The “Sopranos” Coda: Whacking Philosophical

By Dennis Hartley

Well, this is it. After tonight, no more Sunday night dinners with Tony, Carmela and the, erm, Family (Hmmm…maybe no more Tony-we’ll know definitively by 10pm Eastern.).

Whatever happens tonight on the series finale of HBO’s “The Sopranos”, one thing we can count on is this: It’s not likely to resemble “M*A*S*H: The Final Episode” (with the possible exception of the gunshot traumas). Let’s just say I don’t foresee a lot of hugging.

The inspired mash-up of “The Honeymooners” with “I, Claudius” that informed the series was a stroke of genius, and we probably will not see its like again anytime soon. Love it or hate it, David Chase’s epic mob drama has changed the formula of what constitutes a “hit series” and upped the ante considerably on TV dramas in general. The traditionally pat 48 minute-long story arc just won’t cut it any more.

“The Sopranos” has weathered a lot of storms since its 1999 debut, from initial accusations that the show was only serving to reinforce the Italian-American gangster stereotype, to a sophomore slump (Chase allegedly endured a paralyzing, post-9/11 creative block getting the much-delayed and grumpily received fourth season underway), and most recently suffering a dramatic drop-off in viewers.

But despite the rollercoaster flux of viewer loyalty, the outcries from the PC police about the stereotypes, sex and graphic violence and all the fan boys hand wringing themselves silly online over who shouldn’t have been whacked and who deserves to be whacked, one thing about the show has remained constant. The directing, writing and acting has been, hands down, some of the best I have seen in any medium-TV, cable or film. “The Sopranos” deserves every Emmy it has received and more, and I miss it already.

So what are we going to watch now on HBO Sunday nights? “John from Cincinnati”?! Somehow, the idea of a show centered around a philosophical surfer dude by the creators of “Deadwood” isn’t grabbing me (why don’t they just fucking call it “Driftwood”-because that’s all it’s gonna be in the wake of “The Sopranos”, IMHO).

And the biggest question of all-what’s James Gandolfini going to do now? Will he face the “Spock” curse of being so indelibly linked with one particular television character that he can never be taken seriously in any other role? Well, maybe he could look to Bill Shatner for inspiration… wait a minute…that’s it!

Picture if you will: later tonight, after the final episode has been put to bed, Denny Crane and Tony Soprano are sitting on the balcony, enjoying their well-earned brandy and cigars. Denny turns to Tony and says reassuringly, “Don’t worry, Tone. There’s life after a cult series. Seriously.” Tony raises his glass, and with a sparkle in his eye, says: “Sleepover tonight?” To which Denny replies: “You don’t mean…’with the fishes’, do you?” Both men laugh and clink glasses. (Music up, fade to black.)

Adieu, Tony. Adieu.

Please: Under penalty of banning and public flaying, no spoilers in the comment thread.

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