This article is about the television series. For the type of singer, see
Soprano.
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by
David Chase and originally broadcast on the HBO network. The
show revolves around New Jersey mafia boss Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his
home life and the criminal organization he heads. The series stars, among others, James
Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, and
Michael Imperioli.
The series aired on HBO from January 10, 1999 to
June 10, 2007, spanning six seasons and 86 episodes. The show has also aired internationally.
It has been called "perhaps the greatest pop-culture masterpiece of its day" by Vanity Fair.[1] The show has been credited for bringing a greater level of artistry to the television medium and
paving the way for many successful drama series that followed.[2] The show has won numerous awards including twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes, and has been the subject of much
parody and analysis.
The Sopranos has spawned video games, books,
high-charting soundtrack albums[3][4] and a large
amount of assorted merchandise.
Characters
-
Anthony "Tony" Soprano (James Gandolfini) is
the quick tempered and fierce boss of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family and patriarch of the Soprano household.[5]
Tony begins to have panic attacks after years of stress over his "business" and a difficult childhood. He seeks treatment from
Dr. Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine
Bracco.[6] Adding to Tony's complicated life is his strained relationship with
his wife Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco)[7] and their two children, Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler)[8]
and AJ (Robert Iler).[9]
The starring cast encompassed members of Tony's extended family including his mother Livia (Nancy Marchand),[10]
sister Janice (Aida Turturro),[11] uncle Corrado "Junior"
Soprano (Dominic Chianese),[12] and cousins Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi)[13] and Christopher
Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli).[14] Both Livia and Janice are shrewd manipulators with emotional
problems of their own. Tony's Uncle Junior and both of his cousins are involved in his criminal organization and their family
bond vies with their criminal ambitions.
Tony's close circle within the DiMeo crime family includes Silvio Dante
(Steven Van Zandt), Paul "Paulie Walnuts"
Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) and Salvatore "Big
Pussy" Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore). Silvio is Tony's consigliere and best friend. Paulie and Big Pussy are longtime soldiers who have worked with Tony and his
father. Also in Tony's criminal organization are Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) and Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio).
Season 6 promotional photo
Other significant characters in the DiMeo family include Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri
(Steven R. Schirripa), Richie Aprile
(David Proval), Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano), Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro) and Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli). Bobby is a subordinate of Junior's whom Tony initially bullies but later
accepts into his inner circle. Cifaretto is a clever, ambitious top-earner but his arrogance and tendency to be obnoxious and
disrespectful make Tony resentful. Richie Aprile is released from prison in season two. Pontecorvo is a young soldier who becomes
a made man alongside Christopher. Spatafore works his way up through the ranks to become top earner of the Aprile Crew but has a
secret in his personal life.
Friends of the Soprano family include Herman "Hesh" Rabkin (Jerry Adler), Adriana La Cerva (Drea de Matteo), Rosalie Aprile (Sharon Angela), Angie
Bonpensiero (Toni Kalem), and Artie
(John Ventimiglia) and Charmaine Bucco
(Kathrine Narducci). Hesh is an adviser and friend to Tony, and served in this role
under Tony's father John "Johnny Boy" Soprano.
Adriana is Christopher's long time girlfriend; the two have a tempestuous relationship. Rosalie is a close friend of Carmela's,
not to mention the widow of the former boss of the family, Jackie Aprile, who stays tied to the organization. Angie is Salvatore
Bonpensiero's wife who later goes into business for herself. Artie and Charmaine are school friends of the Sopranos and owners of
the popular restaurant Vesuvio. Charmaine wishes to have no association with Tony and his crew due to his criminal involvement,
and often has to insist because Artie--a law-abiding and hard-working man--is drawn to Tony's way of life.
John "Johnny Sack" Sacrimoni (Vince Curatola),
Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) and "Little" Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr. (Ray Abruzzo) are all significant
characters from the New York-based Lupertazzi crime
family, which shares much of its business with the Soprano organization. Although the Lupertazzis' and DiMeos' interests
are often at odds, Tony maintains a cordial business-like relationship with Johnny Sack, preferring to make deals that benefit
both families. His second-in-command and eventual successor, Phil Leotardo, is less cordial and is harder for Tony to do business
with.
Plot synopsis and episode list
-
- See also: The Sopranos
timeline
- See also: List of deaths in The
Sopranos series
Tony Soprano in a season one episode.
The series begins with Tony Soprano collapsing after suffering an anxiety attack. This prompts him to begin therapy with
Dr. Jennifer Melfi. Gradually, the storyline reveals that Tony's mother was manipulative and possibly psychotic, his children have troubled futures, someone in his
organization is talking to the FBI, and his own Uncle is plotting his
death. Tony's Uncle Junior had been installed as boss of the family while Tony controls
things from behind the scenes. Furious at Junior's plan to have him killed, Tony responds to the attempt on his life with a
violent reprisal and confronts his mother for her role in plotting his downfall. She has a psychologically triggered
pseudo-stroke. Junior is arrested by the FBI.
At the beginning of the second season, Richie Aprile is released from prison and proves to be uncontrollable in the business arena as well as
starting a relationship with Tony's sister Janice. Tony's friend "Big Pussy" returns to New Jersey after a conspicuous absence and Tony realizes he is an FBI
informant. Tony, Silvio Dante, and Paulie Walnuts kill Big Pussy on a boat then wrap him up in chains and throw him overboard.
Janice kills Richie in a violent argument before Tony is forced to deal with him.
The third season sees the return of the ambitious Ralph Cifaretto after a long absence in Florida. He gets involved with Rosalie Aprile, a friend of Tony's family. Despite a personal animosity, Tony promotes him because of his
professional success. Jackie Aprile, Jr. becomes involved with Meadow, Tony's daughter, and then descends into an increasingly reckless life of crime. Tony initially
attempts to chalk up Jackie Jr.'s erratic behavior to a forgivable incident of his youth, and tries to prevent an escalation by
having a frank and direct talk with Jackie. Despite Tony's counsel--and warning--Jackie crosses a line by organizing a botched
robbery attempt on Tony's own borgata. Tony decides to give Ralph the decision regarding Jackie Jr.'s punishment. Despite his
role as a surrogate father, Ralph ultimately decides to have Jackie Jr. killed. In the fourth season, Tony murders Ralph in a violent rage because he believes Ralph killed their
racehorse Pie-O-My in a stable fire. Ralph's behavior up to that point had become increasingly erratic and senselessly violent,
including the murder of one of Silvio Dante's working girls.
Tension between Tony and Carmela comes to a head when Tony's former mistress calls
the house. Their marriage finally breaks down and Carmela leaves him. Tony is approached by Johnny
Sack, his friend in the powerful New York based Lupertazzi Crime Family,
with a proposal to murder Carmine Lupertazzi, which he eventually turns down. In the
fifth season, Tony's cousin Tony
Blundetto is released from prison alongside other mob figures. Carmine dies unexpectedly and his failure to nominate a
successor leads to a power struggle in New York. Despite trying to avoid returning to organized crime, Blundetto gets involved in
the conflict against Tony's orders. When Blundetto kills the brother of Phil Leotardo,
Johnny demands that Tony turn him in. Refusing to do so provokes the New York faction, and eventually Tony elects to kill
Blundetto himself rather than hand him over to be tortured.
Christopher Moltisanti discovers that his girlfriend Adriana is an FBI informant and tells Tony. Tony, with Christopher's understanding, orders Silvio to
kill Adriana. Tony eventually manages to convince Carmela to take him back. With one successful reconciliation achieved Tony
approaches Johnny to put an end to the bloodshed between their families and get back to business. As they meet Johnny is arrested
by the FBI.
At the beginning of the sixth season, Tony is shot by the now senile
and confused Uncle Junior. Following the shooting, Tony has numerous vivid dreams while in a coma. These change his outlook and
he tries to change his ways. However, he is faced with more problems in his business life. Vito
Spatafore is outed as a homosexual and Tony is urged to deal with the problem by Phil Leotardo, now acting boss of New
York with Johnny Sack in prison. When Tony fails to act, Phil intervenes and kills Spatafore. Tony's crime family commits a
reprisal murder and once more it appears that the families are on the verge of all-out war.
In the second part of the sixth season, themes of legacy and succession
are darkened by Tony's vindictiveness and paranoia. Tony, having virtually abandoned his new philosophy, considers killing
several of his associates for relatively minor infractions. Christopher is unable to leave the mob, deflecting his problems by
relapsing into drug addiction and killing his old narcotics anonymous sponsor. He is then seriously injured in a car accident
that he causes while driving under the influence of narcotics. Tony, the sole passenger, is unharmed and suffocates Christopher
to death. AJ Soprano is dumped by his fiancee and slips deeper into depression,
culminating in a suicide attempt in the backyard pool. Dr. Melfi is convinced by friends that Tony is making no progress and may
even be using talking therapy for his own sociopathic benefit. She drops him as a patient.
Johnny Sack dies from cancer while imprisoned and Leotardo consolidates his position in the Lupertazzi family. He has his
opposition for leadership killed and then officially takes over. In a resumption of their past feud Phil won't compromise with
Tony on a garbage deal. When Tony assaults a Lupertazzi soldier for bothering Meadow on a date Phil seizes a chance for revenge.
Phil orders the execution of Bobby Baccalieri, who is shot to death, Silvio, who ends
up comatose, and Tony, who goes into hiding. A deal is brokered where the rest of the Lupertazzi family agree to ignore the order
to kill Tony, and give Tony an opportunity to go after Phil. An FBI agent informs Tony of Phil's location and Tony has him
killed. With Phil’s death, the threat from New York is extinguished and Tony, Carmela, Meadow, and AJ meet for dinner.
Themes and characteristics
The Sopranos is noted for David Chase's multifaceted, symbolism-heavy style of writing and the series has consistently been the subject of feverish
analysis.[15] The show operates on a rich
number of levels. Chase and his co-writers have addressed a large number of psychological,
philosophical and political themes throughout the series'
run.
Dreams
- See also: Tony Soprano's Dreams
A distinctive aspect of The Sopranos is the dream sequences. Series creator David
Chase, who writes most of the dream sequences,[16] states of them, "We've used those dreams to further the narrative. For example, 'Funhouse' could
have been a story in which Tony gets some information that Pussy's the rat and he tracks it down and we do some stultifying
procedural until we have the proof in hand. And I just couldn't go through that. I can't stand that (stuff). So we just decided
it would be more interesting, that on some level Tony knows this, that his friend is betraying him, and it makes him ill in
combination with some bad chicken, and his subconscious erupts like that and gives him the information."[16] The dream sequence includes Tony talking to Big Pussy as a fish and
realizing his friend is an FBI informant. In the dream, Pussy (the fish) tells Tony, "You knew. You passed me over for
promotion." Another famous dream is the sequence in "The Test Dream" that is over 20
minutes in length.[16]
Season six contains the longest continuous "dream" sequence with Tony as a regular man having his identity mistaken for a man
named Kevin Finnerty.[17] In the dream,
Tony is stuck in Costa Mesa, California, a city he had traveled to for business, and because of mistaken identity, he
cannot travel home. Finnerty is portrayed as a salesman who lives a conservative, law-abiding life. During this sequence, he has
a memorable run-in with Buddhist monks at a nearby monastery [17]
Ineptitude of mobsters
The mobsters in the series are depicted as tough, savvy, and street-smart but lacking heavily
in formal education and common sense. The mobsters' educational and linguistic shortcomings, particularly those of
Paulie Walnuts and Christopher, is often
a source of humor.[18] The characters themselves are
frequently oblivious of their use of malapropisms and misunderstandings of basic history and
common knowledge.
The gangsters' incompetence is in some way displayed in every episode of the series. Some of the more notable examples
include:
- Much of the episode "Pine Barrens" is devoted to the failings of
Paulie and Christopher as they attempt to survive a single day and night in a snowy wilderness after a botched execution. In this
episode, Tony by phone tells them to be careful with the subject of their execution as he
once allegedly killed 16 Chechnyan rebels and was part of the Russian Interior Ministry. When Paulie later repeats this claim, he says that the
subject killed 16 Czechoslovakians and was an interior decorator, to which Christopher responds by saying "his apartment looked like shit."
Earlier in the same episode Christopher shows his bad knowledge of history when he expresses disbelief that the Cuban Missile Crisis actually occurred by saying: "That was real? I saw that movie. I thought it was bullshit".[19]
- Bobby Baccalieri draws the ire of Tony while discussing world events and biblical
prophecy by erroneously stating that "Quasimodo predicted all of this." Tony then corrects him
by saying that he meant Nostradamus and that Quasimodo was the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Baccalieri then continues the conversation by mentioning the
backfield of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team, now thinking that a hunchback is like a full back.[20]
- Although more intelligent than his cohorts, Tony often use malapropisms and repeats things that Dr. Melfi says to him elsewhere, only to get the phrase entirely wrong or to completely miss the point.
Some of his more famous malapropisms include "revenge is like serving cold cuts" (a mangling of the expression "revenge is a dish
best served cold")[21] and describing "amour fou" (a
french expression meaning "crazy love") as "our mofo."[22]
- Recurring character "Little Carmine" Lupertazzi's delusions of eloquence are a
consistent source of comedy for viewers.[23] He often
muddles metaphors, once telling Tony that "You're at the precipice of an enormous crossroad."[24] "I have nine pictures under my sub-species," he at one time says of his
movie-producing.[21] He also explains the final scene
of the fictitious mafia/slasher movie Cleaver as a
mix of "the sacred and the propane."[25]
Some mobsters are portrayed as intelligent and well-spoken in contrast, though they appear to be exceptions to the rule. For
instance, Silvio Dante, Johnny Sack, Ralph Cifaretto, and Tony Blundetto are all highly intelligent
(Blundetto allegedly has an IQ of 158) and almost never use malapropisms.[26]
References and allusions
Goodfellas
Chase has stated that the Martin Scorsese gangster film Goodfellas was a source of inspiration for him, calling the 1990 movie his "Koran."[27]
The Sopranos began with four starring cast members (Lorraine Bracco,
Michael Imperioli, Tony Sirico and
Vincent Pastore) who had appeared in Goodfellas. Later Frank Vincent, another Goodfellas cast member, joined the cast as Phil Leotardo. Joseph Gannascoli, who can be seen briefly in
the film as an uncredited extra, joined the cast as Vito
Spatafore. Recurring characters played by actors who also appeared in Goodfellas include Barbara Soprano Giglione (Nicole Burdette), Larry Boy Barese (Tony Darrow), Carmine Lupertazzi (Tony Lip), FBI Chief Frank Cubitoso
(Frank Pellegrino), Albie Cianflone
(John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia), Mary De Angelis
(Suzanne Sheperd), Beansie Gaeta (Paul
Herman), Joanne Moltisanti (Marianne Leone,
also played by Goodfellas alumna Nancy Cassaro in one earlier episode), Doc Santoro (Dan Conte) and Pat Blundetto (Frank Albanese). Anthony Caso appeared
in The Sopranos episode "46 Long" as Martin
Scorsese and had a small part in Goodfellas. Actor Chuck Low appeared as Jewish
character Morrie in Goodfellas and Hasidic hotel owner Mr. Teitlemann in The Sopranos. Actors who have had small
roles in The Sopranos and Goodfellas include Tobin Bell, Gene Canfield, Gaetano
LoGiudice, Vito Antuofermo, Frank Adonis, Anthony Alessandro, Victor Colicchio, and
Angela Pietropinto. A total of 27 actors have appeared in both productions.
Goodfellas star Ray Liotta was also an early candidate to play Tony Soprano.
The Godfather
Many of the characters are interested in The Godfather series of movies and some
of the actors who portray them also appear in the films. For example in The Godfather
Part II, Dominic Chianese (Corrado "Junior" Soprano) plays Johnny Ola. In The Godfather, Tony Lip (Carmine Lupertazzi) and Lou Martini, Jr. (Anthony
Infante) appeared as wedding guests. In The Godfather Trilogy (a re-edited version of all three Godfather movies),
Richard Maldone (Albert Barese) had a small role as Joey. Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts)
claims to have been in The Godfather Part II[28] but
he is not visible in the film.
Christopher Moltisanti is also fascinated with the films' depictions of the Mafia. They have all watched the films so often
that Paulie, for example, refers to The Godfather star Al Pacino in conversation simply
as "Al," Paulie's car horn plays "Love Theme From The Godfather", and several of the characters refer to
the movies by their numbers: the first movie in the trilogy is simply referred to as "one." Tony and his crew sometimes discuss
favorite scenes from the films. Silvio Dante in the early seasons would impersonate Al Pacino, from The Godfather Part III, saying, "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in." He has
done impersonations of the scene in The Godfather Part III between Michael Corleone and Al Neri where Michael says "Our
true enemy has yet to reveal himself," (followed, tellingly, by an immediate cut to a shot of Big Pussy). The mobsters compare
themselves to the cinematic images of organized crime in The Godfather trilogy, as well as other well known films about
the Mafia, such as Goodfellas. Late in Season One, Christopher bonds over the
Godfather movies with hip-hop mogul Massive Genius, who insists that the third one is "misunderstood."
There are also various visual homages to the Godfather trilogy.[original research?] Just before Tony is shot at in a
failed assassination attempt in Season One, he buys a bottle of orange juice, a reference to Vito Corleone buying oranges during
a similar attempt on his life.[citation needed] In addition, following the death of Livia
Soprano in Season Three, there is a point-of-view shot of Tony taking an elevator to the funeral home basement. The scene
is a direct homage to the scene in The Godfather where Vito calls on a favor to Bonasera following the murder of his son,
Santino.[citation needed]
In Season Five, Carmine Lupertazzi suffers a fatal stroke while eating brunch. At
the table, all the glasses are filled with water, except Carmine's, which has orange juice. In Season Six, in the episode
"Member's Only", Tony is seen pouring orange juice into a coffee
mug, and just after drinking it, he tells AJ that the only people you can really count on are family. Later in this episode Tony
is shot by Junior, a family member. In the final episode, "Made in
America", where it is conjectured that Tony may have been killed, Tony is seen eating an orange at Carmela's safe house.
In The Godfather, Vito Corleone dies shortly after placing an orange wedge in his mouth in order to playfully frighten his
grandson.
In the Season Six, Part 1 episode "Mayham," Anthony Junior plans to
avenge the shooting of his father by killing Uncle Junior. A.J. tells Bobby and Christopher that getting to Junior would be
"difficult, not impossible" (Rocco Lampone made this identical remark to Michael Corleone
concerning the assassination of Hyman Roth in The Godfather Part II). When A.J. does
in fact get caught in Junior's mental institution-jail with a knife in his revenge attempt, he later screams at Tony that
Michael's restaurant revenge scene was always Tony's favorite, and Tony says, "It's a movie, A.J."
During the final scene of the series, in the episode "Made in
America," an unknown man whom Tony watches closely walks into the bathroom of the restaurant they're in. The scene ends
abruptly before the man returns, leading to speculation that the man came out of the bathroom and shot Tony. In The Godfather, Michael Corleone gets a gun from
the bathroom and shoots Virgil Sollozzo and his policeman bodyguard, Captain
McCluskey.
In the first episode of the series, when Chris Moltisanti waits with Big Pussy after killing Emil Kolar, he says "Louis Brasi
sleeps with the fishes", and Big Pussy replies "It's Luca Brasi".
And Tony Soprano's wife is called Carmela - the same name as Vito Corleone's wife in the Godfather.
Depiction of brands
The Sopranos has been consistent in the frequent depiction of actual brand names for
products on the program: this practice is widely regarded within the media as product
placement.[29][30][31]
Criminality of cast members
As of the sixth season, there have been arrests for many of the actors that appear on the
series. Because of the popularity and subject matter of the show, these arrests were widely reported by the news media:
- Robert Iler — In July 2001, the actor who plays Anthony Soprano, Jr. was arrested for the armed robbery of two
Brazilian tourists and possession of marijuana. He pled guilty to a charge of
larceny and received three years' probation.[32]
- Richard Maldone — The actor who played Acting Capo Albert Barese had previously been arrested and convicted for assault, grand larceny, forgery, and criminal
possession of stolen property. In April 2003, he was arrested on a drug charge that could have landed him 15 years, but the case
was dismissed.[33]
- Vincent Pastore — In April 2005, the actor who played mob-soldier-turned-rat
Big Pussy Bonpensiero was charged with assaulting his girlfriend during an
argument in a car. He allegedly smacked her head and slammed it into the auto's gear shift. He then yanked her out of the car. He
was sentenced to perform community service.[34]
- Lillo Brancato Jr. — In May 2005, the actor who played Soprano associate
Matthew Bevilaqua in the second season
was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of drugs.[35] In June 2005, he was arrested for possession of
heroin.[36] In December 2005, he was arrested and
charged with second degree murder. He was an accomplice in a
robbery, which resulted in a police officer's death when
Brancato's partner Steven Armento engaged in gunfire with the off-duty officer.[37]
- Louis Gross — Portrayed bodyguard Perry Annunziata in the sixth season. In May 2006, he was
arrested and charged with criminal mischief after breaking into a woman's home claiming he was
there to take back possession of his belongings.[38]
- John Ventimiglia — In May 2006, the day after Gross's arrest, the actor who plays
Artie Bucco was charged with DWI and
drunk driving. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.12 and was also carrying a
bag that had cocaine residue.[39]
Additionally, Tony Sirico, the actor who plays mob underboss Paulie Walnuts, was charged with numerous criminal activities totaling twenty-eight arrests and a prison
term before turning to acting in the mid-1970s. Some of his more notable arrests were for a chain of nightclub hold-ups.[40]
Critical reception
The Sopranos appears as the fifth highest show on TV Guide's Top 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list (behind
only Seinfeld, I Love Lucy,
The Honeymooners, and All in the
Family).[3]Upon its debut in 1999 the New York Times declared that it
"just may be the greatest work of American popular culture of the last quarter century."[41] Newsweek has said that it was
"far and away, the best show on television."[41] Vanity Fair called The Sopranos the
greatest show in TV history.
In 2007, Channel 4 (UK) ranked "The Sopranos" #1 on their list of the "50 Greatest TV
Dramas."[42] Also that
year, TIME magazine included the show on their list of the "100 Best TV Shows of All
Time." [4]
The Sopranos is the most successful cable series of all time, reaching a peak of 13.4 million viewers for the fourth
season premiere.[43] As a sign of its
popularity, advertisements for the show starting with the fourth season feature just a promotional shot of the regular cast with
the title of the show omitted from the advertisement.[44]
Early sixth season promotional posters just had the premiere date of "March 12" with a hand holding a gun replacing the "r" in
March. Despite diminished ratings for the sixth season due to competition from the hit ABC series, Desperate Housewives, The Sopranos was the #1 cable series for the season.[43]
However, the show has faced a variety of criticisms. It has been called anti-Italian,[45][46][47] with accusations of
defamation directly aimed at Italian-Americans due to the mob stereotype. The defamation claim, which has been mentioned
throughout the show's entire run, resulted in the cast being banned from participating in the Columbus Day Parade[clarify] weeks after the airing of "Christopher," an episode that revolved around the threat of mob violence when local
Native Americans threatened to protest a Columbus Day
parade.[48] The National Italian-American Foundation, a
frequent critic of The Sopranos and what it views as negative depictions of Italian-Americans on the series, supported the
decision made by The Columbus Citizens Foundation to exclude cast members from the parade. The NIAF also expressed dismay at
Mayor Bloomberg's decision to include cast members from the series in New York City's annual Columbus Day Parade. The show has
referenced these criticisms, including a satirical portrayal of an organization similar in nature to the NIAF, in various
episodes, particularly those written by Michael Imperioli.
The show has never been successful in Italy. Due to its violent and sexual contents, it was
aired only late at night and was not advertised. It was initially broadcast as a Saturday late
night show on Canale 5, achieving low ratings. However, it moved to SKY Italia's Fox but the tv series remains almost disowned in Italy.
The first part of the sixth season, in particular, has been criticized for being slow-moving and unfocused. The meandering
nature of the season left many fans and critics unsatisfied about the lack of resolution in many episodes.[citation needed] Immediately following the airing of
the final episode, the HBO web site crashed from an excess of visitors. Media reports speculated that the surge consisted of
viewers disappointed by the finale. [49]
HBO and David Chase have maintained that the sixth season is an extended 21 episode season split into two parts, not two
separate seasons of 12 and 9 episodes.[50][51] The practice of separating a long season into two parts has
been used for the final season of HBO's Sex and the City which also split its
20-episode final season into 12- and 8-episode parts. Still, the sixth season was acclaimed for the most part by the critics,
tying for top show of the 2006 season in the TelevisionWeek Critics Poll with Lost.[52]
It was also nominated for Outstanding Drama Award at the Emmys; Season 6 (Part 1) received fewer nominations than the previous
five seasons. Together with Part 2, Season Six's Emmy nomination total amounts to 21 nominations.[53]
Awards
-
The Sopranos has been nominated for most Outstanding Drama Series every year of its run including 2007, its final season.
James Gandolfini and Edie Falco have also been nominated every year but one and have also been nominated in 2007. After being
nominated for and losing the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1999, 2000, 2001, and
2003 (losing the first time to The Practice,then the latter three to The West Wing), The Sopranos finally won the award in 2004, and again in 2007, becoming the first
and only cable series to win the award. It also joined Sex and the City as the only
cable show to pick up a best series Emmy. In 2003, after picking up Emmys for Writing, Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Joe
Pantoliano), Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Edie Falco), and Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Gandolfini), many experts thought the
show would be a shoo-in for Drama Series. The show has dominated the writing categories at the Emmys, picking up 17 nominations
over five seasons and winning the award four times. It is also a perennial nominee at the Golden Globes (winning the Best Drama
Series in 2000) and the major guild awards (Directors, Producers, Writers, and Actors).
The Sopranos has also won at least one Emmy Award for Acting in every season with the exception of the year 2006. Edie
Falco and James Gandolfini have each been nominated five times for the leading roles in the show, each winning a total of three
awards. Joe Pantoliano won an Emmy (for Supporting Actor) in 2003, and Michael Imperioli and Drea de Matteo also won Emmys in
2004 for their supporting roles on the show. Other actors who have received Emmy nominations for the series include Lorraine
Bracco (in the Lead Actress and Supporting Actress categories), Dominic Chianese, Nancy Marchand, Aida Turturro, Steve Buscemi
(who was also nominated for directing the Pine Barrens episode), John Heard and
Annabella Sciorra.
In 2006, The Sopranos received its sixth Emmy nomination for Outstanding Drama Series, but lost the award to
24. Three-time Emmy winners James Gandolfini and Edie Falco were snubbed in the
Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series category, respectively. Michael Imperioli was the only cast member to
receive a nomination (his fifth nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series). The show did pick up a trophy for
Outstanding Writing in a Drama Series for Terence Winter for the episode "Members Only". The Sopranos have lent their name to a
brand of spaghetti sauce [54].
On July 19th, 2007, it was revealed that "The Sopranos" was nominated for fifteen Emmys, including its seventh Emmy nomination
for Outstanding Drama Series. Gandolfini and Falco were once again nominated for their lead roles of Tony and Carmela Soprano,
and Michael Imperioli picked up his second Outstanding Supporting Actor nomination in a row. Rounding out the actor categories,
Aida Turturro was nominated for her role of Janice Soprano; Lorraine Bracco received her fourth Emmy nomination for her
performance of Dr. Melfi (her first since 2001); and an Outstanding Guest Actor nomination went out to Tim Daly for his
performance as writer J.T. Dolan. David Chase, Matthew Weiner, and Terence Winter were nominated for Outstanding Writing in a
Drama Series, among the other well-entitled nominations for the show's direction, sound mixing, editing, and cinematography.
On September 16th, 2007, the show received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series for the second time, becoming the first
drama show in history to win the award in its final broadcasting season. While the show was shut out of all acting awards, Alan
Taylor also won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for the episode "Kennedy and Heidi", and David Chase was awarded
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the final episode, "Made in America".
References in television and other media
The show has been referenced in many forms of media. The opening sequence was parodied in an episode of The Simpsons in 2002, with Fat Tony standing in for Tony Soprano in
"Papa's Got a Brand New Badge," followed by a sequence in which characters
similar in appearance to Silvio Dante, Paulie Gualtieri, and Christopher Moltisanti appear as the "Jersey Muscle," though without
speaking.[55] The first episode of The Simpsons'
eighteenth season called "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her
Homer" has several references to The Sopranos.[56] Actors Joe Pantoliano and Michael Imperioli appear on the same episode as the voices of Dante and Dante Jr.[56]
The Sopranos was also parodied in the Adult Swim show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, in 2003, in an episode in which Fred Flintstone is a mob boss.[57] During the 2001 Fox NASCAR coverage of the Coca-Cola 600, a segment called "The Pit Reporters" was played in whichChris
Myers is Tony Soprano and Jeanne Zelasko is Dr. Melfi. It was inspired by an
incident where FOX NASCAR studio host Chris
Myers and analyst Jeff Hammond were attacked by Super Soaker water gun-wielding pit
reporters Dick Berggren and Matt Yocum during a rain delay at The
Winston. Myers commented, "They should appear in The Sopranos." For the 600, Tony Soprano (Myers) makes an appearance at
Dr. Melfi's (Jeanne Zelasko) office previewing the 600. The show has many other
references in a wide variety of media resources. Arthur also did a parody of
it once, in the episode "Bleep" but it was called "The Altos." Attack of the
Show! did a parody called "The Marios" where Mario and Luigi acted out scenes from The Sopranos and other mafia movies/series.
The Sopranos was parodied in a Saturday Night Live skit, in which
Molly Shannon's character Sally "I'm Fifty!" O'Malley auditions to be a dancer at Bada
Bing (all the while wearing her red "dance pants"). Uncle Junior also shows up brandishing a banana ("I was gonna shoot you again but I forgot my gun").
The Sopranos was also parodied by Mad TV, in a skit where a censored version of the show
appeared on the PAX Network. It goes through typical scenarios of Sopranos episodes, with
all adult themes censored out: Carmela and Tony arguing with all the swearwords cut out, Tony at Dr. Melfi's office with all the
swearwords cut out, Tony being seduced by a stripper with the nudity completely removed, Meadow screaming at Tony with the
swearwords removed, and finally Tony and his top captains screaming at each other with every second word being left out. To
parody the amount of this content it had, the entire episode was only around 3 minutes, the amount of time the parody lasted.
Sun Sports, in conjunction with the Tampa Bay Lightning NHL team, did two different Sopranos-like intros, one with The Lightning Bug team mascot as the driver,
and another wi
