I cared when Bobby died. A lot of people cared. It wasn't a passive experience, as the new-media gurus tell you such an old-media moment must be; it was absorbing -- interactive, even -- and part of what made it great was that I didn't have to click on a mouse to choose an alternate ending. Bobby's ending was as fated as our own, the product of extremely intelligent design.

"The Sopranos" experience reassures me that smart, long-form narrative fiction, a hallmark of Western culture since Homer didn't write "The Odyssey," is not going away.

It's in the rulebook: at least one column about The Sopranos. I saved mine for the end.

The art of The Sopranos

by Edward Cone
News & Record
6-10-07

The death of Bobby Baccalieri was a work of art, a scene as well-shot as poor Bobby himself. I found that to be a hopeful sign.

The big sweet dope of a mobster spent his final moments enraptured by a model train, dreaming of a finer world before succumbing to the occupational hazard of multiple bullet wounds during last week's penultimate episode of "The Sopranos." The writing was precise, the cinematography deft -- that quick cut to the miniature passengers, witnesses to murder on a tiny railroad platform, was genius -- and the whole scene suffused with levels of tension and pathos that only a sustained relationship between audience and character could breed.

Therein lies the hope inspired by the hit on the man known as Bobby Bacala, and by the hit series itself, which ends its six-season run tonight on HBO. I cared when Bobby died. A lot of people cared. It wasn't a passive experience, as the new-media gurus tell you such an old-media moment must be; it was absorbing -- interactive, even -- and part of what made it great was that I didn't have to click on a mouse to choose an alternate ending. Bobby's ending was as fated as our own, the product of extremely intelligent design.

"The Sopranos" experience reassures me that smart, long-form narrative fiction, a hallmark of Western culture since Homer didn't write "The Odyssey," is not going away. The novel and the feature film and the well-crafted television series still have something to tell us and can speak to us as nothing else can. They are relevant even in an age of small screens and short attention spans, "reality" television and video games and mashups and three-minute videos on YouTube.

The trend these days is to break everything into its parts, the better to repackage and resell those parts in digital form. And even a brief clip or a single episode of "The Sopranos" offers entertainment, excitement and titillation -- all worthwhile takeaways, to be sure. But taken by the season, or better yet in its entirety (some soft patches aside), the series delivers something much more, something eloquent and profound. It speaks seriously about families and loyalty and consumerism and morality and appearances, and pushes the viewers to think about those things and to take those thoughts back into their own lives. That it requires a considerable span of real-world time to accomplish this is far from incidental to its success with those weighty themes.

You need look no further than the bloated sequels now blighting your multiplex to see that longer isn't always better. Characters and writing are at the heart of the sustained relationship, and "Sopranos" creator David Chase is the Shakespeare of latter-day New Jersey, situating complicated and conflicted characters like Carmela amid bawdy humor and a body count that rivals the last act of "Hamlet." His ear for dialogue and eye for minutia are flawless, and the details accrue over time to create and populate an environment that is as real as our own, just more violent and with better food and nicknames ("Bacala," to choose one example, is Italian for codfish). Chase's people say "gabagool" for capicola, just like my (law-abiding, and in many cases law-enforcing) Jersey Italian in-laws; Tony Soprano has an Uncle Junior, my wife had an Uncle Sonny Boy. It's uncanny. It's art.

But they call it show business for a reason. As the economics of production and attention have changed, it's encouraging to see a show like "The Sopranos" succeed financially as well as artistically. In fact, it may be that technology helped make that success possible. Cable and the Web have splintered the mass television audiences of old (the last episode of "M*A*S*H" in 1983 drew 105 million viewers, while just 76 million people watched the final "Seinfeld" in 1998 and only 54 million saw the end of "Friends" in 2004), but at the same time the new media world allows for havens of quality like HBO, which now makes episodes available on demand. Technology also creates a lucrative aftermarket for home video.

All of which is fodder for the run-up to the final show and the inevitable discussions around watercoolers and Web sites to follow. But for that last hour tonight, whether Tony kills Phil or Phil kills Tony, the play's the thing.

© News & Record 2007

Edward Cone (www.edcone.com, efcone@mindspring.com) writes a column for the News & Record most Sundays.

Comments

[Margaret Banks]

Nice Hamlet analogy. I was just thinking the other day about the whole action-vs-inaction thing that Tony and Hamlet share. Also, there is quite a bit of that "To be or not to be" style contemplation in Tony Soprano. Tony has soliloquies, but they're delivered to Dr. Melfi rather than directly to the audience.

Then there are the mommy issues.

One big difference: Hamlet's malaise was kicked off by an act of betrayal. We're led to believe he was "normal" until the King was murdered. Tony's panic attacks and moral indecision seems part of his birthright - genetically and socially.

Sorry to go all English major-y. Color me dorky.

[Jay Ovittore]

Excellent piece Ed. I have watched from episode 1 of the first season. My Uncle Mike appeared in 1 episode 2 seasons ago. I grew up around the Soprano's set in Northern NJ. I shopped at a lot of the places, ate at places and got entertained at places they shoot this series. It in a lot ways does relate to my family, as I grew up with a large Italian family in NJ and NY.

My eyes actually welled up when Bobby Bacala got hit. He was the nice guy of the crew. Whatever happens tonight, the series was great. Probably the best in my lifetime. One that kept me coming back for more every Sunday night at 9, week after week, year after year.

My guess is that Paulie will betray Tony at the end as he has made friends on both sides of the river. Having seen who has already gotten hit, his loyalty will stray. That's my guess.

There are rumors of a major motion picture follow up are in the air. I could sit through three hours in the theater for sure. I guess time will tell.

[Bubba]

I was right.

I smell Sopranos movie.

[Fred Gregory]

Bubba,

Bada Bing. You were esatto.

The movie's opening scene is Phil's wake with Tony and Paulie among the mourners along with the FBI group. Bring on the popcorn .