Rewatching Season 1 of Sopranos...

Looking back, that show definetly jumped the shark.

Nothing wrong with having g a y characters..But when the Soparanos did the Vermont storyline..It was like "Oh..um..ok."

And then all the sudden Tony was a degenerate gambler, he has to borrow money from the old J e w (And then thought about killing him instead of paying him back, even tho' dude was like a mentor to Tony)...The show had already established Tony as a guy who talked s h i t about/had no respect for degenerates.

I too have been re-watching. I try to look for things I've missed or just replay my favorite scenes.

Like When Christopher goes to the pastry shop and the clek disrespects him (Anyone else notice Vito making an appearance in that scene). Once Chris shoots him in the foot, his acting is epic. He proceeds to walk out and with a side camera angle view you just see him thinking nothing of it as he exits while uttering "It happens." Maybe I'm sick or something but I rewound that scene about 12 times. The irony is that the actor playing Chris was the actor in Goodfellas known as "Spider" who got his foot shot.

Enjoyed the teasing of Uncle Jun. "Old man's been whistling in the wheat fields." Then when asked "How was Boca?" he responds with "I don't go down enough." Carmela gets him with 'That's not what I heard."

Yes, Tony actually looks like a fit man and not fat blob. Especially episode 1.

Looking back, that show definetly jumped the shark.

Nothing wrong with having g a y characters..But when the Soparanos did the Vermont storyline..It was like "Oh..um..ok."

And then all the sudden Tony was a degenerate gambler, he has to borrow money from the old J e w (And then thought about killing him instead of paying him back, even tho' dude was like a mentor to Tony)...The show had already established Tony as a guy who talked s h i t about/had no respect for degenerates.

.............................

The writer did not want to do a season 5.  He told them he had no stories to tell and HBO threw so much money at him he said fine.  HBO needed more seasons so they could sell DVD sets and make more money.  First 3 season were great.   That 4th season for me and most people was when the show took a big step back.  It lost its edge.   Season 5 was a joke.

This is how I remember the show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TR1O6O5FqY

"What are you crying about? HMO! You're covered"

That's classic chit right there.

Season 6 with the whole 'Johnny Cakes' thing was so awful. I was in shock watching it. I don't know if they were playing off the Brokeback Mountain thing going on at the time or what. The whole thing just didn't belong on the show. They could have gone in so many directions. They could have done so much more once Frank Vincent joined the cast.

I did like how he got his car fixed and it wasn't to his satisfaction. I loved that scene.

When the idea for the show was being pitched, It was about a man who was having a mid life crises. Then when the executives asked "Well, what does he do for a living?" As soon as Chase said "mob boss." It was in the bag. Although rumors ad it that HBO executives were butting in, and soon realized that you have to let the artists create the show in their vision.

Furio was the best!

The show was meant to contain some humor, especially in the early years. So Pauly (the skunk hair) was a prop to lighten the mood from more traditional, and serious mafia dramas.

Will agree some of the story lines involving Carmela were boring. But what more do you want? I liked how ins season 1 she was helping Tony gather all the stash money and guns in order to hide them. She knew how to be a gangsters wife.

And what's your beef with Furio? He was one of the best characters.

When the Jewish hotel clerk was complaining to him and he delivered in broken English "Don't you beetch at me?" That was classic. Or how about when he went to collect on Tony's behalf from the pimp and his Chinese wife. Those were classic scenes.

I thought the show did a good job making it about the whole family..What it might be like to be married to a mob boss, or the son and daughter of one.

AJ was a whiny lil b i t c h tho'. His depression storyline didn't really grab me.