Special Features:
Pilot Episode Commentary with David Chase and Peter Bogdanovich  �  Featurettes (2)  �  David Chase Video Interview by Peter Bogdanovich

It is a great thing when something comes around and completely shakes up corporate television. HBO has been producing original television series' for quite a while, but The Sopranos is the first to really grab the general public's attention. It has it all with its combination of great story, music, and direction, but most importantly a great cast and a great set of characters.

The Sopranos has to easily be the most praised television show in the last 20 years. Having just sat down and gone through every episode in season one for a second time every accolade it has received is well deserved. In the commentary on the pilot and in an interview on the DVD, creator David Chase, talks about how he hoped that he was creating something that could easily stand in the shadows of The Godfather and Goodfellas. He surpasses that goal and creates a mob series that stands beside these two classics. As most people know, The Godfather is considered the opera version of the mob, with big characters, music, story and emotions. Goodfellas brought it down to the streets in a way that only Martin Scorsese could do. It was about the day to day "grind" for the lower level wiseguys and how they did and did not survive. It reinvented what was possible. The Sopranos takes that next step, and brings the day to day family life into the equation. The other significant addition is that the main character, Tony Soprano, is depressed and decides to start talking to a psychiatrist (Loraine Bracco). Talking to a psychiatrist is a "no, no" in that world, but it really allows us to get deep into Tony's head and all of the problems he has to deal with from both the business and the family. At the top of this list is Tony's mother, Livia. At the end of the 13 episodes if you are not convinced that this is one of the greatest performances ever (film or TV), you may not have watched the same TV show I did. The subtley of her performance is remarkable. Alfred Hitchcock is rolling over in his grave due to the jealousy he is feeling from this maternal character.

Each episode has it merits, but my favorites are:

Episode One - The Sopranos:
The opening 30 minutes completely reinvents the mob movie. Among the highlights of this episode are Tony's wife, Carmelia (Edie Falco) telling Tony that the difference between her and him is that he is going to hell and Carmellia grabbing the AK47 when she thinks some one is breaking into her home only to find that it is her daughter trying to sneak into the house. This is not your typical family.

Episode Two - 46 Long:
This episode is unique in that it has a pre-credit opening sequence dealing with the "decline" of the mob. More details of Tony's life are revealed and most importantly we discover that Tony cannot recall one loving moment anytime in his life where his mom was involved. We learn more about Livia over the next few episodes and we understand why.

Episode Five - College:
David Chase says that this is his favorite episode and watching it you will see why. This episode is the perfect combination of the mob life vs family. Tony is touring college campuses with his daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler). When he thinks he spots an old mob capo who had ratted out a bunch of his friends, he has to walk a very fine line between his daughter and revenge. My favorite scene in this episode is where Meadow confronts Tony about whether or not he is in the mob.

Episode Thirteen - I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano
Tony nearly assaults Dr. Melfi when she suggests that Livia may be behind the recent events in Tony's life. Livia doesn't stop after attempt number one. Tony has one of the great lines in recent history, "Cunilingous and psychiatry brought us to this point." This episode has a great ending when the family gets stuck in the rain and stops of at Artie Bucco's (John Ventimigilia) restaurant for dinner. Tony's toast to remembering the good family times is extremely poignant.

Video quality on these discs is a little disappointing. At times the picture is very grainy with a lot of extra noise. Everything is a little soft and occasionally the digital artifacts rear their ugly head, and Episode 9's (Boca) quality is pathetic. I expect a lot more from HBO video. Sound quality is solid.

Extras include a commentary with series creator David Chase and Peter Bogdanovich. The commentary was quite informative. I like commentaries with more than one person as it adds a little to liveliness of the recollections. It also helps when you have an outsider who can bring up issues the director/creator may not have considered. A lengthy interview, again with Chase and Bogdanovich is also included. It covers some of the same material as the commentary, but is able to go into quite a few other issues. The package is rounded out with a couple of featurettes.