Basic cable channel A&E bought the syndication rights to The Sopranos, and now the network is busy trying to clean up the show for its audience. What can and can't they air? It's a fine line that basically says blood is okay but brain spatter is not. Case in point: the last episode of season one has Jimmy Altieri getting whacked with one bullet to the back of his head. When the episode aired on HBO, the audience saw blood spatter on the wall and chunks of brain slide down the wall. A&E's audience won't see the brains. There are about one hundred other instances where executives have to make similar decisions about violence, language and nudity. The newly edited versions of The Sopranos air on A&E in January.I'm wondering if it's even worth the effort. A&E bought the right to air all 85 episodes of The Sopranos... for a staggering $2.5 million per episode. But how much fun is it really going to be without all the naughty stuff?
[Via TV Tattle]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-20-2006 @ 2:29PM
Mark G said...
I can't beleive they payed 2.5 m per episode to air edited tripe. I keep thinking of that hilarious mad tv skit where they shows edited sopranos clips of tony saying. Hi, the, it. etc.
I feel pretty lucky to be in Canada. first we get the sopranos unedit on regular tv (CTV). Then it is run nightly in sindication unedited on TLN.
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10-20-2006 @ 4:33PM
SJ said...
Wow what's the point of watching those edited episodes?
Can you imagine Deadwood without the profanity? That would be like a 5-10 min episode at most.
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11-07-2006 @ 12:02AM
DENNIS FM DOVER, DELAWARE said...
WELL ITS BETTER THAN NO SOPRANO'S AT ALL I GUESS
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11-17-2006 @ 6:42AM
Richie said...
What's the use in changing the format? Season 6 sucked bad enough as it was. This was the best show on HBO, period. Now it's going to be on the frickin' family channel? How will old Sopranos fans be able to actually tune in and watch with the violence and character actions toned down to cable TV standards? That is what the show is/was all about and made the show what it was. I can assure you, I may be their biggest fan. I know every episode nearly word by word, all 6 seasons and know the answer to every single card in the Sopranos trivia game. My opinion is this will be the downfall of the entire cast and show itself.
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