Gilda Dent
09-02-2007, 08:02 PM
I tried this a few years back, and found it difficult to really appreciate it for a couple of reasons, mostly that the somewhat random nature and realistic depiction of violence in the show caused me more problems then than it does now, and that I couldn't connect to any of the characters because very nearly all of them were either evil or willing to tolerate and cooperate with evil because it benefitted them to do so.
But it has such a reputation that I had to try again.
I can appreciate it quite a bit better now. All of the mobsters are still scum, and I tend to spend most of each episode rooting for bad things to happen to most of the protagonists. I loved it when Tony went golfing with the professionals in his neighborhood and basically was treated like a circus sideshow freak because of what he does. Sadly, such scenes where the bad guys get what's coming to them are rare.
The priest is . . . creepy is the best word I can think of for it, but I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes it so that every scene with him in it makes me a little queasy.
Carmella is on the surface the most sympathetic of the adults in either family, but as became clear that she's very much aware of exactly what her husband does for a living and is willing to endorse or ignore this behavior because it gives her a nice house and car and furniture, she tended to lose more and more sympathy.
Tony's mother is the single most deliciously evil character in the show, manipulating everyone involved in every scene in which she appears.
Dr. Melfi is probably the most sympathetic adult in the cast, but the way in which she's so detached makes her hard to get a grasp on. It's difficult at this point to figure out why she keeps taking Tony back--he's threatened her with violence, come just short of sexually assaulting her, and on several occasions gotten angry enough to scream obscenities at her and walk out in the middle of a session. It seemed obvious to me that having Tony for a patient was placing Dr. Melfi in great physical danger--from him--long before the other elements in the season finale made things worse for her.
There were a few duds--the episode with the coach that was molesting the girl on the soccer team was nothing less than awful.
As an inside look at evil, and the attraction that the power that comes with it can have (Christopher, the chef guy, Dr. Melfi, Carmella) it's very well done.
I also missed much of the humor the first time through, especially the way they frequently poke fun at how dumb most of the mobsters are through little bits of throwaway dialog.
It's not a fun show to watch--you have to accept that the bad guys are going to continue to get away with just about every scummy thing they do--but it is a very well made show.
It's much like Reservoir Dogs in a way, in that it shows a world in which traditional morality is turned almost entirely upside down, where cops doing their jobs are the bad guys and people who testify to the truth are the worst danger to the community instead of serving it.
But it has such a reputation that I had to try again.
I can appreciate it quite a bit better now. All of the mobsters are still scum, and I tend to spend most of each episode rooting for bad things to happen to most of the protagonists. I loved it when Tony went golfing with the professionals in his neighborhood and basically was treated like a circus sideshow freak because of what he does. Sadly, such scenes where the bad guys get what's coming to them are rare.
The priest is . . . creepy is the best word I can think of for it, but I'm not sure exactly what it is that makes it so that every scene with him in it makes me a little queasy.
Carmella is on the surface the most sympathetic of the adults in either family, but as became clear that she's very much aware of exactly what her husband does for a living and is willing to endorse or ignore this behavior because it gives her a nice house and car and furniture, she tended to lose more and more sympathy.
Tony's mother is the single most deliciously evil character in the show, manipulating everyone involved in every scene in which she appears.
Dr. Melfi is probably the most sympathetic adult in the cast, but the way in which she's so detached makes her hard to get a grasp on. It's difficult at this point to figure out why she keeps taking Tony back--he's threatened her with violence, come just short of sexually assaulting her, and on several occasions gotten angry enough to scream obscenities at her and walk out in the middle of a session. It seemed obvious to me that having Tony for a patient was placing Dr. Melfi in great physical danger--from him--long before the other elements in the season finale made things worse for her.
There were a few duds--the episode with the coach that was molesting the girl on the soccer team was nothing less than awful.
As an inside look at evil, and the attraction that the power that comes with it can have (Christopher, the chef guy, Dr. Melfi, Carmella) it's very well done.
I also missed much of the humor the first time through, especially the way they frequently poke fun at how dumb most of the mobsters are through little bits of throwaway dialog.
It's not a fun show to watch--you have to accept that the bad guys are going to continue to get away with just about every scummy thing they do--but it is a very well made show.
It's much like Reservoir Dogs in a way, in that it shows a world in which traditional morality is turned almost entirely upside down, where cops doing their jobs are the bad guys and people who testify to the truth are the worst danger to the community instead of serving it.