While I typically cover new and current shows in this column, I will occasionally revisit some programs from the past — series that have been on my watch list for years, but I’m just now getting around to. First up: The Sopranos, which aired on HBO for six seasons from 1999 to 2007 (now available on HBO GO, HBO NOW and Amazon Prime).
I’m only two seasons in so far, but I can already understand why this incredible crime family drama is so revered. Besides hitting the mark on nearly every level — excellent acting from a talented cast, compelling storytelling, a balance of tense drama and dark humor — The Sopranos represents the start of the golden age of television we’re currently enjoying. The show made HBO the prestige television destination it is today with its current hits like Game of Thrones and Westworld. Critics and viewers alike sung The Sopranos’ praises, and in the end it received a total of 111 Emmy nominations and 21 wins, two of them for Outstanding Drama Series.
Now, watching the show nearly 20 years after its original debut, it still stands up as one of the greatest dramas of all time. America loves a good mob story — and the characters here are no exception, frequently quoting or referencing films like The Godfather, Goodfellas and Scarface, to much amusement. And The Sopranos tells the best kind of mob story, focusing on patriarch Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) many levels in the roles he serves as a husband, father and DiMeo crime family boss.
Tony is forced to examine these roles when he begins seeing psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) after passing out from what she believes was a panic attack. And while therapy certainly starts to help Tony and give him tools to cope with his complicated life, it’s a closely guarded secret he feels he must hide from anyone outside his immediate family: wife Carmela (Edie Falco), daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and son Anthony Jr. (Robert Iler). If his crime family were to find out, they’d see it as a weakness, a flaw that would make Tony a target.
The idea of a hyper-masculine mobster secretly seeking out the help of a therapist still rings relevant today, even with society becoming more comfortable with the topic of mental health. And Tony’s therapy sessions act as an excellent storytelling device — we see how he acts at “work,” and the different persona he has at home, but in the safe space of Dr. Melfi’s office, Tony can let his guard down a bit and give the audience some insight into his past.
Tony may be a bad dude, but you have to root for him. It’s easy to read him as a sympathetic character, looking past his killing, lying and cheating, hoping he finds a way to protect himself and his loved ones from their enemies, the law and sometimes even one another. The fact that the loveable, immensely talented Gandolfini died well before his time in 2013 only magnifies that feeling.
The Sopranos is a quintessential American tale, elevating a familiar genre by examining masculinity, marriage, mental health and, of course, the mob — one that will surely endure even 20 years from now.
Picks of the Week
Room 104 (Series Premiere, 11:30 p.m. Friday, HBO) — This new anthology series from the Duplass brothers takes place in a single motel room, where a different story (with a different set of characters and actors) takes place each week. I’m hoping this will be akin to HBO’s fantastic High Maintenance, which centers on a pot dealer in New York who meets different customers in each episode.
Welcome to Siesta Key (Series Premiere, 10 p.m. Monday, MTV) — “From The Hills to the beach,” teases an ad for this new show, referencing the 2006 guilty-pleasure reality series that introduced us to “characters” like L.C., Speidi and Justin Bobby. As the title reveals, the cameras move from California to retiree-rich Florida to follow wealthy college students home on break off the coast of Sarasota.
CONTACT JAC KERN: @jackern
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 2, 2017.