Irish Daily Mirror

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D some of the small screen’s best ever characters

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a story out over 24 hours as a gimmick. But Sopranos took this to a new level by going deeper and giving extra dimensions to the characters and their back stories.

“I think more than any other show, they used the extra time to make the storylines more sophistica­ted.“

Mark added: “I was talking to Netflix about this at a recent meeting and my feeling is that characters are the most important things in television.

“It’s true in movies too, but even more so in television because you’re investing over 100 hours of your life in a TV storyline and if you don’t feel something for the characters, you’re not going to keep watching. Tony, Paulie, Christophe­r, Carmela and all these amazing characters inhabit a world that, no matter how grim it gets, you’re happy to be part of for huge chunks of time. Most shows don’t have that.

“Central to the whole thing is Tony himself, of course. They struck gold with Gandolfini. He was a terrific character actor.

“We saw him in great movies like True Romance but he could never really escape Tony Soprano and that’s a compliment because it meant he was so good, he embedded himself in the internatio­nal consciousn­ess.”

Screenwrit­er Sergio Casci, whose first movie American Cousins starred Vincent “Big Pussy” Pastore from The Sopranos, is a huge fan of the show.

Sergio, whose new movie The Lodge is premiering at the Sundance film festival in Utah this month, said: “Tony Soprano was heading towards middle age, had a difficult job, two kids, was trying to juggle life and work.

From that point of view, he was the story of any middle-aged man in modern Western society facing the problems of a changing world. The issues were affecting all of us so we could see ourselves in Tony Soprano.” roadcaster, writer and TV executive Stuart Cosgrove said: “Sopranos and The Wire made crime fiction on television seem more complex and morally rich. They brought the era of goodies and baddie to an end. Tony Soprano is among the most psychologi­cally complex villains of all time.”

After the series finale in 2007, which implied to many that Tony was murdered, Gandolfini starred in films including Killing Them Softly, In the Loop and The Taking of Pelham 123. He died in 2013.

Edie Falco (Carmela) found success and acclaim in Nurse Jackie.

Series creator Chase has announced a prequel series The Many Saints of Newark, featuring the younger lives of Tony Soprano’s father and his Uncle Junior.

BChris and Paulie endure a ridiculous black comedy chase of a crazed Russian special forces goon across a wintry forest.

Movie producer Mark Millar said of the episode: ”It works because it’s so dark and so funny and you have no idea what’s coming next.”

Christophe­r’s wife Adriana has been compromise­d by the FBI and wants Chris to turn rat on Tony. Chris confesses to Tony, who orders Silvio to take the bedraggled woman for a long walk into the woods... Launched by Sopranos writer Matthew Weiner and set in the world of 60s advertisin­g, this super-slick drama starred Jon Hamm and

January Jones. It ran from 2007 to 2015. lieutenant) Bobby to the country and the two men have a dangerous run-in, with major implicatio­ns for their relationsh­ip. Tony muses that the only two endings for him are prison or death.

The stunning finale sees Tony defeating rival Phil Leotardo, but facing FBI charges and an uncertain future. With Meadow off to become a lawyer and AJ heading for a job in movies, the family gather for an incredible meal at a diner, to the tune of Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’. In the middle of dinner, it cuts sharply to black, leading many to guess that Tony is killed in the final moment.

 ??  ?? CRIMINALLY GOOD The Sopranos was a game-changer for TV viewing HENCHMEN Tony with Christophe­r Moltisanti and Vito Spatafore In the sixth series, Tony and Carmela take his sister Janice and brother-in-law (his WISE GUY Tony Sirico as Paulie
CRIMINALLY GOOD The Sopranos was a game-changer for TV viewing HENCHMEN Tony with Christophe­r Moltisanti and Vito Spatafore In the sixth series, Tony and Carmela take his sister Janice and brother-in-law (his WISE GUY Tony Sirico as Paulie
 ??  ?? Last scene of family in the diner Michael C Hall starred as a Miami PD forensic scientist who killed criminals escaping justice. It ran from 2006 until 2013.
Last scene of family in the diner Michael C Hall starred as a Miami PD forensic scientist who killed criminals escaping justice. It ran from 2006 until 2013.
 ??  ?? FINALE
FINALE
 ??  ?? From 2008 to 2013, Vince Gilligan told the story of how terminally ill chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) became a drug kingpin.
From 2008 to 2013, Vince Gilligan told the story of how terminally ill chemistry teacher Walter White (Bryan Cranston) became a drug kingpin.

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