Seems like yesterday, the saga over the intriguing finale for the Sopranos dragged on; and, the reaction was mixed...
One viewer noted to the editor of the Los Angeles Times,
"I'm OK with how "The Sopranos" ended and here's why: David Chase is a writer. The writer is "the decider". He gets to decide how it ends, regardless of the usual television convention of wrapping things up in a neat package. David Chase didn't kill Tony, he killed the audience. By "pulling" the plug at the most pregnant moment, he forced us to look at our own anticipation of that moment, to fill in the blank for ourselves. The blank said two things to me: (1) Well, that's a wide avenue for the start of a great feature; (2) the bad guy does get away with it. Despite taking some hits, Tony is still king. Same as it ever was." Kelly L.C. Russell (Pasadena)
Another lamented,
"An over-hyped ending to an underwhelming and, frankly, uncreative ending . Now we can can all concentrate on those shows that respect their audiences enough by not leaving things up in the air and trying to call it "art". Ken Marcus (Los Angeles)
And, from a fan who approved of the ending,
"Why all the outcry to the ending of "The Sopranos"? It was a brilliant ending. The onion represents the multi-layers of Tony Soprano. The hole in the onion ring represents the hole that would be blasted into Tony Soprano by the man who went into the men's room to get the gun taped under the lid of the toilet, as was done in "Godfather", writer David Chase's tribute to that book and movie. The blackout at the end represents the dumbing down of Americans who just didn't get it and are unable to think for themselves."
Leon M. Salter (Los Angeles)
And last, but not least,
Michael Hickey , of Palm Springs remarked..."No, the TV didn't go dead; Tony Soprano did. Death is frustrating. It provides no resolution for any of the plot threads of life; it merely ends them, all at once."
The experts offered their two cents worth, as well...
Dr. Glen O. Gabbard, Professor of Psychiatry at Baylor College of Medicine, in Texas, noted there are two kinds of people: "those who expect Television's typically black-and white characterizations and tidied up endings and those who love the rebellious attitude of Sopranos' creator, Chase."
For eight seasons the writer persisted with character plot lines that were cast from a different mold.
"Many people would argue that's what was brilliant about the show; things were not tied up in a bow," stressed Gabbard.
"We've been conditioned as a television audience to expect an operatic finale with blood and gore and tears and wailing and gnashing of the teeth," Gabbard said. "Instead we got life as usual, a humdrum routine, and some in the audience felt robbed."
On that note, a Senior research scientist in the Psychology Department of Yale University's TV Research Center, expressed her own concerns about the finale.
"Closure is good for mental health," she stressed, "Without closure, people are left feeling a little anxious."
"People identified with the characters. They felt like family, and viewers wanted to know what happened to them."
Undoubtedly, that is why fans have appeared in throngs the past few months at the restaurant where the last scene of the Sopranos was shot. The addiction to the show is as strong as it ever was; after all, fans cue up daily to plunk down at the table where Tony last stretched back.
Many trek by way of a bus tour, at $42.00 a pop (no pun intended).
At "Pizzaland", which was featured in the opening credits, there has been an unforeseen jump in business over the past few months, claim the owners.
Meanwhile, sales of the music single - "Don't Stop Believin'" - which aired in the last show have skyrocketed. An appropriate theme song for "Sopranos" fans who find it painful to let go?
Can't wait for the movie, can you?
