Nikki Finke speaks for the philistines
NIKKI FINKE’S DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD DAILY
THAAAT’S What We Were All Waiting For? Angry ‘Sopranos’ Fans Crash
HBO Website
The line to cancel HBO starts here. What a ridiculously disappointing
end lacking in creativity to The Sopranos saga. But if you’re one of
those who found it perversely interesting, then don’t bother to read
on. Even if David Chase, who wrote and directed the final episode,
was demonstrating the existential and endless loop of Tony’s life or
the moments before the hit that causes his death, it still robbed the
audience of visual closure. And if it were done to segue into a
motion picture sequel, then that kind of crass commercialism
shouldn’t be tolerated. (See my Does Chase Have ‘Sopranos’ Movie
Idea?) There’s even buzz that the real ending will only be available
on the series’ final DVD. Either way, it was terrible. Apparently, my
extreme reaction was typical of many series’ fans: they crashed HBO’s
website for a time tonight trying to register their outrage. HBO
could suffer a wave of cancellations as a result. (Already, the pay
channel’s replacement series like John from Cincinnati are getting
panned.) Chase clearly didn’t give a damn about his fans. Instead, he
crapped in their faces. This is why America hates Hollywood. Unlike
some network series that end abruptly because broadcasters pull the
plug without warning, The Sopranos has been slated for years to go
off the air tonight. But instead of carefully crafted, this finale
looked like it had been concocted in a day or two. (Some of the
scenes were cut so abruptly, they caused whiplash.) Let’s not forget
that, in later years, Chase had to be dragged kicking and screaming
back to the computer to write more episodes against his will even
though The Sopranos made him rich beyond what’s reasonable.
Especially now that it’s in syndication. (See my A&E’s Profanity-Free
Tony Soprano A Hit.) Chase needed to exert himself to a concoct an
artful denouement. But he took the lazy way out. The show we all
loved deserved a decent burial. Instead, it went into a black hole.
Already, some TV critics like The New York Times’ Alessandra Stanley
are claiming that Chase fulfilled expectations by defying
expectations. And the blogosphere is busy dissecting every final
moment, with some wanting to see profundity in the screen going black
because of Tony’s conversation with Bobby — you wouldn’t even know
it had happened: everything would just go black. Or making a game of
the foreshadowing moments — the jukebox song below “Don’t Stop
Believing” was “Any Way You Want It”. Phooey. The Nielsen reality is
that people don’t watch TV closely anymore, much less remember what
went on from week to week, to give such a subtle ending its proper
due. Besides, The Sopranos was not a show that went on inside your
head. It was a richly visual series whose most memorable moments were
graphic and in your face and damn proud of it. Like Tony, it was
defiant. This was whimpering. If you’re angry at wasting an hour,
complain with your wallets.