Sopranos: They Return to the Summah' House and Lawn'dry

Sopranos: They Return to the Summah' House and Lawn'dry
Episode Review - Final Season, Episode 1 of The Sopranos by Mike Wilkerson - 2GuysTalking.Com
A 2GuysTalking TelevisionReviewBlog.Com Review:

Oh, to see old "friends and/or family members!"

The episode starts with Tony being towed off after a mass of police officers show up and offer us an immediate chance to see the rest of the family again! AJ, Meadow and the ever-somehow-hot Mrs. Soprano are all in character and ready to showcase some more of their undeniable skills.

The rest that follows is a listing of random thoughts as they arrive inside my head and are then placed in to the categories provided below.. Please feel free to chime in on any of them and again, it's great to see all of our "family" again and I have high-hopes for this ending bookend season to one of the hallmark television programs of all time.

Bada-Bing! What It's Done Right:

In HD: This will be the first episode and sadly the final season of The Sopranos that I'll have the fortune of watching in HD. The colors, the complexions, the front butt of Janice: Amazing. :) For those of you that haven't gotten on-board the HD revolution, it's very much worth the effort, time, money and anguish to do so. Be sure to touch base with someone that's gone through the combine of HD conversion so that you can help avoid the pitfalls that await you, as well as needing to follow the "you-musts" and "if-you-don'ts" from the bloodsuckers that will be selling you your set.

The Characters: The Sopranos does something here that very few programs can and or ever do: They are able to put us back into situational awareness of what's happened over the period we've been gone and to introduce us to more than 15 already-met characters in about 15 minutes. That truly is amazing and while I know that The Sopranos knows how to do it because the cast is so large, it really IS ground-breaking and something that I wish other shows would learn already. The pacing of this episode was perfect because of this ability.

Automatic Weapons: When in doubt give the boss and AR-10! When I grow up to be a boss I TOO want an AR-10! There's something about Italian Mafia shows and automatic weapons that just makes me need to change my pants. Ahhhh. Doh!

The Cliff Relationship Dialogs: The Sopranos continues another characteristic that really does provide you with a wonderful sense of contentment in that you probably will never have the kind of relationships that they have. I call it the Cliff Relationship Dialog. Here you are, you and your sister talking about life, the past, specific events, and how chummy you all are. A few back-and-forths occur and suddenly: Life falling off a cliff, you or her, or both of you are in a very uncomfortable "geez, I don't know what to say to that" moment, but it feels like sitting down on razor wire. There are few programs that are able to pull this off, especially when there's so much "family" involved in something like The Sopranos, but truly: They are MASTERS of it. Whether it's Janice talking to Carmela, or Bobby simply telling Tony to not talk like that and then AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh! Down a cliff they go. Whether it's simply emotional turmoil/a void or a monopoly board piece embedded in the face, The Sopranos is the MASTER series for such trade-offs and it is amazing.

Presumed Happiness: I'm not sure if it's the color palettes, camera angles, cinematography or pace that are chosen for the show, but the times that they depict people happy really make a perfect "picture" of happiness, that is the perfect set up for the Cliff Relationship Dialog. Again, just brilliant storytelling that few series can match.

AJs Slackery: I'm not sure if it's the ability to have AJ not "follow in his Father's footsteps", or if it's just that I was never the slacker that AJ is/has become, but it's a very interesting kaleidoscope that we see with AJ (Tony's Son, Tony Jr.) and I hope that we have some more screen time for him in something other than a whining/bitching session with Carmela. Watching him lie once again to his parents as he entertains was one of those guilty pleasures that strangely I am getting over as I too get older. Hmm, is it possible you can truly outgrow "outsmarting your stupid parents?" Thoughts?

Ahhh, Fishing: Y'know - I've always LOVED fishing - the peace, the alone with nothing but you, the person with you, the boat and the water, etc etc. But you know what? I've caught almost NOTHING when I go, especially with my Father. I'm not kidding: The last time we went we were on a gorgeous lake in the middle of Wisconsin, perfect weather, perfect conditions and ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, zero, zip nada. I don't know if we have the most unlucky fisherman license or something but I've always valued the time that I've spent with him even though we come back with nothing. Did I already say we always come back with an empty net? I'm sure I did. :)

Picturesque Shots: Again, it might be that I'm just now watching in HD, but there are literally some shots I could take a picture of and have printed out and mounted in this episode. The imagery of the boat with Tony and Bobby in it fishing from the treescape view are some of the most striking shots I've seen in recent television.

You Know It's a Good Fight When a Monopoly House is Stuck In YOUR FACE! Does this REALLY need any explanation? :) Kudos to the fight coordinator and to the grip that said "what if we have a Monopoly House lodged in his face when he's out cold?" :)

The Make-Up Department: Tony's eye when he wakes up in the morning hurt when I looked at it. That's the "mark" literally of a talented make-up crew and The Sopranos secured someone great this season. Kudos (sound of a punch landing and a body falling to the ground, thereby embedding a Monopoly House into my face).

Turnabout: They have created a literal monster in Tony with his eternally evolving ability to shovel responsibility. The sequence where he goes from being a pissed off brother-in-law whose just lost a lot of apparent face, to basically telling his "I-kicked-your-ass-last-nite" brother in-in law to go whack somebody to appoint blame and the potential for failure is immaculate story writing.

What's Been Whacked/Sleeps with the Fishes:

Ummmm... Unlike last season where I could complain about at least 2-3 things in each of the episode, my only complaint here was that it simply wasn't long enough. In the age of "2 hour openers" it was strange to only be alloted an hour to watch the last, ever, never-will-be-another, this is it, after-this-we-sleep-with-the-tv-series-fishes season opener for a show I've liked since it started. I guess that's a great problem to have, eh? Perhaps other shows should take this as something of a bellweather for their entries into christening a season of a television show.

'Da Rest of 'Da Story: (7/10 upside-down guns) As we've started with The 2GuysTalking: 24 Podcast, I'll be giving the episodes of The Sopranos a number rating this final season. This one earns 7 upside-down guns as a welcome, average "hello there" from an old friend from whom I hope to see and witness many great things this season.

What do YOU think? Right on? Don't know what the hell I'm thinking about and should be whacked in a laundromat? Chime in below via our 2GuysTalking Television Review Blogs Comment system below and tell us what YOU think of this first, episode of the last season of the hit HBO series, "The Sopranos."