> This started with you asking why people like the Sopranos so
>
>much. I've been trying to answer that. I think what's important
>about the show has little to do with what you're talking about.
>
I never found anything interesting about the show visually and, with a
few exceptions, I didn't see much in the way of directing either. Plot,
too, left a lot to be desired. Whack, whack, whack. Parlay. Whack, sex,
whack, parlay, whack, sex, funeral. Whack, sex, party....etc. Bottom
line, it was the best soap opera I've ever seen. Also some of the best
acting I've ever seen. There was some character development, but it was
sporadic.
I never thought it was a gangster show though. I always thought it was a show about Late Capitalism. About corruption and greed and instant gratification and fuck tomorrow and I'm-doing-it-all for-the-kids and I-just-wish-I-could-keep-doing-what-i'm-doing-but-not-feel-so-bad. Everything that Tony does is sanctioned in today's sociopathy: you get it any way you can before the next guy beats you to it. Then you come home and cherish your family, where love and values remain intact and untouched by the shit outside. The McMansion, the education, the therapy.....even having the FBI cheer for you when you win your turf war. My favorite moments had to do with the interactions between the mafia and established institutions like the Catholic church, Columbia university, Union Bureaucracy, Private school principals....etc.
There were some brilliant shows. I'll never forget the "Lost in the Jersey Woods" episode -- where the wild tough angsters are reduced to whimpering ineptitude and desperation within thirty minutes of finding themselves in an actual wilderness -- when the SUV won't go and there's no cell phone reception and the cigarette lighter gives out and the guns are almost no use, except as beacons.
But other than that, if you do want to see something Balzacian and large and deep and interesting with equally great acting, try The Wire. Fifth season is coming next. Make sure you watch the first four season first. And be patient. Each season is better than the last, and each season focuses on a different social aspect 1=drug economy, 2=labor/globalization, 3=politics, 4=schools. All with roughly the same cast of interrelated characters.
Best,
Joanna