The Sopranos, glorious pioneer of today’s TV golden age

The Sopranos, glorious pioneer of today’s TV golden age | Dorian Lynskey

Twenty years ago, the depiction of a grisly murder helped spark a cultural big bang that still reverberates on our screens

In “College”, the fifth episode of The Sopranos, the double life of troubled mobster Tony Soprano comes into sharp focus. Tony has to perform two tasks – take his daughter Meadow to a college admissions interview and knock off fugitive informant Febby Petrulio – without letting his worlds collide.

Showrunner David Chase wanted Tony to garrotte Febby but HBO CEO, Chris Albrecht, blenched. Although HBO had been bold enough to pick up the show after every network had rejected it, Albrecht feared that viewers wouldn’t root for a protagonist who strangled a man in cold blood. That didn’t happen in 1999. Chase responded that if Tony didn’t do it, “he’s full of shit and therefore the show’s full of shit”. He got his way. Viewers loved it. RIP Febby. RIP received wisdom.

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from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2SScVEu

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