Pilot

A daunting premiere. There's already enough here to fill more than half a Godfather length film, and it's only the first episode, meaning it's only going to get worse from here. The show feels heavy like a weight on my mind already, I can only hope it stays consistently good throughout the large episode count, just like Legend of the Galactic Heroes or Curb/Seinfeld

... says the first line of "Goodfellas" from 1990. I wonder if this series, as good as it was, would have been such a big hit if that film had not come first. Because it was the very first to examine the mobster life from the working gangster's point of view. All of those that came before either examined the mob from the executive suite ("The Godafther") or the gangsters lived exaggerated lifestyles of wine, women, and song. None of them had any mobsters who were also living suburban lives worrying about letting the sauce stick or picking up a disabled brother from his regular appointment at the hospital. "Goodfellas" did that. What The Sopranos did was build on what Goodfellas had done and drill down deeply into the characters, which is something you can only do in a series.

So it wasn't really a jarring experience late in the 90s to see mobster Tony Soprano, overwhelmed by his unique professional and rather routine private lives, taking his troubles to a psychiatrist. The pilot opens rather abruptly with Tony meeting his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco), for the first time. That meeting intersperses Tony's actual life with what he is telling Melfi, and although he gets the point across to her, he is leaving out some of the details. Such as when he discusses a delinquent debt owed him and how he and the debtor "had coffee". You see the actual meeting which is Tony running down the debtor with a car and then giving the guy a brutal beating.

Tony and Melfi have a complex relationship. Tony is initially a reluctant patient, but that changes with time. I think that Melfi, although she knows what Tony does for a living, initially thinks she can help this man, but that changes with time as she sees he really would never choose any other life than the one he has.

Rewatching this I was wanting to give it a 10/10, but I'm not sure if that just isn't because I am impressed with the series as a whole. So I knocked it down to a 9/10.

I was honestly surprised at how much i enjoyed this pilot! Despite the episode lasting almost an hour, it never felt too long!

This episode does a great job of setting up our main character, by showing us different perspectives of him, combining what he says.. and what we see!

The narrative way of explaining what is going on and who he is, was a nice breath of fresh air to me! I loved it cause it already makes this show stand out from other shows!

So many layers of depth, metaphors and comparisons that really gives the show a unique personality and keeps you invested as you have to pay attention to get it all! Loved how the ducks tied itself to what Tony was going through!

Tony is such an interesting character that we somehow quickly resonates with as he, despite what he does for a living, still cares about those closest to him like the rest of us!

A very promising show!

Aspiring mob boss Tony Soprano has a fainting spell and ends up in a shrink's office. It quickly becomes apparent through his chat with the shrink and a series of mostly comical flashbacks that he is a very bad man involved in some very bad stuff. You can feel the makings of a show here, obviously based on both THE GODFATHER and GOODFELLAS. Everything feels a bit rushed, but hey, it's a pilot and there's a lot to establish. Characters are not truly formed yet. Carmela is a typical New Jersey shrieker of a housewife, the kind we see in movies and hope never to meet. Sil and some of the other "boys" are only briefly glimpsed. Tony himself is not quite yet the Tony we will come to know; the gravitas is missing, if you'll pardon my use of that $100 word. But watch Tony's face as he gleefully runs down the guy who owes him money. He obviously loves the rough stuff, while feeling guilty about being both that guy and a family man with family responsibilities. By the way, the little bit of screen time Uncle Junior and Tony's mom have is worth its weight in gold, as these characters are played by two very sharp veteran actors. But just as THE GODFATHER was all about Marlon Brando, THE SOPRANOS ultimately will be all about James Gandolfini. Bring on all the guest stars you want, but without Gandolfini, there would be no THE SOPRANOS.

This is how a pilot should be: intense, to the point. Characters presents themselves but not much exposition.

Gandolfini is excellent. (RIP)

Lots of creepy vibes and funny jokes. Action moves solidly from act 1 to 2 to 3. At the end you are hooked.