Is the sopranos overrated?

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Solid Snek said:
Yeah, the ending to Sopranos was pure brilliance. I don't know how anyone could hate it.


But... that commando episode, nothing happened!

Don't get me wrong, the commando episode was great, but it was like an hour of two guys sitting in a van in the woods. If your beef is with nothing happening, then why pick the commando episode as your favorite?
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There was a fair amount of action in that episode compare to normal. A complicated situation the guys were having to solve and actively having to chase a guy down. Getting lost in the woods and trying wacky things while losing their sanity.

Lots of stuff happened in that episode. When I say "nothing happened" in most of the show, I don't just mean "bang bang shoot shoot". I mean that most of the show felt like a continual buildup to underwhelming payoffs - a constant promise that something interesting was going to happen, but rarely ever did. Just constant repeats of the same scenery with similar types of (mostly mundane) family-related drama.

I don't know how most others experienced this show, but I binge watched a lot of it. If I had to tune in every week and got a slow drip like everyone had to do back then, maybe my opinion would be different.

Don't get me wrong, the show had some highlights, but it just wasn't worth sitting through hours and hours of buildup to nothingburgers.
 
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Rusty Crab said:
There was a fair amount of action in that episode compare to normal. A complicated situation the guys were having to solve and actively having to chase a guy down. Getting lost in the woods and trying wacky things while losing their sanity.

Lots of stuff happened in that episode. When I say "nothing happened" in most of the show, I don't just mean "bang bang shoot shoot". I mean that most of the show felt like a continual buildup to underwhelming payoffs - a constant promise that something interesting was going to happen, but rarely ever did. Just constant repeats of the same scenery with similar types of (mostly mundane) family-related drama.

I don't know how most others experienced this show, but I binge watched a lot of it. If I had to tune in every week and got a slow drip like everyone had to do back then, maybe my opinion would be different.

Don't get me wrong, the show had some highlights, but it just wasn't worth sitting through hours and hours of buildup to nothingburgers.
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Sure, but that could just as well describe the commando episode. Every scene, a repeat of the same scenery (trees, snow, pitch dark nighttime). Most of the dialogue, pretty mundane (eating ketchup packets?). And sure, the episode felt like it was building to something - but it wasn't. Nothing happened. They never found the guy. Never resolved what happened to him. In fact, it was probably the MOST unresolved storyline in the entire series - the main reason it's remembered is for being that one episode that never got, and likely never will get, a resolution (even the series finale has had more closure than the commando episode).

Yes, the commando episode was fun - but it was fun because of the journey. It was fun because you liked seeing two characters talking to each other for an hour in the woods. And the fact that nothing ever came of it - eventually it was just, oh, ok, guess we're getting picked up by Tony and Bobby now, bye - doesn't really matter. It's not the big blackout at the end you should be looking forward to. It's all the slice-of-moments in the middle.
 
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Solid Snek said:
Yeah, the ending to Sopranos was pure brilliance. I don't know how anyone could hate it.


But... that commando episode, nothing happened!

Don't get me wrong, the commando episode was great, but it was like an hour of two guys sitting in a van in the woods. If your beef is with nothing happening, then why pick the commando episode as your favorite?
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Tony, over the phone: The guy you're looking for is an ex-commando. He killed sixteen Chechen rebels single handed. He was with the Interior Ministry. Guy's like a Russian green beret.

Paulie, to Tony: Fuck outta here. I hear ya.

Paulie, to Chris: You're not gonna believe this, he killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.

Chris: His house looked like shit.
 
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MrTroll said:
I've never watched it, but yes. At least people stopped talking about Game of Thrones (another show I never watched) after it ended. But Sopranosfags never shut the fuck up.
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Because GoT was only top television for midwits and fantasy loving homos. GRRM is the definition of 'moving around the furniture in Tolkien's attic.'

And no, Sopranos is not overrated. The first few episodes have some cracks, but season two to five especially are masterful examples of television.
 
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There is a phenomena called Seinfeld Syndrome where people who were raised and inculcated with Seinfeld references in media finally watch the show and think that it's extremely derivative and cliche, not realizing it's where all those cliches come from in the first place. I feel like we reached a new era of that with the Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Shows like that totally revolutionized television by bringing artistic shot composition and editing into a world of flat shots and studio lighting. People watching it after the fact can't see that, they view it within the context of modern television.

It's not just, "Wow, this show has great cinematography!!!" The fact that it had such techniques at all was revolutionary and permanently marks it as a turning point in storytelling. Shows have come along since that fluently use the language that the Sopranos pioneered from scratch when everyone told them it was a terrible idea and they were going to go bankrupt.
 
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FEETLOAF said:
There is a phenomena called Seinfeld Syndrome where people who were raised and inculcated with Seinfeld references in media finally watch the show and think that it's extremely derivative and cliche, not realizing it's where all those cliches come from in the first place. I feel like we reached a new era of that with the Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Shows like that totally revolutionized television by bringing artistic shot composition and editing into a world of flat shots and studio lighting. People watching it after the fact can't see that, they view it within the context of modern television.

It's not just, "Wow, this show has great cinematography!!!" The fact that it had such techniques at all was revolutionary and permanently marks it as a turning point in storytelling. Shows have come along since that fluently use the language that the Sopranos pioneered from scratch when everyone told them it was a terrible idea and they were going to go bankrupt.
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Maybe with the Sopranos that argument holds up, but Seinfeld always sucked.
 
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FEETLOAF said:
There is a phenomena called Seinfeld Syndrome where people who were raised and inculcated with Seinfeld references in media finally watch the show and think that it's extremely derivative and cliche, not realizing it's where all those cliches come from in the first place. I feel like we reached a new era of that with the Sopranos and Breaking Bad. Shows like that totally revolutionized television by bringing artistic shot composition and editing into a world of flat shots and studio lighting. People watching it after the fact can't see that, they view it within the context of modern television.

It's not just, "Wow, this show has great cinematography!!!" The fact that it had such techniques at all was revolutionary and permanently marks it as a turning point in storytelling. Shows have come along since that fluently use the language that the Sopranos pioneered from scratch when everyone told them it was a terrible idea and they were going to go bankrupt.
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Why is that so impressive when movies have been doing the same thing for much longer? Besides taking 10 times as long to fully watch, what does the Sopranos do that the Godfather didn't 3 decades earlier?

Episodic narrative storytelling is retarded and pointless from an artistic standpoint and only makes sense from a purely commercial one (selling advertisements and subscriptions). There is not a single "prestige" TV series that would not be better if it had been written, shot and edited as a movie.
 
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MrTroll said:
Why is that so impressive when movies have been doing the same thing for much longer? Besides taking 10 times as long to fully watch, what does the Sopranos do that the Godfather didn't 3 decades earlier?

Episodic narrative storytelling is retarded and pointless from an artistic standpoint and only makes sense from a purely commercial one (selling advertisements and subscriptions). There is not a single "prestige" TV series that would not be better if it had been written, shot and edited as a movie.
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Na both Episodic and "movie" story telling have there strengths and weakness. Episodic has the chance for stronger characters because you see them more but it all depends on writing, acting, and direction to hold the viewers attention. The Sopranos was good for its attention to detail and writing i mean it made fucking food look like a character because the characters only cared about food and you see the actors gain weight as the show goes on to see them letting themselves overindulge. Movies have a limited time frame with few exceptions 1-3 hours and requires great pacing, and direction with decent acting. You don't need great actors or scripts as long as the movie doesn't feel to fast or slow it'll be fine.
The Sopranos and The Godfather at the end of the day did the same thing you see a criminal empire build itself up to great hiegts and then you see it crumble due to the enemies the mob bosses aquired and infighting from with in. The Sopranos had better actors and one of the best writing in the history of tv again if it can make food interesting by making it a comentary on both american culture and the characters all being fat slobs who eat there troubles away. Too the point that characters comment is food all this family care about.
 
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Jazz never died! said:
Shut the fuck up and get me some gabagool.

The ending is Tony gets shot by the guy who walked into the bathroom. It fades to black because the camera was in Tony's prespective as he dies. I don't like it comes off as jerkoff material for the overy analytical media "reviewers". I would of prefered it if you saw him die for his sins and his family members reaction.
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Alright, not gonna lie; it makes much more sense now piecing it together with @qu_rahn 's comment. I just remember the daughter walking in, it fades to black, and thought we were suppose to be left wondering if they were hitmen or undercover cops. Maybe I never picked up on it, but I don't remember "You probably don't even hear it when it happens, right?" being such a mantra throughout the seasons to where it's the pinnacle line to getting the ending, but it's been ages since I've watched the show.
 
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Wowcoolusername said:
Tony, over the phone: The guy you're looking for is an ex-commando. He killed sixteen Chechen rebels single handed. He was with the Interior Ministry. Guy's like a Russian green beret.

Paulie, to Tony: Fuck outta here. I hear ya.

Paulie, to Chris: You're not gonna believe this, he killed sixteen Czechoslovakians. Guy was an interior decorator.

Chris: His house looked like shit.
Click to expand...
That episode was a masterpiece.

It was directed by Steve Buscemi
www.imdb.com

"The Sopranos" Pine Barrens (TV Episode 2001) - IMDb

Pine Barrens: Directed by Steve Buscemi. With James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli. While Silvio has the flu, Chris and Paulie run his collections for him, which results in the pair getting lost in the woods and nearly freezing to death while Tony's affair with Gloria...
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com
 
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Contrary to my current username, I'll still contend that Mad Men was better, but it's 1A and 1B for me. After that, I probably rank Deadwood, The Wire, Breaking Bad and The Americans in no particular order. I've watched an absolute fuckload of serial dramas over the past decade and what really stands out with The Sopranos (and Mad Men) is just how fucking funny the show is compared to the others I mentioned. Apologies to Al Swearengen.

Edit: I'm leaving out anthologies like Fargo and True Detective (season one only tbh) because they don't carry casts over seasons and ranking a great ten episode season vs a sixty plus episode run is apples and oranges.
 
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The first season was pretty good then Chase turned the show into a deconstruction of the mob genre.
 
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