The sopranos

[red mosquito]

I'm surprised that no one's mentioned the sopranos here yet. It's (IMHO) the best thing that's graced TV (and DVDs) in YEARS. Yea, Buffy's really good and 24 is quite watchable... but compared to OZ and the sopranos?

What do the 'Lifers' here think about the sopranos anyway?

[Megs]

This show, along with 24 and Alias, I have missed the boat on. Since I didn't watch it from the beginning, I have this weird idea that I could never get into it, b/c I missed so much. My husband and I tried to watch a few this season, but I just couldn't get hooked. At some point, we are going to try to rent the DVD sets and watch all of the seasons.

Of course, this is coming from a confessed WB addict, so no one ever said I had great taste in television (besides MSCL).

[Sascha]

The Sopranos is a great show, especially the first season was really cool. There are very good directors on the show, the camera work is amazing. That episode in S3 where those two guys (sorry, I'm not good with names ) were lost in the woods in the winter was hilarious. Sadly, the scripts are lacking sometimes. The fourth season was a little bit slow - they started many storylines but didn't really finish any of them. I'm always waiting for a big "boom" or something like that. But I guess the final fifth season will be better...

[mglenn]

I enjoyed the Sapranos right up until last season. The build up to the season ending kept me watching hoping that somthing interesting would happen... only to be horribly let down by the extremly weak storyline.

To keep with the idea of pushing tv stories further they should have killed Tony and then played up Meadow taking over the family next season.

Just my two cents.

PS: Sascha it was Paulie and Christopher who were lost.

[K-man]

I never watch The Sopranos, OZ or Alias for two simple reasons. I don't have cable and I can't get ABC on my antique TV. I would very much like to see all of these shows and plan on renting/buying them on DVD in the near future. When Alias first came on it ran opposite Angel on the WB so I never considered watching it. But now that Angel is on Wed. I would really like to watch Alias but I can't get the channel. So for now; the illustrious Ms. J. Garner will have to wait.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I missed the initial boat on a lot of these shows because I didn't have HBO. Well to be accurate, I still don't have HBO but I do have Netflix so I am slowly but surely catching up. We finally finished all three seasons of the Sopranos - we just watched Paulie and Christopher lost in the snow last weekend and it was hilarious! We have watched the first two seasons of Oz, which I also love. Tonight we begin Six Feet Under.

My only complaint to HBO? Get those DVDs out faster!

I won't quibble with red mosquito's opinion that Oz and the Sopranos are better than Buffy and 24 because he/she is entitled to his/her opinion, but I personally don't like to compare shows or assess which of the shows I like is better. Why? Many reasons - different genres, different audiences, different budgets, different networks (a lot more freedom on cable), etc. I wouldn't even compare Oz and the Sopranos even though they are both on HBO and have similar audiences. I'm happy just to say that I like both shows and that they both have their good points. That said, there is no way I could ever try to compare Buffy to MSCL or the Shield to 24. I'll just say I'm much happier with my tv selections than I have been in the past (despite all the crap that is still on!).

[Natasha (candygirl)]

S4 will be released on October 28 - woo hoo!! It's about frickin' time

From tvshowsondvd:

It's tough times in Jersey for Tony Soprano. The sluggish economy hasn't been good for the family business. His wife Carmela is angling for more financial security. Some longtime lieutenants aren't happy with Tony's recent decisions. A rival boss wants a bigger piece of the suburban pie. A Soprano is actually heading to trial for the first time in decades. At least one child seems to have lost interest in higher education. And the ducks aren't coming back anytime soon.

13 Episodes:
1. For All Debts Public & Private
2. No-Show
3. Christopher
4. The Weight
5. Pie-O-My
6. Everybody Hurts
7. Watching Too Much Television
8. Mergers & Acquisitions
9. Whoever Did This
10. The Strong, Silent Type
11. Calling All Cars
12. Eloise
13. Whitecaps

Street Date: 10/28/03
MSRP: $99.98
DVDs: 4

Aspect Ratio: Widescreen [16:9 Transfer]
Sound Track Language: English
Closed Captioning: Yes
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
Sound Quality:
Dolby Surround 5.1 - English
Dolby Surround Stereo - Spanish
Dolby Surround Stereo - French


Supplements:
Audio Commentary : Audio commentary on Episode 4 with writer Terence Winter
Audio commentary on Episode 6 with writer/actor Michael Imperioli
Audio commentary on Episode 8 with writers Robin Green & Mitchell
Audio commentary on Episode 13 with series creator/writer David Chase
Easter Eggs
Episodic Previews
Episodic Recaps

[K-man]

Thanks to Blockbuster DVD's I have just about finished season 3 of the Sopranos. What a good show this is! I am glad to hear season 4 is just around the corner. Thanks Candygirl for posting the info. BTW, do you know when/if the next season of OZ will be rentable?

[Jody Barsch*]

Dude! Last night was hectic! I've been waiting all season for the s**t to go down and finally one of the story lines played out. It seems that this whole season has just been building up to these last two episodes but I'm afraid that, in typical Soprano style, a lot of it will just go unresolved (i.e. the whole Russisan story).
[spoiler]It has been more than obvious what was going to happen to Adriana, but it's still sad when it happens. I can't believe Tony and Carm moved back in together "it's f***ing weird" to quote AJ. Before the season started I thought things were going to get CRAZY between them, but it's kind of been anti-climatic.[/spoiler] So, what do you think Tony's going to do about Tony B.? One more episode...

[K-man]

I finally finished Soprano's S4 a little while back and I think it is still great. I will have to wait for S5 on DVD at Blockbuster but from what I hear, S5 is way good. That scene toward the end of S4 where everyone gathers to confront Christopher about his addiction is an absolute RIOT! When Tony hears about the dog, that was too funny! It is just sad IMHO the series is ending. I have not been able to watch OZ S3 yet as none of the crappy BlockBuster stores around here stock it. Can anyone tell me if S3 was the last season for OZ?

[Natasha (candygirl)]

There were six seasons of Oz, but so far only three have been released on DVD.

[K-man]

Thank you my dear!

[Jody Barsch*]

When Tony hears about the dog, that was too funny!

I don't remember that particular story, but you just gotta love the Sopranos and their freakin' animal obsession: the ducks, the horse, various dogs, and now the bear!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Thank you my dear!

My pleasure - good to see you on the forum again!

[Natasha (candygirl)]

Info from tvshowsondvd:

Our good friend David Bianculli at the New York Daily News got an exciting scoop on the fifth season of The Sopranos. With the sixth and final season of The Sopranos not airing until 2006, and the release of the fourth season to DVD way back in 2003, HBO has decided to step up the release of The Sopranos - Season 5. Instead of releasing it just before the start of season 6, they've instead set June 7th as the new street date (just in time for Father's Day). That is much sooner than the "fourth quarter, 2005" plans HBO revealed to Video Business last Fall.

Today's Daily News article mentions the planned extras for this release, too! Here's a quote:

Four directors will provide commentary for the fifth-season box, including Mike Figgis and "Sopranos" fifth season recurring guest star Steve Buscemi.

You can read the whole article at the NY Daily News website. Thanks to Stacy V and Diane Werts for the heads up.