The Possibility Of A Prequel Series For The Sopranos

[Mitch Henessey]

David Chase's comments about the possibility of a prequel:

“Even if I did it, it wouldn’t be ‘The Sopranos’ that was on the air — obviously at least one person is gone that we would need,” he says. “There are a couple of eras that would be interesting for me to talk about, about Newark, N.J. One would be (the) late ‘60s, early ‘70s, about all the racial animosity, or the beginning, the really true beginning of the flood of drugs.”

The "how it all started" hook is enough to pique my interest, but I can't say I'm overly excited about the possibility of a Sopranos prequel. The problem with the prequel route is, more often than not, you're just waiting to see key moments, nostalgia winks, or clues that tie into the original story.

If it happens, I'm sure the story will focus on Tony's father, Johnny and Carrado. As far as Tony goes, maybe we'll see a more sympathetic version of the character as a kid or a teenager during his childhood years. James Gandolfini is irreplaceable, but if they're going with a younger version of Tony, they should (for the most part) avoid any comparisons to Gandolfini.

And Chase talks about the infamous ending for the series finale:

AP: Did you know in advance the finale’s black ending would create such a controversy?

Chase: Obviously you can’t think about memory before it all happens. I’m really glad I had the creative freedom to do what I wanted to do. I wasn’t even questioned about it by HBO.

AP: Are series finales overhyped?

Chase: Most of my TV career, and still happening now, shows ended because somebody got a phone call saying, ‘You’re canceled,’ and that was that. You had to write an ending and that never even occurred to people. It’s over. ... On some level now, I feel this ending thing has been overblown.

You can read the full interview here- http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...igued-sopranos-prequel-idea-article-1.2000336

At first, the ending to The Sopranos really annoyed me, but I've mellowed on it over the years. Still, I'll remember the final moments of Made In America as a cheap and pretentious ending for The Sopranos. I'm not saying you have to deliver some epic bloodbath/shootout, but in the second to last episode of the final season, there's the final shot of the door, with Tony sitting in the bed, while he's holding an assault rifle. You can feel the enormity of something memorable for the finale, but the final result is anticlimactic.

After all the murders, the bad blood, and Phil's death, I had high hopes for The Sopranos to end with a real bang. Instead, they end the show with A.J., Tony, and Carmella sitting around at a diner with "Don't Stop Believin'" in the background, shots of Meadow struggling to park her car, and the screen cuts to black.

Are you interested in a prequel for The Sopranos?

Any thoughts on the finale?

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

I've got mixed feelings about it.

On one hand, setting it in the 60s and 70s would be awesome and a 'changing of the guard' theme with new drugs, the civil rights movement and the Vietnam/peace movement as a backdrop could create some great moments. One character that deserves to have a substantial role would be Tony's mother who was one of the best characters in the first season until the actors' death.

On the other hand, unless the prequel is going to REALLY add something to the characters in The Sopranos, then is it really worth doing? Tony Soprano was a pretty fully formed character at the end so can anything the new show does really improve on his story?


As for Sopranos finale, at first I assumed it meant Tony's death until I spoke to someone about it and they viewed it as Tony's life from then on just being stuck in uncertainty that at any moment, his or his family's life could be under threat and he'll never have peace.

I think as ambiguous endings go, it's definitely one of the best as it has sparked debate ever since it aired and no definitive answer seems to have been agreed upon.