Sopranos

The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1
$59.99
I'm going to be honest here; I personally find this to be the worst season in what has proven to be the greatest television experience of my life. That said, I'm going to be honest yet again; regardless of that statement this is still better television than nearly anything else out there. Yes, the storylines are not as fresh and intriguing as they have been (before and after, since the second half of season six is a goldmine), but this does not really take away from the show in any detrimental way.

Some people have totally defended this season and claimed it to be rich with character development, maybe even more so than any seasons before it. I have to hold them up right there, because the issue to me is not the `development' but more or less the way they attempt that development. I can see where they were going with things and I can understand their thinking, but I just don't think that things work as well as they would have liked.

Let it be said that the season still works rather well, just not as well as it could have.

Opening with a bang (and by bang I mean gunshot), Season Six finds Tony in a coma after Uncle Junior, in a bout with insanity, takes a shot (literally) at him. With Tony out of the picture our focus seems to navigate towards his confused and conflicted family; immediate and extended. As far as character development is concerned, to me the one who goes through the most engaging development is Carmela. She has to grapple so much physically, but also emotionally as she struggles with her own feelings for Tony. As she sits by his bedside she is tormented with conflicted feelings of love, hate, remorse and regret. A.J. also has some nicely placed ranges of emotional fluctuations. His vow of revenge against Junior is a good identity crisis for him and goes to show the long reaching effects of the family business.

As far as Tony's development is concerned, it's just not as accessible as it should be. While in his coma he undergoes a strange identity crisis.

"Who am I? Where am I going?"

The issue I had with this plot point is that it wasn't constructed in a lasting way. I can see where they wanted to go with it, but in the end it just didn't have the power or emotional pull I expected it to have. I really wanted it to just nail the complexity of Tony, and the dreamlike state would have been a perfect avenue to do that, but in the end it wound up being overlong and underwhelming.

Overlong and underwhelming seems to be the main issue I have with another plot point as well.

So let's talk about Vito for a minute.

I am not one who thinks the sub-plot involving his promiscuity is unnecessary or even a hindrance; but like I mentioned above, it too is overlong and underwhelming. I actually thought that `outing' Vito was a nice change of pace for the show and gave it another avenue to explore. The fact that the show has remained entertaining for 6 complete seasons is a true testament to good writing, and part of that writing involves exploring other avenues of life not directly related to the mob so-to-speak; but this gave it a chance to keep these circumstances within the mob mentality, thus leading to some very interesting (and gory) conclusions. The issue I have is the fact that the Vito situation could have been summed up much quicker than it was, and dragging it out like they did took away from the edge of the show for me; just a tad. I was never a fan of the character, even in the earlier seasons, and so having whole segments dedicated to his life and lifestyle didn't rest easy with me.

Oh well.

The season as a while is still very entertaining, and with Christopher's rise to fame in the movie industry (immersing himself after losing Adriana...UGH) the show has some witty and sometimes outright hilarious moments that bring a color and vibrancy to the often times gloomy proceedings. With dark developments in Johnny Sack and Phil Leotardo's future, as well as some life changing circumstances in Paulie's life, `The Sopranos Season 6 Part 1' is thrilling and intriguing and a nice set up for what happens to be the most enthralling segment (that would be part 2 of this very season).

Performance wise, well, what more can I say. In every review I've done for this show I made the same raves. Gandolfini is beyond flawless every season, although the writing for the first few episodes made him rather bland at times. Still, no one could ever have played this man they way he did, and with the right amount of emotional complexity no doubt. I was really impressed with Edie Falco this season. Her characters development is made so devastatingly real by her powerful command of this woman. She is such a force, and has been since season one! Vince Curatola is just one of my favorite things about this show, seriously, and I am in silent ecstasy every time he's on the screen. He just `gets' it, effortlessly. I just feel head over heals for Juliana Marguilles. She should seriously guest star on every show. Between this and her stint on `Scrubs' I'm just completely in love with her now (and I was NOT a fan before this).

So, while it is not the best of the series, it is still the best show ever made (I'm so giddy for the potential `Mad Men' has at actually challenging `The Sopranos' title in the near future) and this season is still exciting, entertaining and fundamentally necessary to the development of this staggering series.

The Sopranos: The Complete Third Season
$59.98
I bought this for my husband's birthday. He loves the Sopranos and I plan to get him the whole collection. He was very happy with it.

The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 2
$59.99
Great service! My son was thrilled to get this DVD to complete his collection. Even though the show ended awhile back my son and I are still big fans of this series. I didn't like the bad language, scenes of nudity, and adultery themes, myself, but I cannot take away from the talent of these actors. It was like they were all made to do this show. Perfect casting! The last episode was weird how it ended, but the Soprano's immediate family is all still alive in case someone wants to do a Soprano's 2 someday! My favorite show is the one directed by Steve Buscemi about Paulie and Christopher getting lost in the woods in the dead of winter. That one was downright hilarious!

The Sopranos - The Complete Fourth Season
$59.98
the products came as they were described. Great condition, dvd's worked with no problems. Very pleased