Escobarbarian posted:

Worth pointing out that this is an excerpt from a new book, The Sopranos Sessions, which has a ton of conversations with Chase as well as new recaps of every episode and further discussion. I got it and have rewatched the first season while reading through and it’s well worth it for any fans of the show.

1.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't get past page 60. posted:

I pre-ordered this book and put down what I was in the middle of reading when it arrived. Now I'm putting this book down and going back to what I was reading before it arrived. When I finish that I'll pick this back up and restart at page 327, "The David Chase Sessions."

The entertainment value of analysis within this book is subjective, similar to a history class. To me, this is why 2-5 stars exist. Glaring flaws indicative of a rushed product or sheer ignorance is objective, similar to a history class. This is why 1 star exists.

I don't only believe The Sopranos was the best TV show ever made, I believe it to be the best thing ever put on film. I consider myself a hardcore fan that has strong opinions about not only the action, but the depth of the product. I find myself discussing the art of "Isabella," the hallucinogenic brilliance of "Funhouse," The Kinks within "University," and perfected acting within "Whoever Did This" in crowds who are usually caught up with "Pine Barrens" and "Made in America." I don't have extended discussions about the end of the show. My response is typically one sentence - "David Chase doesn't give us puzzles to solve; he shows us everything that happens." I say this because I am constantly interested in the opinions of others just as fanatical about the show as myself. The fatter the book, the better.

The book goes by the formula of breaking down every episode. Fine by me. From the pilot synopsis, I immediately got the impression that this section of the book was written by someone watching the episode for the first time and pausing between scenes to write a college paper. There is so much missed. There's not even a mention of Chrissy's introductory scene, or its depiction unmotivated gen x to gen y bleed over behavior applicable to every character at or under 35 within the show (Brendan, Jackie Jr., Matthew Bevilaqua, AJ, Ade, and so on). This is a miss.

Tony tells Melfie he loves her. According to the book, she shows strength in standing firm against this. The book missed Melfie's third dimension - that she changed her appearance in the next two sessions and brought this love up herself when Tony didn't. This is a miss.

There's no mention of the true importance behind the "one time only scene preceding the opening credits" of ep 2. No mention of the camera shots to big Puss when rats turning states on the television is blatantly shooting a premonition across our bow. The shots to Chrissy when drugs are mentioned. Another miss.

When I hit page 60 and read that "Mikey was a human being who had a wife that loved him" using her performance in front of the news camera as evidence, I remembered his final words to her from the actual show: "Go take a Midol." Sorry fellas, you were correct the first time when you mentioned Mikey was "essentially a comic character." You should've stopped there. This is a glaring mistake and, you guessed it, another miss.

There are many more which I'm not going to break down for the sake of keeping this review somewhat brief. When I don't like what I'm reading, or find glaring mistakes in what I'm reading, I have no shame in putting a book down. I'm finished with the meat & potatoes of this book and hopefully I'll return and find some quality within the David Chase Sessions. Unfortunately I chalk up what I've read to a 20th anniversary cash grab and I'm angry that I contributed to it.

I say stick to your favorite blog on this subject. Continue watching a show that refuses to age itself. Talk to your friends about it. Think of these words before you buy the book, or take them with a grain of salt. You are free.

Pope Corky the IX posted:

stev posted:

Wikipedia says it's going to be set during the 1967 Newark riots. Making Tony around 10?

pentyne posted:

Apparently Trump was a huge piece of poo poo to everyone involved and made the entire shoot lighting set up so you couldn't see through his hair.

Sinteres posted:

In the episode where Melfi points all this out, I'm pretty sure hair color is one of the things mentioned, with Tony triumphally pointing out that Carmela's blonde and Melfi saying she's the exception, in what I recall as an approving way. Melfi's probably the part of the show that's aged the worst, so having her be wrong about it is fine I guess, but it just feels pointless to me, like beating a dead horse. Yeah we get it, Tony has weird poo poo going on with his mother! Making her retroactively look like his wife too (which was not the case in the flashbacks) just seems like a bit much even for a show that had a psychoanalyst literally telling the audience what's going on in the protagonist's head throughout its run.

Vegetable posted:

The domestic abuse scenes were harder to watch than the brutal gang violence. I don’t know if what that says about me

Luff posted:

Speaking of Gandolfini's career, is that TV movie remake of 12 Angry Men starring him any good?