Leaving Jersey

So you may be wondering, probably not, but you may be wondering, what I thought of the last Sopranos.

As every person with his senses in the western world (and maybe much of the rest) knows, Tony and company made their last bows on Sunday, in a very controversial episode that wrapped up about ten years and eight seasons of Sopranos. The irony of the fact that the episode was controversial derives from the fact that very little actually happened, and even more from the fact that it didn’t provide answers as to the fates of most of the main characters, in particular, Tony Soprano. Instead, as you all likely know, the screen just went black at the end of the episode, and then it was over.

When the episode was over, I have to admit, I reran (on TiVo) the last thirty seconds to make sure that my TV hadn’t played a cruel trick. I mean, of course, it immediately occurred to me that the ending was left open by David Chase, and that nothing was wrong with the cable. I saw a short film of the Lady and the Tiger in elementary school (maybe I read it too) and I’ve been very well versed on open endings ever since.

My doubt crept in because my initial reaction to the open ending was that it was highly unsatisfactory and that it was a cheat of people who have stayed with the show over the years, waiting through the long off-seasons, watching the last few which, quite frankly, didn’t always have the zip of the earlier seasons (I particularly missed Ralphie, not that he was around for that long). But I fancy myself some kind of half-assed intellectual, at least with respect to film and things related, and I think some paert of me could appreciate the fact that Chase didn’t necessarily want to tie up the storylines in a neat package. Actually watching these last few episodes, I was a little bit prepared for that ending because I didn’t see anyway to really tie everything up in any kind of satisfactory manner given the limited amoung of time left. And as each week of this final season passed, that seemed to be so much more the case.

But what about this episode. Was it so terrible? If your favorite Sopranos tend to be the gorier, plot-driven mob business episodes, then it definitely was like old canoli. But even for you folks (I am not sure I am one of you, but I am not sure I am not), there were some great moments, like Tony’s visit with Junior (“You and my dad ran North Jersey” “That’s nice,”) was a great way to wrap up the show. In fact, to me, it might have made a lot more sense to wrap up the show with that scene with Tony and Junior, in that way, which could have showed both the scope of the show over the whole of the series, and at the same time, the basic existentiality of the characters (and through them, us) because in the end, all of Junior’s actions became meaningless and disappeared in his own memory. And then, by implication, Tony’s too, and yours and mine. Full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

More of my problem with the last episode has to do with my problems with the last season or two. Some of the storylines lacked the firepower (hehe) of previous ones. I couldn’t stand the AJ storyline, listening to his whining all the time, his depression. I am not saying the storyline didn’t make sense, Tony passing his empty soul down to his son, but it was like beating a dead horse, and I just didn’t want to spend so much time with this one note character. When he briefly perked up for a while when hanging with the fraternity boys, it improved, but then the storyline reverted and there was nothing new and interesting.

Part of me does feel like they cheated us the last few seasons. While there were good and developed storylines, including this beef with the NY family, there were lots of developments that just seemed to go nowhere, and new characters who were introduced simply for the purpose of being whacked out an episode or two later (like my friend and former client John Bianco). For example, what ever happened to the storyline with Bobby killing the guy in Montreal? That storyline never went anywhere, so why introduce it? And there are many examples of these types of storylines.

And because I am a producer, I always have my doubts about motivation for the direction of any show. Are they cutting down the action to save money? Its always a consideration, in any business, show business included. The well was going to run dry, so why not spend less to make the shows, which results in more for producers and key cast that has leverage. Is it true? I don’t know, but there definitely seemed to be less action in the last two years.

What does seem clear, at least at this point, is that they didn’t leave it open ended for a movie. There seems to be very little interest on David Chase’s part to do a Sopranos movie. I bet Tony Sirico would do it though.

All in all, I got a lot of enjoyment out of the Sopranos. I didn’t start watching it from the beginning, I think I caught up after it had been on two seasons already and was on its third. I had the great pleasure of getting to watch the first two seasons over a week or two period, and those seasons were terrific, the basis of the franchise. It built HBO into the powerhouse that it is. So I can’t complain too much if the last few seasons, the Vito Spatafore storyline (Johnnycakes) and the AJ stuff and some of the other storylines felt a little weak and diluted. How many shows are ever so good that they create this level of discussion? How many shows are ever this good that a mediocre episode or season can create the level of discontent that the final episode did?

I am glad to have been a Sopranos fan. It is a show with some of the best writing, acting, and most compelling characters ever produced. And it ushered in an era of television being edgier and more risk-taking, more anti-hero oriented than ever before. And that has ultimately led to some of my favorite shows, like The Shield (don’t comment you haven’t seen it, I will lose all respect for you). So I can’t complain, but you can.

Hit me.