The Sopranos

The Sopranos
Premiere	January 10, 1999
Finale	June 10, 2007
Creator	David Chase
Network/Provider	HBO
Style	60-minute drama
Company	Chase Films, Brillstein-Grey Communications (season 1), Brad Grey Television (seasons 2-6), HBO
Seasons	6
Episodes	86
Origin	USA

The Sopranos is a mob drama that aired on HBO. It followed the story of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano and his two families, one by blood (wife Carmela, daughter Meadow and son A.J.) and his crime family, which included his aging, cantankerous Uncle Junior and his junkie nephew Christopher.

The series has been almost universally lauded by professional critics of the medium as a high-water mark in American television. With its mixture of dark comedy, operatic tragedy, suburban mundanity and pulpy sensationalism, The Sopranos heralded the popularization of cinematic filmmaking techniques combined with a complexity and exactitude only a serialized medium such as television could afford. The Sopranos even had no compunction against killing off key characters, a trademark which would be later seen in 24, while still leaving plenty of room for graphic depictions of sex, nudity and violence which would have been impossible on the FCC-regulated broadcast networks.

As a result of this complexity (and in no small part thanks to its cast, which over the years included such seasoned and respected actors as James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Joe Pantoliano and Steve Buscemi), The Sopranos became one of the most acclaimed series in television history almost from day one. In merely six seasons and 86 episodes, it racked up over 100 Emmy nominations, winning 21 of them.

However, it wasn't just the critics and the awards bodies who responded. The Sopranos was a hit of a magnitude then unheard of for a cable show. From the second season through the sixth, pay network HBO reported subscription increases of 30 to 40 percent prior to each season premiere, and new episodes routinely broke ratings records for the network in particular and pay cable in general. Tony Soprano became a pop culture icon to rival his cinematic predecessor Michael Corleone.

The critical acclaim and popular appeal of the show led to a legitimizing of cable television. Although cable had had a few original programming successes in the 1980s and '90s (HBO itself had already done quite well with The Larry Sanders Show), prior to the release of The Sopranos and its posh, sophisticated, urbane New York sitcom sister Sex and the City, cable television was still working to overcome its image as a ghetto of sorts for television programming, even requiring its own separate awards. Throughout the 2000s, however, award nominations and year-end "best of television" lists found cable making strong showings, if not altogether dominant.

Perhaps most significantly in the long term, however, was a quirk of historical timing. The DVD format was released at around the same time as the premiere of the series. As a result, The Sopranos and Sex and the City were among the first to be released to the format, and their sales success proved the viability of a home video market for television shows. Within a few scant years, DVD sales had grown to play a role almost as significant as ratings in programming planning. Thus, even in the most objective of senses, The Sopranos represents a significant change of course in the history of the medium of television.

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
HBO
Season One	January 10, 1999	April 4, 1999				13
Season Two	January 16, 2000	April 9, 2000				13
Season Three	March 4, 2001	May 20, 2001				13
Season Four	September 15, 2002	December 8, 2002				13
Season Five	March 7, 2004	June 6, 2004				13
Season Six	March 12, 2006	June 10, 2007				21

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• The Big Whack List: A listing of who died at whose hand and when. NOTE: May contain spoilers.
• Characters: A listing of all major characters who appeared and the families, blood or crime, with which they were associated.
• Dream Diary: A listing of key dream sequences with analysis and key symbolism.
• Music: A listing of music used in the series.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases

DVD

Title			Release			Discs
Complete Series  (Region 1)
The Complete Series			November 11, 2008	purchase		33
The Complete Series (2009)			November 17, 2009	purchase		30
Season Sets  (Region 1)
The Complete First Season			December 12, 2000	purchase		4
The Complete Second Season			November 6, 2001	purchase		4
The Complete Third Season			August 27, 2002	purchase		4
The Complete Fourth Season			October 28, 2003	purchase		4
The Complete Fifth Season			June 7, 2005	purchase		4
Season Six, Part I			November 7, 2006	purchase		4
Season Six, Part II			October 23, 2007	purchase		4

Blu-ray

Title			Release			Discs
Season Sets  (Region A)
The Complete First Season			November 24, 2009	purchase		5
Season Six, Part I			December 19, 2006	purchase		4
Season Six, Part II			October 23, 2007	purchase		4

Soundtrack Releases

Title			Release		Tracks	Discs
Soundtracks
The Sopranos: Music from the HBO Original Series			December 14, 1999		14	1
The Sopranos: Peppers & Eggs			May 8, 2001		25	1
Unofficial Imports
Fuhgeddaboudit! Music You Heard on The Sopranos			March 15, 2004		45	1
Bada Bing! Music Heard on The Sopranos			July 31, 2007		52	1

External Sites

• The Sopranos Episodes, TV Listings, News, Photos and More at TVGuide.com
• News - Sopranos and related news at NJ.com