10 Reasons The Sopranos Is Still The Best TV Show Of All Time
7. Shock Factor
Most TV is basically predictable. The writers can throw in some twists and turns, but when it comes to major moments - the death of a key character, say - they can be reluctant to pull the trigger. Look at Sons Of Anarchy, for example. There were so many characters who should have died seasons ago, but the creative team erred on the side of caution.
Not so with The Sopranos. This is a show set in a violent world, where horrible things can happen out of nowhere. WIthout getting into spoiler-heavy specifics, there are plenty of moments where major characters are snuffed with little warning. On other shows, they’d have escaped at the last minute through some twist of fate, but The Sopranos doesn’t play like that.
There are other moments that come out of nowhere and fly in the face of conventional TV logic. Most notable is season one’s “College”. The fifth episode of the show, it sees Tony Soprano, the lead character, committing cold blooded murder. HBO balked at this, but Chase was adamant - this is who Tony Soprano is. It may be a shocking scene, but to play it safe would be doing the character, and the show, a disservice.