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(More customer reviews)The third series of 'The Sopranos' consolidates the brilliance of the first two, rather than taking it in any radically new directions. The characters, their relationships and their environment are so strong; the dramatic irony between our sympathy with and enjoyment of these people, and our knowledge of their brutal and unhypocritically presented crimes, is so complex, that any blatant originality merely for the sake of it would be a betrayal.
But, because the central components are so strong, there is plenty of room for play - in the way narratives are set up to encourage then defy expectations; in the interplay with canonical gangster texts, especially 'The Godfather'; in the consistently creative use of music - for mood and to emphasise character, yes, but also to create ironic distance, to add montages of 'commentary' over the stories, to connect apparently disparate scenes, to add a depth of texture. Because it is in texture that 'The Sopranos' has really developed - the recklessly confident film-making; the layered scripts; the rich dialogue; and the knowing acting combine to create programmes of truly, yes, operatic density.
There are a number of new plot developments in this series - Meadow goes to Columbia University; the FBI (in a supremely funny handful of episodes) attempt to bug the Sopranos; the Russian mafia grow in menacing importance; Janice takes up with a Christian musician; Anthony Jr. becomes increasingly unmanagable at school and at play, but proves an unexpectedly skilful footballer; Ralph (Joe Pantoliano) replaces Richie Aprile as the major made-guy thorn in Tony's side; Carmela feels increasingly guilty about her mob-financed luxury; Tony begins an affair with a beautiful, smart, successful car saleswoman (Anabella Sciorra) who has even more mental problems than he. Most crucial for the series is the role of Jackie Aprile Jr., college-mitching son of Tony's former mob boss and best friend, who wants to see some of the criminal action, and starts dating Meadow as a spectacularly misjudged entree. The major weakness of the second series - the tokenistic continuation of the Dr. Melfi framing scenes long after they've outrun their dramtic usefulness - is corrected by both bringing the psychotherapist (dangerously) closer to Tony's life, and by having Carmela join in the sessions, to comic effect.
There is a brooding, elegiac feel to the series, with Tony thinking not just about his mother, but his dead friends, Pussy's actions in the last series, and the future possibilities open to the younger generation. If nothing else, Series 3 boasts the best-ever episode of 'The Sopranos', directed by one Steve Buscemi, which begins farcically, with Paulie and Christopher accidentally killing an irate Russian, and bungling the disposal of his body in a snow-wasted forest; before turning into a nightmare, as they lose their bearings after the corpse runs off, and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere. Loosened from the secure ties and identity-affirmation of family and Family, the episode brilliantly encapsulates what's at stake in the series, as unforgettably as the immortal 'Seinfeld' episode when the quartet can't find their car in the shopping mall car park.
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Some suburban households have two cars. Some have two houses. But Tony Soprano has two families. This could be why the FBI is going to such lengths to wiretap his home. Why the son of his dear late friend Jackie Aprile is causing him such agita. Why a Russian housekeeper is searching for her missing leg. Why his son is vandalizing school property and his daughter is getting her heart broken. Why his wife Carmela is both consulting a psychiatrist and confessing to a priest. And it's also why Tony Soprano is still seeing Dr. Melfi for his anxiety attacks. It isn't easy heading-up the mob in New Jersey. But that's what puts dinner on the table for the two families of Tony Soprano.DVD Features:Audio CommentaryBiographiesFeaturetteInteractive MenusOtherScene Access
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