Finally.
After a long wait, we've finally made it to premiere night for The Sopranos. Not only was it evident that brushing up on the cast & crew might be smart, but it was certainly a surprise to see how the show started off - after the runthrough of the major events from last season. It's been a year or so as far as the actual plot goes, and Adrianna has been missing awhile now. Johnny's in prison, Vito has lost a ton of weight (okay, not a ton...), and Carmela's spec house is on hold as it appears that the building materials she's been using aren't up to snuff.
While we weren't exactly starting off this season with a bang (no one died in the first five minutes), I gotta say that I'm mega pleased as opposed to some of the stuff from two seasons ago and a lot of last year. I guess you could say that this show kicked off with a whole stack of really random things that you might not have seen coming. I mean, Tony feeling bad for the Feeb who's come down with bacteria from his time in
Janice and Bobby having a nice little family - and a train set - are leaving really strange thoughts in my head, but I guess there's nothing that can be done about that. I'm expecting some serious problems for Bobby come his next run-in with Tony, and Janice will probably fare no better. As far as run-ins go, you gotta believe that there will be some "resolution" to Vito, who is definitely feeling his oats when it comes to growth within the organization, and has Meadow's boyfriend to thank for his inclusion in the group to this point. That, I think, will most certainly change.
I'm very very pleased that Carm and Tony are doing so well. Even if she's a bit peeved at him for his trip to Nori without her, I expect that things will work out for her. She's enjoying her new Porsche Cayenne, and who can blame her. Now if only the spec house would get itself fixed up. Her seeing Adriana in her dreams has me thinking that that girl will be showing up a few more times this season, even if just in dreams.
With Uncle Junior apparently completely incapable of taking care of himself, will that leave the fam no choice but to move on as far as his living arrangements go? Pulling a gun and shooting a family member because you think he's some old school gangster is most certainly not the actions of a man who's totally sane, right? All day long people were asking me if I thought this was going to be a slow one as far as premieres go, and I didn't think it would have been. Boy, was I not even close with how crazy this worked out. If I were allowed one request though, for the rest of this season, it's that what comes next isn't all in Tony's head while he's on the operating table. And with that, we move on.
So what do you think, Sopranophiles?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
3-13-2006 @ 1:04AM
Tucker said...
Been an avid fan since the very beginning, and I can honestly say it was worth the wait. Great way to kick things off this season, I think they really showed us they've got a hell of a final act in store.
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3-13-2006 @ 2:33AM
Erik said...
You missed the best part of the episode...Meadow's dance. Jaw was on the floor the whole time. Thank god for HDTV.
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3-13-2006 @ 8:20AM
Guido said...
Awesome episode.. after watching Lost tredge along with slow prodding shows.. finally Sopranos is back with a bang. I loved the pace of the episode, fast and to the point.
The show seems to be much better when Tony and Carmela are a couple and it showed in this episode. The last scene was great with an unexpected shooting of T.
I agree with Erik.. Meadow's dance was the best scene of the night, but she was not in the episode enough :)..
My question is how can Tony not kick the crap out of his kid with a haircut like that..
Oh and I forgot, Christopher being all pissed off because he's on the wagon was priceless.
Line of the night, Christopher "I didn't bring him just because he's my sponser, he's also great a forging paperwork"
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3-13-2006 @ 9:24AM
ooda said...
I had my mouth just hanging open for the last scene, as the last thing I though was that Junior would try to whack Tony. Actually, speaking of whacking Tony, I thought Eugene would be the one doing the whacking.
Speaking of Eugene, it was nice how he wiped the blood on the map, kind of giving the impression that he would get caught in the near future. Me thinks it's more bad times for the family.
The Meadow dance was nice, and it was Pakistan, not Afghanistan.
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3-13-2006 @ 9:26AM
db said...
My fave part (besides Meadow) was Christopher complaining about someone else's eyebrows... pot. kettle. black Unibrow.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:28AM
Annapurna said...
Tony is HUGE!! All he does is eat! Yuck, that's a pretty ugly sight. Also, not sure if it's just my tv but his breathing is so loud it's disgusting to listen to; I guess because of his obesity. I'm probably the only one who didn't find the premiere to be as spectacular as the media projected it to be. I hope that bullet put him out. Doesn't matter to me as that was the last episode I'll be watching.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:42AM
john said...
Great opening episode. Tony getting shot by Uncle Joon was a shocker. They were, at one point, focusing on Tony's weight and I think that the fact that he is so overweight will probably save his life.
another surprise is the complete about face that Philly Leotardi made. Granted that he is following Johnny Sacs orders, but the last thing that I would have expected from him was to have a civil relationship with the boys from Jersey.
Vito's cooments lead me to think that he may be steeping on toes that he shouldnt be. And the whole thing with Meadows Fiancee last season may come into play.
I think that this season will be a great ending to one of the best shows to ever hit the airwaves and I will not even try to predict what will happen.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:42AM
Peter said...
I would have bet money that I'd of read at least one line about the product placement here, but alas. Am I the only one who noticed the 3 times (there may have been more, I was only half watching) her "new Porsche Cayanne" was mentioned, or the Raybans...or Armanis...? I've got no qualms with product placement, especially on a network like HBO, I just thought it was a little funny when they slid in its engine specifics, heh.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:44AM
Tomas said...
It seems like we're going to last year's 'non-writing' season. This time its about a non-character taking up half the show then Tony lying there and we all know that the show won't go on if he doesn't survive. Please provide better writing. I say this because its my favorite show and I want the best.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:47AM
PAT said...
I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT UNCLE JUNIOR WAS SAYING AS HE SHOT TONY LAST NIGHT? ANY HELP?
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3-13-2006 @ 10:59AM
Lue said...
Why did they bring in a new character just to kill him off? Was that so that we saw some action but didn't kill off one of the stars? Of course but it was not believable. After never seeing this guy in any past seasons, they make it look like he is someone that we should know or care about. Who cares if he got wacked? It isn't like he was important like Adrianna, but she wishes that she didn't get wacked to end up cancelled on Joey.
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3-13-2006 @ 11:07AM
Mike said...
Two years wait for THIS? A new charcter's story takes up a huge part of the show and he kills himself. Wow. Just like the "new guy" on Star Trek who always dies.
None of the great lines were up to Seasons 1-3 or 4 snuff. Meadow dance scene could have played on a broadcast net... nice, but so what?
Uncle Junior shooting Tony was a bit of a mild shock but does anyone think HE'll die? How contrived! I'll keep watching but with nowhere near the level of interest as I used to. To think I could have been watching "Deadwood" instead of the big whoop that is "Big Love".
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3-13-2006 @ 11:12AM
Erik Cohen said...
Peter - brand names are part of the culture...they mentioned Maseratti a thousand times last season and a few this season already. Expensive items, name brands, that's what it's about. Damn, 3 or 4 episodes last year were held at a Mercedes dealer. Ralph talked about his Harley outrunning a Porsche. They talked about Tony's new Caddy...name brands are part of the show.
Lue - he was by no means a new character, have you watched past episodes?
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3-13-2006 @ 11:13AM
PAT said...
RE: COMMENT #11.. WHY BRING A NEW CHARACTER JUST TO SEE HIM DIE... I THOUGHT THE ENTIRE EPISODE WAS ABOUT DEATH.. IT ALSO SHOWED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO "GET OUT" IS BY DEATH.. ONCE YOU'RE PART OF THE "FAMILY" ITS JUST LIKE YOUR NATURAL FAMILY, YOU'RE ALWAYS A PART OF IT UNTIL DEATH.
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3-13-2006 @ 11:14AM
mrk said...
@11
clearly you haven't been following the sopranos. Eugene was there for a long time already.. I think he got made with Christopher. And he's been in lots of episodes: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1168980/filmoseries#tt0141842
anyway I really liked this episode.. and it came as a surprise when uncle jun shot tony .. I actually laughed at first... but it's sad to see how uncle jun has gotten..
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3-13-2006 @ 11:19AM
Erik Cohen said...
Wow, I can't believe how many 'bandwagon' fans we have here. HE WAS NOT A NEW CHARACTER!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Pontecorvo
He's been on since season 3, was made with Chris.
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3-13-2006 @ 11:28AM
Mike said...
What a bunch of winers we have here. My daughter and I were mesmurized the whole show with the fast pace and surprises. The hanging scene was very graphic but compeling to say the least. For the average Sorprano viewer it had to be a great season opener as it was for us. Too bad so many of you complainers couldn't have gotten on the show and had your turn at getting wacked so we don't have to listen to your complaints anymore. You sound like professional reviewers that usually don't know what the general public likes anyway. I thought Christopher's line at the wake where he said isn't it interesting that Lou Gerig died of Lou Gerig's disease. And then adding that it's really morbid in here. Dumb but funny. They were all in prime form with their wise guy wise cracks. Loved it all.
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3-13-2006 @ 12:03PM
John DeMarco said...
The first episode was great, Tony is a little to much Sushi. If you listened and watched closely there was a lot said on some power plays within ranks and some toes being stepped on.. Whats up with the FBI? Too much time has passed, we to get familiar again with the FAMILY!
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3-13-2006 @ 12:04PM
RK said...
Best line of the night by Silvo.
"It says here if your feet smell and your nose runs you were built upside down"
Also - a comment about Meadows dance.
Didn't she look like Gloria when she danced for Tony.
And wasn't Gloria very much like Livia?
Can we connect the dots here...
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3-13-2006 @ 12:15PM
Mike said...
Sorry, nitpickers, that I couldn't remember after 2 frekin' years that Eugene (at best,a minor character) wasn't new. Chris's "Lou Gehrig line was stale and if the eyebrow joke is your idea of brilliant writing then I won't try arguing with you. I've watched the show since Season 1. Great dialogue/writing. Anyone who thinks last nite's episode was up to THAT quality is delusional.
If anyone was watching The Sopranos for the 1st time last nite, I'm sure they'd be wondering what the fuss is all about. My overall point is THIS episode took 2 years to write? Before, the long breaks between seasons were excused as neccesary to maintain quality. I simply don't think last nite's ep was worth a TWO YEAR wait. Hopefully, the next episode will prove me wrong... and where was the preview for NEXT week's show. Did HBO air it AFTER "Big Love" just to get us to watch that awful idea of a show?
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