How would you grade this episode on a 1-10 scale (10 being the best possible quality)

Total votes: 0

Re: Episode Review and General Comments

181
You know how some board game companies do limited edition licensed themes for special edition of "Monopoly" like, for example, "Star Wars Monopoly"? I honestly can see someone (HBO, Parker Bros. or both) teaming up to bring a fully licensed "Sopranos Monopoly" board game as a tie-in merchandise when the DVD Box Set of these episodes gets released. Imagine the possibilities: a Monopoly game with cheating built into the rules (hey, it's OC)! I've never played Monopoly in my life (not a big board game fan) so I can't come up with examples of "Sopranos"-themed Monopoly rules, but you guys can come up with your own! :icon_wink:

Re: Grade This Episode

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garthman00 wrote:Answer me this though, did you enjoy the CGI-ed Livia from the same episode? Talk about awkward decisions...although, while we are on the topic, I disliked the strange, slow-motion transition as Carm is walking away from Wegler in "Cold Cuts" (if memory serves). I just don't understand decisions like that.
The CGI-ified Nancy Marchand was a truly terrible decision, I agree. I guess I can kind of understand the thinking behind it - Tony really did need to have a final moment with his mom and Livia really deserved a final moment onscreen. However, I think Chase should have resisted the temptation to use a CGI Livia unless the technique was absolutely seamless, or at least a lot better than it turned out (because it ended up far from being seamless). And to think that the cost of it was approximately $250,000 (according to Wikipedia, not sure of the reliability of the source – but you can bet it was expensive as hell)! Certainly not worth it!

There are also some odd transitions at times that don’t feel quite “right”. The one you mentioned concerning Carmella and is always the first I think of, but I also don’t like the way fade-outs are occasionally used either. The one in “Fleshy Part of the Thigh” after the scene of Hesh visiting Tony comes to mind, and there were a whole bunch in the “Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood”. It just feels awkward to me, though I’m not sure why. I guess since the vast majority of transitions are just jump-cuts into the next scene, the fade-out, being as it takes that extra moment, makes the scene feel too 'precious' - like there's a reason for taking that extra moment and using the special effect. Usually though, it seems like a pretty random choice, so it all becomes kind of unnecessary to me. Anyone know what I'm talking about? Cause I feel like I'm doing a really bad job of explaining this.

I also appreciate that the show takes chances and tries new things; you have to give them credit for that. Sometimes it works though, and sometimes new techniques aren’t integrated into the show as flawlessly, which makes for some unfortunate (but usually very minor) complaints. Like the camera shake when Bobby hits the tree; I noticed it the first time as well, and noted that it was an odd moment. Though it was so minor, I completely forgot about it immediately thereafter, and didn't really realize why it didn't feel right to me until you explained it here.

Re: Episode Review and General Comments

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dad1153 wrote:You know how some board game companies do limited edition licensed themes for special edition of "Monopoly" like, for example, "Star Wars Monopoly"? I honestly can see someone (HBO, Parker Bros. or both) teaming up to bring a fully licensed "Sopranos Monopoly" board game as a tie-in merchandise when the DVD Box Set of these episodes gets released. Imagine the possibilities: a Monopoly game with cheating built into the rules (hey, it's OC)! I've never played Monopoly in my life (not a big board game fan) so I can't come up with examples of "Sopranos"-themed Monopoly rules, but you guys can come up with your own! :icon_wink:
I was going to play this down to keep it a surprise, but I've already started planning a Monopoly "Sopranos Edition" that I hope to construct and present when we have our forum get together (as a gift for a guest). So far I've come up with ideas for the tokens (including a tiny little empty bottle of Grappa and an ice pack and a tiny replica of a certain piece of anatomy that proved to be the last straw) and, of course, many significant properties in the series to take the place of Marvin's Gardens, Park Place, et. al. I'm most excited about re-doing the chance and community chest cards with mob-related business (e.g., "while making collections, you wind up stealing a bag of heroin from one of your marks, which you resell. Collect $500." And of course, the "go to jail" cards could be very interesting.

Maybe we should start a thread in the Proshai, Sopranos forum for everyone to contribute ideas.:icon_biggrin:
Tony, his spirits crushed after b-lining to the fridge first thing in the morning: "Who ate the last piece of cake?"

Re: Grade This Episode

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Yeah, they used to NEVER fade out between scenes, and then the last 3-4 seasons they've done it occasionaly. It kind of reminds me of Law & Order, which I think fades out between every scene (Is it L &O? I might have the wrong show). It is a different feel, but I can't say it affects me one way or the other.

A few other notable editing/camera effects I can think of:

1) The juxtaposition of two simultaneous scenes between Christopher & Juliana in Kaisha.

2) That "whooshing effect" while the camera zooms in on Tony. I think they used it in the "Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office" and "No-Show" episodes.

3) There was some effect they used in parts of Tony's dream in "Calling All Cars", where it almost looks like frames are missing in the film. I can't remember it, but I liked it.

4) In certain flashback scenes, there is a sepia tone to the film that I like. I think they used it in "Fortunate Son" and ""In Camelot".

I actually like a lot of the filming "tricks" they've used, with the exception of CGI Livia.

Re: Episode Review and General Comments

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On the whole, I was a little disappointed, but still it was pretty good. Watching a 30 minute monopoly game, while it had some funny lines, got a little boring, but the beginning and ending were good.
Like many, I guess I've gotten where I like many of the characters and would have liked to see more of them; you know, what are Christofuh, Pauli, Sil, and Johnny Sack up to. I think that would have helped the season opener create a little more suspense and tension in preparation for what's to come.
Anytime Melfi is not in an episode, I'm disappointed.

Re: Grade This Episode

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AJColossal wrote:Post
Yes, "Law and Order" is definitely the show with a fade-out after every other scene or so, which certainly gives it a different feeling and pace. Each scene becomes its own isolated little piece that feels separate from the one that follows it. I just don't find that necessary on "The Sopranos" for a few reasons.

For one, the fade out kind of takes me out of the show for a second. Because it's not something they do often or consistently, it always feels odd or out of place to me - whereupon I'm momentarily pulled from the drama of the show, and sidetracked by the direction of a television show.

For two, most shows use the fade-out effect, if not at any other time, then right before a commercial break. Obviously, "The Sopranos" doesn't need to worry about act breaks and commercial interruptions, and this certainly works to the show's advantage. The entire show flows as one uninterrupted short film each week, rather being comprised of six separate acts that make up network dramas. Just because of the amount of (mostly shitty) television I’ve digested over the years, I’ve come to automatically associate fade-outs in film with the end of an act, and I don’t want to think of “The Sopranos” in terms of ‘acts’. As I said, the show is free to run as an entire uninterrupted piece, and that’s how I like it.

Jeez, I feel like we're really pushing the amount of conversation we can get out of a topic like “Fade-outs and ‘The Sopranos’”. There’s really nothing that remains uncovered, by some point.

And as for the other “tricks” that you mentioned them using - Even after seeing every episode too many times to count, I’d still never be able to remember those off the top of my head. At any rate, I really enjoyed most of those. Definitely, the direction and editing of this show is consistently different from most everything else I see on television – and nine times out of ten, that’s a great thing.

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