The Sopranos

TV

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The show has become notorious for its long hiatuses. Whereas most TV programs are off the air for 3–5 months in between seasons, and HBO dramas are usually 9 months, because of their shorter episode order, The Sopranos' production breaks have been consistently longer. This is mainly because of scheduling conflicts for the actors and David Chase's requests to HBO for time to develop storylines. Chase has said in the past that he intended the show to last only one or two seasons (hence the shorter gap between the first two seasons as compared to later ones), but its success led to a lengthier run, and thus he had to write most of the later episodes from scratch.

Seasons 1–2: 9 months
Seasons 2–3: 11 months
Seasons 3–4: 16 months
Seasons 4–5: 16 months
Seasons 5–6: 21 months
Seasons 6 part 1–6 part 2: 10 months

Release dates

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DVD Name	Region 1	Region 2	Region 3	Region 4
Complete Season 1	December 12, 2000	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003
Complete Season 1 (Original UK Release)	N/A	April 16, 2001	N/A	N/A
Complete Season 2	November 6, 2001	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003
Complete Season 2 (Original UK Release)	N/A	June 25, 2001	N/A	N/A
Complete Season 3	August 27, 2002	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003	November 24, 2003
Complete Season 4	October 28, 2003	November 3, 2003	November 3, 2003	November 3, 2003
Complete Season 5	June 7, 2005	June 20, 2005	June 20, 2005	August 17, 2005
Season 6 Part 1 (Episodes 1 - 12)	November 7, 2006	November 27, 2006	TBA	Marrch 7, 2007
Season 6 Part 2 (Episodes 13 - 21)	October 23, 2007	TBA 2007	TBA 2007	TBA 2007

Characters

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Anthony "Tony" Soprano (James Gandolfini) is the boss of the DiMeo crime family and patriarch of the Soprano household. He sees a therapist after experiencing panic attacks. His therapist is Dr. Jennifer Melfi, (Lorraine Bracco), also an Italian-American. Dr. Melfi struggles to maintain her ethical and professional position despite being endangered and threatened by Tony and his criminal lifestyle.

Tony's immediate family consists of his wife Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco), daughter Meadow Mariangela Soprano (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) and son Anthony "A.J." Soprano, Jr. (Robert Iler). Carmela is a proud mother and devoted wife who struggles to accept her husband's criminal activity and infidelity as well as her own financial insecurity. She maintains a social network with other Mafia wives and widows. A.J. is initially a typical adolescent and struggles with an unconfirmed diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and teenage rebellion. Meadow is a gifted student who rationalizes her father's business and grows up hoping to pursue a career in medicine. In the final season, Meadow changes her mind about medical school and talks about going into law.

Tony's extended family includes his mother Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand), sisters Janice Soprano (Aida Turturro) and Barbara Soprano Giglione (Nicole Burdette), uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano (Dominic Chianese), cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi) and nephew Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). Livia is a shrewd manipulator and has emotional problems of her own. Livia is incapable of showing love or compassion of any kind. She cleverly transfers contempt for herself and others onto those who interact with her, creating substantial personal and professional complications for Tony. Junior, who frequently spends time with Livia, has seniority over Tony in their criminal empire and strives to maintain power. The dominance struggle between these two unbendable figures, coupled with Livia's manipulative influence over Junior, lead to a fudged assassination attempt on Tony in the first season. As a result, the relationship between Tony and his uncle Junior is strained throughout the series. Janice, who has had a child in Quebec, ran off to Seattle at a young age, but returns to New Jersey decades later and gets into disruptive relationships with some of Tony's colleagues. Barbara has moved away to start her own family. Blundetto grew up with Tony, but was convicted of armed robbery in their youth. He is finally released from prison in season five of the show. Christopher is Carmela's second cousin, but Tony considers him his nephew and protégé in the crime family, helping him rise through the ranks.

Tony's close circle within the DiMeo crime family includes Silvio "Sil" Dante (Steven Van Zandt), Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) and Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore). Sil is Tony's consigliere and best friend. Paulie and Big Pussy are longtime soldiers who have worked with Tony and his father. Also in Tony's family are Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) , Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio) and Carlo Gervasi (Arthur J. Nascarella). Patsy is another aging soldier with a talent for bookkeeping. Furio is imported muscle from an associated Italian crime family and Carlo is an 'Old School' soldier who took over a crew.

About

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The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase and originally broadcast on the HBO network. The show revolves around New Jersey mafia boss Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The series stars, among others, James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli.

The series initially aired on HBO from January 10, 1999 to June 10, 2007, spanning six seasons and 86 episodes. The show has also aired in dozens of other countries.

A major critical and commercial success, The Sopranos is widely recognized as one of the greatest works of American fiction and is often credited for bringing a greater level of artistry to the television medium and paving the way for many successful drama series that followed. The show has won numerous awards, including eighteen Emmys and five Golden Globes, and has been the subject of much parody and analysis.