10 Terrible Episodes In Otherwise Awesome TV Shows
6. "Christopher" - The Sopranos
The Sopranos is one of the most instrumental shows in breaking down the wall between TV and film, the influence of which continues to be felt two decades later.
But even this prestige behemoth wasn't above a single clunker, as evidenced by the season four episode "Christopher," focused on Silvio (Steven Van Zandt), Patsy (Dan Grimald), and Artie (John Ventimiglia) confronting a group of Native Americans protesting the Columbus Day parade.
Though it's not an inherently terrible concept, the script - penned by Christopher Moltisanti actor himself, Michael Imperioli - is so hilariously on-the-nose and lacking in subtlety as to be embarrassing.
Everything the characters say sounds more like Talking Points than naturalistic dialogue, and it surely doesn't help that Silvio's focal role was originally meant for Paulie (Tony Sirico), but was switched-up due to Sirico being out of commission for the season's first half after back surgery.
As a result, it's no mere coincidence that Silvio's behaviour seems a touch out of character and would be far better-suited to the more fiery Paulie.
While hardly unwatchable, it's certainly the most tiresome hour of an otherwise astounding TV monolith.