re: Just finished Sopranos season 2, I'm done with it.

I watched ita few months back. Kept waiting for it to get better, but for the most part it was just more of the same. Wasn't a bad show by any means, but certainly not GOAT material. And I like "stories" - it's not that I needed car chases or explosions. I rode it out because my wife and I needed something to watch together, but I was more than a bit disappointed. Worth watching, but far short of what I expected given the hype.

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Season 3 is much better than 1 and 2.

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I actually started watching in season 3 while I was deployed in the Army. Others were watching in my tent and I happened to catch some scenes and became interested.

I didn't watch seasons 1-2 until later. I might have had the same reaction as the OP had I watched them first.

I agree. OP should watch season 3.

I agree somewhat with the first few posters in that I tend to think Sopranos is overrated simply because people are generally intrigued by the mob mystique, but it's overall a pretty great show. It's not on the level of a Breaking Bad or Wire, but it's still pretty good.

And even in saying that, I agree that Season 1 is excellent TV, and the Tony-Junior beef is interesting.

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And this comes from someone who loves godfather1/2, goodfellas, Donnie brasco, carlito's way. The show wastes a lot of time of side stories that don't amount to anything.

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I don't think the show ever attempted to be an 80+ hour Goodfellas - it was a family/workplace dramedy centered around a character that could have been from Goodfellas.

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What's the point of Christopher trying to be a screenwriter?

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It was an homage to the genre - so many wiseguys out there want to tell their story to Hollywood (risky as that sounds) - conversely, Hollywood types fancy themselves as gangsters.

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Those scenes with Dr. Melfi are unwatchable after the first few sessions.

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This is a dramatic technique to allow Tony to talk things out without an inner monologue. The fact that I consider both the actors pretty special allowed me to appreciate it more.

There was also the irony of a mob boss having anxiety attacks. I mean, that's pretty funny and sad at the same time.

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Characters like Artie(not believable as a chef)

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I disagree - he is the archtype of people "who know people" - around these criminal organizations there are always people orbiting and hanging on. Artie is to illustrate the pros and cons of that.

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his mooching feminist sister

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Everybody hates Janice. Everybody hates Skyler - doesn't ruin Breaking Bad.

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his spoiled useless 2 kids

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They get better (and worse) - just like life.

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Livia the miserable mom

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Great performance by a great actress in her final role of any significance.

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Seems like one scene, the guys are saying how much they love one another, bust each other's balls, and then one of them gets whacked.

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You're aware it is a show about the mafia, correct?

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I was a big fan of furio

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Furio was great. I think they struggled with how to use the character, properly. One of the weak points of the show that we didn't get more of him - I'll agree to that.

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Instead we see tony fight with his wife episode after episode.

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Yeah - I agree with the poster that believes you may have missed the point entirely.

It's okay. Entertainment is largely subjective. I don't like everything that is super popular or critically acclaimed - I'm not going to think less of you - as The Sopranos are likely not everyone's cup of tea.

In your case, it's unexpected because you like the genre, overall, just not this particular product. Unexpected, but shouldn't be a disaster. You gave it 2 seasons - nobody can say you didn't give it a chance.

Did you like The Shield, by any chance?

There are episodes that involve "side" characters like Artie, or what happens to his restaurant which reminiscent of the Goodfellas restaurant and the mooching sis who ends up whacking a guy who happens to be a rival of Tony, and idk if you reached the episode that Tony offers up revenge for something that happens to Dr. Melfi.

Still, no, IMO its not on the same par as the films you mentioned which stands to reason being a series.
Liked the performances in Donnie Brasco, and Goodfellas of course that was strictly from a favorable "inside" point of view obviously, also liked Casino, but didn't like "Carlito's way" at all.

Oh, as I recall you will see more of Furio in later episodes but no, he doesn't become that I remember, more of a "main" character.

But the Sopranos is more of Jersey Edition of La Mano Nera,(when I was a kid it was called this, meaning "the black hand", and then later La Cosa Nostra (this thing of ours) anyway you have more of Jersey than Napolitan, or Sicilian.

btw, Speaking of Sicilians I wonder if you guys knew of this moment in history:

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New Orleans was also the site of the first major Mafia incident in this country. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and 19 were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal generated rumors of widespread bribery and intimidated witnesses. Outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and killed 11 of the 19 defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped.

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I really enjoyed it overall but it definitely waned at points and I just kinda had it playing while I did other stuff and would check it out when something big happened. shite got real after a certain point and I was glued.

I think if HBO did a show about Russian mob, it would be awesome. We can see how they operate, interactions, Russian culture, dialog/slangs. It's never been done before. I think Italian mob on screen has been done to death.

what some people fail to realize is sopranos is character driven, not plot driven. In breaking bad, there is a specific storyline that is followed through out the whole show.... Walt's attempt to provide for his family by selling meth. Breaking bad follows a story ark, and doesn't have to focus on character development or subplots. This doesn't exist in sopranos, it's just a look into the family and business life of a gangster. It is completely character driven and that's why there are so many subplots.

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For a show that's considered the greatest/one of the greatest by many

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Breaking Bad is the greatest show ever and it isn't even close, except for maybe the Wire. Everyone should have learned this fact by now.