After A Month Of Hard Work I Finished The Sopranos So Behold My 10 Favorite Moments
*For the record don’t read if you fear spoilers of a show that ended 10 years ago*
On October 8th I began my expedition into the Sopranos. Many people have been saying it was the greatest television show of all-time, but was it?
I was only a spry 10-years-old when the finale aired so I just never got around to starting it. Being from a place like Long Island I’ve heard about the Sopranos my whole life. All. The. Time. For example I live about 5 minutes from Train Land in Lynbrook which is where Bobby Bacala gets whacked. I think it’s a law while driving by that you’re not allowed to be reminded, “Ey that’s where Bacala got whacked. He was a gentle giant”.
So the straw that broke the camel’s back finally came on October 7th. I was at a house party for the first time since ‘Nam when I looked over at the television to see these 2 Italian looking fellas running through a snowy forest with guns. What could this have been? Was it a wild life commercial? Was it a deleted scene of Goodfellas? Little did I know it was the Pine Barrens episode of the Sopranos. I figured any show that’s good enough to be on at a party is good enough for me to start….the next day I gave it a go and my life was the Sopranos for the next month. I found myself not pronouncing R’s and went to more Italian restaurants than I have in the past year combined. I even tried my first pappardelle pasta. Coincidence? I think not. This past weekend I finally finished the 86th episode of the show…so let’s check out my PERSONAL favorite moments the Sopranos had to offer. And you can see my full Twitter Moment that Twitter for some reason made for me here.
#10. Silvio’s Godfather Impression
One of the things that made Sopranos so marvelous was their ability to humanize these mobsters through humor. One second they’re whacking their best friend on a boat and the next they’re having laughs impersonating Michael Corleone. If Pussy, Paulie, Silvio, and Tony all hanging around & laughing together doesn’t put a smile on your face then sorry to tell you but, you have the soul of Phil Leotardo.
#9 Janice whacks Richie Aprile
Fuuuuuuuuck Richie Aprile. Janice pulling that trigger made me happier than Keith Hernandez on a Manhattan night out in the 80’s. The dude was simply an asshole. His first episode he took away poon Beansie’s ability to walk! What did Beansie ever do to him? Missed a couple payments or kicked out cash to other guys while Richie was in the clink-that’s everyday stuff pal. At least with a guy that everyone hated like Ralph Cifaretto you enjoyed the fuck out of his scenes! Richie’s were depressing. My only complaint is Janice not killing him earlier mid-gun sex.
#8 Jets Bomb Chargers 42-10
The one episode that offered a bunch of Gambling Tony was riveting. There was obviously always nods to gambling throughout the series, but Tony couldn’t catch a break here. Poor guy was dealing with bad breaks everywhere from the NBA to the NFL to fucking Harness racing… which is when you know you’re in deep. Not to mention Tony bartering with Carmela to put her spec house money on the Jets thanks to a hot tip he had on San Diego’s quarterback’s hairline fracture was maybe the most I laughed through the whole show. Long live Gambling Tony.
#7 RIPIP Christopher
I was down in the dumps for hours after seeing this. Despite how much of a moron he really was, Chrissy Moltisanti was such an adored character. He was young, stupid, and loyal as ever which would lead to his downfall. After choosing Tony over Adriana I had Chrissy pegged for a death by stupidly going at Phil Leotardo or something to that effect. Boy was I wrong! Instead the man he pretty much dedicated his life to made him suffocate on his own blood. That was some ruthless shit by the Boss. People say getting burned alive or drowning are the worst ways to go, but choking on your own blood has to have the Gold Medal when it gets down to the nitty and the gritty.
#6 Maybe he’s stunned
Going into the Pine Barrens episode my expectations were at an all-time high. Everyone and their mother said it was the GOAT episode and madonn’…it lived up to the hype. The Chrissy/Paulie Bromance was in full-effect. Every single second of their excursion in the Pine Barrens to dispose of a Russian “Interior Decorator” was a prime example of what made Sopranos so special. Also can’t mention this episode without this absurd story from Steve Schirripa.
#5 He wants to know if it still itches
I’ll happily admit it…I’m a sucker for speaking to the dead. You throw me in a room with some Long Island Medium on the boob tube and I’ll be set for hours. So seeing Paulie Walnuts go through a psychic session was easily one of my favorite moments. The hairs on my arms stood up when the psychic mentioned the Poison Ivy. The only aggravating part of this was the confirmation that that motherfucker Mikey Palmice was still kickin’ somewhere beyond the grave. Fuck that guy in real life and more importantly the after life.
#4 The Whitecaps Brawl
Folks…Edie Falco didn’t win 3 Emmy’s as Carmela Soprano for nothing. She’s a television icon for scenes like this. The Pioneer of Mob Wives. There would have never been a Big Ang without Carmela Soprano. Carmela’s confession of love for Furio got me GOING. All season you saw those 2 have eyes for each other to the point of Furio dipping back to Italy in fear of Tony and you just knew the big reveal of that was inevitable.
#3 College
When it boils down to it, Tony balancing his personal life and business life was what Sopranos was all about. And was there a more brilliant way to show that off then have Tony take Meadow for a college tours in New England and come across an old rat? Nope. The epitome of the Sopranos. And how about the fact that this was episode #5 on the whole series? 5! David Chase has the balls of Steve Irwin and I respect the hell out of him for it.
#2 Adriana Tells Christopher She’s Complying
Adriana may have been my favorite character on the whole show and that’s not because she’s absolutely in contention for the hottest TV character ever. Her story arc was possibly the best of any characters. From being an average mob wife, to trying to get into the music business, to getting her own club, to being duped by “Danielle Ciccocella”, to being forced to comply with the FBI, to nearly getting down & dirty with Tony, to telling Christopher about being an informant, to finally getting whacked by Silvio….it was a fucking rollercoaster of emotions since she was one of, if not the only, truly kind and well-intentioned characters on the show. I fucking loved Adriana & Chris’ relationship and this is the moment you knew it was going to crumble against Adriana’s will. Depressing stuff.
#1 Don’t Stop Believin’
Kind’ve like Bobby getting whacked at Train Land, this is something I had known about for my whole life. I’ve been hearing about it forever so I’ve succumbed to watching this scene on Youtube about 5 or 6 times over the years. Did I know about all the baggage surrounding it though? Fuuuuck no. It seems like this ending is 50% loved and 50% hated but I, for one, loved it. There was really no perfect ending for David Chase to go with- Tony could’ve been thrown in jail on the RICO case, he could’ve won the trial, or he could’ve been whacked. All seemed a tad cheesy so I think there was no better way to go out than to leave it up to the viewer and the clues from Bobby on the boat and so much more made it 100000x more enticing. Do I think Tony gets whacked there? 100% but the beauty of it is everyone’s entitled to their own opinion. The shit I would do to spend one day in the head of David Chase…
Well I hope you enjoyed reading my 10 favorite moments! If not, here’s a trailer for Enough Said. It was one of the last movies James Gandolfini did prior to his death and hearing him without the Tony accent is sure to make you giggle. It’s like seeing Pee Wee Herman without a bow tie. Creepy shit.