I am agree.

Monopoly piece in face is the new pwnage.

That's what she said. ;)

http://www.medialifemagazine.com/art...icle_11333.asp

Perhaps this was the right time for HBO to whack “The Sopranos” after all. After weeks of hype and speculation leading up to Sunday’s final-season premiere, the seventh-year show had its least-watched debut since its second year and third lowest overall.

“Sopranos” averaged 7.66 million viewers, a mere 20,000 more than its second-season debut in 2000, according to Nielsen data. The show was down 19 percent from last spring’s sixth-season debut, which drew 9.47 million viewers.

And it was well down from the peak of 13.43 million viewers who watched the fourth-season premiere in 2002, though back then Nielsen’s numbers included reruns of the show on other HBO networks such as HBO West and HBO Signature. Since 2003, Nielsen has only measured the primary HBO channel.

The dip continues a pattern seen at the end of last season, when the finale averaged 8.88 million viewers and viewership for the show dropped every week up to then.

“Sopranos” was still the most-watched show on premium or basic cable last week, and by a wide margin, but for the amount of attention the soon-to-end drama received that number is surprisingly low. It just goes to show once again the major disconnect between what television critics and television viewers consider can’t-miss television.

“Sopranos” was praised in major newspapers from USA Today to The Los Angeles Times, and made the cover of Entertainment Weekly and TV Guide. But by comparison, an episode of ABC’s “October Road,” which was savaged by critics, actually drew slightly more viewers last week.

Of course HBO is available in roughly 29 million households to ABC’s 111 million. Yet “Sopranos’” failure to draw more viewers may be a reflection of dissatisfaction with the show itself rather than its limited availability.

Last season the show was criticized for a dearth of action. An entire episode took place in an ailing Tony’s head, and most of the season focused on his recovery from a near-fatal gunshot wound. Viewers were especially disappointed by the uneventful season finale, in which no one was whacked, tossed out of the house or arrested, as in past finales.

Sunday’s premiere did feature a hit and a fight, but some viewers had likely already abandoned the show.

Too, Sunday was Easter, a night when television viewership is always off. ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” even sank to a series low.

And “Sopranos” faced tough cable competition. Discovery’s ongoing, high-rated “Planet Earth” special may have drawn away viewers in the same 9 p.m. timeslot.

HBO says it expects many viewers to tune in for repeats of the premiere and on-demand versions this week, boosting its cumulative numbers.

I honestly think the bolded part is the biggest reason viewship was down.

First of all, the hit was in Canada. Bobby was wearing gloves. It is hard to tell if the hit actually held onto a bit of the shirt or if it was just ripped.

The bigger groundwork is what's going on between Tony and Christopher.

Sopranos is all about multiple meanings...did anyone catch the brief duck interludes (one flies by Tony when he's on the dock, Nica singing a duck song - stops at mother duck).

Dropping the gun is standard wiseguy practice, it's untraceable...it was the right thing to do (see Godfather). It's only a bad idea when it can be traced back to you (ergo the initial arrest).

The talk about the hits was just that. I think Tony and Bobby were shooting the breeze. After the fight, Tony knew this was his way of getting back at Bobby.

The hollow points I would think is a red herring, the kid had the gun for almost two years, who is to say that wasn't /his/ hollow points in Tony's gun.

I liked the start, there was a duality. You saw how the Tony, Carmella, Janice and Bobby all partied, and then you saw how A.J. and his group partied (I'm sure we'll see more development). Tony wasn't so amused to see AJ's girlfriend's son at what 3 sucking on a pacifier, he was more excited to see Nica (god help this child).

Symbolism is everywhere...Janice singing "Out of Time" and Carmella singing "Love Hurts".

Biggest thing to look at closely, Carmella seems to be rubbing her shoulder a lot...it could be nothing (note she was rubbing it before she got into the tangle and landed on the coffee table). Most discussers stated shoulder rubbing could be, /could be/ a symptom of cancer (ovarian).

Also, a conspiracy angle...Janice had a son way back...He lives in Canada, I believe he was a musician. Just like the guy who got killed by Bobby - major stretch I know, but possible.

It's what I like about the Sopranos, if you watch, you remember, it expects you to remember things.

Nice breakdown, Qwik...

The other thing I think is that On Demand is a bigger part of the whole equation than it ever has been. I'm not sure how and if the On Demand ratings are but I know it's a bigger and bigger factor.

That was all a really quick breakdown. There are a ton of things to notice. Yes some of it is trivial (the sushi thing). But ultimately, it's pretty cool.

Are you referring to a message board (i.e. discussers)? If so, can you recomend one for Sopranos stuff?

Of course...the best is televisionwithoutpity.com

They have discussion forums for a ton of shows along with brief recaps and larger narrative recaps.

slate.com also does a discussion about the sopranos, but it's no longer as in depth and really marred by a lot of personal interjections.

Perhaps... but remember during the fight with Bobby, Carmella tried to seperate the two and Tony elbowed Carmella who fell and wacked her shoulder over the table.

As for ratings... add in Easter, DVR and On Demand and I think that explains things.

Hell, I taped it on my DVR and watched it an hour later (I was at my friend's house for dinner Sunday evening and no HBO there).

Well..I was reading a TV blog today..and one of the comments struck me as interesting, and the point made earlier in this very thread about David chase knowing how the series would end from the beginning really made me think..this is in regards to the theme song of the show:

Good episode. HBO is going to air a making of Cleaver?

Fun video I found - every single Sopranos whacking, in chronological order:

hxxp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bvp45eE5dSM

That was a pretty awesome episode. A whole lot of storylines going on.

Poor Tim Daly. :( First Eyes, then The Nine, and now this. There's only so much cash you can get from saying "Previously on Lost".

Surely Chris has to be done in this time. It's probably a red-herring though, and him flipping would be all too obvious of a way to end it all. I wouldn't be suprised, however, to see him get whacked in the next few weeks, especially if they think he's going to flip.

Poor Chrissy, he just doesn't know what to do.. Once he was Tony's right hand man and now he is expendable, I also foresee his death in the next few weeks.

Did anyone else think AJ liked it when they tortured that college kid with acid. Is this hope for him to join the family business and take over for Tony..???

He is on that Greys Anatomy spinoff I thought now. I guess he is the indicator on whether the show is about to end or be cancelled.:D
"Aw crap, Tim Daly is on the show, cancelled, 5 episodes, guaranteed!":D

Its a shame, I think he is a decent actor.

So, no immediate comments following tonights episode? I found it to be very, VERY intense.

Mmmm, Sarah Shahi.

Very surprised to see how Chris goes out.

I was hoping Chris would kill Tony this season instead.

definitely not how I would have expected that death to play out, but it made a lot of sense in the story.

That one "Butchy" guy that's Leotardo's main henchmen is definitely creepy. I think he'll have to play a big part in the conclusion of the series.


And supposedly in 2 weeks, the next to last episode is going to show a lot of backstory with a lot of flashbacks about how people got involved in the mob. Could be great.

A great episode...

I was on edge for the start, the long drive in the darkness, Chrissy weaving back and forth, playing the soundtrack to "the Departed", the tension was mounting up...

What I really could tell, was that Tony was trying, trying hard to find that moment to connect to his "son", but Chris kept weaving, and fiddling and just jabbering, and before Tony could attempt to reconcile, it was over...

Then seeing Chrissy, keep stating Tony's gotta help him out, that he's using...well, Tony helped him out, and in doing so, snipped one threat to him in the bud...

This is now the spiral downward...

am i the only one who kept waiting for Tony to wake up and the entire chris death to be a dream sequence?

I've got to echo the sentiments already expressed. I was surprised to see Chris checkout the way he did, and yep, Sarah Shahi is a grade A hottie. Gotta love those Tarrant County girls. :)

personally i think they owed it to the character to have him die some other way. this was a rather cheap death, if you ask me. i thought all signs were pointing to Phil whacking Chris to spark one hell of a war for the last 2 episodes.

i didn't know how to interpret Tony killing him - was it a mercy killing cuz he felt Chris would be a vegetable, or was it really to eliminate what he thought was a mounting threat?

just hard for me to swallow. you can't tell me all these years with Chris coming to the forefront of the storyline that it was all so he could die in a car accident. i understand Chase would prefer to have it so that each episode can stand on its own and they're all "mini-movies", but as the storyteller of a long story i feel it's his job to say "this is how it all tied up, this where it all lead to". we're not talking about Vito Spatafore, who came out of nowhere to have a major story arc and then was whacked. this was one of the main characters in the show the last several years running. just a cheap way out. just cuz as a storyteller Chase has the power to do what he wants with any character doesn't mean he necessarily should wield that wand however. that's basically Chase saying "this is my show, i'm the storyteller, if i wake up and decide i want Tony to die by food poisoning i'll do it if i want". certain characters deserve, nay, require, a certain sendoff.

The timing of the death was vintage Sopranos though. Formulaic writing would require a little more of a downward spiral for Christopher, climaxing in him getting whacked in one of the final episodes. Instead, they have an ordinary, non-noteworthy opening scene (asbestos dumping) and then it's all over for one of the show's main characters, with hardly a warning.

People often complain about the Sopranos not going by the book (the unexplained fate of the Russian, Meadow's vanishing finance, seasons ending with a whimper instead of a bang, etc.), but this is a show that seems to strive on the idea of not constantly reminding you you're watching scripted television.

I actually liked the way they killed off Chris because I didn't see it coming like that at all. Chris gets whacked by Phil Leotardo? Well, yeah, that sucks, but it would be like hitting a pinata and having a bunch of candy fall out. It's satisfying, and you knew it was coming. But Tony killing Chris himself amid a fog of possible motives in a split second decision? That was like hitting a pinata and having a swarm of bees fly out.

I think it was a great way to kill off Chris. It's far more interesting that Tony did it, recall how Tony dug his heels in for killing Big Pussy and Tony B., but Chris's death was complete impulse (recall a few weeks ago when Tony mulls over whacking Paulie, I felt the same way with this car drive).

I don't think a gang war with NYC is in Tony's favor, his group will be snuffed out rather quick (odd that one of Chris's last statements was advice to Tony to pay Phil off, he wasn't so complacent when Johnny Sack was in charge).

I think that the Vito storyline did suck, but I think because HBO wanted another season, Chase had to extend out a story arc that would have a story but wouldn't give anything away for the final season, plus it did allow for some foreshadowing (I recall how manipulative Vito was when Tony was in a coma, he was really pushing to be the replacement).

So I don't think that was Chase's fault.

I think snuffing Chris out at the beginning was brilliant, and much like "Psycho" a shock that before you can get over it, the show's over. Chrissy would have lived if Tony had made the phone call (they state that), Tony did it because Chris would never be what he wanted him to be (like Comfortably Numb ..."the child is gone, the dream is gone...")

No longer was Chris the "son" to replace Tony, Chris was a screwup who once shot at Tony, his gf almost turned him to the FBI (Tony had to take care of that), and after understanding "Cleaver", Tony knew the resentment that boiled under in Chris for Ade's death (and implied affair with Tony - which would have happened if there hadn't been an SUV crash - coincidence, I think not).

I like the unpredictableness of the show, you never know what's coming, and the best part, is that there have been incredible payoffs this season rather than the whimper of last season (started off with a bang)...I'm hoping that Chase can keep it up.

I feel like they (the writers) are slowly showing you how evil Tony is. The first few seasons, yeah, he is/was the boss, but you saw a family man with real problems and you felt some compassion for him. Now they are painting the picture of him being a ruthless killer, maybe as a setup to make you actually cheer for his death, if it were to happen.

There are so many loose ends though, I feel like the final episodes are going to be rushed. Will it be a godfather like end with everyone getting killed in a few minutes? I hope they don't have it as one of his guys was an informant the whole time and everyone gets busted type ending, that will be so disappointing.

** Just a guess***

I honestly think that Tony was the one who killed Christopher's father. In an earlier episode Tony was the one who told and showed Chris who killed his father. Whether this man did or not, or Tony paid the retiring cop to kill Chris's father is beside the point. Seeing Christopher in his current state, and with him saying he would not pass a drug test, and with the tree branch impaling the child seat, I honestly think that Tony saw in Christopher what he also saw in Christopher's father. And with that the man who killed the father also kills the son.
*** Just a guess ***

A great episode, and one I've been thinking about since it aired. I like that the writers are underlining how irredeemable Tony is after all this time -- something they needed to re-emphasize after his relatively sedate behavior since getting shot (beating up the crony for the hell of it as a notable exception). If they are planning a bad end for him -- as I have to imagine they must, unless leaving him alive/out-of-prison as a way of not suffering for his immorality isa more satisfying way of dodging expectations -- they have to play notes such as these leading up to the finale.

The way Chris went out was rough and unexpected -- incredible storytelling, and one of the most affecting scenes I've experienced on television (including the end of Twin Peaks). But there is no salvation for Tony, alive or dead, and now that the show no longer needs to give us much to like about him in order to keep us watching, I think they may be about to turn the dial to eleven.

Interesting point, I wonder if one of the remaining episodes will address it. Supposedly they are doing some sort of flashbacks in one of the remaining ones, or they may save that for possible future prequel movies.

They better not pull the "Newhart ending" and make this all some dream of Melfi and her patient Kevin Finnerty, a mentally disturbed salesman who longs to be a mafioso.

Ever since the episode a few seasons ago that ended with Tony teaching A.J. how to drive the boat...completely oblivious that he was teaching him wrong and causing trouble with other water traffic...I have thought that A.J. would be one of the big keys to the finale. I wonder if the ending won't be years later, with A.J. the boss sitting in a different therapist's office.

Anyone notice how two dimensional Silvio's character is compared to characters like Chris and Paulie? Silvio has been in the show from the start but we never got much insight into him. He had a brief stint filling in for Tony as top dog and discovered he was completely unsuited to the role. He has been the perfect lieutenant...competent, loyal, unlikely to challenge Tony for boss. We have not seen much of what really motivates him. He has almost been a cardboard cutout, a characature.

Interesting idea -- I agree that AJ has received an inordinate amount of attention of late, as he has never really been a very interesting character. While the show seems to be going through somewhat systematically and wrapping up many characters' storylines (like that little half-episode paean to Junior, with whom we are clearly now finished)... AJ remains central to the things that are still developing, without an obvious end in sight. An ending like the one you describe would really fit.

The interesting thing with AJ is that he clearly cannot handle the things he's seeing and halfway participating in right now. Maybe we don't end with AJ in a therapist's chair but having his first fainting spell as he had to block so much out and desensitize himself so much to be able to be in the mob in the future.

I'm interested in the idea of Tony ending up a desolate monster...after AJ kills himself, which will sever his last remaining human ties.

Alternately, the idea of AJ taking over and being in therapy (with an old Melfi?) at the end is a good one, and I will subscribe to that newsletter as well. But I think I'm pulling for Desolate Monster.

Or Tony hooking up at the end with Johnnycakes... :D

That could be the only reason I see for the focus on Vito over those episodes.

so, anyone cancelling HBO after the series ends?

Entourage, Curb, THE WIRE. Fuck no.

I've read theories (i.e. speculation) about Tony killing Melfi, after revealing too much to her. So essentially, the show would have begun in season 1 with him trying to better himself through Melfi, and end in the last few episodes with Tony giving up on that, and embracing his desolate monster self.

Some people are taking this way too seriously:

hxxp://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/05/16/sopranos_spoilers

Along with Deadwood's 2 movies and John From Cincinnati, which is starting next month and created by the Deadwood producer. Half the shows I watch are on HBO.

i am. after Rome and Sopranos i have no need for premium cable. i don't really watch my premium movie channels anymore. anything else that is worth watching i'll simply rent the whole season on DVD. much cheaper than way.

Were the Deadwood movies filmed?

I don't know what's more disturbing, the fact that people think that Christopher is a real person, or the fact that those people feel that Christopher is a person that should be fondly remembered.

i know. granted, he was my favorite character on the show (along with Phil), but the guy was a murderer. don't cry for him, Argentina.

As much as I love Steve Van Zandt, I think his lack of acting experience might play into this. I've heard it mentioned that his limited range kind of limits what the writers can do with he character.