"There's no such thing as the mafia!" - Tony's answer Yeah - ask Angie Bompensiero and Rosalie Aprile for their answers on that one
i don't like the sopranos. never watch it. never will watch it. it glorifies and romanticizes brutal violence, gangsters and murder. we don't need shows like this. we got real life.
true -- better to focus attention on the idyllic peace and uplifting harmony of Sept. 11, anthrax, middle-east conflict, nukes in N. Korea, Enron and WorldCom, the Maryland snipers, the Carr brothers, the Patriot Act, felonious Congressmen, and an impending pseudo-justified war. "real life" makes the Sopranos look like the teletubbies.
No more Ralph. Its too bad. Joe Pantalion was one of my favorites. My all-time favorite I would have to say is Amour Fou with Annabelle Sciorra.....london broil episode. Who knows though, I think the Valentina angle could be an interesting replacement for Gloria.
Katrina - your concerns are misdirected and I think you are just jumping on the bandwagon that seems to want to criticize the show. How proud of yourself you must feel! The Sopranos IS NOT that violent - how many people get killed on there every season - two or three? It only seems more violent because the show is done so well that it seems more real. Check out network TV! I caught a Law and Order rerun last night that referred to sewing a child's rectum to repair damage due to sexual abuse - talk about distasteful!
Aside from what was already said in the other responses defending this show, the truth is that The Sopranos most definitely does NOT "romanticize brutal violence, gangsters and murder". The show absolutely deals with these subjects in a very moral way. It clearly expresses the psychotic characteristics of the gangsters, more than likely exaggerates the overall stupidity of them (hard to believe anyone could be as brainless as these guys), and portrays murder and the perpetrators of murder to be as distasteful and sociopathic as we know them to be. These are NOT sympathetic characters. Even the "boss", and main character, Tony, who obviously is tormented by his small degree of conscience as juxtaposed to his role as mob boss, is very clearly depicted as a mentally ill guy. The second credit on the the opening titles goes to the character of his therapist, who expressly serves not only as an entertaining (and talented) addition, but as a clear counterpoint to his whole world. She is the "hero" of the series in that she serves to point out to him (and the audience) the moral bankruptcy of the whole gangland mentality. This is not a show that glorifies criminality. This is a show that absolutely demonstrates the sadness and misanthropy of a sick segment of our society. It is anti-gangland, anti-crime, and anti-everything morally and socially corrupt. It just takes enough of an open mind to at least see it before passing judgement. Katrina says she never saw it, and never will. This doesn't make for a good witness. Just my $.02 Peace, rs7