SOPRANOS Season 6: Season Finally!!!.. Episode 12: "KAISHA" (1 Viewer)

[Charlie Campisi]

How are you to know that you like a show before seeing a particular episode? Or is your idea that if you don't like a particular episode, you should refrain from posting in the fan-thread for that week? I like the series, but it has flaws, certain episodes much more so than others. To pretend that they don't exist is a bit rose-colored-glasses-ish. [Nice word, Charlie.] Everyone draws the line differently on what flaws will bother them. Just as you are asking people to not ruin your enjoyment of the show, you should respect their opinions and enjoyment of the show in talking about it critically.

That said, I agree that sometimes certain opinions here bother me because they are repetitive or amount to "the show sucked. it's the same suckiness as it's always been." I don't think that adds much to the thread, but who am I to tell someone they shouldn't post? I just skip those posts and move on. I think maybe people are expecting the thread to be full of people like themselves. In reality, the internet is closer to real life. I'm guessing the people that annoy you in this thread would probably annoy you in real life.

 

[BrianB]

This thread was originally started before the season started, and the poster was excited about season 6 finally being on TV.

 

[Andrew Bunk]

I love the show, but it's quite obvious the last season was padded out to 20 eps.

 

[Andres Munoz]

I heard an interview with Lorraine Brocco this morning and she said David Chase had a 20 episode season planned but after realizing how long it would take to film all 20 at once, he decided to break it up into 12 now and 8 next year.

I guess that's the reason why this "season finale" was nothing out of the ordinary. Looks like it was never meant to be a finale.

 

[Sam Favate]

My thought on the finale was that the family Christmas scene we see at the end is the last time those people will be together in that fashion.

I also agree the season was padded.

 

[Bart]

Ha ha, I'm sure they would. I guess the difference is in real life, you have conversations with friends and colleagues with whom you have things in common. The only thing we all have in common here is that we like The Sopranos (and sometimes even that is up for debate!). I have read your responses and I think the solution (as others have suggested) is to try to ignore the postings I don't care for. I would just like to make one request though: if you really don't get any enjoyment out of the show any longer, please just stop watching it instead of taking out your frustrations here. But if you really do feel the need to vent, not to worry, I'll be ignoring you.

Bart

 

[Jeff]

If you want everyone to agree with your opinions, then maybe you shouldn't come to this forum or any others and just enjoy the show.

I wish I liked it as much as you, but IN MY OPINION I feel the writing has really gone down hill since the atrocious Season 4, to episode 12 of Season 6. Chase just lost control of the show this season and put all the interesting characters in the background and put weak storylines like the Vito thing, in the forefront. I think there were only four episodes this season (so far) that I liked.

What ever you do, don't go to the alt.tv.sopranos news group. It's a slaughter house there.

Jeff

 

[RobertW]

in the animation, doesn't Vito look like Shrek in that outfit?

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Been rewatching Season 6 and now more than ever it seems Chase really rushed and squeezed a lot into the end. Just finished Episode 10 and in the last 2 all the following still have to happen. Find out AJ not working at BB, Tony sending AJ to Const job, AJ meeting the girl with the kid, Christopher meeting Juliana, Carm & Ro going to Paris, Phil going into the hospital, etc. Definitely should have spread some of this out over the earlier episodes.

 

[Matt Stone]

If he would have spread it out, think of how many more "nothing ever happens" complaints we would have had

 

[Berk]

Find yourself liking the first 4 seasons of the Sopranos and being disappointed with what’s followed? Consider the impact of the following and cross the line between art and business…

Length of original story – I’d question the length of Chase’s original story line for the Sopranos. I recall reading he had planned for only a couple of seasons way back when, but haven’t seen any updates since. It makes sense to me that an original idea would be hard to build on if additional seasons were added. How do you stretch a story and maintain integrity? Think Jaws 4.

HBO – The Sopranos is an important show for HBO. They’re been the driving force for continuing the series and the creators/cast have been following the dollars. If HBO weren’t offering Chase and the cast more money to continue, would the series have continued this long?

Resource availability – If consider the dependency the Sopranos story lines has on actor/staff availability, the previous season begins to make more sense. Actors/staff with other commitments can’t be in as many episodes. Actors with more availability for filming (AJ and Vito) can then be utilized to shore up the story lines between the main characters. Putting Tony in a coma for the first few episodes and creating the Vito story line relieved resource constraints for filming. The season finale montage where a great deal of character development is a possible example of this resource constraint.

So who’s to blame? – I’d argue the Sopranos has changed more due to the above factors that “poor writing.” As long as the show’s staff continue to sign on for more episodes they have to work with what they have. This includes considering actor schedules and commitments when writing (and rewriting) the episodes.

If HBO is willing to pay and the staff/actors are desperate enough to take the money the show could go on forever. But should it?

 

[Jeff Gatie]

Nice theory, Berk, but it does not work for me. Number one, James Gandolfini does not have any other commitments that I've heard of lately, never mind when the filming for last season was going on and two, Tony was not just "in a coma"; he was in another world, which meant he was in almost every scene in those episodes, half of which he was acting, half he was lying in bed. Pretty much continuous screen time for someone who has other commitments does not fit the theory too well.

 

[EricW]

i think these e-list actors would by dying for screen time, not pricing themselves out of it.

 

[Charlie Campisi]

I also disagree Berk. There have been some storylines that could have gone farther. The war last year when all the "mustache Pete's" got out of prison was confined to only a couple of episodes. I'll defend the lack of "action" and killings as writer's prerogative in favor of character development. The flip side of the coin, however, is that I can't agree that Chase was running out of ideas. If he was, he could have extended out the fighting storyline more. Same goes for this season with the Chris/Juliana storyline and Tony/Phil storyline. Those were pretty obvious directions Chase could have gone. So, exploring Vito, Artie and AJ was definitely Chase's choice because for whatever reason, he thought it would work better. I respect the decision, but I don't think you (I, we) can call it bad writing due to a lack of new ideas.

 

[Mikah Cerucco]

I get why they would be called "e-list actors" in the movie world, but given how they act on the show, do they really deserve that label? I think some of the actors on The Sopranos (James Gandolfini, Edie Falco), have given me more fully realized characters than most a-list actors. "A" list has to do with the ability to open and/or carry a film, which is based on factors a lot more comprehensive than how good an actor you are. I'm not going to rush out and see, for instance, The Mexican just because James Gandolfini is in it, but I'm also not going to downplay the impact of what he's created on The Sopranos.

 

[JonZ]

"AJ meeting the girl with the kid"

For those of you who saw X3 The Last Stand, that was Dania Ramirez, who played Callisto.

 

[EricW]

i'm speaking strictly of supply and demand, as the original poster was talking about the cost of these actors quality's got nothing to do with it

 

[Steve Y]

This week I watched the sixth season of 'The Sopranos' on Comcast digital on-demand (what's aired so far). Watching them all "in a row" really was rewarding. I do agree with comments above about the season lacking balance, especially towards the end -- too many characters, too much ground to cover, and rushed towards the end... but I have a feeling the last episodes will put a better cap on the series.

It was very surprising for me to come into this thread and find that so many people are unhappy with the show. I was thinking, is everyone watching the same show? Then I got to thinking about expectations. The first two seasons really spoiled a lot of people... read any article about this show today, and you'll probably find a reference to the first season's 'brilliant oedipal conflict'. Livia, the hit, mob boss with a psychiatrist, etc. etc. It was a brilliant note that really struck hard, and for a lot of people that meant the show couldn't go anywhere else but down.

This is an unrelated comment, but Edie Falco deserves some kind of award just for some of the work she did in Episode 2. Just amazing.

I'm one of the few people who wasn't totally turned off by the whole Johnny Cakes storyline. I found it all rather tragic and interesting (especially in light of one of the very first images from the beginning of the season - Vito in the weight loss snapshot). We still have a whole 'English season' to go!

 

[Paul_Stachniak]

I thought the set up to the Johnny Cakes episode was the greatest. Seeing how the Mafia deals with a gay person amdist their ranks made for some GREAT scenes.

As for the handeling... I think it was handeled well, I enjoyed it and thought it had made an importent dent in the season (bringing Phil and Tony closers to war). Is the season padded - sure. I've been saying this with the last two seasons. But then again watching them back to back is more satisfying. And I think/hope when all 20 episodes are completed and aired the end result will be much more satisfying to people.

I could be terribly wrong however.

 

[Alex-C]

I wonder if the last 20 episodes will be sold as one box set....?