Best Season of The Sopranos

[SilkkTheShocker]

Old thread bump.....

But imo Season 5 was a masterpiece. I loved every episode and the show went back to its roots after it started to lose some steam after Season 4. Steve Buscemi, James Gandolfini, and Michael Imperioli put on an acting clinic that series.

-Introduces Tony Blundetto, Phil Leotardo, and Feech La Manna. Absolutely loved how they were introduced in the opener as the "Class of 04".
-Tony and Carmela's divorce. We get a bigger look into Tony's inner circle this season.
-The FBI is putting the pressure on Adriana to give them more information or she will be put in prison.
-Junior's condition is worsening. Classic moment where he states Tony never had the makings of a varsity athlete and he loses it.
-Feech La Manna going against Tony and his eventual demise.
-We find out Vito is gay
- War between Little Carmine and Johnny Sack erupts and Tony's attempts to stay neutral.
-Adriana and Tony almost getting it on and the rumors that follow.
-The whole Tony Blundetto storyline. How he attempts to go straight but it doesn't last long. The family never really fully recovers from his actions.
- Contains my favorite episode all time in Cold Cuts. We get to see just how screwed up these guys are in the head.
-Tony's Test Dream and the amazing amount of symbolism involved in it.
-Adriana and Tony's B deaths finishing up the series. Tony getting away from the FBI at the end to symbolize that he survived this whole mess.

[T_L_P]

Bump...

Just got done re-watching the show, and my rankings would go like this (note: 6a and 6b are two different seasons for me):

1. Season 5
2. Season 1
3. Season 6b
4. Season 3
5. Season 2
6. Season 4
7. Season 6a

Top 10 episodes

1. Long Term Parking (Season 5, Episode 12)
2. The Second Coming (Season 6, Episode 19)
3. University (Season 3, Episode 6)
4. Army of One (Season 3, Episode 13)
5. Made in America (Season 6, Episode 21)
6. Whoever Did This (Season 4, Episode 9)
7. 46 Long (Season 1, Episode 2)
8. The Test Dream (Season 5, Episode 11)
9. Marco Polo (Season 5, Episode 8)
10. For All Debts Public and Private (Season 4, Episode 1)
HM: Members Only (Season 6, Episode 1)

*I know almost everybody has Pine Barrens in their top ten, but the episode is too remote for my liking. It's still one of the better episodes, though.

GOAT show

[KingBeasley08]

^ That's exactly how I would list my favorite seasons as well.

[T_L_P]

^ That's exactly how I would list my favorite seasons as well.

Ha, that's funny. Most people I encounter detest season 5. I have no idea why.

I can't believe I liked the show even more than the first time I saw it.

[KingBeasley08]

Ha, that's funny. Most people I encounter detest season 5. I have no idea why.

I can't believe I liked the show even more than the first time I saw it.

Loved the new characters they introduced that season. Tony B's tragic character and Phil Leotardo vs. NJ were great storylines. And that dream sequence was great as well. Just a brilliant season overall

[DonDadda59]

Ha, that's funny. Most people I encounter detest season 5. I have no idea why.

Really? Usually people hate season 4 and 6A and either love or are indifferent to season 5. Not my favorite season, but there was a ton of great characters introduced (Feech, Tony B, and obviously Phil).

I can't believe I liked the show even more than the first time I saw it.

Not surprising. I've said it before- The Sopranos has the best replay value of any drama I've seen. It's not plot driven and reliant on 'mystery' or any other gimmicks that lose their weight after they're revealed the first time around. Plus there's a ton of things and easter eggs you miss during initial viewing.

Personally I'd go:

2
1
6B
3
5
4
6A

Got a new found respect for 3&4 after rewatching. 3 and 5 are interchangeable for me. The Blue Comet, Join the Club, Employee of the Month, Pine Barrens, Isabella, To Save Us All From Satan's Power, and Funhouse are some personal favorites I didn't see on your list.

[T_L_P]

Loved the new characters they introduced that season. Tony B's tragic character and Phil Leotardo vs. NJ were great storylines. And that dream sequence was great as well. Just a brilliant season overall

I agree. I like season 5 the most because it manages to combine the terrific character explorations of seasons two and four with the more thoroughly plotted arcs of seasons one and three.

And Long Term Parking is probably the greatest episode I've seen from any show.

[T_L_P]

Really? Usually people hate season 4 and 6A and either love or are indifferent to season 5. Not my favorite season, but there was a ton of great characters introduced (Feech, Tony B, and obviously Phil).



Not surprising. I've said it before- The Sopranos has the best replay value of any drama I've seen. It's not plot driven and reliant on 'mystery' or any other gimmicks that lose their weight after they're revealed the first time around. Plus there's a ton of things and easter eggs you miss during initial viewing.

Personally I'd go:

2
1
6B
3
5
4
6A

Got a new found respect for 3&4 after rewatching. 3 and 5 are interchangeable for me. The Blue Comet, Join the Club, Employee of the Month, Pine Barrens, Isabella, To Save Us All From Satan's Power, and Funhouse are some personal favorites I didn't see on your list.

I'm referring to the people who I've actually met...but yes, I do usually see season 5 around the middle of the pack on people's lists.

And I definitely agree with your stance on it being far more character driven than other shows. That's actually why I like the ending so much (Spoiler alert): I don't think Chase was trying to tease us on Tony's death; I actually think he was making the point that Tony has been dead since the very first moment of the show, metaphorically speaking of course. It doesn't really matter if the Members Only guy walks out of the bathroom and shoots him, because even if he doesn't, he will die under those circumstances, eventually.

[DonDadda59]

Yeah I never bought the whole 'clue' thing that some claim Chase wove in there to show us that the random dude in the members only jacket killed Tony. It was more a short glimpse of the paranoia he lives with on a daily basis, the MO guy was a red herring for lack of a better word. Just a guy getting coffee and then going to take a piss. In the end, as was the overall arching 'theme' of the show, it was all a big nothing. It would've been completely disingenuous to end it with anything definite or the usual neat bow on top.

If you want to speculate on Tony's ultimate fate- just listen to what he says in the final scene. 'It's Carlo... he's gonna testify'. He spent the whole series avoiding, sometimes barely, being taken out by rivals, snitches, the government, etc but the Feds finally have someone close to him giving grand jury testimony and willing to take the stand against him. And as they had shown, the Feds had been building a case on Tony for years (including several RICO predicates like the Scatino bust out and the gun that was featured in Season 5+6). Having a high level guy who was close to Tony and in charge of his construction schemes (another RICO predicate, racketeering) is the icing on their case's cake.

In all probability, he would spend a significant amount of time behind bars. But maybe he would, as in the past, find a way around it. Maybe bribe/intimidate a juror, maybe find a way to get to Carlo, maybe go on the lam again ala 'Remember When'. We don't know and will never know.

[RoseCity07]

Can someone tell me when this show gets good? I'm a few episodes into season 2 and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I expected much more. There are far too many times that I have no f*cking idea what they are even talking about business wise. I get the gist of what is going on but the dialogue gets kind of boring at times.

The best parts of the show seems to be the therapy sessions that Tony has with Dr. Melfi. Other than that the rest of the show is pretty mediocre. It's sad because I liked the parts I did see before I started watching.

I can definitely see why so many Sopranos fans thought Breaking Bad is better. There was never one time during Breaking Bad that I didn't know what is going on and where things stand. There story was much more fluid and coherent. I'm starting to notice side plots that go nowhere in Sopranos. Bad writing and story telling if we're being honest.

[Andrei89]

Season 2 or 5

[ArbitraryWater]

Can someone tell me when this show gets good? I'm a few episodes into season 2 and I have to say I'm underwhelmed. I expected much more. There are far too many times that I have no f*cking idea what they are even talking about business wise. I get the gist of what is going on but the dialogue gets kind of boring at times.

The best parts of the show seems to be the therapy sessions that Tony has with Dr. Melfi. Other than that the rest of the show is pretty mediocre. It's sad because I liked the parts I did see before I started watching.

I can definitely see why so many Sopranos fans thought Breaking Bad is better. There was never one time during Breaking Bad that I didn't know what is going on and where things stand. There story was much more fluid and coherent. I'm starting to notice side plots that go nowhere in Sopranos. Bad writing and story telling if we're being honest.

Yeah I kind of felt the same. The sad thing is it doesn't get much better. Season 1 is the best, and I as well expected much more when I started/watched it.

[RoseCity07]

Yeah I kind of felt the same. The sad thing is it doesn't get much better. Season 1 is the best, and I as well expected much more when I started/watched it.

That worries me because season 1 wasn't anything special in my opinion. I think season 2 is already more entertaining. I thought it was a desperate move for the writers to let Tony's mother live and Junior. I really hate how we're supposed to act like everything is back to normal. Wasn't Tony going to kill his mother and Junior? Now, it's like he doesn't even care. You don't keep characters because you want to do more with them in the next season. They should have killed both of them and had a new conflict this season.

[T_L_P]

That worries me because season 1 wasn't anything special in my opinion. I think season 2 is already more entertaining. I thought it was a desperate move for the writers to let Tony's mother live and Junior. I really hate how we're supposed to act like everything is back to normal. Wasn't Tony going to kill his mother and Junior? Now, it's like he doesn't even care. You don't keep characters because you want to do more with them in the next season. They should have killed both of them and had a new conflict this season.

I think I appreciated the show the most for the simple things: how well it depicts the decay of the modern family; the fact that even the smallest characters are well though-out and written; Gandolfini's incredible acting (it's by far the best performance in television history in my opinion); the social commentary; how it could shift gears from being terribly funny to terribly sad; the letimotifs (themes from the music); the use of dream sequences and therapy sessions to keep the audience involved and up-to-date.