Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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Dear FOMW--

In my post introducing myself, I almost made two points and then decided not to because I was trying to be brief. The first was that, although I've been lurking for years and followed you over here, one reason I never joined before was that you and all the other brilliant, insightful folks here made pretty much every point I ever wanted to make. So thanks for the unusually high level of discussion and analysis here. This really is a gem of the internet.

The second point I didn't make concerned what a phenomenal level of courtesy and respect you've fostered here. I've been heavily involved in a few message boards in the past on other topics. On one we really were like a family, but then a small gang of newcomers started sending me flames at my personal email address (they didn't bother to read my post to find out the title was meant ironically). The original moderator started a new board but not enough people followed to make a go of it.

Another time I wrote a long, thoughtful post, an essay really. The moderator immediately deleted it and said it was written at too high an intellectual level for that forum. He emailed me right away and apologized and said he wished he hadn't done that, and he wished he could repost it, but neither of us had a copy. The truth, I think, was that he wanted to be the king there, and didn't want anyone writing at his level. Anyway, this is a long way of saying that I'd basically resolved never to post or become emotionally invested in another forum, except perhaps to ask the most basic questions of fact. But now I feel silly that I waited here, since I should have known how different you've made this place. Far from feeling threatened by other people's ideas, you embrace them and are stimulated to further insights by them.

I don't have anyone IRL who gives two hoots about this show, so you guys have no idea how important this forum has been to me. Thanks for welcoming me so late!

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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What David Chase is to the Sopranos, Fly is to The Chase Lounge. I can't imagine watching the show without coming here to see what I missed, what other people thought, etc. etc. But there's one view I most want to read, and that's the erudite, kind, brilliant Fly's. Is it just me, or do others here picture her as looking a little like Dr. Melfi? Anyway, thanks Fly....Mr. Chase should thank you as well. One of the greatest shows in TV history deserves one of the greatest forums ever.

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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It took the end of "The Sopranos" for me to jump from active reader to active participant. I just couldn't let 'The Final 9' air without logging into a forum that has proven that intelligent, thoughtful and adult conversation can exist and expand (rather than leech off) the enjoyment of a TV show. You'd be surprised what passes for forum etiquette on the net about other TV shows. Thanks for allowing those of us with inferior intellects and a cognitive inability to deduct things/ideas/thoughts that are right in front of our faces come out looking like semi-literate people, all thanks to the greatness of some of you rubbing on the weaker amongst us. Fly is truly the boss Tony Soprano wishes he were in his made-up universe: truly loved (not just feared), understood by her loyal followers, respected and tolerant of dissenting opinion to a fault. When even Fly lost faith in Tony's therapy prospects after he whacked Christopher her disenchantment and sadness were palpable throughout the entire forum. Her sadness is our sadness, her joy is our joy, and her credit card bill to pay for site maintenance... is still her credit card bill (I ain't paying **** to keep this place running!). :icon_wink:

My suggestion to keep this place interesting after "The Sopranos" ends. Let's talk about the finale for a month or so and then, every Sunday at 9PM for the next few months/years (with holiday weekends excluded), let's have a General Discussion of a "Sopranos" episode in chronological order but with the knowledge gained from how the show ended fueling our analysis of such episode. Starting with the pilot and then every episode after that, let's re-enact as best we can those wonderful, deep and erudite dissections of a "Sopranos" episode we've been having as of late using the knowledge acquired from seeing the entirety of the series. "College," from example, will be interesting to dissect and analyze knowing how the whole Meadow saga ends in a couple of weeks. I hope Fly considers this idea, likes it and (if she chooses to go with it) promotes the hell out of it in the next couple of weeks when The Chase Lounge will still have a substantial number of casual readers. After the casuals leave I'm not sure if interest amongst the faithful will be strong enough to keep the fire of reviewing old "Sopranos" episodes as if they were new will be known outside of a small circle. The time to promote a discussion schedule for old episode is NOW. :icon_neutral:

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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Thank you Fly. This has enhanced my Soprano viewing. Opened my eyes to seeing the show in a more better light. Perhaps, English class in college and high school were not my best subjects. This is like a literature class, where a book is not just a book and a tv show is not just a tv show / movie. I am more like Tony into the History Channel :) But this turned the Sopranos into more than entertainment, but educational.

Hopefully David Chase and his writers will be writing more quality HBO type of tv shows, we all can follow and appreciate. Will we see Tony Soprano in the future via another character, since it is the same writing team? We never will know till then, but we are here on the ball experienced Chase fans looking out and ready to chat.

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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I don't want to break anyone's heart, but I would expect Chase to either retire or take a really big break before taking on any other major efforts.

Huge productions, like the Sopranos story, and all that goes into making it, has to take a toll. I'm not sure how many of those any one person has in them.

I also expect Rowling, of Harry Potter fame, to be done once that series finishes.

Brilliant writer Truman Capote was pretty much done for after completing "In Cold Blood". In my opinion he helped Harper Lee write "To Kill a Mockingbird", which was her one and done.

I'm just not sure Chase would want to mess with perfection. Anything else he did would always be compared to the Sopranos.

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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Another time I wrote a long, thoughtful post, an essay really. The moderator immediately deleted it and said it was written at too high an intellectual level for that forum. He emailed me right away and apologized and said he wished he hadn't done that, and he wished he could repost it, but neither of us had a copy.

A good lesson for all of us about posting something that takes you more than a few minutes to write. It's easy to lose posts for a variety of reasons. The most common reason I lose things is that I start to write them in a buffer and either accidently delete them before I post or they get deleted in a power failure or other reason.

The lesson is that it's always better to create posts in an editor and save them before posting them. Thanks Clementine, for making that point. It serves to remind us all.

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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my turn to express my graditude for the wonderful forum. i wish i could express my appreciation as well as clemetine's post, but can only say thank you and hope it can continue somehow. since i'm a late joiner i feel i missed out on the enjoyment level of the past nine years buy not having this to look at every monday morning-sometimes late sunday. the upside to being late though is that i can continuously refer to past post as i constantly rewatch old seasons.

with that in mind "dad1153" suggestion above might be worth following to keep things going.

thanks again

Re: Thank You, FlyOnMelfisWall

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Dear Fly,
I haven't been that frequent a contributer to the forum but I can't tell you how much time I spend here. I think my spouse might think that I'm having an online affair. Maybe, in a way, that's what this is. I can think of very few things more enjoyable to me than pouring a glass of whatever tastes best that evening (for the true Lounge experience), sitting back and reading hundreds of these posts. Who knows how many of these fantastic theories may eventually pan out. I just know that, whenever I'm here, I'm in the presence of great minds (not usually a true Lounge experience) and I owe it all to you. You let us all in and ran the joint with such class. I know that in my old age (the internet will probably be an implanted chip in our brains by then) I will always look back with fondness on The Chase Lounge and the wonderful woman that made it all happen. I hope the Lounge exists somewhere in the ether for eternity. Thank you so much, Ms. Fly.

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