from tv.com...

"Due to a planned major plot development, HBO will not be having the huge premiere bash at Radio City Music Hall, as has become customary for season premieres of The Sopranos."

WOW! What is going to happen that is so big they can't even have a premiere party? The Sopranos begins March 12th...cannot wait.

Sopranos is a great show, but I'm not as excited about it as I used to be.

Simply because I think seasons four and five were such huge let-downs. The plot became circular and predictable.

Like, you knew from the first moment you saw Tony Blundetto that he would be dead by the end of the season.

Plus, in the first couple seasons it looked like Tony was actually developing forward as a character as a result of his psychiatric sessions with Dr Melfi. But, it hasn't felt that way for a couple seasons.

Season six is the *last* season, so maybe they won't be so terrified of disturbing the status quo as they were the last two seasons. But, it has to win me back before it starts exciting me again.

I kind of agree with you Bob, but this announcement about not having a premiere party is a good reason to think that the stagnation might be coming to an end.

I agree Tony hasn't really changed much via Melfi, but honestly I'm not sure Tony is the most interesting character anymore. That title would have to go to *Carmella*, who has now officially sold out by going back to Tony. I'm not sure whether to feel sorry for her, or to abhor her for her weakness. Either way, she has definitely been the character who has evolved the most over the last two seasons.

Overall I think the 1st and 3rd seasons were the best, then the 2nd, 4th, and 5th are at the bottom. I regained more respect for the 4th and 5th season after watching them again though on DVD (um, did I mention I like the Sopranos?). Anyway, even if the 6th season is not as good as the 1st, it is still the best drama on TV, although Lost is catching up very quickly .

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
Season six is the *last* season, so maybe they won't be so terrified of disturbing the status quo as they were the last two seasons. But, it has to win me back before it starts exciting me again.

I'll believe that it is the last season when I see it. I've read conflicting reports on this (the story, when the show first aired, was that the series would only be four seasons) but the most recent ones seem to indicate that David Chase isn't sure he can wrap the storyline up in a season.

Most tellingly, they have NOT be advertising it as "the final season" on the HBO ads (which are gripping, by the way) like they did with 6 Feet Under. They simply call "the new season", inclining me to think it might NOT be the last. Maybe there's confirmation out there I haven't seen, though.

Regardless, I'm very excited, although the layoff has made me forget a LOT of what happened last year. They ran "Long Term Parking" last night on HBO, the ep where Adrianna gets whacked. I'd forgotten how good that one was...

I posted the spoiler in black, in case some of you haven't seen the 5th season. If you wanna see who, click and drag over the black area to reveal the spoiler...

quote:

Originally posted by philosopherEric:

Regardless, I'm very excited, although the layoff has made me forget a LOT of what happened last year. They ran "Long Term Parking" last night on HBO, the ep where Adrianna gets whacked. I'd forgotten how good that one was...

I'm with you, pE. I think I may have to run out and rent season five to catch up. I don't have HBO anymore so I can't watch the replays. And since its been since '04 since an original episode, I think I need it.

I don't have HBO anymore either, but I do have a father with HBO on Demand and a VCR.

I actually agree with you completely that seasons one and three are the best. Nothing compares to season one, obviously.

Seasons four and five had a few really great episodes, like the one with the big blowout between Tony and Carmela, but they also had a lot of clunkers, like the Colombus Day episode, and didn't 'come together' as a season as well as the first three. (I would put Season Two as the third best season easily).

Has anyone else noticed that...every season, a year has officially passed? But, it's always the year that the show is airing?

Like, season one was 1998-1999, season two was 1999-2000, season three was 2000-2001, and second four was..2002-2003. But, in the show, season four was the year after season three.

I judge Sopranos time passage by seeing what Meadow is doing. I remember the first season (1999) she was a high school junior, then the next season she was about to graduate and got accepted to Columbia, then the next season she was a freshman, then the next season she was a sophomore living in her first apartment, then the next season she was with Finn (and it was unclear whether she was a junior or senior in college). The timing seems pretty straight up to me.

Well, Mr. Named After Episode Six, here's my proof for what I said earlier:

AJ started out three years behind Meadow. Assuming he stayed back a year after getting caught cheating at Verbum Dei, him being a senior now puts Meadow as a senior, suggesting that it is, in fact, one year per season.

I forget whether it was season three or four, but I specifically remember at the start of season four:

The previous season had been 2000-2001. And, Meadow's not being at college yet suggested it was before labor day. So, if the flow of time was held continuous, it would be August or very early September 2001.

And, in that episode, they referred to the September 11th attacks past tense.

I forget the exact details, but I do remember this to be the case because I was looking for it specifically at the time.

--

What'd you think of the season premiere? I was underwhelmed by the first 55 minutes, but then...erm..

I don't think they'd kill Tony, at least until the end.... but it has me considering it as a possibility. The ensuing power conflict was hinted at heavily in that episode. Especially with a captain recently killed.

Who are the captains now, again? There's Al Barici, Christopher, Paulie, Vito, Bobby, and the decesed Ray? It's very difficult to track who is captain of whose original crew.

I think it's..

Larry Barici --> Al Barici (Duhhh..)
Junior --> Bobby
Ray Curto --> (Vacant)
Richie Aprile (Re-formed in season two) --> Vito
Jimmy Altieri --> No idea
Tony --> Christopher

Which would suggest Paulie is the one who took over Jimmy Altieri's crew.

Bob, you kind of lost me in your Soprano timeline there. Maybe it would be easier for you to just say what part of my timeline you dispute? (at least it would be easier for me).

Are Bobby and Paulie captains? I remember a couple seasons ago Paulie was upset at being passed over for captain, and Tony seemed to imply that Paulie would just never be ready for captain-ship.

I thought the premiere was excellent. Lots of subtle irony floating around, like the guy who killed himself (forget his name) kept talking to his bitchy wife about how "Tony might be gone in a year," then moments after he kills himself Tony gets shot! I think it's safe to say that Tony : Sopranos :: Jack : 24. They might kill Tony or Jack off at the end of a season, but in the first episode? How could there even be a season without Tony? I'm sure he is not dead. One thing is for sure though: Uncle Junior is not living by himself anymore.

(First off, let me say I don't *care* about the timeline issues, in terms of affecting my opinion of the show. Just, they're there. )

What I'm saying about the timeline is...the year is always the year in which the show airs, but only one year passes in any given season.

Season 3 was Fall 2000 - Spring 2001. Season 4 was Fall 2002 - Summer 2003. And, we have evidence of this, because at the start of season four they refer to 9/11/01 in past tense. But, it's clear that only a summer had passed in between the two seasons. I completely understand this production decision, of course.

I know Paulie is a captain because in season four, when he was in jail, they had to replace him, as captain.

Bobby was made a captain in either season four or five (I forget), and his response was "..It should've happened sooner."

It was Pussy who was upset about getting passed over, and Paulie was upset at Tony because of his tolerance-perceived-preferential-treatment of Ralph.

O yeah, I remember that about Bobby. I thought he was getting "made" though, not being made captain. Or maybe just getting some other promotion.

I have to add: my favorite part of tonight's episode was when Meadow was dancing in her underwear in front of Finn. Maybe I should change plans and go to dental school?

Let's try something new and forget about announcing SPOILERS in this thread only. Who needs em anyway.

P-Bo's point is well-taken. If you are going to talk about a key plot point for a recent show, you should "spoiler-proof" it.

If you don't know how, go to the bar above the message and click on the 2nd box from the left (the color palette). Then click on the black box and type your spoiler in on the line below. It will make your text invisible unless you click and drag over the highlighted parts.

That way, those of us who have the episode on the DVR can watch without getting too much information!!!

I kind of assumed that for television shows that anybody who would care about being spoiled would have seen it already, or would avoid the thread. Because they air at a specific time. Not like a movie or an RPG.

Do I just have to mark spoilers for the new season, or for previous seasons too?

quote:

Originally posted by Bobthespirit:
I kind of assumed that for television shows that anybody who would care about being spoiled would have seen it already, or would avoid the thread. Because they air at a specific time. Not like a movie or an RPG.

Do I just have to mark spoilers for the new season, or for previous seasons too?

Most people probably don't read posts until they've seen the show, but those who are a day or two behind (like me!) shouldn't be excluded from the discussion of the show generally just because they Tivo'ed it.

I think the statute of limitations on spoilers is the current or most recent season. If someone is reading this post who hasn't seen Season 1, they can't complain. But I hadn't watched the new episode when I saw a few things posted here, so let's keep the current season's spoilers in black.

O come on guys. Watch the episode first before you go to a message board talking about the episode! You are just begging to be spoiled.

Personally, I'm going to try to stay out so I can stay surprised. I probably won't watch the episodes until Monday or Tuesday nights. But visitors and first-timers who see a thread called "The Sopranos" might not expect spoiler-type information...as a courtesy to others, black out the major spoilerage.

Well, I think I'm just too used to talking about scifi shows on message boards.

You see...people who post on scifi message boards don't just talk about episodes that have aired. They talk about any little bit of information about future episodes that has leaked in any way. So for me 'Spoiler' has come to mean 'Information about an episode that has not aired yet'.

Battlestar Galactica has boatloads of spoilers floating about there, but...well, not nearly as much as Stargate. The moment a Stargate episode finishes taping, an article is posted on gateworld.net detailing exactly what happens in it.

Thoughts on last night? I hope they aren't going to drag this thing out all season. I have a feeling I know where this dream sequence is headed but I must say, it's boring as hell.