First 6 Seasons of the Sopranos in 7 Minutes

Posted by Jimmy Daniels Posted in: HBO No Comments » June 2007

Disapointing Sopranos Ending

No, I’m not talking about the story line, it was a good way to end it, not knowing if he lives to be an old man like Junior, gets whacked, goes to jail or just fades away. The last scene just got more and more tense as people walked in and you thought, is this guy going to whack Tony, is that Janice, are those two guys going to do it, and as Meadow walked in, it cut to nothing, no fade to black to let you know it was over, nothing but shock and disappointment. Did the cable mess up? We had to pause it for a few minutes, so we were actually about ten minutes behind everyone else, and my mom calls up and says what the hell was that?

We were like don’t tell us, we’ll call you back. And the same thing happened to us. Nothing. Did the box mess up again, it was our third in so many months, did the cable mess up, did someone at HBO hit the wrong button? What is going on? This morning I read where the HBO site was taken down because viewers were trying to figure out what happened.

Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Gate said it was genius.

No, your cable — or satellite — didn’t go out. The ending of “The Sopranos” was both perfect and annoying as creator David Chase chose, once again, to upend the conventions of television by cutting (not fading) to black at an unpredictable, tension-filled moment.

Just like that, it was over.

No doubt millions of people around the country leapt to their feet, thinking that the worst possible technical glitch had occurred at the worst possible time. But this was no “gotcha” moment from Chase, who created and nurtured one of the greatest series in television history; it was a director’s choice that was something close to perfect. He gave a gift to critics who wished that “The Sopranos” would just end, without melodrama or crisply tied-up storylines, but more like a camera shutting off. And it did. Source: An ending that befits genius of ‘Sopranos’

Sure, it was a good ending, lots of plot lines left in the air, it left open the ability for them to spin off numerous characters into their own series, but the way they did it just sucked. Much the way the ended Deadwood sucked, this has left another bad taste in my mouth for HBO series. Once Entourage is done, I am done with HBO. If they can get millions of people interested in a great show like Deadwood and just decide they would rather do this other show and drop it like a hot rock, then why should I get interested in anything else they put out? They ended Rome short as well.

HBO, you just confirmed it, I am no longer a fan. Thanks for freeing up my Sunday evenings, maybe I can get some more work done now.

Posted by Jimmy Daniels Posted in: HBO 2 Comments » June 2007

Entourage Extras from Cingular

A few of my favorite shows are from HBO, the Sopranos, Rome, Deadwood and Entourage. Cingular is going to offer some additional content from one of the shows characters, Johnny Drama. Victory!

Cingular Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. cellphone service, said on Wednesday that cable channel HBO has produced a special mobile mini-series based on the popular show “Entourage” that extends the story beyond what is shown on television.

Cingular said its mini “Entourage” series, with episodes that last 4 minutes each, will follow one story line based on “Entourage” character Johnny Drama and not distract from the regular series. Source: Reuters.com

Unfirtunately, you have to signup for Cingular’s $14.99 monthly media plan and its HBO premium service which costs another $4.99 a month. I guess I’ll just wait until someone posts them to YouTube.

Posted by Jimmy Daniels Posted in: Entertainment, HBO, TV No Comments » July 2006