > > How many of you saw the final episode of the Soprano's > > last night? Rather lame, IMHO, with its lack of closure. > > I didn't see it, and haven't been following the > series closely, but I just finished reading an > article in which the creator of the series said > that he ended the series that way on purpose, > to *avoid* the "closure" that many people wanted. > > SPOILERS AHEAD -- BE WARNED > > They wanted Tony to "get what was coming to him" > because he was a "bad guy." They wanted similar > fates to befall all of the people in the series > that they wanted to "bag" as good or bad, black > or white. The creator of the series wanted to > *mess* with that, and, I hear, did. > > I say more power to him. If more TV producers > and writers catered more to their internal vision > and less to audience polls, TV would be better. > > That said (and to interject a note of positivity > into all of this), I am constantly *amazed* at > the quality of *some* TV series I've seen in the > last few years. Having known a great number of > people who work in the industry, I've gotten the > feeling that the deck is pretty much stacked > against them. It would be a *miracle* for even > the most talented group of writers, actors and > directors to create a good series in that stifling > an environment. > > And yet, miracles happen. The Sopranos. Dexter. > Six Feet Under. House, M.D. Lost. Battlestar > Galactica. Carnivale. And the list goes on. Even > given the seeming *quest* for mediocrity pursued > by television executives, excellence just won't > be surpressed. It's like the grass that grows up > through the concrete in lots that have been > completely paved over. I tip my hat to those who > have achieved it, in spite of the system within > which they work. >
