/ 12 June 2007

Howls of anguish over Sopranos finale

The beer bottles and party plates have been cleared away in households and bars across the United States, after the final 60 minutes of the supreme TV mob drama was consumed and digested. So what’s left to say after the Sopranos reached its end on Sunday night?

Well, quite a lot, actually, and most of it unprintable in a family newspaper.

Chat boards on Sopranos fans’ websites were exploding with comment on Monday, much of it focused on the series’ creator and the writer/director of the 86th and final episode, David Chase.

”That was the worst episode that Chase ever wrote,” said Sudds on the message board of Sopranoland.com, describing him/herself as a huge fan of the show. ”What a dud.”

Over at thesopranos.com, Atruesoprano was on his/her knees. ”Please, please someone tell me that was like the first cut of the episode! Nothing worked.” Randomsoprano said he wanted HBO, the pay-to-watch makers of the series, to give him his money back. ”I specifically paid for HBO so I could watch this finale season. I waited this long, and paid that money for this?”

To describe why Chase inspired such virulent reactions in his usually devoted fan base would give away the ending for those who have not yet seen it. Suffice to say that the internet is alive with descriptions of smashed television sets and pillows thrown across the room. Muffler Man’s conclusion summed it up: ”L…A…M…E…!”

To be fair to the Sopranos team and HBO, some devotees were like cats (there’s a clue in here somewhere) in cream. A straw poll of the blogs suggests that for every 10 descriptions of Chase in terms mobsters use as they whack a rival, there was one calling him a genius.

”What a terrific ending,” posts canrsiegrl. ”It’s been an amazing ride, David. Thank you.” – Guardian Unlimited Â