I recognize that I’m 10+ years late to the game on this one, but I finally watched The Sopranos. Despite being a TV fanatic and long hearing that this was the show to watch, I put it off mainly because I figured that it could never live up to the level of hype that it has. However, after finally diving into six masterful seasons over the last month, I’ve seen the light: The Sopranos is 100% deserving of the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) title. Hands down, no competition. Here’s why.
The Cast and Characters
The acting is phenomenal, particularly from James Gandolfini, Edie Falco and my personal favorite Michael Imperioli (my love-hate relationship with Christopher was so, so real). The actors truly embody their characters, and the performance from James Gandolfini was truly groundbreaking in terms of defining the anti-hero archetype on television. The supporting cast was just as likable: from Paulie and Bobby to Adriana and Sil. You couldn’t help but love these mob-loving monsters.
Mental Health
I’ve long heard that The Sopranos was fantastic, but I don’t think the show gets enough credit for normalizing mental health issues. While it’s stereotyped as a mob show, a driving narrative behind the series is Tony trying to get to the root of his anxiety and panic attacks through therapy. The Sopranos reinforced that even a strong, alpha-male mobster like Tony Soprano can be impacted by mental health issues. Over the course of the show, Soprano discusses many of his inner secrets as he tries to come to grips with the fact that despite his power, at times, he is powerless to control his own mind. As Lad Bible points out, he keeps his psychotherapy sessions secret from those around him, especially the men. There’s a shame attached to it – a shame that’s only really recently been addressed by society and the media, but is thankfully now being challenged.
It’s Impact on Television
When James passed away in 2013, Bryan Cranston said that without Tony Soprano there would never have been a Walter White, and he couldn’t have been more correct. As Rolling Stone noted, The Sopranos showed how much storytelling ambition you could bring to television, and it didn’t take long for everybody else to rise to his challenge. The breakthroughs of the next few years – The Wire, Mad Men, Breaking Bad – couldn’t have happened without The Sopranos kicking the door down.
