May 16, 2008
'The Sopranos': New season worth the wait
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For all you disaffected, embittered, remorseful and hugely disappointed fans of HBO's "The Sopranos" who complained endlessly last summer about a beloved old show where "nothing ever happens anymore," today we offer some words of encouragement.
After viewing the first two episodes of the show's final season, your once-beloved show -- which comes back April 8 -- is at times brilliant and riveting. The first episode is at times a little ponderous and dull.
Sorry, you can't have everything.
But the second episode, entitled "Stage 5," which airs the following Sunday, ranks as one of the finest hours of "Sopranos" in recent years. It is searing and bleak, even uproariously funny (seriously). And violence? Let's just say "The Sopranos" goes places where it's never gone before -- to intensely dramatic effect, as well as to unexpected comic effect. You will laugh. (I promise.) But you will also wince. (That's a guarantee, too.)
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"The Sopranos" has but nine hours to wrap one of the richest storylines in TV history, which means producers have no choice but to quicken the pace, and tighten -- really tighten -- the noose around the necks of every major character on screen. Time is running out, and many themes, as well as a few complicated storylines, need to be resolved. A sense of urgency truly fills these two hours.
Last June found Tony (James Gandolfini) and family gathered around a shimmering Christmas tree. While Tony had recovered from his shooting, Carmela's (Edie Falco) beloved spec house was built, AJ (Robert Iler) had a new girlfriend, though Christopher (Michael Imperioli) -- not at this happy little gathering -- was "using" again, and in flagrante delicto with real estate agent Julianna Skiff
(Julianna Margulies).
More background: Even with their various ailments, Tony and mob rival Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) were still circling each other like a pair of sharks, while John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni (Vincent Curatola) was dying of cancer in a maximum-security prison in Missouri.
So on to the season opener: Tony and Carm head up to the Adirondacks to spend a few days with Janice (Aida Turturro) and Bobby (Steven R. Schirripa). Tony truly needs the break because he's just been busted on an illegal weapons charge. Meanwhile, he intends to draw Bobby closer into his orbit simply because Christopher has drifted further and further away.
The episode, "Soprano Home Movies," is really a meditation on Soprano family dynamics -- the enduring theme of this show -- though it adds a few extra layers of details that tend to confirm that Tony really is his mother Livia (the late, great Nancy Marchand) after all.
With "Stage 5," Chris finally sees an alluring glimpse of life beyond the "family," with the long-awaited arrival of his movie -- "Cleaver" -- and a new baby. But (you know the old line about wanting to get out but they keep dragging me back in) Chris learns that life and "art" mix, although the consequences of this can be perilous.
All we can say is: Hang on for dear life. Believe me, it looks like it's gonna be worth it.
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
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