I give The Sopranos a lot of credit even though I am not a huge fan of the mob and their movies, TV shows, etc. But I started watching the show expecting to be turned off with all that Godfather drama, but it pulled me right in anyways. For a show built on something that a viewer might not like (the mob) to still draw them in is something really great. I think a good show should make people want to watch it, even if they hate the subject matter.
The Sopranos is well-acted, the stories are very cut and dry and very entertaining, and above all it is a mature hour of TV that you can't find with all these other shows on the air. It's not full of all that "soapy" Days of Our Lives drama like other TV series. It's never too dramatic that it gets bubbly. It delivers the goods with great precision, keeping the gritty violence and soapy drama perfectly balanced.
I admire that everything in this series is character driven. It takes a lot to develop characters so well that these people on our screen are the reason we watch for an hour every Sunday. Other shows might have too many gags (Friends, which is getting so old) and special effects and over-the-top dramatic situations. The Sopranos has nothing but characters and the things they are dealing with in life. Everything that happens on the show happens because of another character's actions. That layer of development alone is outstanding.
Plus, the seasons seem to be all planned out and designed well from the beginning. One character can do something in episode 1 that will lead to something else in episode 4 that will lead to this scenario in the season finale. It is all planned out and handled very well. I also like the fact that the show has 13 episodes a season. While it may seem like HBO is shorthanding us since every other show gets 22 episodes in a regular season, The Sopranos takes those 13 episodes and does what it has to do without all that extra junk I call "filler." Other shows have 22 episodes to take care of and often the season story arc isn't capable of being stretched over that many episodes, so what we get is a lot of "filler" to take up episode space that never adds up to anything. In the end, only about half of the season's episodes actually deal with the season story arc. The Sopranos does what it has to do so well because it doesn't have time to mess around with all that extra junk. It has to set up the story arcs, pan them out, and finish them in half the time other TV shows do it. And the clean-cut feeling you get from each season is worth it. The story arc was laid out in 13 episodes and you were happy with it. To the point, and right on the money.
The Sopranos may turn people off with its violence, language, and nudity, but if you really want to see a series that takes care in its writing and characters, see this. It often feels more like a movie than a TV show. I hate the mob, and I watch it. Very mature, and very well made.
The Sopranos is well-acted, the stories are very cut and dry and very entertaining, and above all it is a mature hour of TV that you can't find with all these other shows on the air. It's not full of all that "soapy" Days of Our Lives drama like other TV series. It's never too dramatic that it gets bubbly. It delivers the goods with great precision, keeping the gritty violence and soapy drama perfectly balanced.
I admire that everything in this series is character driven. It takes a lot to develop characters so well that these people on our screen are the reason we watch for an hour every Sunday. Other shows might have too many gags (Friends, which is getting so old) and special effects and over-the-top dramatic situations. The Sopranos has nothing but characters and the things they are dealing with in life. Everything that happens on the show happens because of another character's actions. That layer of development alone is outstanding.
Plus, the seasons seem to be all planned out and designed well from the beginning. One character can do something in episode 1 that will lead to something else in episode 4 that will lead to this scenario in the season finale. It is all planned out and handled very well. I also like the fact that the show has 13 episodes a season. While it may seem like HBO is shorthanding us since every other show gets 22 episodes in a regular season, The Sopranos takes those 13 episodes and does what it has to do without all that extra junk I call "filler." Other shows have 22 episodes to take care of and often the season story arc isn't capable of being stretched over that many episodes, so what we get is a lot of "filler" to take up episode space that never adds up to anything. In the end, only about half of the season's episodes actually deal with the season story arc. The Sopranos does what it has to do so well because it doesn't have time to mess around with all that extra junk. It has to set up the story arcs, pan them out, and finish them in half the time other TV shows do it. And the clean-cut feeling you get from each season is worth it. The story arc was laid out in 13 episodes and you were happy with it. To the point, and right on the money.
The Sopranos may turn people off with its violence, language, and nudity, but if you really want to see a series that takes care in its writing and characters, see this. It often feels more like a movie than a TV show. I hate the mob, and I watch it. Very mature, and very well made.