de078197   
   From: seanc130@hotmail.com   
      
    wrote   
   > WG...@webtv.net wrote:   
      
   >> I hated the "Sopranos", and the glorification of the Mafia.   
      
   > Right there you betray your superficial appreciation for htis show.   
      
   >> For the most part it was boring!   
      
   > I guess if you watched it only on the superficial level of who got   
   > whacked it might be. But there was so much subtext, in jokes, movie   
   > allusions and richness of character and psychological dimension that   
   > even the worst Sorpanos ep was better than 95% of movies that came out   
   > during its run, and probably 98% of TV during that time.   
      
   I have recently (over the past few months) discovered 'The Sopranos', via   
   Netflix. I'm up to the beginning of Season 5 now. And I agree that it's an   
   excellent show, and demands to be watched with a high level of intelligence.   
   I don't consider it all the way up with my absolute favourite shows -- like   
   XF, House, Bones, Homicide -- but it hooked me pretty quickly, and most   
   definitely I would consider it head-over-heels better (I just invented that   
   phrase, and I have no idea what it means) than most of the crap on TV, then   
   or now.   
      
   And I say this as someone who was never into the whole 'mobster' thing -- I   
   don't think I've even ever seen more than a few excerpts from 'The   
   Godfather'. But 'The Sopranos' is about so much more than just the Mafia --   
   it's a very deep and subtle study of a number of complex and fascinating   
   characters, and of a unique and proud subculture.   
      
   As for the other discussions in this thread ... I have to admit that I agree   
   with john@johndoherty.com for the most part. I enjoy 'Fringe' perfectly well   
   for what it is. It's nowhere near the level of XF, true, but it's fun and   
   interesting, and to me it's well worth watching just to see what happens,   
   instead of complaining about what could be better. And I just don't really   
   get all the hatred for Anna Torv -- surely she's not the greatest actor in   
   the world, but I've never been watching and thought to myself, 'Wow, she's   
   such a bad actor.' I like her less than most of the other characters, but   
   there's nothing about her that actively bothers me, or exceeds my boundaries   
   for suspension of disbelief.   
      
   As for the 'eye candy' aspect, I didn't really care for her appearance much   
   when the show started, but over time she's grown on me a bit. There are   
   certainly a lot better-looking actresses -- she's no Gillian, or Emily   
   Deschanel, or Lisa Edelstein, or Olivia Wilde, or Kyra Sedgwick, or Melissa   
   Leo, or Kathryn Morris, or Jorja Fox, or Cynthia Watros, or Rebecca Mader,   
   or Anna Belknap, or Lucy Brown, or Kristen Cloke. She's not even a Patricia   
   Arquette, or Melina Kanakaredes, or Jennifer Morrison, or Evangeline Lilly,   
   or Lauren Lee Smith. But she's been known to give me a boner on occasion.   
      
   And yes, I watch and very much enjoy 'Lost'. It may have bogged down a   
   little around the middle of its run, but this past season has been just   
   awesome, as far as I'm concerned. Knowing that next season is the last has   
   given them new focus, and it's simply no longer the case that they're   
   creating ten new questions for each answer.   
      
   But as John (?) kept saying, YMMV.   
      
   --   
   --Sean   
   http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=1062439264&ref=profile   
   http://spclsd223.livejournal.com   
      
   'I am extremely disappointed. I send you out for exciting new designer   
   drugs, and you come back with tomato sauce.' --Dr Gregory House   
      
   [looking at a child's stuffed toy] 'Okay, elephants are not purple. This is   
   WRONG.' --Dr Temperance Brennan   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)