Rest in Peace T....

i'm numb.

This is the kind of event which the word "surreal" must have been invented to describe. I just can't quite believe it.

I come by the forum almost everyday just to check for the odd new post and admit the trickle of new members that come in at about the pace of 2 a week (even now, which is a pretty amazing tribute to how this show continues to gather admirers six years after it ended). But these days there are rarely more than about 30 active members at one time (registered users who've visited in the last month) and rarely more than about 15 visitors at one time, most of which are "bots". I noticed that a short time after his death was announced, there were 362 visitors to this site, which shows just how explosive this news was to people that watched this show and that may have visited this site during first runs. I think that's actually more simultaneous visitors than at any other time during the forum's existence except for the night of the finale.

Clearly people are deeply, deeply affected by his death and certainly by his work in what is easily, for me, the greatest work ever broadcast on television and one of the greatest filmed dramas in any medium.

Like so many other fans of this landmark show, I am deeply saddened at the passing of James Gandolfini. It is a terrible loss; but few of his peers can lay claim to what he accomplished on The Sopranos.

May he rest in peace.

Dare i say this is right up there when i heard John Lennon Died. Stunned after a call from my sister which i thought she was joking because she knows how big a fan i am. Just coming off a month where a neighbor collapsed and died in NYC while walking at age 50. Even more ironic i just had business in Newark last week (1st time in 20 years since i'd been there) and had the chance to walk the city and stand in a few spots(bus station). Was able to take a little time to drive around the area but not enough to head out to North caldwell. Regardless, i had come home with a refreshed interest in getting back into the series. I'm rambling i know, but reallly really bummed out.

I'm shocked. I was teaching a Geography class when I caught the news online. It's hard to take it in, when you are expecting to see him pop up in another movie or show. What a loss.

Well shit. Count me in as one of the old crew checking in. Explosive news indeed, Fly.

Unbelievable. I'm in the middle of a rewatch right now, and there's just no way this won't paint all future viewings.

Important to keep in mind that not only was he an incredible talent and the embodiment of one of the most important characters ever on-screen, but he was also - by all accounts - a sweet, fun-loving and genuinely humble man, as well as a generous philanthropist. What a great loss.

If ever some news deserves a special forum, this is it. So I've moved the thread on the news of his death to this special forum. Feel free to add specific topical appreciations in other threads in the coming days and weeks.

They just showed the famous cut to black on CNN, and that opened the floodgates for me. That most talked about scene now has a new subtext.