I'm beginning to see a pattern in The Sopranos. Apparently each season is ten or so middling episodes with the occasional flash of brilliance followed by two or three excellent episodes in which all the hanging plot threads are tied up in a nice neat bow. That's obviously not the most satisfying way to construct a show but it is a very effective way to keep the audience coming back for more. You watch the first few episodes of a season because the last few of the last season were so good. By the time you get halfway through the new season, you want to give up because it's boring but you sense that great things are around the corner so you stick it out and wait for them. Then, in the last few episodes of the season you get the greatness that you were hoping for. And so the cycle starts all over again.
That being said, the great episodes of the second season are far less entertaining than the great episodes of the first and fifth seasons. Nothing unexpected happens (despite promises to the contrary by the "Next On" voiceover) and the expected things are not done in any spectacular way. Big Pussy's murder and the Scatino bust-up in particular are the types of moments in which this series normally shines, but not so this time. I'm just hoping it gets more interesting in the next season. After all, the fifth season is pretty excellent.
Showing posts with label The Sopranos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Sopranos. Show all posts
Sunday, October 16, 2005
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
THE SOPRANOS: SEASON FIVE - 8.1 / 10
Far, far better than I had expected it to be, this season of The Sopranos proves to be the most satisfying yet. This is particularly surprising because I had already watched the first five or six episodes of the season when they first aired and was not that impressed. One second viewing, these episodes are still not very impressive, however, they are building to a truly great final three episodes that almost makes the hours of meandering worth it.
What really impresses about this season is the lack of hackneyed plot developments. The Sopranos is king of taking plotlines straight out of "lesser" network television series, dressing them up with some blood and cursing and passing it off as insightful and groundbreaking. In The Sopranos worst moments (so far for me that would be all of season two although I have not watched seasons three or four), there is nothing but daytime television quality plotlines going on. (More on this in my season two review because now the show has hooked me and I need to know how they got to where they've ended up in season five.)
However, the series still lacks the recklessness and sheer bravery of shows like The Wire, Oz, Nip/Tuck and The Shield. Those shows are in the pantheon. The Sopranos is just a spiffy pretender to the throne, all perfect plot geometry and studious acting. And although you can see the final plot developments coming from a mile away, the way they play out is still very interesting. So maybe The Sopranos isn't the best show on TV. And maybe it's just prettified soap opera writ large. But there's a reason One Life to Live has been on for fifty years, it taps a chord in all of us. It's the same chord struck by The Sopranos. And hey, the critical tongue-bath this show gets means you dont even have to feel guilty about watching it.
What really impresses about this season is the lack of hackneyed plot developments. The Sopranos is king of taking plotlines straight out of "lesser" network television series, dressing them up with some blood and cursing and passing it off as insightful and groundbreaking. In The Sopranos worst moments (so far for me that would be all of season two although I have not watched seasons three or four), there is nothing but daytime television quality plotlines going on. (More on this in my season two review because now the show has hooked me and I need to know how they got to where they've ended up in season five.)
However, the series still lacks the recklessness and sheer bravery of shows like The Wire, Oz, Nip/Tuck and The Shield. Those shows are in the pantheon. The Sopranos is just a spiffy pretender to the throne, all perfect plot geometry and studious acting. And although you can see the final plot developments coming from a mile away, the way they play out is still very interesting. So maybe The Sopranos isn't the best show on TV. And maybe it's just prettified soap opera writ large. But there's a reason One Life to Live has been on for fifty years, it taps a chord in all of us. It's the same chord struck by The Sopranos. And hey, the critical tongue-bath this show gets means you dont even have to feel guilty about watching it.
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