Bada bing!? After nearly a year and half without new episodes, executive producer David Chase unveiled the long awaited fourth season of The Sopranos in September on the ballyhooed "It's Not TV" HBO cable network. Since we last left our brutal, dysfunctional family, the attention the series and HBO has received has multiplied -- with promotional overload. Various books explore the psychological themes of the show, while commercial posters and tie-ins distract from the intent of the actual show. Furthermore, we hear countless hyperbolic critics lamenting that The Sopranos needs to return to the cable airwaves soon, as it clearly is the greatest thing to appear on television -- ever.
Now half-way through the fourth season, intense trouble is brewing between both families over that age-old root of all evil: money. Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) suddenly fears for the future security of the family, in case a turn of bad fate ever landed husband/crime boss Tony (James Gandolfini) in prison, or worse. Meanwhile, Tony becomes angered with his capos in the New Jersey Family over the current lack of money.
Since Sept. 11 and the Enron scandal, even the Sopranos have been hurting for flow. This has been the overriding motif of an uneven season, setting up countless plot lines involving new forays into economic schemes and family trust funds, without any substance. The latest, on the Oct. 27 episode, finds Tony and friends threatening government support to buy HUD housing, only to collect on the insurance, without actually transforming crack housing into viable welfare accommodations.
While I applaud Chase for incorporating realism into the series by exploring the aftermath of a sluggish economy, the series has suffered from too many tangents and has even committed a cardinal sin for the once powerful series -- the obsessive discussions of fiscal woes are not particularly entertaining. This is a series that is built upon psychological depth and character relationships. Perhaps before we pass judgment, we should wait to see how the setup of the first half of the season ends in explosion in coming episodes. But things still feel amiss.
Another important motif of the fourth season, unrequited desire, is infinitely more exciting and comfortably fits the show. Furio (Federico Castelluccio) and Carmela have amorous eyes for each other, but both stop short of acting on their desires. At one point, Carmela makes love to Tony, but the distant look on her face tells us she is thinking about someone else, especially when she visited a sweaty, muscular Furio earlier that day. Recently, Furio has been slipping flattering comments in his conversations with Carmela, and making dangerous phone calls behind Tony's back.
Meanwhile, Tony's sister, Janice (Aida Turturro), is enamored with grieving widower Bobby, Junior's assistant. Recently, Bobby's wife, Karen, was killed in an unfortunate accident, and Janice has been calculating the moment when she can become the new woman in his life, by showing up with plenty of pasta dishes. However, Bobby is not returning her affections, especially since Karen's last batch of ziti is still in the freezer.
Relationships on The Sopranos are always built on boiling tension, and the anticipation of inevitable explosion. On that note, the writers have a glorious time building up the twisted plots into a symphony of fire and brimstone. Newly made capo Christopher (Michael Imperioli) is suffering from heroin addiction, while Tony intends to transfer his orders to his only blood relative, claiming to Christopher, "you're going to take this family into the 21st century." The audience, meanwhile, grimaces at the eventual downfall of a family with Christopher in control of too much power. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Adriana, has been forced by the FBI to become an informant. Adriana (Drea de Matteo) responds with a scheme to marry Christopher, after she watches a rerun of Murder One, in which a witness refuses to testify against her husband on the grounds of marriage rights. This season has been a tour de force for Matteo, and I award her MVP of the family, as she has had to deal with the FBI and fears of rejection from the Family, in addition to a fiancZ who shoots up too much. After she discovers that there are loopholes in the marriage rights, as not seen on TV, the instantly heartbreaking look on her face at a bridal shower is filled with fear and ironic disappointment.
Recent episodes are hit or miss, with myriad plot tangents that often do not unravel themselves in any logical fashion. One particularly awful episode focused almost entirely on the debate over Christopher Columbus -- Italian hero or mass murderer of Native Americans? Meanwhile, some characters are utilized for brief moments, and often too little or too much. For example, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Braco) is hardly doing anything this season, and her therapy sessions with Tony are rendered insignificant.
In the end, this series remains simply some of the best material on television. While I do think the edge of The Sopranos is more blunt than ever, and certainly recent jewels like timeslot rival Alias and 24 are increasingly more entertaining and creative, Tony and company continue to provide plenty of juice for the viewer. With six episodes remaining, this slow-to-begin fourth season is heating up. Despite jumbled teleplays and misguided direction, the hopefully explosive end of this season will surely justify the means.
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