They're ba-ack!
Return of The Sopranos. And not the return you're thinking of. Season Six, the final season, is back on E4. We're watching Season Five on disc. It was the much-trumpeted return on E4 that forced us to reassess our lives. Fearful that we were in fact two seasons behind, a quick recap on the episode guides revealed that we had seen Season Four (Adriana and the Feds, Johnny Sack, Pie-Oh-My), and thus were only one season out of whack. Duly purchased, we have decided to catch up with Five, and then purchase Six when we're ready. The world of DVD box sets means you're never in synch with the real world, but, as Tony would say, what da fuck?

So, you enjoy Six, and we'll enjoy Five. It feels so long since Season Four ended, I can't even remember whether we watched it on E4 or C4. Certainly, in the early days of E4, the digitial picture was so poor, we opted to wait until terrestrial transmission. This teaches you patience. The Sopranos needs watching in sequence, in controlled conditions, and without missing a single episode. (Likewise The West Wing, which I had to abort mid-season due to missing two in a row. I await the final-series box set, which is coming this month. I found that missing a whole chunk of Six Feet Under didn't harm the flow. I don't know why. But I got bored of the last series, and never saw it to the end. You have to trust your instinct.) My instinct on The Sopranos is that I've never seen a bad episode, except perhaps that dream sequence one at the end of Season Two, with the talking fish, but that was redeemed by the shooting of Pussy on the boat. So ... Episode 1 - or 65, in sequence - The Two Tonys, written by David Chase and Terence Winter, and directed by Tim Van Patten:

Tony and Carmela are separated. She and AJ have a bear in the yard. AJ has a "five thousand dollar" drum kit - a noisy manifestation of his father's silent guilt. Paulie and Christopher are at odds, not least over restaurant tabs, which leads to the accidental death of a waiter. Tony's after Dr Melfi in a non-professional capacity. Carmine, the old don, has a stroke at the golf club, after smelling "burning hair" (is that a common warning sign?). But the most important strand, seeded here, is the emergence of the Class of '04 - that is, a wave of mobsters released from prison back into the community, including Tony Blundetto, Tony's cousin (Steve Buscemi - as yet unseen), Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent, who I can't wait to see, as he was killed by Joe Pesci in one Martin Scorsese movie, and kills Joe Pesci in another!) and Feech La Manna (Robert Loggia), a vest-wearing, vicious old capo who's amazed mainly by the shaved "bushes" since he got out ("I went over to Silvio's - it's like the Girl Scouts in there"). It's these supporting characters, and actors, who make The Sopranos. That said, it's comforting to know that the principal cast remain solid, with James Gandolfini still spitting out his lines and brooding like a bear, Edie Falco mixing indignance with hurt at that breakfast bar, Michael Imperioli cursing and bitching like an old man while still deep down a boy, and the imperious Lorraine Bracco refusing to let down her guard, all the while smouldering beneath.

A great set-up episode, leaving Tony in the leaf-strewn yard (shades of the Corleones' Lake Tahoe compound), with an AK-47, waiting to make bear meat. Protecting his family, which is what he does at the end of the day. (Oh, and the Easter baskets was something Christopher made excuses about to Tony. Tony didn't know what he was talking about. Neither did we. I love touches like that. The Easter baskets!)