Television Programs You Must Watch – The Sopranos

The Sopranos is a crime drama focusing on a Mafia family.

It is a very rough and real series and tended to ‘break the mold’.   It is not just a story of crime or power plays, but one is introduced to the ‘Family’  as people, and sees them with similar eyes one viewed the Family portrayed in The Godfather (movie)

The Soprano family, is led by Tony.

Instead of appearing on one of the standard television stations, it began on Cable, HBO in 1999, and ran six season with 86 episodes.

This signifies the change in a ‘season’, which no longer was mid September to May; (basically 30 to 32 weeks) but the 12/13 episode season, (roughly 3 months).

Like Star Trek, it went into syndication after its run.

The Sopranos is considered to be one of the greatest television series, and has won many awards.

It was the subject of much  controversy, and parody.  It was very well written and acted.

Besides the main point of dealing with a Criminal family, the development of the characters, making them real dealing with bits and pieces of their lives so that the audience comes to know them so well, is a major plus.  There are no ‘two dimensional’ characters, no fill ins.   Each one is a person.

The Sopranos has had  a major impact on the American television industry. It is considered an influential programme as it opened the door for other drama series with mature content to gain achieve mainstream viewers.

It showed how complex a television show could be,  and other dramas on cable and in the main stations have turned from the two dimensional characters and simple action, into the deeper analysis that was standard in The Sopranos.

It is a show you must view, even a few seasons, so as to understand why it is considered so significant