Back to his old self?
Roumour has it that HBO decided to cancel Sapranos but said that they would fund six series. The Sapranos team wanted to complete seven series; so here is series 6 (part 1) followed later by series 6 (part 2, not series 7!). I like their cheek. I like their programmes.

Life controls Tony
seem to have a different opinion from so many other viewers, since I really enjoyed the first half of season six. Seeing Tony get shot, not by season one's physically and mentally vigorous Uncle Junior, as I had kept anticipating that season, but by the toothless demented Uncle Junior, believing he was shooting someone else entirely was priceless irony. I loved the part with Tony in the coma in our world, while -wherever he was - he was exactly what he had always dreaded being - a nobody. Worse, he's a traveling salesman who is "trapped" and unable to get home. When Tony comes out of his coma, he vows to change and take every day as a gift, but later he is gradually pulled back into his old ways, since his position as boss really gives him no alternative.

Lots of people didn't like the Vito mini-arc, but I loved it. After being outed in the most conspicuous and non-ambiguous way imaginable, Vito finds it necessary to leave town to avoid Phil's wrath. He arrives in small-town New Hampshire, and there he winds up luckier than he deserves to be. He finds love in the Morgan Spurlock look-alike cook "Johnny Cakes" at the local diner, and the two move in together. Vito's new love is even able to overlook Vito's obvious moral failings, such as his lies about his true occupation. Johnny Cakes hooks him up with a job, and Vito has escaped the death sentence that awaits him back home, with a pretty Norman Rockwell-ish life in his current situation and a shot at genuine happiness. The problem is - Vito is still Vito. To him what 99% of people face every day - rising early to go to a job that is genuine hard work for average pay - is purgatory to him. He misses the all-night card games, the big city life, and the fact that making a living there just involves sitting around a construction site and making collections. Thus Vito runs out on Johnny Cakes and goes back to New Jersey, thinking he can make things right and get back into "the life". Just in case we have any doubt Vito has changed, there is a little incident on his way back home that lays our doubts to rest.

I think the Vito arc superimposed on Tony's shooting and recovery just drive home the fact that even though these guys think they're king of all they survey, "the life" really owns them all, not vice versa. They're kidding themselves to think otherwise. Tony believed he could make things different, and Vito believed he could make things the way they had been before. Both were wrong.

There are also lighter moments. The scene with Christopher brainstorming his movie project with the "help" of his kidnapped and beaten AA sponsor is hilarious, as is his mugging Lauren Bacall just to get her gift basket. Then there's the matter of Paulie finding out he is not who he thought he was. All-in-all a worthwhile and thought-provoking 12 episodes.

However, I still think I'll wait until after season six has completed airing to buy. The series will definitely be over by then, and I am anticipating some kind of "Collector's Edition" for the whole series. I just don't want to wind up with buyer's remorse like I did with the separate seasons of "Homicide" that I bought, only to have the entire series come out in a collector's edition that was much cheaper than the individual seasons with all kinds of bonus footage to boot.

10/10.
Bee Clakre

It's is still worth it,just!
This is still a great series (or first part of series 6 it is not the full series)but something has just lost that edge for me,and what is that dream sequence for a whole episode.I think this is where Mr Chase starts to let it all go a bit arty farty.The acting is still strong it is the writing that is starting to run out of steam,and dont mention the final scene of the final episode....but that is a different box set of course.

Help
I realise this may be a bit cheeky, but can someone tell me, does series 6 start off with the hospital story or was that series 5. Don't want to give any storyline away for anyone who hasn't seen it yet but I'm lost, don't know whether I've seen series 5, Series 6 or the final episodes.
Can someone let me know without giving anything away?

worth my coin yet again
season 6,part one as its now known,continues the brilliance of this show,never flagging,compromising or dipping in form and in this series,the show tackles taboo subjects and still comes out on top,i know some that felt uncomfortable at the vito subplot here but thats a bit silly to be truthful,everything you see leads somewhere in this series,even if it takes its time.
When i reflect on this series,its probably slower in tempo than the previous five,but in saying that the first four episodes were class in all aspects,i can say no more than that.
The family of mob and marital again click into fifth gear from the start,happy and sad times are ever close and tragedy shifts into place in subtle stretches.
One thing that may please doubters of buying this series is that this is the most violent of all the series,some brutal deaths of the goriest kind feature.
Part two of the series lands its way onto the shelf next month,i cant wait as i havent seen them although some git did tell me how it ends,but maybe he was joking,either way i dont care for there is more to this show than endings,plenty is said and done in between,high class indeed.

Hide Reviews