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The Sopranos Sessions
On January 10, 1999, a mobster walked into a psychiatrist’s office and changed TV history. By shattering preconceptions about the kinds of stories the medium should tell,The Sopranos launched our current age of prestige television, paving the way for such giants asMad Men, The Wire, Breaking Bad, andGame of Thrones. As TV critics for Tony Soprano’s hometown paper, New Jersey’sThe Star-Ledger, Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller Seitz were among the first to write about the series before it became a cultural phenomenon.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show’s debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produceThe Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors� archival writing on the series,The Sopranos Sessionsexplores the show’s artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to other cinematic and television classics.
To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the show’s debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produceThe Sopranos Sessions, a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode. Featuring a series of new long-form interviews with series creator David Chase, as well as selections from the authors� archival writing on the series,The Sopranos Sessionsexplores the show’s artistry, themes, and legacy, examining its portrayal of Italian Americans, its graphic depictions of violence, and its deep connections to other cinematic and television classics.
471 pages, Hardcover
First published January 8, 2019
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January 2, 2019
The Soprano’s Sessions by Matt Zoller Seitz, Alan Sepinwall, Laura Lippman, (Introduction), David Chase, (Creator) is a 2019 Harry N. Abrams publication.
Well, you woke up this morning
Got yourself a gun
Your mama always said you'd be the chosen one
She said, you're one in a million, you've got to burn to shine
But you were born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
And you woke up this morning
All that love had gone
Your papa never told you about right and wrong
But you're looking good, baby
I believe you're feeling fine (shame about it)
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
Because you woke up this morning
Got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
Well, you woke up this morning
The world turned upside down
Lord above, thing's ain't been the same since Howlin' Wolf walked into your town
But you're one in a million, you've got that shotgun shine
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
You woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
When you woke up this morning everything was gone
By half past ten your head was going ding-dong
Ringing like a bell from your head down to your toes,
Like a voice trying to tell you there's something you should know
Last night you were flying but today you're so low
Ain't it times like these that make you wonder if you'll ever know
The meaning of things as they appear to the others
Wives, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers
Don't you wish you didn't function, don't you wish you didn't think beyond the next paycheck
And the next little drink?
Well, you do, so make up your mind to go on 'cause when you woke up this morning
Everything you had was gone, everything you had was gone
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning, you want to be, you want to be the chosen one tonight
Yes, you know, because you just get help yourself
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
You got yourself a gun, got yourself a gun, got yourself a gun
This book is AWESOME!!
The Sopranos has often been referred to as the best television show of all time. Although there have been many great shows before and since, I must agree with that assessment. The Sopranos wasn’t just a groundbreaking crime drama, it changed television as we knew it, forever.
Twenty years after the fact, and I still believe it should hold top honors.
The authors were a little nervous about this book because twenty years IS a long time ago, especially in the television and entertainment industry. So much as changed in that time, and HBO is not necessarily the king of the hill any longer.
However, they needn’t have worried. Despite the passage of time, any dated quality about The Sopranos is easily overlooked compared to the path the show paved for other great television dramas and the legend it created, which still stands unmatched today.
I loved the title of the book. It couldn’t have been more aptly named. I also enjoyed the forward by author Laura Lippman, and David Chase’s participation and interviews. He really made me chuckle in a few places as he expressed frustration with a coddled audience, who after years of having things explained to them like little children, couldn’t manage to puzzle out the nuances of The Sopranos, constantly asking Chase questions, looking for pat answers, instead of using their brains to draw their own conclusions. Viewers simply were not used to that type of challenge coming from a television program.
This book is very comprehensive, detailing every single episode of every season. Oh, the memories!! The complexity of the show, the many juxtapositions, parallels, and ironies, the fantastic, second to none writing, and the performances all spring back to life, reminding me once more of just how incredible this show was.
The psychology behind public’s fascination with the mob is so interesting. Seriously, Tony Soprano was the ultimate anti-hero. I shook my head many times at how often I found myself pulling for the guy. Really. Then I’d wonder what was wrong with me!! The guy was a serial adulterer and a stone -cold killer, for God’s sake!! However, I don’t think I was alone in that.
This book is a must for fans of The Sopranos. There are so many angles this book brought to my attention, that I’d either missed or forgotten about, even though I’ve watched the series at least three times from start to finish. Now, I want to watch it again, using this book as a guide so I can pick up on all those wonderful little Easter eggs, and pointers, the authors and David Chase provided for me.
The Sopranos, along with several other stellar HBO dramas and comedies, did bring television up to a much higher standard, where it even gave the movie industry a run for its money. The show helped spawn such outstanding shows as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, giving the industry respect it had struggled to obtain almost from its inception.
I can’t say it held on to that level of quality programing, however. There are some quality programs out there, but they are far and few between, in my opinion. Thankfully, I still have all my DVD box sets of The Sopranos and can still watch the best show ever made as often as I like.
If you missed out on the show back in the day and are curious about it now, watch the series from start to finish- THEN add this book to your library or only read it in sections, due to spoilers.
Causal fans will become hard core fans once they study the show a little more and see the genius behind it.
Diehard fans- BUY THIS BOOK! You’ll LOVE it!
5 stars
Well, you woke up this morning
Got yourself a gun
Your mama always said you'd be the chosen one
She said, you're one in a million, you've got to burn to shine
But you were born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
And you woke up this morning
All that love had gone
Your papa never told you about right and wrong
But you're looking good, baby
I believe you're feeling fine (shame about it)
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
Because you woke up this morning
Got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
Well, you woke up this morning
The world turned upside down
Lord above, thing's ain't been the same since Howlin' Wolf walked into your town
But you're one in a million, you've got that shotgun shine
Born under a bad sign with a blue moon in your eyes
You woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
Woke up this morning
You got a blue moon in your eyes
When you woke up this morning everything was gone
By half past ten your head was going ding-dong
Ringing like a bell from your head down to your toes,
Like a voice trying to tell you there's something you should know
Last night you were flying but today you're so low
Ain't it times like these that make you wonder if you'll ever know
The meaning of things as they appear to the others
Wives, mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers
Don't you wish you didn't function, don't you wish you didn't think beyond the next paycheck
And the next little drink?
Well, you do, so make up your mind to go on 'cause when you woke up this morning
Everything you had was gone, everything you had was gone
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning, you want to be, you want to be the chosen one tonight
Yes, you know, because you just get help yourself
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
Woke up this morning
You got yourself a gun, got yourself a gun, got yourself a gun
This book is AWESOME!!
The Sopranos has often been referred to as the best television show of all time. Although there have been many great shows before and since, I must agree with that assessment. The Sopranos wasn’t just a groundbreaking crime drama, it changed television as we knew it, forever.
Twenty years after the fact, and I still believe it should hold top honors.
The authors were a little nervous about this book because twenty years IS a long time ago, especially in the television and entertainment industry. So much as changed in that time, and HBO is not necessarily the king of the hill any longer.
However, they needn’t have worried. Despite the passage of time, any dated quality about The Sopranos is easily overlooked compared to the path the show paved for other great television dramas and the legend it created, which still stands unmatched today.
I loved the title of the book. It couldn’t have been more aptly named. I also enjoyed the forward by author Laura Lippman, and David Chase’s participation and interviews. He really made me chuckle in a few places as he expressed frustration with a coddled audience, who after years of having things explained to them like little children, couldn’t manage to puzzle out the nuances of The Sopranos, constantly asking Chase questions, looking for pat answers, instead of using their brains to draw their own conclusions. Viewers simply were not used to that type of challenge coming from a television program.
This book is very comprehensive, detailing every single episode of every season. Oh, the memories!! The complexity of the show, the many juxtapositions, parallels, and ironies, the fantastic, second to none writing, and the performances all spring back to life, reminding me once more of just how incredible this show was.
The psychology behind public’s fascination with the mob is so interesting. Seriously, Tony Soprano was the ultimate anti-hero. I shook my head many times at how often I found myself pulling for the guy. Really. Then I’d wonder what was wrong with me!! The guy was a serial adulterer and a stone -cold killer, for God’s sake!! However, I don’t think I was alone in that.
This book is a must for fans of The Sopranos. There are so many angles this book brought to my attention, that I’d either missed or forgotten about, even though I’ve watched the series at least three times from start to finish. Now, I want to watch it again, using this book as a guide so I can pick up on all those wonderful little Easter eggs, and pointers, the authors and David Chase provided for me.
The Sopranos, along with several other stellar HBO dramas and comedies, did bring television up to a much higher standard, where it even gave the movie industry a run for its money. The show helped spawn such outstanding shows as Mad Men and Breaking Bad, giving the industry respect it had struggled to obtain almost from its inception.
I can’t say it held on to that level of quality programing, however. There are some quality programs out there, but they are far and few between, in my opinion. Thankfully, I still have all my DVD box sets of The Sopranos and can still watch the best show ever made as often as I like.
If you missed out on the show back in the day and are curious about it now, watch the series from start to finish- THEN add this book to your library or only read it in sections, due to spoilers.
Causal fans will become hard core fans once they study the show a little more and see the genius behind it.
Diehard fans- BUY THIS BOOK! You’ll LOVE it!
5 stars
April 2, 2019
To walk like a man in this world is to burn so slowly you won’t notice it until your soul has turned black.
Almost nobody gives a damn about your life but you, and…there’s a good chance you don’t even give as much of a damn as you think.
Not lines from the show, but they might have could have been - lines written instead by our two authors Seitz and Sepinwall. They chew, they ruminate, they pontificate, they simplify, they complicate, they exegesate, although I think that last one isn’t really a word.
The last 100 pages is interviews they did with David Chase, Sopranos creator, but I skipped that. Really The Sopranos has got nothing to do with him any more, it belongs to the fans. So who cares what he thinks.
So - Five weeks, 86 episodes = 72 hours of viewing, plus however long it took to plough through this dense, engrossing commentary. Rewatching The Sopranos whilst the whole Brexit political chaos is raining down here in Britain - it has been a pretty strange intense month.
Enough panegyric has been written about The Sopranos, but this I will say.
The show portrays the ultra macho gangster life, wives and kids at home (probably a beautiful home too), goomahs stashed somewhere else, strippers on tap if the fancy takes, enough booze to float an aircraft carrier, all the hi jinks and scams and sudden adrenaline rushes of the beatdowns and whack jobs and so on and so forth, so that the fanboys get all their guilty jollies, for sure. But The Sopranos does not let you get away with that. On a regular basis these almost charming rogues will turn around and do something so graceless, sociopathic, nasty and wretched that you realise exactly what these guys are. They are really disgusting and horrible, is what. (And it doesn't let the enabling complicit women off either.)
Plus, this is a show about therapy, and it goes for the jugular there too. Our main therapist, Dr Jennifer Melfi, is as exposed as the gangsters. She continually talks over Tony’s head (even after 8 years!) and makes only the blandest ever observations on all Tony’s entrenched problems. Not that he can really be very open about them. If this is what therapy is like, one might think, I’ll save my money and buy a crate of whiskey.
So many great characters, so much unforgettable acting. Three favourites (leaving aside the brilliant James Gandolfini) :
Robert Iler as AJ, Tony’s depressed, deadbeat son, who doesn’t smile until the last quarter of the final season
Vincent Curatola as Johnny Sacramoni, neurotic miserable New York boss with a fuse almost shorter than Tony’s
Aida Turturro as Janice, Tony’s terminally aggravating sister
Janice: There's a Zuni saying: "For every twenty wrongs a child does, ignore nineteen."
Tony: There's an old Italian saying: "You fuck up once, you lose two teeth."
Almost nobody gives a damn about your life but you, and…there’s a good chance you don’t even give as much of a damn as you think.
Not lines from the show, but they might have could have been - lines written instead by our two authors Seitz and Sepinwall. They chew, they ruminate, they pontificate, they simplify, they complicate, they exegesate, although I think that last one isn’t really a word.
The last 100 pages is interviews they did with David Chase, Sopranos creator, but I skipped that. Really The Sopranos has got nothing to do with him any more, it belongs to the fans. So who cares what he thinks.
So - Five weeks, 86 episodes = 72 hours of viewing, plus however long it took to plough through this dense, engrossing commentary. Rewatching The Sopranos whilst the whole Brexit political chaos is raining down here in Britain - it has been a pretty strange intense month.
Enough panegyric has been written about The Sopranos, but this I will say.
The show portrays the ultra macho gangster life, wives and kids at home (probably a beautiful home too), goomahs stashed somewhere else, strippers on tap if the fancy takes, enough booze to float an aircraft carrier, all the hi jinks and scams and sudden adrenaline rushes of the beatdowns and whack jobs and so on and so forth, so that the fanboys get all their guilty jollies, for sure. But The Sopranos does not let you get away with that. On a regular basis these almost charming rogues will turn around and do something so graceless, sociopathic, nasty and wretched that you realise exactly what these guys are. They are really disgusting and horrible, is what. (And it doesn't let the enabling complicit women off either.)
Plus, this is a show about therapy, and it goes for the jugular there too. Our main therapist, Dr Jennifer Melfi, is as exposed as the gangsters. She continually talks over Tony’s head (even after 8 years!) and makes only the blandest ever observations on all Tony’s entrenched problems. Not that he can really be very open about them. If this is what therapy is like, one might think, I’ll save my money and buy a crate of whiskey.
So many great characters, so much unforgettable acting. Three favourites (leaving aside the brilliant James Gandolfini) :
Robert Iler as AJ, Tony’s depressed, deadbeat son, who doesn’t smile until the last quarter of the final season
Vincent Curatola as Johnny Sacramoni, neurotic miserable New York boss with a fuse almost shorter than Tony’s
Aida Turturro as Janice, Tony’s terminally aggravating sister
Janice: There's a Zuni saying: "For every twenty wrongs a child does, ignore nineteen."
Tony: There's an old Italian saying: "You fuck up once, you lose two teeth."
February 18, 2019
I think I've probably watched the show seven times through in earnest, and it's been background noise a few more times over as well. That said, I only have a few friends who have even watched the show, fewer still who agree with me that The Sopranos is the best show ever made, which makes this book essential. It's like having a friend (or a couple friends, really) to trade theories with, get trivia from, and participate in debates with. It goes down so easily that I read it in probably three or four sittings tops. If you're a die hard, this book is a must read.
November 2, 2021
A book about such a beloved series is a daunting task. The authors want to write something as amazing as the show itself. So how did they do? I'm honestly torn between a 4 and 5, but settled for the 4. I had such high hopes coming into it.
I was starving for new knowledge and insight. Yes, there is some of that, but the sad truth there really isn't much to explore that hasn't been already. We expect as fans that there must be some crazy behind the scenes stories dying to be told. The truth is that everyone worked hard, took risks, and had a strong family-like vibe with their co-workers.
It was a highly enjoyable stroll down memory lane that did a few things for me. I watched some interviews, downloaded the theme song, and it kicked off the craving to revisit the series for a third time. At the end of the day what's better than rekindling the excitement for something that was once so special to you?
RIP James Gandolfini. You were a talented actor and humble person. I need to watch the movie with his son now.
I was starving for new knowledge and insight. Yes, there is some of that, but the sad truth there really isn't much to explore that hasn't been already. We expect as fans that there must be some crazy behind the scenes stories dying to be told. The truth is that everyone worked hard, took risks, and had a strong family-like vibe with their co-workers.
It was a highly enjoyable stroll down memory lane that did a few things for me. I watched some interviews, downloaded the theme song, and it kicked off the craving to revisit the series for a third time. At the end of the day what's better than rekindling the excitement for something that was once so special to you?
RIP James Gandolfini. You were a talented actor and humble person. I need to watch the movie with his son now.
May 8, 2019
Much different from what I was expecting. The writers are longtime TV critics, and their observations tend more toward musical cues and callbacks than to much else. Guys, it's a serialized show. I get it that the characters reference things that happened before. Episode synopses rarely touch on plot points, motivation (outside of Tony's), actors, characters, gang politics, or even individual scenes. A few episodes are basically glossed over ("we didn't like this one because it was weak" while giving very little evidence as to why it was weak) or brush off major developments. This gets worse as the book continues; the first season synopses are generally very interesting and contain a lot of insight I hadn't considered, but write-ups of later season episodes peter out. If y'all didn't want to write a 400 page book about a TV show, maybe you shouldn't have considered doing one on a seven-season gangland epic.
It's not all bad; just unfortunate that most of the book is droll. The several sessions of David Chase interviews are interesting and have some good tidbits, and an additional roundtable interview about "Pine Barrens" is very interesting. The episode recaps that delve into dream sequences were eye-opening - I've watched through the entirety of the series probably 8 times and the interpretations the writers have of the dreams provide a very well-thought-out alternative perspective.
But then the book dives right back in to blandness. 30 or so pages of old articles the authors wrote over the last 20 years. Only the extremely rare actor interview or aside. The book is, by and large, 300 pages of two TV critics back-and-forthing about the references they understood. "This character says something about The Rockford Files, which David Chase worked on!" Who gives a shit. Why didn't you interview Michael Imperioli about the episode he wrote. Or Tony Sirico about his portrayal of Paulie.
It's not all bad; just unfortunate that most of the book is droll. The several sessions of David Chase interviews are interesting and have some good tidbits, and an additional roundtable interview about "Pine Barrens" is very interesting. The episode recaps that delve into dream sequences were eye-opening - I've watched through the entirety of the series probably 8 times and the interpretations the writers have of the dreams provide a very well-thought-out alternative perspective.
But then the book dives right back in to blandness. 30 or so pages of old articles the authors wrote over the last 20 years. Only the extremely rare actor interview or aside. The book is, by and large, 300 pages of two TV critics back-and-forthing about the references they understood. "This character says something about The Rockford Files, which David Chase worked on!" Who gives a shit. Why didn't you interview Michael Imperioli about the episode he wrote. Or Tony Sirico about his portrayal of Paulie.
January 19, 2019
My father got sick in the summer of 1999, shortly after The Sopranos aired its first season on HBO. And though it hadn’t yet become the watershed moment in television history that it was destined to become, my dad instantly and passionately adored this show. He was fascinated by “mob stuff� in general (movies like Goodfellas, The Godfather and My Cousin Vinny were often re-watched in my home, whenever highly neutered versions of themselves aired on network TV).
But there was something about Tony Soprano, specifically, that spoke to my dad. Obviously he wasn’t a gangster (he was actually an accountant) or even the least bit Italian, but I think he understood Tony on a profoundly personal level. They were both tough “manly� men on the outside, but with a soft spot in their heart, and a deep abiding love, for their families, good food, and animals. They also both loved to laugh, though their senses of humor tended toward the darker and dryer aspects of the comedic spectrum.
Watching The Sopranos with my father during the show’s early years remain some of my fondest memories of him. We absolutely bonded over the show.
My father passed away in the summer of 2001, at the age of 53, from complications brought on by the same congenital heart condition that felled James Gandolfini twelve years later, at age 51. And though my dad and I never got to watch the rest of The Sopranos together in person . . . and never got to debate that controversial fade-to-black in the series final moments, I liked to think he was watching it somewhere.
Continuing to watch The Sopranos always made me feel close to my father. And reading The Sopranos Sessions did too. (Though admittedly, if ever presented with this book, my father would have likely said to me, “I don’t know, Jules, 568 pages? Seems kind of highfalutin to me. Can’t we just re-watch the episodes on Amazon Prime like normal people?�)
To my father’s posthumous point, The Sopranos Sessions was very long, and probably would only appeal to the die-hardiest of die-hard fans of the series, like me. And I admittedly skimmed through a bunch of the “old news� articles at the end, which, I felt added very little to the analysis of the series, as a whole. But overall, reading The Sopranos Sessions was a refreshingly nostalgic and immersive experience for me. It kind of felt like a cross between, binge-watching your favorite show with a friend who is way smarter than you are, and taking a very esoteric college lit / film class, all wrapped into a convenient reading experience that could be enjoyed in manageable bites, while commuting to work, and just before bedtime.
The book is divided into four main sections. In the first the authors analyze each episode in order from pilot to series finale. In the second, those same authors interview showrunner David Chase about each individual season. In the third, we get a bunch of old news articles from the Star Ledger that appeared in the paper while the show was on air. And finally, in the fourth section, you get read a number of really touching obituaries and eulogies of actor James Gandolfini, including a posthumous letter to him written by David Chase, himself.
Oh, and there’s this weird, but oddly fun, section where the two main writers of The Sopranos Session debate Tony’s fate in that final fade-to-black, which, if you are a Sopranos fan, will undoubtedly remind you of similar arguments you had with your friends and family members back home, shortly after the episode aired . . .
Reading the episode-by-episode analyses did feel a bit like re-watching the show. Often, the authors would reference a scene, and I’d say, “Oh yeah, I remember that happening!� or “I hated that plotline,� or “That episode was amazing!�
It also reminded me of how much I didn’t remember about the series and prompted me to re-watch certain episodes on Amazon after reading a particular recap. (Spoiler alert: This show really holds up even all these years later!)
There is admittedly a bit of a constraint to this format of show review, because you are limited in analysis to what the authors find interesting about a particular episode, which may or may not be the same thing that you find interesting. There were a few times when the authors spent a long time analyzing a scene or plot line I didn’t really care all that much about, and skimmed over another aspect of the show that really resonated with me. That said, overall, I thought this was an effective and efficient way to recap the series.
Chase’s interviews are probably the most fascinating part of The Sopranos Sessions. In fact, if I was to edit the book, I may have argued for moving the Chase interview about each season, after that season’s recap, instead of clumping them all together around page 400, where the reader is suffering a bit of fatigue, and may not be able to fully enjoy them.
What surprised me most about Chase’s take on the series, was how instinctive he was about certain things, and how, often, we as viewers, analyzed what we saw on the screen way more than the writer himself! I also found interesting the parts of the interview where Chase would turn the tables and interview the authors on how they felt about certain characters and plotlines. In these moments, Chase often seemed to get defensive about a particular character or plotline that viewers either didn’t seem to understand, or didn’t interpret the way Chase thought they should interpret them. These interludes didn’t always paint Chase in the best light. And yet, anyone who has ever written a work of fiction and taken ownership of the characters they created within it, can certainly relate to it.
Of course, everyone who reviews The Sopranos Sessions will talk about Chase’s words about the finale, and whether he did or didn’t finally admit to Tony’s fate during the fade-to-black within the pages of the book. While I found it interesting to see Chase’s thoughts on the matter, and his process going into that particular scene, I personally feel like that whole topic has been way over done. There are so many other aspects of the show that are more meaningful to me. I hate that they often get glossed over in favor of the series� last five minutes.
Perhaps, for me, the most emotionally evocative aspects of The Sopranos Sessions are the ones that pay tribute to James Gandolfini, who was, by all accounts, an amazing actor who helped engender The Sopranos with the legacy it has today. He also seems like a pretty amazing person . . . humble, kind, and generous to his fellow actors, and anyone who had the opportunity to cross paths with him.
Suffice it to say, I think my dad and James Gandolfini would have liked each other very much if they ever met. And who knows? Maybe they are both out there somewhere, sharing a large ziti dinner, while binge-watching old mob movies . . .
But there was something about Tony Soprano, specifically, that spoke to my dad. Obviously he wasn’t a gangster (he was actually an accountant) or even the least bit Italian, but I think he understood Tony on a profoundly personal level. They were both tough “manly� men on the outside, but with a soft spot in their heart, and a deep abiding love, for their families, good food, and animals. They also both loved to laugh, though their senses of humor tended toward the darker and dryer aspects of the comedic spectrum.
Watching The Sopranos with my father during the show’s early years remain some of my fondest memories of him. We absolutely bonded over the show.
My father passed away in the summer of 2001, at the age of 53, from complications brought on by the same congenital heart condition that felled James Gandolfini twelve years later, at age 51. And though my dad and I never got to watch the rest of The Sopranos together in person . . . and never got to debate that controversial fade-to-black in the series final moments, I liked to think he was watching it somewhere.
Continuing to watch The Sopranos always made me feel close to my father. And reading The Sopranos Sessions did too. (Though admittedly, if ever presented with this book, my father would have likely said to me, “I don’t know, Jules, 568 pages? Seems kind of highfalutin to me. Can’t we just re-watch the episodes on Amazon Prime like normal people?�)
To my father’s posthumous point, The Sopranos Sessions was very long, and probably would only appeal to the die-hardiest of die-hard fans of the series, like me. And I admittedly skimmed through a bunch of the “old news� articles at the end, which, I felt added very little to the analysis of the series, as a whole. But overall, reading The Sopranos Sessions was a refreshingly nostalgic and immersive experience for me. It kind of felt like a cross between, binge-watching your favorite show with a friend who is way smarter than you are, and taking a very esoteric college lit / film class, all wrapped into a convenient reading experience that could be enjoyed in manageable bites, while commuting to work, and just before bedtime.
The book is divided into four main sections. In the first the authors analyze each episode in order from pilot to series finale. In the second, those same authors interview showrunner David Chase about each individual season. In the third, we get a bunch of old news articles from the Star Ledger that appeared in the paper while the show was on air. And finally, in the fourth section, you get read a number of really touching obituaries and eulogies of actor James Gandolfini, including a posthumous letter to him written by David Chase, himself.
Oh, and there’s this weird, but oddly fun, section where the two main writers of The Sopranos Session debate Tony’s fate in that final fade-to-black, which, if you are a Sopranos fan, will undoubtedly remind you of similar arguments you had with your friends and family members back home, shortly after the episode aired . . .
Reading the episode-by-episode analyses did feel a bit like re-watching the show. Often, the authors would reference a scene, and I’d say, “Oh yeah, I remember that happening!� or “I hated that plotline,� or “That episode was amazing!�
It also reminded me of how much I didn’t remember about the series and prompted me to re-watch certain episodes on Amazon after reading a particular recap. (Spoiler alert: This show really holds up even all these years later!)
There is admittedly a bit of a constraint to this format of show review, because you are limited in analysis to what the authors find interesting about a particular episode, which may or may not be the same thing that you find interesting. There were a few times when the authors spent a long time analyzing a scene or plot line I didn’t really care all that much about, and skimmed over another aspect of the show that really resonated with me. That said, overall, I thought this was an effective and efficient way to recap the series.
Chase’s interviews are probably the most fascinating part of The Sopranos Sessions. In fact, if I was to edit the book, I may have argued for moving the Chase interview about each season, after that season’s recap, instead of clumping them all together around page 400, where the reader is suffering a bit of fatigue, and may not be able to fully enjoy them.
What surprised me most about Chase’s take on the series, was how instinctive he was about certain things, and how, often, we as viewers, analyzed what we saw on the screen way more than the writer himself! I also found interesting the parts of the interview where Chase would turn the tables and interview the authors on how they felt about certain characters and plotlines. In these moments, Chase often seemed to get defensive about a particular character or plotline that viewers either didn’t seem to understand, or didn’t interpret the way Chase thought they should interpret them. These interludes didn’t always paint Chase in the best light. And yet, anyone who has ever written a work of fiction and taken ownership of the characters they created within it, can certainly relate to it.
Of course, everyone who reviews The Sopranos Sessions will talk about Chase’s words about the finale, and whether he did or didn’t finally admit to Tony’s fate during the fade-to-black within the pages of the book. While I found it interesting to see Chase’s thoughts on the matter, and his process going into that particular scene, I personally feel like that whole topic has been way over done. There are so many other aspects of the show that are more meaningful to me. I hate that they often get glossed over in favor of the series� last five minutes.
Perhaps, for me, the most emotionally evocative aspects of The Sopranos Sessions are the ones that pay tribute to James Gandolfini, who was, by all accounts, an amazing actor who helped engender The Sopranos with the legacy it has today. He also seems like a pretty amazing person . . . humble, kind, and generous to his fellow actors, and anyone who had the opportunity to cross paths with him.
Suffice it to say, I think my dad and James Gandolfini would have liked each other very much if they ever met. And who knows? Maybe they are both out there somewhere, sharing a large ziti dinner, while binge-watching old mob movies . . .
December 21, 2020
This book takes readers on a deep dive into the groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos,, which premiered in January 1999. The co-authors, Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall, are long-time TV critics who covered the show for the Star-Ledger of Newark, New Jersey, during its initial run. Inasmuch as The Sopranos is a show about mobsters in northern New Jersey, the series had special resonance for viewers like me who lived in northern New Jersey. And Seitz’s and Sepinwall’s coverage of the show for the ٲ-岵’s strengthened their New Jersey readers� bond with the show. As a regular viewer of the series and a regular reader of Seitz’s and Sepinwall’s reviews of it, I felt like I was “in the know� about The Sopranos. (It was also fun to recognize many New Jersey locations that appeared in the show.)
Both Seitz and Sepinwall are insightful critics whose intimate knowledge of The Sopranos and television, in general, informs the many insights about the show’s themes and artistry that they share in this book. The first section of the book (approximately two-thirds of the total length) comprises in-depth recaps of each episode in the seven (or six, depending on who’s counting) seasons of the show. Those are followed by seven long interviews with the show’s creator, David Chase, along with excerpts from the authors� original Star-Ledger columns about the show, and finally, eulogies by Seitz and Chase for series star James Gandolfini, who died suddenly at age 51 in 2013.
I used my reading of the book as an opportunity to re-watch the series in full, and I read the recaps in tandem with watching the episodes they discussed. This augmented my enjoyment of the show and helped me to appreciate themes, connections, and other aspects of the show that I hadn’t always noticed the first time around. It was a large time commitment over several months, but I recommend it if you’re a fan of The Sopranos and you have the time. Likewise, if you’ve never seen the show but you’re interested in watching a quality show that changed television, I recommend watching The Sopranos with this book as your companion.
Both Seitz and Sepinwall are insightful critics whose intimate knowledge of The Sopranos and television, in general, informs the many insights about the show’s themes and artistry that they share in this book. The first section of the book (approximately two-thirds of the total length) comprises in-depth recaps of each episode in the seven (or six, depending on who’s counting) seasons of the show. Those are followed by seven long interviews with the show’s creator, David Chase, along with excerpts from the authors� original Star-Ledger columns about the show, and finally, eulogies by Seitz and Chase for series star James Gandolfini, who died suddenly at age 51 in 2013.
I used my reading of the book as an opportunity to re-watch the series in full, and I read the recaps in tandem with watching the episodes they discussed. This augmented my enjoyment of the show and helped me to appreciate themes, connections, and other aspects of the show that I hadn’t always noticed the first time around. It was a large time commitment over several months, but I recommend it if you’re a fan of The Sopranos and you have the time. Likewise, if you’ve never seen the show but you’re interested in watching a quality show that changed television, I recommend watching The Sopranos with this book as your companion.
July 4, 2020
What did I mean to say? I meant to say that time here is precious, and it could end at any moment . . .
The show’s gonna be forgotten, like everything. It's not gonna have a legacy . . . —David Chase
__________
Two points, the first about the book itself:
The best parts are the interviews with Chase, and the debate about the ending.
The "recaps" pale in comparison to the far greater work that was done by Emily Todd VanDerWerff over at the A.V. Club: (possible exceptions to this being the recaps for the first two seasons, of which Emily is not as expansive, covering two episodes per article.)
The second point is about that second quote of Chase's:
The show’s gonna be forgotten, like everything. It's not gonna have a legacy . . .
I hope against hope that this will not the case, but it's this same fear which gets my passions inflamed when the topic of TV comes up: "What are you watching?" "Watching anything good?" "Seen any good shows lately?" "Have you seen Show X which has just come out?" "Oh, I tell you what's great, show Y!" "Man, Show Z is awesome, best show I've ever seen!"
As much as I don't let it break out into my external appearance, whenever I hear, or worse, when someone asks me these questions/makes those comments to me, they infuriate me. They infuriate me for same reason that those same comments but made about books infuriate me.
In a given field/medium/object/etc., things are not equal. Lots and lots and lots of things are produced by so called 'artists', lots of them are even successful: success being defined by reaching a large audience and perhaps even making the creators lots of money; but that has nothing, nothing at all to do with whether that thing is good. Whether that thing has aesthetic merit.
Almost all of them don't. Some possess a little, but that little might as well be zero.
By definition, the number of things that are the best of their 'class' must be infinitely smaller than the total amount of things of that class that exist, and that are continually being produced.
To bring this back around to TV: the few times some people have asked me if "I'm watching anything at the moment." I tell them that I don't watch TV, I watch TV shows, and not new ones. I watch a handful of shows over and over and over again, and I will keep doing so over and over and over again for the rest of my life, just as I plan to do with books.
Why?
The answer is simple. Incredibly simple:
. . . only the masterpieces are enjoyable and everything mediocre is unendurable. —Schopenhauer, Parerga and Paralipomena
I've watched The Wire ~5 times, Mad Men ~6/7, and The Sopranos ~3/4.
These three are the holy grail. The Wire, Mad Men, and The Sopranos transcend the medium of TV into true Art. The first is a Greek Tragedy rivalling those of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The second is an incredibly dense and deep philosophical exploration masked as a 'cool' show about people who cheat on their wives . . .
And the third, The Sopranos is about Humanity; the things that make us human. The good parts of us. The bad parts of us.
So it makes me sad to think that these three shows may, possibly, be forgotten years, decades, centuries, millennia from now. Because in terms of aesthetic merit, they are worthy of being the same category of 'Classic Novels', and are probably much better than a lot of those to boot.
And what gets me riled up the most, what saddens me the most, is that people forsake what is good for what is new. In anything, especially in those things that matter most. In Philosophy. In Art.
People consume things as if they all have equal merit. But they don't.
One of the best things in this life is to figure out what the very best things are, and enjoy them over and over and over again, realising that the works which are new, while capable of offering valuable insights and revelations, are never as good.
There is a quote which I have failed to find in my storehouse from Montaigne or possibly Emerson, which I remember, after musing on this very topic, finished with something like, "Do you find nature boring? Do you find forests, lakes, flowers boring, after having seen them a few times? Of course not. Nature can never be boring, no matter how many times you seek it out."
These TV shows, the very best of them, will never get boring no matter how many times they are watched, because, unlike the rest, they speak about themes which are eternal, and they do so in a way that has aesthetic merit. That is what separates them from all the others.
Maybe The Sopranos will have a legacy. Maybe it will be remembered, a long time from now. Or maybe it will perish in our "binge"-crazed culture where everything appears equal and once something is consumed it is discarded, the consumer desperately looking for something else to fill them up, regardless of it's value . . .
I don't like TV. It's a black hole into which many, many people fill their hours and days which could be filled with something better. But I am thankful it exists, for the sole reason that a few people had visions which were executed and resulted in the production of true masterpieces which transcend the medium.
The Sopranos is one of them.
__________
RIP James Gandolfini.
The best dramatic performance committed to screen.
December 27, 2018
If you are a fan of Sopranos and even after all of these years, wonder if you missed any moments, this book seems to fill in a lots of the past. It will make a great gift for diehard fans and it is so long that you could spend days reading. I received a complimentary ARC .
March 27, 2025
As someone who has watched The Sopranos multiple times and never gets bored—always finding something new with each rewatch—I can’t recommend The Sopranos Sessions enough. This book goes beyond your typical episode guide or fan tribute. It dives deep into the psychology of the characters, especially Tony Soprano, and explores how the show realistically portrays the mindset and world of the Italian American mob.
The insights from authors Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall, who were covering the show from the very beginning, are incredible. They bring so much knowledge, passion, and context to their recaps and essays. Their long-form interviews with David Chase alone make this book worth it—he gives behind-the-scenes details that completely change how you view some of the best episodes.
What really stood out to me was how well the book captures the show's artistry and themes—violence, family, identity, therapy—and connects it to the broader landscape of television and film. It’s not just about what happens in the show, but why it matters.
If you're a die-hard Sopranos fan like me, this is essential reading. Whether it's your first time through the series or your tenth, The Sopranos Sessions will deepen your appreciation and understanding of one of the greatest shows ever made. Highly recommended.
"But lately, I'm getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over."
- Tony Soprano
The insights from authors Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall, who were covering the show from the very beginning, are incredible. They bring so much knowledge, passion, and context to their recaps and essays. Their long-form interviews with David Chase alone make this book worth it—he gives behind-the-scenes details that completely change how you view some of the best episodes.
What really stood out to me was how well the book captures the show's artistry and themes—violence, family, identity, therapy—and connects it to the broader landscape of television and film. It’s not just about what happens in the show, but why it matters.
If you're a die-hard Sopranos fan like me, this is essential reading. Whether it's your first time through the series or your tenth, The Sopranos Sessions will deepen your appreciation and understanding of one of the greatest shows ever made. Highly recommended.
"But lately, I'm getting the feeling that I came in at the end. The best is over."
- Tony Soprano
January 12, 2019
This TV serial about New Jersey "made men" was a classic. "Less yacking, more whacking."
The Sopranos Sessions moves through the show, episode by episode, calling out the obvious and not so obvious details. These are followed by a series of interviews with David Chase (The Sopranos show-runner), in which he divulges his perspective on the controversial final episode. The book includes some additional essays, and sadly, Zoller Steitz' obituary for James Gandolfini.
The Sopranos Sessions is a must read for hard-core Sopranos fans.
The Sopranos Sessions moves through the show, episode by episode, calling out the obvious and not so obvious details. These are followed by a series of interviews with David Chase (The Sopranos show-runner), in which he divulges his perspective on the controversial final episode. The book includes some additional essays, and sadly, Zoller Steitz' obituary for James Gandolfini.
The Sopranos Sessions is a must read for hard-core Sopranos fans.
July 13, 2022
Read this along with an extremely casual rewatch, and it was really a pleasure to savor along with the show. A must-read for any fan, on first watch or fifth. Endlessly illuminating, reverent, and critical. A treat!
October 15, 2022
A truly indispensable companion to one of the greatest TV series ever made. This compulsively readable book further deepened my understanding and appreciation of the show and its creators –I couldn't recommend it more highly.
June 19, 2023
A delightful dive into our much loved episodes that offers little new insight after over two decades of in depth analysis. Irregardless,
May 14, 2020
грейтнесс
July 20, 2024
Ordered this immediately after finishing watching the Sopranos. Really fun book! Skipped over some of the episode recaps; probs gonna read them when I eventually rewatch the show. Shoutout Gus for the book recommendation. I love the Sopranos <3
October 8, 2021
The worst thing about watching an iconic tv show 15 years after it finished is not having anyone to obsess over it with. I saw the first 2 seasons of The Sopranos when they were released, then moved to Belgium and missed the rest of them. The impending Many Saints of Newark movie release finally got me back to The Sopranos and it was even better than I remembered. I watched the whole show in 2 weeks and loved it (even the ending). I’ve really enjoyed following up my binge-watching with this book. The authors have really interesting takes on each episode, and the interviews with creator David Chase are fascinating. The book ends with Chase’s moving eulogy for James Gandolfini, who may now be my favourite actor. If you loved the show you may well enjoy this book too.
Living in Belgium and not understanding the tv broke me of the tv-watching habit so I haven’t watched many shows in the past 2 decades. The Sopranos has inspired me to add Breaking Bad and The Wire to my list though and I’ll buy any books these guys have written about those shows too.
Living in Belgium and not understanding the tv broke me of the tv-watching habit so I haven’t watched many shows in the past 2 decades. The Sopranos has inspired me to add Breaking Bad and The Wire to my list though and I’ll buy any books these guys have written about those shows too.
May 31, 2022
I just finished a complete rewatch of The Sopranos earlier this month, and this time through, this book was my guide. Every time I watched an episode, I’d read the writeup from the book, and each time I finished a season, I’d read the related Chase interview. And man, what an illuminating way to watch the show. I usually find plot synopsis-type articles to be tedious and unnecessary, but Seitz and Sepinwall’s write-ups go beyond regurgitation to read analysis, particularly in the way they suss out the parallel themes often running through an episode’s A-B-C-and-D plots. The interviews are also fascinating, particularly in finding out all the things that happened along the way that were happy accidents.
If you love the show, best time you watch it, read along in this book as you do. Your experience will be all the richer.
If you love the show, best time you watch it, read along in this book as you do. Your experience will be all the richer.
July 9, 2020
Sometimes you just have to read a 500 page book about the series you recently finished. Glad I read this great reflection on an even greater show
July 29, 2020
Really narrow and overly-fawning perspective - ultimately a fanboy project that asks no real questions.
August 20, 2021
the sopranos is in fact the best show of all time and that’s my final word on the matter
June 1, 2025
4.5 stars
Boy_This one covers every Sopranos base there is to cover!
If you are not a fan of the Sopranos. Don’t read any further. But�..who knows. This primer may convert you!
Took me a while to warm up to this one. Two television critics cover every episode in depth. A lot of depth! I have been rewatching the epic mob show over the last few weeks. Yes , I’m a fan. Not a mega fan but David Chase did change television with his efforts on this one. I appreciate the show and have been enjoying sharing it with my sons this 4th time through
One of the things that I really appreciate about this wonderful text are the interviews the authors had with Chase. The authors wrote for the Star Ledger. Tony Sopranos daily paper. It’s a New Jersey thing. If you know you know. I gained a lot of new insight from reading this text. Even though a recap of all 7 seasons was at times excessive, it helped me to steer clear of some of the over the top female centered violence of season 3. The main characters of the show are enjoyable but they are all deeply flowed. They are despicable scum bags.
I came away with a new respect for lead actor James Gandolfini. Man he was amazing. I’ve enjoyed all of his films too! The whole ensemble was outstanding. So, if you have watched the show, seen the prequel film, listened to the Michael Imperioli podcast/book and still need more yacking (less wackin�) as the show adage goes, do yourself a favor and dive into this book.
Boy_This one covers every Sopranos base there is to cover!
If you are not a fan of the Sopranos. Don’t read any further. But�..who knows. This primer may convert you!
Took me a while to warm up to this one. Two television critics cover every episode in depth. A lot of depth! I have been rewatching the epic mob show over the last few weeks. Yes , I’m a fan. Not a mega fan but David Chase did change television with his efforts on this one. I appreciate the show and have been enjoying sharing it with my sons this 4th time through
One of the things that I really appreciate about this wonderful text are the interviews the authors had with Chase. The authors wrote for the Star Ledger. Tony Sopranos daily paper. It’s a New Jersey thing. If you know you know. I gained a lot of new insight from reading this text. Even though a recap of all 7 seasons was at times excessive, it helped me to steer clear of some of the over the top female centered violence of season 3. The main characters of the show are enjoyable but they are all deeply flowed. They are despicable scum bags.
I came away with a new respect for lead actor James Gandolfini. Man he was amazing. I’ve enjoyed all of his films too! The whole ensemble was outstanding. So, if you have watched the show, seen the prequel film, listened to the Michael Imperioli podcast/book and still need more yacking (less wackin�) as the show adage goes, do yourself a favor and dive into this book.
May 8, 2020
This review contains spoilers of a show that ended more than 10 years ago. But yano. Some people care about that shit.
Fifteen years I’ve later finally caught up with the Sopranos. It began in Year 11 English class, sat next to Tom, a boy who would later go on to star in gay porn. One day, incredulous that I hadn’t seen it, Tom pulled the DVD out of his bag and told me to watch it. I devoured the first season. And then I watched the second, the third, the fourth and possibly at least some of the fifth. And then Year 11 ended and I practically never spoke to Tom again. We weren’t really friends, you see.
I tried to catch up with the show, but it never quite happened despite the show not airing in the UK until months after its US release. Yet despite the two years between borrowing the DVDs and the show ending, I never quite managed it. Over the next decade I kept going back, trying to finally finish it. By this point I’ve probably seen the first three or four seasons five or six times, but never further. Partly because the show demanded your attention to keep up, partly due to watching the latest and greatest new thing. And maybe partly because the ending and other events (read: deaths) had been so throughly revealed to me that it barely seemed worthwhile. Spoilers may not ruin a story for me, but apparently they do reduce some of the impetus to continue, I guess.
I was, once again, partway through season 4 when my wife saw me watching it and suggested we try watching it together again. We’d tried to do it once before too in a tiny little Brixton studio flat, but once again never made it to the end. This time though, over the course of many weeknight dinners � none of them remotely Italian, obviously � between February and May, we finally finished it!
What do you do when you finish watching something? You go and read everything you can about it obviously. Alan Sepinwall has been my TV critic of choice for a good 12 years now. Watch the new episode of Chuck? Read his recap. Watch an episode of Breaking Bad? Read his recap. Watch the latest Friday Night Lights? You get the idea.
As the years have gone by, I’ve had less and less time to devote to watching television, let alone to reading about television. The current lockdown has afforded me more time to watch new shows and it’s clear the TV landscape has changed. There’s more television � and more good television � than ever, with the bulk release of whole seasons becoming increasingly common. This may not have affected the role of a TV critic, but it has definitely affected my role as a TV viewer. Of the new shows I’ve watched recently, the only time I visited Sepinwall’s recaps was after the last couple of Better Call Saul episodes.
Despite that Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller-Seitz’s compendium The Sopranos Sessions felt like an obvious book to read after the final episode of the show. While it’s easy to articulate my feelings about the show (I loved it), the book is a trickier proposition. Two-thirds of the book is dedicated to reviews of each episode which make clear just how much happened in the first couple of seasons of the show. While these reviews form a nice little trip down memory lane, it was rare that they added much value for me despite the preponderance of thought and analysis.
Ultimately I no longer feel the need to read someone else’s thoughts on TV when I can write a less informed blog post myself. Especially when the authors� thoughts later conflict with what creator David Chase tells them in the interviews at the end of the book. While the show will no doubt be the subject of many PhD theses by now, I don’t need to analyse every theme, motif or mystery in each episode. Did the Russian survive? I didn’t care at the time and I don’t care now. Did Ralphie burn down the stable? Always felt that way to me. Did Tony die at the end? It doesn’t really matter to me.
I don’t need 30 pages of dialogue between the two authors arguing about the show’s ending. It’s kind of redundant when David Chase outlines thought process half a dozen chapters later. These interviews make up the bulk of the remaining third of the book and are amongst the book’s most interesting pieces. They also cast something of a shadow over the show. Watching them at the time, it felt that the show was treating violence against women lightly during the three episode stretch where Melfi is raped and Tracee is violently beaten, even if the show dealt with the events reasonably well. While Chase might be right that nobody complained when bad things happened to men, that’s kind of the expectation when watching a show like this.
Subverting expectations kind of seems to be a running theme, especially if you read the episode recaps. Given that it’s difficult to take Chase seriously when he says he wasn’t setting out to mess people around with the show’s ending. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me but it’s surprising to see these comments presented so uncritically in a 450 page book.
With 450 odd pages to play with there was plenty of scope to add new insights to the show. Perhaps exploring the themes of the series as a whole or a character’s progression may have been more effective. Rather than approaching the show an episode at a time, deconstructing each season may have worked better for me. Maybe interviews with the show’s cast and crew might have been worth exploring.
At any rate, the book’s highlights for me were saved until last where they did just that with a choice selection of the author’s 15+ year old newspaper articles. Okay, fine, maybe the show’s main audience wasn’t filled with people who cared about the show’s costume choices. But learning that Tony Sirico’s closet was home to the exact same shirt that the show’s costume designer picked out for Paulie to wear on the show? That’s the kind of tidbit I’m truly interested in.
Fifteen years I’ve later finally caught up with the Sopranos. It began in Year 11 English class, sat next to Tom, a boy who would later go on to star in gay porn. One day, incredulous that I hadn’t seen it, Tom pulled the DVD out of his bag and told me to watch it. I devoured the first season. And then I watched the second, the third, the fourth and possibly at least some of the fifth. And then Year 11 ended and I practically never spoke to Tom again. We weren’t really friends, you see.
I tried to catch up with the show, but it never quite happened despite the show not airing in the UK until months after its US release. Yet despite the two years between borrowing the DVDs and the show ending, I never quite managed it. Over the next decade I kept going back, trying to finally finish it. By this point I’ve probably seen the first three or four seasons five or six times, but never further. Partly because the show demanded your attention to keep up, partly due to watching the latest and greatest new thing. And maybe partly because the ending and other events (read: deaths) had been so throughly revealed to me that it barely seemed worthwhile. Spoilers may not ruin a story for me, but apparently they do reduce some of the impetus to continue, I guess.
I was, once again, partway through season 4 when my wife saw me watching it and suggested we try watching it together again. We’d tried to do it once before too in a tiny little Brixton studio flat, but once again never made it to the end. This time though, over the course of many weeknight dinners � none of them remotely Italian, obviously � between February and May, we finally finished it!
What do you do when you finish watching something? You go and read everything you can about it obviously. Alan Sepinwall has been my TV critic of choice for a good 12 years now. Watch the new episode of Chuck? Read his recap. Watch an episode of Breaking Bad? Read his recap. Watch the latest Friday Night Lights? You get the idea.
As the years have gone by, I’ve had less and less time to devote to watching television, let alone to reading about television. The current lockdown has afforded me more time to watch new shows and it’s clear the TV landscape has changed. There’s more television � and more good television � than ever, with the bulk release of whole seasons becoming increasingly common. This may not have affected the role of a TV critic, but it has definitely affected my role as a TV viewer. Of the new shows I’ve watched recently, the only time I visited Sepinwall’s recaps was after the last couple of Better Call Saul episodes.
Despite that Alan Sepinwall and Matt Zoller-Seitz’s compendium The Sopranos Sessions felt like an obvious book to read after the final episode of the show. While it’s easy to articulate my feelings about the show (I loved it), the book is a trickier proposition. Two-thirds of the book is dedicated to reviews of each episode which make clear just how much happened in the first couple of seasons of the show. While these reviews form a nice little trip down memory lane, it was rare that they added much value for me despite the preponderance of thought and analysis.
Ultimately I no longer feel the need to read someone else’s thoughts on TV when I can write a less informed blog post myself. Especially when the authors� thoughts later conflict with what creator David Chase tells them in the interviews at the end of the book. While the show will no doubt be the subject of many PhD theses by now, I don’t need to analyse every theme, motif or mystery in each episode. Did the Russian survive? I didn’t care at the time and I don’t care now. Did Ralphie burn down the stable? Always felt that way to me. Did Tony die at the end? It doesn’t really matter to me.
I don’t need 30 pages of dialogue between the two authors arguing about the show’s ending. It’s kind of redundant when David Chase outlines thought process half a dozen chapters later. These interviews make up the bulk of the remaining third of the book and are amongst the book’s most interesting pieces. They also cast something of a shadow over the show. Watching them at the time, it felt that the show was treating violence against women lightly during the three episode stretch where Melfi is raped and Tracee is violently beaten, even if the show dealt with the events reasonably well. While Chase might be right that nobody complained when bad things happened to men, that’s kind of the expectation when watching a show like this.
Subverting expectations kind of seems to be a running theme, especially if you read the episode recaps. Given that it’s difficult to take Chase seriously when he says he wasn’t setting out to mess people around with the show’s ending. Either way, it doesn’t matter to me but it’s surprising to see these comments presented so uncritically in a 450 page book.
With 450 odd pages to play with there was plenty of scope to add new insights to the show. Perhaps exploring the themes of the series as a whole or a character’s progression may have been more effective. Rather than approaching the show an episode at a time, deconstructing each season may have worked better for me. Maybe interviews with the show’s cast and crew might have been worth exploring.
At any rate, the book’s highlights for me were saved until last where they did just that with a choice selection of the author’s 15+ year old newspaper articles. Okay, fine, maybe the show’s main audience wasn’t filled with people who cared about the show’s costume choices. But learning that Tony Sirico’s closet was home to the exact same shirt that the show’s costume designer picked out for Paulie to wear on the show? That’s the kind of tidbit I’m truly interested in.
April 8, 2022
Por fin puedo decir que he leído La Biblia
January 15, 2019
I received a free review copy of this book.
Love the beginning, so many little subtle things that I missed, the first time around. The authors writing, was so good, I could see the episode in my mind.
However, The David Chase sessions, were way too long and boring. He seemed to repeat himself, and kept talking about his home in France. What does France, have to do with the book?
I did enjoy the morgue, also.
Would have been a better book, if the Chase sessions, would have been abbreviated.
Love the beginning, so many little subtle things that I missed, the first time around. The authors writing, was so good, I could see the episode in my mind.
However, The David Chase sessions, were way too long and boring. He seemed to repeat himself, and kept talking about his home in France. What does France, have to do with the book?
I did enjoy the morgue, also.
Would have been a better book, if the Chase sessions, would have been abbreviated.
January 15, 2019
Not only is it a great show, The Sopranos was a watershed for critical consideration of television. Matt Zoller Seitz and Alan Sepinwall are no johnny-come-latelys, they were writing about it for print (!) and acquainted with James Gandolfini and creator David Chase. The new, extensive interviews with Chase are alone worth $20.
The Sopranos Sessions made me want to re-watch the entire series. Time being so precious, that's no small feat.
The Sopranos Sessions made me want to re-watch the entire series. Time being so precious, that's no small feat.
January 1, 2019
I thought that this book was such a cool and interesting read. I never watched The Sopranos and probably never will but I still got so much out of this book!
August 11, 2022
Really, this book was fantastic, better than I anticipated if a little too long, and I learned a lot from it.
April 4, 2020
Fun to read while watching the show. The first section is recaps and analysis of every episode, the second section a lengthy interview with David Chase spanning the whole show, and the 3rd part is various publications by Seitz and Sepinwall from the Star Ledger. The recaps illuminated a lot I missed and hadn't thought of, especially with the Gloria character and Buscemi's character. The interview with Chase offers some cool insights into the ending. Wouldn't recommend reading the book if you're not watching the show at the same time. Even if you've seen the show before, not sure if it will really be all that interesting. But, if you are watching it or revisiting it, its a good accompaniment.
February 23, 2019
Tremendous episode by episode insight into HBO's, The Sopranos. From the pilot, to "University" to "Pine Barrens" to "Whoever Did This" to the series finale, "Made in the USA."
Alan Sepinwall deconstructs the characters, dialogue, music and cinematography, and gives plausible answers to many common fan theories about what happened to Tony in the final scene.
Plus things that we might have missed, like what happens in EVERY seventh episode, what happens after our favorite characters are seen cooking eggs, and what is Tony's real fascination with the ducks.
Great read for true fans of the series.
Alan Sepinwall deconstructs the characters, dialogue, music and cinematography, and gives plausible answers to many common fan theories about what happened to Tony in the final scene.
Plus things that we might have missed, like what happens in EVERY seventh episode, what happens after our favorite characters are seen cooking eggs, and what is Tony's real fascination with the ducks.
Great read for true fans of the series.
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