![sopranos_title.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmYtiaVwoZBEtQKbZcUvjj1ejjmpHynvVY9P1ZBfBjT3s8/sopranos_title.jpg)

Hello everyone, this is my first entry in a [contest](https://www.cinetv.io/hive-121744/@notacinephile/cinetv-contest-significant-tv-shows) on here.  I'm hoping I filled in all the required stipulations.  Thank you to @notacinephile and @zayedsakib for sponsoring this contest. This was a great nostalgia trip and exercise for me. Good luck to everybody participating and I look forward to reading your entries. Enough talk, let's go!

The show that blew apart the term 'must see tv', I think you already know it's The Sopranos.  There was nothing like this on television at this point in time, 1999.  I arrived late to the party on the dvd game and when I heard they were compiling this into a dvd box set I was ecstatic.  

I was in a pawn shop with a friend of mine around the time of the dvd release and noticed season one discounted to 50% and it was still in the shrink wrap.  I immediately plopped down my cash and we were tickled pink to go back to my place and watch this.  At the time, binge watching wasn't really a part of the vocabulary but this is exactly what happened.

This also began a period of time when accumulating dvd media was at an all time high for myself.  The format was such a breath of fresh air compared to VHS and Laserdisc.  Too many chewed up tapes, rewinding, rentals and even laser rot on those Laserdiscs.  I rarely purchase physical media these days and have left anything newer than Blu-ray behind which I only own a handful.

![sopranos-1.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmR8f6Cx4sWZR9FPwq8rtf6j4eyJaLghNFQE4foNyK1AeP/sopranos-1.jpg)


According to the box set that I still own, it states the runtime of season 1 is 680 minutes and equates to 11.3 hours!  That is right, some bathroom breaks and ordered in food kept us sustained for this beast of a series.  Don't forget this is the era of the 13 episode 1 hour drama.  This whizzed by like nothing.

I've always been a fan of the so-called Mafia movies.  This was like an extended amalgamation of all these in a television format.  The series spanned such a great depth of emotion for the characters and the viewers.  I honestly don't remember being this engrossed in a show for a long time to come. 

![sopranos-2.jpg](https://images.hive.blog/DQmRpdDgot8xU7GTfSgxiaq1nr9JEbB9sVpvo6DU93Fgo2s/sopranos-2.jpg)

The show wrapped up in the sixth season that was split into two separate parts.  The producers knew when it was time to leave on a high point.  To this day I still use the 6 season limit as a benchmark of when a series should most likely end.  These days some shows go on well past their sell date, I'm glaring at you Jenji Kohan (Weeds, Orange is the new Black) and producers of The Walking Dead.  

I haven't watched the series since it concluded in 2007 so my memory is generally hazy overall.  The killing of Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, the Pine Barrens episode and the murder of Adriana la Cerva were standout points for me.  You often did not see major characters killed off in this fashion.  This is the Jersey mob but television rarely did this.  Thanks to HBO and their willingness to shake up the space we still get series like this.

Do you have 13 hours to spare? This is probably the best time in history for long tv binging.  Here's to old times.

All media courtesy of [themoviedb.org](https://www.themoviedb.org/tv/1398-the-sopranos/images/backdrops)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9qpFgAa52U