Talking Sopranos

So just recently I believe they uploaded this on Amazon prime, which is probably even better for most fans because they cut out a lot of the other stuff that they talk about but being that it's edited on point might have a little bit better perception to fans. I enjoyed watching the full length podcasts on YouTube which I believe are about 2 1/2 hours long each one. They talk about anything and everything. This might be the more condensed version of it. I'm going to start watching this now, so I'm basically giving you my review off of YouTube. Who better than to tell the story of the sopranos then Bobby Bacala (Steve Schrippra) and Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). One of Many we have several surviving members of the cast unfortunately rest in peace, James Gandolfini, Frank Vincent, Tony Sirico. The sopranos is my favorite show better than others .

If you haven't seen the original podcast-also shown on YouTube-then you may not know that this HBO version is substantially edited from the original-and that's a very good thing. I watched the entire original podcast series during Covid. I went into it with a sort of neutral opinion of Schirripa and a high opinion of Imperioli. That all changed, as Steven came across as fearless and engaged and very funny, whilst Imperioli kept saying, I don't remember-over and over. But he came across, not as forgetful, but arrogant and pompous and thought he was deep and intellectual, but was really just vacuous and tedious. Then there were his radical Liberal politics.

But, in the abridged version, none of that is apparent. It moves at a rapid clip and the edited Imperioli comes across as funny, engaged and pretty likeable, whilst Steve remains his great self.

I have watched the entire run of the 'Sopranos' many times, but this time through, I watched an episode and then watched the review episode of HBO's Talking Sopranos. The edited version is also greatly enhanced with lots of clips.

Here's my Bottom 10 Sopranos episodes. 10) D-Girl; 9) The Happy Wanderer; 8) Kaisha; 7) Pie-O-My; 6) In Camelot; 5) House Arrest; 4) The Test Dream; 3) Chasing It; 2) Commendatori; 1) A Hit Is A Hit.

Here's my Top Ten Sopranos Episodes: 10) I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano; 9) Amour Fou; 8) Knight in White Satin Amor; 7) Soprano Home Movies; 6) Blue Comet; 5) Funhouse; 4) Whoever Did This; 3) Pine Barrens; 2) Whitecaps; 1) Long Term Parking

My least favorite characters: 5) Eugene Pontecorvo; 4) Valentina La Paz 3) Mary DeAngelis; 2) Charmaine Bucco; 1) AJ Soprano

My favorite characters: 5) Livia Soprano; 4) Dr. Melfi; 3) Paulie Walnuts; 2) Junior Soprano; 1) Tony Soprano.

Best Song Useage: 5) 'Every Breath You Take' (Sting)/'Peter Gun Theme' (Henry Mancini): S3 E1 'Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood'; 4) 'Core 'ngrato' (Dominick Chianese): S3 E13 'Army of One'; 3) 'It Was A Very Good Year' (Frank Sinatra): S2 E1 'A Guy Walks In To A Psychiatrist's Office'; 2) 'The Dolphin' (Fred Neil): S6 E9 'The Ride'; 1) 'My Lovers Prayer' (Otis Redding): S2 E9 'From Where To Eternity'

Steve Schrippa and Michael Imperioli look back at "The Sopranos" through a weekly interviews with the actors, writers, directors, crew and fans of the show. In the process, the two actors don't just tell us how the sausage was made, but throw themselves and their guests into the meat grinder.

Some of the guests are better than average. Alec Baldwin phones in his appearance as a "Super Fan" by mugging his way through a wasted 15 minutes of how much he loved "Jimmy" (in spite of his not Spanish wife tweeting her way through Gandolfini's funeral). But, when Lorraine Bracco tells us how the relationship between Tony and Dr. Melfi should have ended, it is far, far better than what David Chase actually wrote.

To that end, my only criticism of the show is that it needed a better editor. Actors like attention and they like to talk about themselves. A good editor could have elevated the podcast into an actual interview show.

Do three things if you decide to watch this show. First, take the opportunity to watch the Sopranos again. Each time you watch an episode of the show, watch the appropriate episode of this series afterward. Second, go through the filmography of each of the two actors so that you can decide if you want to watch the other films they made. Last, take a moment to understand just how brilliant James Gandolfini's performances in the series were.

Thanks, Steve and Michael.