Life after the Sopranos

[Aries69]

Not many things on TV has made me want to be home to watch with the exception of Sopranos, Deadwood & Rome. Now that they're all over I find myself with nothing on tv that makes me not want to miss it.

The anticipation of a new season is gone & the hopes that Deadwood or Rome would fill the void were squelched before the Sopranos did their swan song. It has even made me wonder if I need HBO now. When SG1 was on Showtime I never thought is was worth the money for just one weekly show but I did give HBO the monthly so I didn't miss a show. I even got Direct TV so I could take it on the road with me when I travel.

With all the talk about the ending & other topics of the final episode I don't recall anyone saying now that is over what will fill the void if there is one.

With this 3 shows gone Sunday is just not as special anymore & life goes on.

So be it for the Sopranos if you choose to believe.

[janicezany]

Not many things on TV has made me want to be home to watch with the exception of Sopranos, Deadwood & Rome. Now that they're all over I find myself with nothing on tv that makes me not want to miss it.

The anticipation of a new season is gone & the hopes that Deadwood or Rome would fill the void were squelched before the Sopranos did their swan song. .

I understand and sympathize with your situation, Aries69. I'm thinking now of that almost shivering anticipation last week at this time. NOTHING to look forward to at 8:00 p.m. (I'm in Central time zone) To quote Mammy in "Gone With the Wind": "Ain't fittin! Just ain't fittin!" [And I'm aware that this quote may not be "fittin," :icon_rolleyes: ]

However, your comments indicating that you watched/enoyed "Rome" (which I did also) prompts me to suggest that you buy or rent the 5-DVD set of "I, Claudius", one of the (other!) really GREAT TV serial dramas. This was first aired on Masterpiece Theatre in the late 70s, and has become a Classic. Rome, as far as I could tell, was based on I Claudius, but was really a poor imitation. Yes, it had all the advantages of 21st. century technology and obviously beaucoup $$$, but, in my opinion, it can't hold a candle to this Robert Graves-based version of the story of four of the most important Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula and Claudius. Just as in Sopranos, every level of the drama is superb: direction, writing, "story line", and acting! Sets are at a minimum, and everything is filmed as if a stage drama, putting more emphasis on the drama and the acting. Interestingly, the five seasons :icon_sad: are filmed in 13 episodes, as in SOPS. [But, I may be getting this confused with my next drama series recommendation.]

Again, if you like English drama, the famed multi-award- winning series (also of the 70s) called Upstairs, Downstairs is a marvelously conceived dramatization of the "class/castes" division in England of the Edwardian era. Absorbingly and fascinatingly written, directed and acted! [Familiar?] I just bought these in DVD about 18 months to two years ago. I had recollections of watching some eps of each when they first aired, and remember loving them, but was not able to watch in continuity (had a job back then. :icon_mrgreen: ).

After watching each of these many, many times, I fortunately have had another exciting TV presentation provide some minimal substitution enjoyment for a now-barren Sunday Nite *experience*: The Deadliest Catch, a series about King Crab fishing on the Bering Sea! Fabulous!! Excitement of a different kind, and REAL! Highly recommended. Found on The Discovery Channel, most every day, but particularly on Tuesday nites, when new episodes air ( there's just one more left in the current season - three).

Here's a link, if you're interested:

http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html

[Garth]

One of the best things I can recommend for you, is check out some other HBO shows, since it seems like you enjoy good television outside of just Sopranos. Deadwood IS great, but their "mini-movie wrap-up" is a ways away. So, all I can do is tell you some of their shows that I have enjoyed. Outside of Sopranos, my favorite show was HBO's Six Feet Under. Just amazing television, for all five seasons. And without getting spoilery, if you were annoyed by The Sopranos' lack of closure in their finale, make sure you get to the finale of Six Feet Under...it is like a kick in the stomach (in a good way). While Sopranos has never made me cry, SFU has made me cry buckets. And I don't mind admitting this ;-)

Also The Wire is a great show. It is extremely underrated, and many critics put its quality as comparable to The Sopranos, but it is lesser known, and therefore receives less attention. Also, it has its final season beginning later this year, if I remember correctly.

Oh and if you love comedy television (and enjoyed Seinfeld) make sure to check in on Curb Your Enthusiasm. A new season is on its way, if you fall in love.

Anyway, I am not a television fan, but with such great programming out there by HBO, it is difficult for me not to sit up and take notice. Granted, I am less then impressed by the shows coming up to replace the gap left by the Sopranos. I know I have already cancelled my HBO, but this does not change the fact that there have been some amazing shows outside of our favorite mob family.

[Rob]

Not many things on TV has made me want to be home to watch with the exception of Sopranos, Deadwood & Rome. Now that they're all over I find myself with nothing on tv that makes me not want to miss it.

The anticipation of a new season is gone & the hopes that Deadwood or Rome would fill the void were squelched before the Sopranos did their swan song. It has even made me wonder if I need HBO now.


I can relate. I will keep HBO for now because I want to see the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm this fall. Larry David has said this will be the last year for that show.

I was disappointed to hear that Rome will not be coming back for at least one more season. This year's episodes were even better than the first season. From what they say it was too expensive to film on location. That's why the plug was pulled on Rome, but at least they wrapped up the story up until the point of Octavian's rise to power. It would have been fascinating though to see the story progress from there.

[billymac]

However, your comments indicating that you watched/enoyed "Rome" (which I did also) prompts me to suggest that you buy or rent the 5-DVD set of "I, Claudius", one of the (other!) really GREAT TV serial dramas. This was first aired on Masterpiece Theatre in the late 70s, and has become a Classic.

Excellent suggestion. I loved "Rome" on HBO and also adored "I Claudius"...truly great! If you can put aside the differences in the times in which Rome and "I Claudius" were filmed and their different "production qualities", they can be put together as an almost continuous dramatic series since "Rome" ends shortly after Octavian (later Augustus) defeats Mark Antony at Actium and "I Claudius" begins 7 years after that battle during the reign of Augustus.

Also, it is possible to draw many direct and indirect comparisons to the story lines, symbolism and characters of "I Cluadius" to the Sopranos. Prime example: the evil matriarch of the Julio-Claudian family line is Livia (Augustus' Wife). The internecine fighting, squabling, murder, power grabbing and duplicity reminds us that very little has changed for the powerful and the criminal between the height of the Roman Empire and modern day North Jersey!