More “Sopranos” thoughts.
First of all, I’m pretty stunned the response to The Sopranos finale has been so hotly divided (from what I can tell, divided unevenly) and so endlessly debated. This is, after all, a PAY cable television show. Even if more than 10 million people watched the finale (I think it was something like 11.9 million) the number will pale in comparison to the amount of people who watched Idol or even the last episode of The King of Queens, and yet the press coverage seems endless. It’s surprising any time a culture story that affects so few people garners so much attention — though I suspect that not too many culture stories involve fans calling for the murder of a television show creator (of course, the source is The Post, and calling for people’s murder seems to be their primary business).
Since yesterday’s flood of Sopranos-hatred and/or theorizing some interesting articles have started to circulate. The first being “the theory,” presented in its entirety by the New York Times TV-Blogger/Critic/Other Virginia Heffernan. Since its circulation my man Alan Sepinwall (the go-to guy for all Sopranos related queries) has debunked this particular theory. Though it’s still fun to read (thanks to Matty for the link).
Speaking of Mr. Sepinwall, he was able to score the lone post-series interview with creator David Chase. He obviously doesn’t talk much about “what it all meant” but he certainly doesn’t come off like someone intetionally trying to screw over a fanbase.
Also interesting was an article written by Times guru Bill Carter about the reaction to the finale by other TV writers. Most interesting in the piece was the difference of opinion held between the creators of Lost (Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof) and Tim Kring creator of Heroes….
For the producers of “Lost,†who have declared an official finale in three more seasons, the conclusion of “The Sopranos†carried special weight. “There was immediate blowback for me,†said Carlton Cuse, Mr. Lindelof’s creative partner on the show. “A sense of fear ran through my veins, thinking that we are going to be in this position,†he said, adding, “we know the end is coming in 48 short episodes.â€
and…
Tim Kring, the creator of this year’s NBC hit “Heroes,†said, “I have to admit that as soon as it ended, I immediately went there. I don’t have an ending for the series yet. I put myself years in the future thinking about what you do when you have viewers with these sorts of expectations. And I think you just have to be true to what you were originally trying to say.â€
If anything, Mr. Chase seemed to have scared the entire television development community into getting a head start on the ending — even if when all is said and done there isn’t one.
June 13th, 2007 at 12:19 am
okay, it’s been over 48 hours. i will move on now, right after this post. really, though, i love that final scene a little bit more each time that i think about it… if meadow had been shot outside/inside the diner, folks would’ve cried godfather rip-off. if tony had died in some shoot-‘em-up fashion, they would’ve said it was too obvious a final chapter. if he simply had retired to florida with carm’s baked ziti and a new swimming pool to clean, they would’ve bemoaned the lack of a grand, overarching cautionary lesson about justice and morality. i really think this ending episode made sense for the show. it wrapped up a thread or two, introduced new potential plot wrinkles, returned to old themes, and made the crowd in the d.c. bar in which i was watching it burst out in alternating fits of laughter, groans, and silence… basically, what more would you want from an hour of television?
June 13th, 2007 at 3:54 pm
I say it’s a cop-out!
Just kidding.