End times

The Sopranos series finale will be disappointing.

Not to me. David Chase could probably show Janice eating feces for 60 minutes and I'd probably find something to like about it. But to other 11 million people who watch the final episode, it'll be the worst thing ever. I can already read the headlines in newspapers across the country now: "That was it?"

The last time I was this excited for a TV Show was when Seinfeld was ending about nine years ago. I watched every episode, read every Seinfeld-related news story, tried to guess how the show would end. Would the cast end up dead (something a lot of people thought, oddly enough), would Elaine and Jerry end up getting married? Everyone had an opinion about what should happen and a prediction about what was going to happen. Everyone wanted it to be a classic, like The Contest or The Soup Nazi. Everyone wanted it to be the best episode ever, and NBC didn't help much by promoting the finale as "The best Seinfeld ever".

When the finale night came, it turned out it wasn't the best Seinfeld episode ever. In fact, it might've been the worst Seinfeld episode ever. Just a parade of guest stars and old characters, while Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer ended up being bit players for 3/4ths of in their own final show. There were some funny moments, and I liked the final scene and standup, but for the most part, the episode was complete garbage. Looking back, I wonder if it was because my expectations were so high.

No, that's not true. The episode just sucked.

The parallels are there for this finale. A beloved show ending after a long run. The buildup with the cast featured in magazine articles and newspaper features over the past couple of months. The constant speculation of what's going to happen. Will Tony die? Or will he go to jail? Will the ducks return? It's all coming to a head, and the expectations are off the charts, especially since the last four episodes might be the best stretch of episodes since the end of the first season, maybe ever.

Everyone wants to be shocked, and it doesn't help that Steve Van Zandt and Frank Vincent are going around talk shows saying that the end will be shocking and controversial. But at this point, everyone has pretty much gone over the same scenarios: Tony dies, Tony goes to jail, Carmela/Meadow/AJ die, the whole series has been a Kevin Finnerty dream, the whole series has been a movie written by Christopher, the Russian, Furio, Melfi's rapist, and the Arabs return and kill everyone. Really, the only thing shocking would be if it's revealed that Tony Soprano is a cartoon bear, and he kills Phil and Butchie by biting their faces off and stealing their picnic basket. If you want shocking and controversial, there's no greater scenario than that. The boss of the North Jersey Crime Family and the greatest TV character ever is actually a deranged Yogi Bear.

It'd be nice to see something shocking and ties up every single storyline and leaves everyone satisfied, but it won't be. There will likely be a loud and large faction who completely tears down the ending and makes everyone believe that the show was ruined by a horrifyingly bad final episode, no matter what happens. And there will be a lot of people who like the ending and say that this show was one of the best of all time.

I've given up trying to predict the show and I've given up trying to come up with an ending. I just hope that Tony Soprano is front and center for the end, not relagated to a supporting character in his finale like the Seinfeld four was.

Either way, it's my favorite show and I'm sad to see it end. Whaddya gonna do?

Here's a bunch of Top 10s.

http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=61::76H

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041672,00.html

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/sopranos/article/0,28804,1602923_1602896,00.html

http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/sepinwall/index.ssf?/base/entertainment-0/1181109718185750.xml&coll=1

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2007/06/07/212942.php

And mine:
10. Funhouse (Episode 13, Season 2)
9. College (Episode 5, Season 1)
8. The Second Coming (Episode 84, Season 6)
7. Amour Fou (Episode 38, Season 3)
6. Whoever Did This (Episode 49, Season 4)
5. I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano (Episode 13, Season 1)
4. Pine Barrens (Episode 37, Season 3)
3. The Blue Comet (Episode 85, Season 6)
2. Whitecaps (Episode 52, Season 4)
1. Long Term Parking (Episode 64, Season 5)