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 Product Description: Several crises threaten Tony and his crew; for starters rival boss Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) is in prison and the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained through the unpredictable behavior of Sack?s surrogates. Then there are the inevitable power struggles that ensue when certain family members are eliminated by natural and other causes.Running Time: 720 min.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 026359330124 Manufacturer No: 93301 Amazon.com: The Sopranos, Season 6, Part 1 is the most contentious release yet in the acclaimed series' history. While many fans think it jumped the shark at the exact moment Vito said "I love you, Johnny Cakes" , this season also contains some of the series finest moments and plumbs new depths of character, while continuing to add to the body count. Things get started with a bang, literally, that unexpectedly sends Tony (James Gandolfini) to the hospital and into a coma where he experiences an alternate reality while in limbo. At one point he awakes and asks "Who am I? Where am I going?" encapsulating this season's central theme in a moment of desperation wrapped in a fever dream. But it's not all existentialism. With Tony and Uncle Junior both of the picture, the capos in the Soprano crew try to take advantage of the situation and begin jockeying for position while a reluctant Silvio (Steve Van Zandt), acting in Tony’s place, struggles to keep everyone in check. Things aren’t going much better for Tony’s family, as A.J. (Robert Iler) confesses to Carmela (Edie Falco) that he flunked out of school, and while at Tony’s bedside, swears revenge for his injury. The stress of the situation finally gets to Carmela, who takes up Dr. Melfi’s (Lorraine Bracco) offer to help and finds herself in the strange position of confiding in her husband’s therapist, revealing for once that she feels some guilt over making the kids complicit in how Tony makes his living—plus there’s the issue of whether she really loves him. Christopher (Michael Imperioli) continues to provide much of the comic relief for the series, culminating in one of this season’s best episodes when he flies out to L.A. in a bumbling attempt to get Ben Kingsley to sign on for his fledgling movie (Saw meets The Godfather), and ends up mugging Lauren Bacall for her goodie basket at an awards ceremony. Sowing further discord in the ranks, Vito (Joseph Gannoscoli) finally gets outed as homosexual, and is forced to flee for his life up to New Hampshire where he meets "Johnny Cakes." Finally, even with New York boss Johnny "Sack" Sacramoni (Vince Curatola) in prison, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) makes plays against Tony and eventually sets in motion a hit against someone on Tony’s crew, and now a larger war with Johnny Sack's crew seems to be looming. Series creator David Chase seems to be saying with this season that character is destiny. If so, then Season Six, Part 1 is taking the necessary time to flesh out who these people really are, and is leaving the destiny part up for Part 2. The fact that the series’ writers have been able to maintain such a strong show with so many interweaving storylines for so long is a feat not to be taken lightly. That said, this season of The Sopranos does deserve some of the criticism it's received: the Vito storyline would have been better served by resolving it in fewer episodes, and the season ending is the most unsatisfying one yet, leaving many fans wanting more. But the bottom line is that this season deserves more praise than criticism, proving that even at its weakest, The Sopranos is still the strongest show on TV.--Daniel Vancini Customer Reviews: Rating:  Date: 2008-05-28 Soprano's Season Six, Part One DVD The one missing piece to my entire collection. In stock, delivered quickly. Great service and availability, as always! Rating:  Date: 2008-05-17 Weakest overall season...three stars for the risks taken I agree with the Amazon review on two points.
First, the Vito story line overstayed its welcome in epic proportions. What should have been a minor subplot in the season became its centerpiece instead (sharing almost equal screen time with Tony's recuperation and lessons learned).
Second, after 5 seasons of significant season finales, the low-key, "so what" episode in Season 6 Part 1 seemed like more of a ploy to dash audience expectations than to craft something of quality. When the "Season 6 Part 1 and 2" plan was announced, the immediate reaction from series fans was to hold out hope for a season 7, season 8, season 9...and my personal belief for the entire 12 episode run of Season 6 Part 1 was that creator David Chase was trying to wean his audience from their stubborn attachment. The fact that Season 6 Part 2 came back with a vengeance supports this.
The one strength of the somewhat tedious story arcs in Season 6 Part 1 is Tony's ongoing "If they perceive you as weak" paranoia, but once again, it's played out in a clumsy manner during his altercation with "Penne Arrabiatta" at Satriale's.
If the Sopranos seasons could be expressed in terms of Rolling Stones albums, this would be "Their Satanic Majesties Request"...some mildly interesting elements that never quite gel into a satisfying whole and only leave us hungry for the hopefully better efforts that follow. Rating:  Date: 2008-02-23 Part of the family Every night I watched 2 episodes. Engrossing.....well worth the money. I didn't watch it on TV when it was running. So I was a newbie to the series... Rating:  Date: 2008-02-13 sopranos season 6 p.1 The Sopranos - Season 6, Part 1 very good the best season ever Rating:  Date: 2008-01-08 A must for Sopranos Fans Not one of the best season's but a must for collectors of the Sopranos series. |