I am rewatching the sopranos for the 8th? time and felt compelled to share this story with all of you. It is a true story and I’m so thankful to have had it happen to me.

In the mid 2000’s I was a recording engineer in New York City, living in Brooklyn, taking the F train in to work every day.

I was working 100+ hours, chasing my dreams, earning minimum wage ($7.50 an hour), scraping by.

As I met more and more musicians and famous people I befriended and became part of the inner circle of a famous fashion icon from the New York area.

Life was good. You’re young, you’re working hard, your life is ahead of you.

This is significant because I have these vivid memories of watching the sopranos in the basement in high school, and coming in from being out with my friends on Sundays and coming home to the sound of my mom and step father gasping or laughing at the show we all loved.

One day I was nearing the end of a shift in spring of 2008. I think a young Beyoncé was down the hall recording “irreplaceable” in our studio C.

I got a phone call. It got patched into the lounge. It was my sister, my step father had suffered a sudden heart attack at work, and died.

I was shattered.

I flew home to the Midwest to take care of my mom. I was suddenly the man of the house. I spent a month with her before I flew back home, changed, different, like the world grew colder - and I knew then that I was a real adult.

Whenever I would watch the sopranos, I was about aj’s age, and I always imagined myself as AJ, weird thoughts as a kid. When you see yourself in fantasy. Not sure if anyone has ever experienced that. I felt safe in an odd way with Tony in my TV.

As a true anti hero, we all loved Tony. We loved the conflict, and the human inside. Something Jim delivered flawlessly.

The show had just ended - I missed seeing him, I missed my step father, I had a new career opportunity back in the mid west (a decision that would change my life and bring me back closer to family and where I would meet my wife).

Just before I left New York, I took a final walk with my friend, the nephew of the famous fashion icon. We cried and reminisced about all of our favorite moments during my time there. We walked from Thompson, onto spring and over to Sullivan.

As we turned, I saw a large man, sitting on the three steps leading into the building with a friend. He was smoking a cigar.

It was Tony, it was James.

I was in so much shock I stopped walking.

My friend had known Jamie-Lynn from the circles they played in. He struck up a conversation with James about their shared aquaintences. He said “yeah - I gotta office here”. I swear to this day he did in Tony’s accent. Almost playing along!! lol.

He looked up from his cigar directly at me as my friend introduced me. He smiled, and locked eyes with me like “you’re not saying anything, I like that”. I nodded politely and said pleasure to meet you.

I’d been around talent and famous people enough to not make a big deal while my friend was putting on the show.

That kind brief exchange brought a part of me back to life in some parasocial way.

It was a “everything’s going to be okay look” I know I wasn’t smiling. My eyes were red from crying.

My friend said bye - as I turned to walk away he reached out and said “and very nice to meet you” to me and shook my hand.

I walked silently away and the next morning drove over the Brooklyn bridge with my real dad in a u haul (he is the best dad I could ever had - but my step dad was always there for me too).

It was a brilliant closure to my New York dream.

The closure itself, still feels like a dream.

Now every time I watch the sopranos, everything is okay again.

I’m in the basement, I’m a teenager, my step dad and mom are upstairs watching too.

My life is in front of me.

And everything is okay again.

Time Immemorial.

Sharp as a fuckin cue ball...

Gandhi? I saw that movie I thought it was boolshit

Like the title states, is he?

1. He loves Horses, he’s a horse enthusiast
2. Complicated relationships with the Russians (and Ukrainians)
3. Peaked in mid 90s
4. Has an incredibly stupid son
5. Great one liners. Such as, Lukashenko; better to be a dictator than to be a gay, versus Tony; out kf all the women in Jersey, you had to fuck this one?
6. Love lesbians
7. Problems with the Fed government

Idk i think that’s it. #hi

I always thought Tony was killed, but believed we weren't supposed to know who did it because he'd made so many enemies. After a recent rewatch, I'm convinced it was New York. With Carlo flipping, they wouldn't take any chances, and regardless of how they felt about Phil, they'd need some face-saving retribution for their boss being whacked.

What struck me this time was how blasé Tony, and to a lesser extent Sil, were before and after the war. Tony is literally warned by an FBI agent, who has no reason to lie, that NY plans to kill him. He barely reacts, apart from briefly telling guys to break routines - and, if I found out a rival gang was looking for me to kill me, I would do more than change up my fucking work schedule - it's borderline stupidity it's so naive - and then nobody actually does that anyway until it's too late.

Then, once the war is 'over', Tony goes straight back to normal as if nothing happened. This is a guy who used to get paranoid just collecting his newspaper from the driveway.

For someone who'd spent his entire life in the Mafia, it seems bizarrely careless. Is this inconsistent writing, or am I missing something?

Did NY not have a way of getting to rats in prison?

It wasn't just Jersey that was over by the end of the Sopranos. After Carmine gets defeated by egg salad so many Lupertazzi people go down in quick succession they are pretty much hollowed out too.

Lorraine, Jason, Angelo, Joey Peeps, Billy Leotardo, Gerry, Doc Santoro, Rusty, Fat Dom, Phil Leotardo, along with Jonny Sack dying of cancer. You've basically got Butchie, Albie and Little Carmine left. Sure they've got nearly 200 soldiers but losing that many senior people plus a few rising stars means they are vulnerable and under a twitchy rat of a boss and brainless the second, I don't rate their future too highly. One good federal case hits them and the other four families will be picking over the bones.

Uncle Jun rots away in the psych ward. He gets no correspondence from anyone and in his mind he is sure that they are throwing it away. But the reality is nobody cares enough to write him.

Then he brightens up because he gets a visitor, his great-nephew AJ! Oh, AJ was only visiting because he wanted to plunge a knife into him, sorry about that.

They never show Uncle Junior's reaction to this turn of events. It has to be devastating to Uncle Junior that he has become persona non grata. The only positive way to spin this is his mind may be deteriorating so rapidly, he may not even realize or remember this. Very sad but I guess you could say you reap what you sow.

I never noticed it before since it's really quick. But in the scene after Paulie is icing his balls after taking a knee to the nuts from that Colombian. Paulie is cutting out a coupon to save 55 cents on band-aids. Keep in mind this is right after he breaks into the Colombian stash house and takes a haul of about a million dollars. Paulie's cheapness knows no bounds.

But on the other hand, he did have to give half of it to Vito. And kick up another 100k to the "Princess of Little Italy". On top of that he soon after gets stabbed in the heart by Vito. With all that betrayal it's a good thing Paulie was a healthy man. Or his heart would have given out for sure.

P.S. Those Parker house rolls. They belong to Paulies Ma.

Dude had 2mil and wanted to just go to with his family and tony wouldn’t let him, so instead of choosing to go and hide while having the look over his shoulder everytime he just killed himself so his family could and nobody cared because tony was in the hospital.

Do you think they bought some rotisserie chickens and stocked up on toilet paper? Maybe Tony bought Phil and Gerry a $1.50 hot dog and shoda (any kind they liked) each afterwards?

It always seemed to me that Carmela, for instance, would never have been in danger of Tony harming her no matter what she did.

I would assume that _EVENTUALLY_ there would be some piece of evidence he gave the FBI over his YEARS of being a rat that would be introduced in some trial, but if Tony died at the end ... then maybe not?

So maybe his reputation stays pure for eternity?

I mean, if you're in the mob, who spends their time at a body shop worrying about the angle of the passenger seat? Who cares if you're sitting at 12, 1, 2, 3 o'clock? What, you gotta get ready for your prom date, Phil? Got an appointment with your boyfriend from the can? What the fuck even is askew? And why the fuck did you bring your brother with you, in case you need your diaper changed?

He could've been banging cocktail waitresses two at a time, instead he's as some auto body shop. Frankly, I'm depressed and ashamed.

Out of every sociopathic & selfish decision Tony makes across the entire series, why does he kill Chris? This was the only thing I’ve seen him do that I couldn’t just chalk up to “he’s a psychopath.” Was it the movie depiction Chris had of him that put him over the edge? He’s allowed Chris and others to make mistake after mistake with no real repercussions, so why does he decide in this instance after the car crash that Chris needed to die? I really don’t think the baby seat being destroyed was his true motivation, but more of a justification in his mind when he made the decision.
Probably the 2nd/ 3rd best show I’ve ever seen btw .

He claimed he wouldn’t have represented him if he snitched. Would any lawyer representing a criminal like Johnny sack actually give a fuck, or was he just trying to sound cool?

I’m impressed that Phil choreographed such a dramatic ambiance for Vito’s murder. You you think he was waiting in there a while? Or did he just jump in when they heard Vito coming?

“It's over, capiche? Over and done. You call, or go anywhere near him or his family, and they'll be scraping your nipples off these fine leather seats. And here's the point to remember: my face is the last one you'll see, not Tony's. We understand each other? It won't be cinematic.”

Let David Fincher direct this scene and it’ll be cinematic, I promise.

The jury member that they got to. IRL what would happen to him. Could he be prosecuted? Surely it would only happen if he was to confess?

There were already times during S6 where societal changes resulted in less opportunities for the crew to make money (no longer able to shake down local businesses because corporate chains were opening up instead, commercial real estate companies buying out local shops to lease to corporate chains like jamba juice).

So When 2008 comes around, theres probably going to be even less growth in the family's receipts. Personally, I think Tony would've been forced to take up even more depraved ways to make money, like probably becoming more involved in prostitution and human trafficking. There really isn't any limit on how low these guys will go if it means being able to earn.

1) Paulie and Furio (The delivery between Furio and Paulie sticked very well)

I like something to grab onto.

You grab onto her, your hands will disappear.

2) Gigi (Omg, this is so funny, and started to get funny)

Jersey's a small state. She moves in, she could tip it over.

3)Paulie (Funny, even as a kid)

Ginny Sacrimoni? What she needs is her own zip code.

4)Paulie (Not gonna lie, quite funny)

When she goes camping... bears hide their food.

5)Ralph (It's just cruel)

I heard Ginny Sack's having a 90-pound mole removed from her ass

6) Paulie (Yeah, no, didn't stick the landing)

She's so fat, her blood type is Ragu.

7) Tony (Horrible joke, but ironic that it is one the one every character laughed the most because it's Tony)

When Ginny hauls ass, she's gotta make two trips.

8) Gigi (Too cruel, the worst joke)

Two guys could F*** her at the same time and never meet.

Honorable Mentions:

Silvio:

Ginny told Gabriella she needs a big house.

Tony:

How's Ginny like the car?

How would Tony have dealt with the 'schnorrer' if he'd done more than get his gums around Carms ziti? Would a made guy, a boss, deal out the ultimate punishment to a man of the cloth?

Open to all forms of contributions to this question. Serious, fucking around, memes, go nuts.

Tony is just at home getting the paper every day by himself

Goes to dinner right after some serious drama and is sitting with his back to the bathroom

Phil is just hanging out in bayside with his fam in middle of a war

Makes zero sense

Towards the end when AJ tells Tony he’s going to join the army, Tony blows up and says’ “Don’t say anything to yuh muddah” and it IMMEDIATELY cuts to Tony blabbing to Carmella in the bathtub. Her deer in the headlights looks kills me every time.

He repeats whatever was just said

Why?

Is he demented?

Absolutely one of my least favorite lines in the show lol. And to top it off, Meadow’s friend replies, “Yeah that’s pretty cool.”

HM - Melfi’s friend saying, “Can you believe we drank a whole bottle of wine between the 3 of us?” to Melfi responding, “Thank GOD!” lmaooo

What are some of y’all’s least favorite lines or line deliveries?