411 Fact or Fiction Movies: Sopranos Edition
Posted by Ben Piper on 06.22.2007
One of the greatest shows in the history of television has made it's last transmission. With much respect, 411's George H. Sirois and Bren Oliver debate several aspects of the series as a whole, as well as it's controversial ending....
Arrevaderchi! Welcome back yet again to the column that does it's best to prompt debate, Fact or Fiction!
A couple of weeks back, one of the greatest shows in the history of TV aired it's final episode, so I got the bright idea of making this week's column solely about said program, The Sopranos.
I put out a call on the staff forums for peeps that were knowledgeable with regards to the show to step up and take part. I had envisioned a super-sized column, with four 411 staffers taking part and fielding 12 queries from me. Two separate debates, basically.
Then, I got an email from 411's Ron Martin, who told me he thought it was a great idea to do an all Sopranos edition, albeit he doesn't watch the show. He proposed that I do a three-way dance. Which considering that I only got three volunteers, turned out to be a brilliant idea, in my mind. Three rounds, nine queries, and I'd keep score as to how it all plays out overall with the three writers, as well as head to head match-ups.
But then, I got the email from one of the volunteers who stepped up. I had sent him the first set of questions and had begun to worry about the fact that he hadn't gotten back to me promptly. You know, deadlines and such. But when finally I got the response from him it changed my perspective…
Long story short, this person suffered a loss to his immediate family over the weekend. Having dealt with this kind of thing personally, he instantly got a free pass in my book. Out of respect of his privacy I will not name him, but I would just like him to know that my heart is most sincerely with him and his family at this point in time…
Yeah, even internet columnists have lives, and suffer egregious losses…
And as such, my grandest plans for a historical one of a kind Fact or Fiction shall have to wait. Honestly, other important things take precedent, in the real life scheme of things. And I'll just leave it at that…
I sincerely apologize to all of you for this downer note, as well as the fact that there wasn't a column posted last week as a result, but I just thought that you should know that I had everything all worked up for a super-sized Sopranos edition. But life tends to happen, and unfortunately gets in the way of the best laid plans from time to time…
Which in a way, is kind of appropriate, considering what we are about to discuss…
This week we have Movie Zone stalwart George H. Sirois, and a newcomer to this end of things, 411 MMA Zone staffer Bren Oliver doing their individual best to "whack" one another. Since I had planned on having a nine query three-way debate, we'll up the ante this week with two more debating points than usual.
1. Tony's sister Janice is the most annoying character in the history of The Soprano's.
George H. Sirois:Fiction- The most annoying series regular, yes, but the title of "most annoying character" has to go to Tony's father's mistress from Season 5. The series' momentum was chugging along and doing its best to outdo itself, and then all of a sudden, we learn about this old whackjob that Tony's dad used to bang behind Livia's back and it takes at least an episode or two to get the season back on course. Just a completely aggravating character and she wound up contributing nothing in the long run. She was just another loose thread that Chase left dangling, except in her case, I'm glad it was left alone.
Bren Oliver: Fiction- Tony's Mother, Livia, made the most of her few seasons and will always remain the most annoying character in my book. Janice is a close second, but she had a few moments of redemption every now and then. Who didn't drop a "WTF" when she was reaming Ralph from behind? And her performance on the final season was perhaps her best of the entire series. I never found anything entertaining about Livia Soprano and there was always something about Nancy Marchand's performance that rubbed me the wrong way.
Score:1 for 1
2. Paulie Walnuts is your least favorite member of Tony's crew.
George H. Sirois:Fiction- The man drives me nuts, but I can't help but love the guy. I love his dialogue, his neuroses, his soap opera-like storyline with his mom, his verbal jousts with Christopher, etc. If there's someone that I couldn't stand for the longest time -until he finally grew a set and decked Tony in the mouth - it was Bobby. I know we shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but he was constantly distracted by his trains, he put up with all of Janice's crap and he kept forgetting his cell phone. It was that constant responsibility that resulted in Tony getting shot by Junior, so yeah, he was my least favorite.
Bren Oliver:Fiction- How can you not love Paulie Walnuts? From his trademark hairstyle to his moments of classic dialogue, everything about Mr. Gaultieri screamed entertainment. He was one of the few characters the writers couldn't kill off; not simply because it was in his contract, but also because the Sopranos would not have been the same without Tony Sirico. Big Pussy was my least favorite character. Damn rat! Possibly the greatest whacking in Sopranos history though...
Score: 2 for 2
3. Dr. Melfi was wrong to end her therapy sessions with Tony in the manner that she did.
George H. Sirois:Fiction- Can you blame her for being as upset as she was? She's been duped for all this time and she decided she wasn't going to put up with Tony's justifying himself anymore.
Bren Oliver: Fact- It was highly unprofessional in a "real world" sense and a cheap way to conclude the relationship as far as the series goes. I'm not sure how much Tony's therapy helped or hurt he chances at genuine compassion and sanity, but treatment-wise he was going through a pretty rough patch in his life. His son had recently attempted suicide and his beloved nephew had died in a car accident (as far as Melfi knew). It seems pretty obvious she could have handled the situation better.
Score:2 for 3
4. Ralph Cifaretto was the best adversary for Tony during the entire run of the series.
George H. Sirois: Fiction- He's definitely close to being his best adversary, but if there was one man who gave Tony the most headaches, I always felt it was his cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi). Not only was he a real family member that Tony felt he had to defend, but Tony B. was constantly playing this two-step where he would pull out of the family and then go back in and do something to push both NY and NJ crews against each other. Ralph turned out to be a pain in the ass himself, but it was even more of a chore for Tony to go after his own flesh and blood so it wound up being Tony fighting his cousin as much as his own urges to get rid of him.
Bren Oliver: Fiction- I'd guess that heart disease was likely Tony's biggest adversary from start to finish, but I reckon we're supposed to pick a human being. In that regard I'd have to go with Phil Leotardo. He was trouble as soon as he stepped foot out of prison. Even when Johnny Sack was in power, Leotardo wasn't afraid of the Soprano family and never backed down from Tony. For two seasons it seemed like he could go off at any minute and whack someone close to "Big T". And in the end he did just that, ordering the hit of two of the Sopranos biggest names (Sil and Bobby).
Score:3 for 4
Switch!!!
5. You enjoyed the final season overall.
Bren Oliver: Fact- I'd be lying if I said I thought it was on par with the first three seasons, but I certainly thought it had a nice final run. The last eight episodes were particularly good. Then again, I'm comparing it to the previous season which was the consensus worse of the series, so maybe my expectations weren't as high as they should have been. But overall....yes, I definitely enjoyed the final season. The acting was top notch and we got a lot of major moments.
George H. Sirois: Fiction- Overall… other than a few brilliant episodes here and there, this season didn't thrill me like others did. It started out fantastic, but as soon as Tony recovered, it was back to business as usual. They had a chance to really show us something special with a slow recovery by Tony and that didn't happen. And the episodes that were fantastic only made the rest of the season that much more frustrating.
Score: 3 for 5
6. You think that for the most part all the storylines were addressed adequately by the end of the show.
Bren Oliver:Fact- Um, other than the storylines they introduced in the final episode. However, I suppose if Tony did die as people are speculating, then that inherently means the overall story was wrapped up. I would have liked SOME mention of the Russian, even in a joking sense by Paulie or Christopher, and something with Furio would have also been cool. Maybe a pony-tail free Furio in the "Members Only" jacket at the end?
George H. Sirois: Fact- I'm hoping a movie doesn't come from this, because as that speculation started going around, I thought back to the whole family – immediate and otherwise – and realized there was nowhere else to go, unless they were going to tack on a new element that would just throw the whole dynamic off. As unsatisfied with the finale as I was, at least every major character was addressed in some way, shape or form. And the loose ends that stayed loose were the ones that should have stayed loose. I like that we never hear about the Russian, I always liked that. It was Paulie and Christopher's little secret. Well, it's still Paulie's little secret.
Score: 4 for 6
7. Phil Leotardo's death ranks up there with the most memorable Sopranos whackings.
Bren Oliver:Fact- It wasn't even just the "bye bye" babytalk with his grandchildren or the pistol coming into frame that made the scene so much as the car rolling over his head. In fact this season had a number of memorable deaths. The slow motion blood spray on Silvio's face sticks out.
George H. Sirois: Fact- It wasn't nearly as memorable as Pussy's or Adriana's death, but at least it put an exclamation point on Phil's storyline and ended it with a bit of style. The shot of the two kids hitting that "bump" was classic.
Score:5 for 7
8. You hated the ending.
Bren Oliver:Fiction- I liked it. I enjoy television/movies that make me think. Sopranos was always good at that. Instead of dealing with issues in black and white, David Chase painted the entire series as grey as Tony Soprano's bleak outlook on life. We rooted for a sociopath; a man who murdered his nephew, cousin, and best friend; a man who cheated on his wife and pushed around his immediate family. I thought the ending did service to the overall picture from the first episode to the last. It was ambiguous enough to leave open the possibility of a movie, but also provided enough clues to lend truth to the possibility the instant fade to black was the back of a .50 Caliber slug blasting Tony's forehead all over the onion rings. The only thing I hated about the ending was that it was, in fact, the ending.
George H. Sirois: Fiction- If you had asked me the same night that I saw it, then I would have said Fact. But no matter how hard I try, I can't stop thinking about the damn thing. For 5 whole minutes, my heart was pounding in anticipation, and I was dreading what was to come. But then, just like that, it was over. The beauty of the whole ending is that it can be interpreted, just like the name of the song on the jukebox underneath Don't Stop Believing, "Any Way You Want It." Was I thrilled with the episode as a whole? No, it dragged way too much for me to be a suitable finale, but the last five minutes were great.
Final Score: 6 for 8
So there you have it. I did my best to create unrest that would cause this week's panelists to lash out and try to throttle one another old-school style, but it wasn't to be. (Kinda like Janice's lame brained plan to be a Christian recording artist)
Next week, we'll get back to the usual format, so I hope that you all will check it out. Until that time, when the entry door bell chimes, you had better look up.
