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Every week, msnbc.com entertainment producers Gael Fashingbauer Cooper, Denise Hazlick, Paige Newman, Kurt Schlosser and Anna Chan weigh in on topics ranging from TV commercials to movie hype to the latest celebrity blunder. We're not ashamed to admit our love for bad TV or reveal what's on our iPods, and invite you to join the conversation via your comments.



Still more 'Sopranos' tidbits, from Paulie spinoff to Phil's pancaked head

Posted: Thursday, June 14, 2007 6:00 AM by Gael Fashingbauer Cooper
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Can you stand one more "Sopranos" post? This one's just rounding up odds and ends and funny links relating to the still-controversial finale Sunday night.  Then let's leave the "Sopranos" to rest -- or eat onion rings for all eternity, whatever -- in peace. 

I'm out of the office next week, but when I get back, let's get that TV commercial contest started. Start noticing the really good and the really bad ads now, so we can discuss starting June 26. Last year's final post, complete with winner and really horribly annoying loser, is here. Test Pattern! Apply directly to the forehead!

• Dissatisfied by the final scene? Wish something had happened after Tony looked up? Still missing Adriana? Watch this remixed video and see if it helps soothe your pain.

• Ever wonder what would happen if "The Sopranos" were on a non-premium network? "They would spin off Janice. Coming in September: WIDOW WITH CHILDREN." (Thanks to Paige for the link!)

• Or maybe you prefer a Paulie spinoff? Here's a video preview of how the mobster with the gray wings might handle a sitcom.

• Maxim.com has another video of a suggested alternate ending. It gets a little gross for a second, but thankfully, the prop used is easily identifiable. (This is Maxim we're talking about, not the Economist.)

• That rumor that David Chase shot three different endings for the series, all of which will be on the final-season DVD? Not true, according to USA Today. But apparently there was a original page to the script in which Meadow takes her seat with the family before the cut to black. Make of that what you will.

• If only Meadow had owned the self-parking Lexus, she might have entered the restaurant sooner and saved us all a lot of trouble.

• Speaking of Miss Meadow and her parking abilities, Hallmark (Hallmark?) weighs in with their own Letterman-esque top 10 list of things that happened after the screen went black. I like #4: "Meadow turns and walks back out, saying, 'I really don't think I'm parked close enough to the curb. Like, I definitely could be closer. Let's give it one more try.' "

But no one does a top 10 list better than Letterman: Top 10 signs you're watching a bad organized-crime show. Number 2: "Crime syndicate is run from behind bars by Paris Hilton."

• The creator of "Lost" thought the ending was "letter-perfect." Of course he did. If only he'd gone on to say "Answers to questions are overrated!" Anyway, the NY Times asked various other TV show creators what they thought of the finale. Sounds like they're visualizing their own futures.

• Canadian cable companies were warned about the abrupt black screen ending, but claim they weren't buried in complaints. (Can't find an American take on this story.)

• Cracked (they still publish Cracked?) has five alternate endings, from romantic to frantic to a "Shawshank Redemption"-style version. (Last two links via Television Without Pity.)

• Journey's Steve Perry only agreed to the use of "Don't Stop Believin' " once he was let in on the secret finale before it aired. (He was also thrilled that the show cut to a streetlight as the song lyric "streetlight people" was played.) 

• Ford employees were just as grossed out by the rest of us that their SUV pancaked Phil's head.

• We've discussed the final scene near to death on Test Pattern, but the LA Times went around the Web and grabbed thoughts from various people on some of the points we've harped upon, from the onion-ring communion to the audience being whacked. But I disagree with the people who claim the Soprano family is too upscale to eat at Holsten's. Have they seen Tony's belly? He's a fan of the burgers and fries, and it's not like Carmela was raised on caviar and lobster, either. (Last three links via the always-great TV Tattle.)

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Comments

Regaring Phil's timely demise: that is one of the most memorable wackings ever.  The babies kinda giggling while bouncing over grandpa's head was humour in a sick and uneasy way that I'm slightly afraid to even admit.  The reactions of the bystanders told the story better than actually seeing the damage ever could.  Regarding the rest of the episode: I've really felt the entire season was a bioptic into the paranoia that Tony feels.  And throughout each episode, Tony has had to assess threats and make decisions.  And we've felt his fear.  Tony walks around everyday with the fear that the end is near -- and for the last few episodes we've shared that fear at a fever pitch.  What I think David Chase showed us is that, while the threat of the end is always near, it can't get in the way of our lives.  Communing with our family over onion rings in a dive resturant is important, regardless whether we're going to check out today or 30 years from now.  One of the ways I've always seen Tony is to look at him not as a mobster but as the leader of a contruction company.  He's trying to hold it all together, sometimes he fires people and mess up their lives, he has rivals that want him out of business.  And all the while he has a ungrateful family that don't understand how is "work" provides a living for them.  And Tony has all the stress and responsibilites of that roll and has to balance them.  When I simplify it like this, it's much easier to interpret the ending as a need to carry on with whats important in the face of an uncertain furture.  That's the lesson of Tony.  

Tom (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:06 AM)

I thought the ending sucked in the beginning. But the more I thought about it the better I felt.

Chet Kincaid (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:20 AM)

In my alternative ending, the entire cast turns their guns on David Chase.

Studs Lonigan (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:49 AM)

Get lives.  Seriously.  You're outraged over a TELEVISION SHOW.  If that's your biggest problem, there are at least a billion people who would be happy to trade places with you.

L Haines, Melbourne, FL (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 11:49 AM)

Check out the Holsten's Web site, www.holstens.com.
Onion rings are not on the menu.

Bill Corporon, Dallas TX (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:16 PM)

To paraphrase Gawker, the mooks who want their endings spelled out for them in big block letters should stick to Pauly Shore movies.

Thomas, NYC (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:27 PM)

"The Sopranos"? They're dead to me now.

Mike Nave Arcola, IL (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 12:47 PM)

I don't understand all the uproar - here's a letter sent to Peter King at SI.com on Tuesday that sums it up very well.  There were clues throughout about what the "black ending" meant.

ALL SOPRANOS, ALL THE TIME. From George, of Phoenix, Ariz.: "Peter, you need to understand the ending of the last show better. I knew that Tony was in trouble when he went to see Carm and ate an orange. Oranges equal death on the Sopranos. Then, think back to the conversation Tony and Bobby had on the boat when they were at the lake. They talked about what it would be like to be whacked. Bobby said 'maybe it all just goes black' and they agreed. That conversation was shown again in flashback last week.

"So Tony's sitting in the restaurant. Every time someone comes in, the bell over the door rings, and Tony looks up. We then see the scene from his perspective. The guy at the bar that's been glancing at Tony goes past him to the restroom. Meadow starts to come in the door and the bell rings. He looks up and it goes black. I think the guy shot Tony from behind and his perspective went to black. Then no music for the credits.

"I think if they were just going to move on with their story, it would have been a fade-out or panning away from them. But the abrupt 'cut' says he died. However, it's ambiguous enough that if they decided to do a movie down the road, they could always get out of it. And the funny thing -- our big question going into the finale was, "Will Tony get whacked?" We thought we'd watch to find out. So we watched, and we're still not sure.''

Arlington, VA (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:21 PM)

I thought the ending was perfect. We now know what it would be like to get whacked.

TBS, Seattle, WA (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 1:55 PM)

Glad to see I'm not the only one who caught the significance of Tony eating the orange. By the way, that gangsters-and-oranges motif is something that goes all the way back to The Godfather. Much has been written about oranges as a harbinger of doom in that film. I love that sly little bit of an homage that Chase worked in.

Devin Rambo, Beverly, MA (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 2:23 PM)

Chase could do a movie easy by going back to when Tony got shot, making the last episodes dreams while he was in a coma, and rewriting the entire ending for the big screen.
Ok, maybe not..just a thought.

I think the ending was perfect now that time has passed...look how much we're all talking about it!  Otherwise it'd be just like "oh, they killed him, big surprise"...

Yorktown, VA (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 2:45 PM)

People, it is entertainment. It is supposed to make you think, not give you answers. Make your own.

Crashj, Raleigh, NC (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 3:50 PM)

They order duck and find out that it was the ducks that landed on the pond and Tony flips out...starts shouting "Duck, Duck", and they think someones going to shoot...ends with them all under the table, but Tony who runs through the street throwing up.

annie roo (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 4:23 PM)

Just before the screen went black in the final scene the camera is on Tony as he's looking toward the door. Meadow is coming in that door so we're seeing what she's seeing as she enters the diner, its her "lights" that go out. I think if Tony had been shot the camera would have been looking toward the door from Tony's perspective when the screen went black. Who did the shooting if there even was a shooting? We'll probably never know.

Mike DeMicco (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 4:41 PM)

Tony needed to wack his high-pitched whining wife for being a hypocrite, his son for being just like him, and his daughter for being an ungrateful wench.  Then go to Janice's and wack her for being Janice.

Helen, Redlands, CA (Sent Thursday, June 14, 2007 4:59 PM)

Didn't anyone notice the television scene depicting a young girl screaming and crying in horror running in the direction of the camera, away from a terrible event?
I think it was to foreshadow Meadow's horror as she enters the restaurant and sees her father being shot.

Stephie S. (Sent Friday, June 15, 2007 2:18 PM)

mike demicco - that may be the best interpretation I've seen yet - Meadow's the only one with something to look forward to at this point, and to end her life would cause the most frustration to those who could watch this scenario continue...

Canuck (Sent Friday, June 15, 2007 3:10 PM)

Great ending to a great show. All the main people are still alive. It makes the reruns more fun to watch. I just feel James Gandolphini should be a little more greatfull for the Tony character that put him on the map. No one hardly ever saw him before that and you won't see his career go anywhere after the Sopranos ended. Hopefully they'll surprise us with another season in the future and make Sunday nights fun again.

Niko Seretis, Rocaway NJ. (Sent Friday, June 15, 2007 6:00 PM)

Please god, not another commercial contest.  Didn't the last one end just a few weeks ago?  Maybe it just seemed like it because it went on for months ad nauseum.

RAH, Lake Oswego OR (Sent Friday, June 15, 2007 6:45 PM)

It's us folks!  We, the audience, got whacked.  Life goes on for the Sopranos, we just don't know about it.

Brian, Los Angeles (Sent Friday, June 15, 2007 7:44 PM)

As I listened to Journey, I couldn't help but hear the one line this way : "Workin' hard to get my Phil..."  

The show was great as a whole and the ending makes us think about what actually happened... and I believe that is exactly how Chase wanted it.  If everything goes dark suddenly, that's it... As AJ said, just remember the good times....

Tracy, Encino, CA (Sent Saturday, June 16, 2007 1:56 AM)

I see our society has active imaginations (Helen, Redlands, CA).  I for one was not satisfied with the ending of the finale.  Too many questions, nobody to answer them.  I seriously think a movie should be made.  The plot, dialogue, and actors is up to Chase, but I must say that I feel like I just drank a bottle of grey goose, expecting mind blowing sex and don't even get the surface scratched.  Thanks a lot Chase.

Elicia Colon, Middletown, NY (Sent Sunday, June 17, 2007 3:08 AM)

Well I will miss the show. No I was surprised at the ending my heart just sank-but it leads you to you own conclusion. I hope they come back again. My favorite show every.

Sue Odin Il (Sent Sunday, June 17, 2007 8:51 AM)

At the end tony had backup in the restaurant i seen him. so the guy comes out of the bathroom to shoot tony, then BAM!!!! HE GETS WHACKED

marty gaddis jasper ga (Sent Monday, June 18, 2007 12:46 PM)

Even if Tony wasn't whacked at the end, if you remember the episode, you'll know that he's left with out a consiglieri, who's he going to depend on for advice, Paulie? no , everyone else is dead...his lawyer says indictments are coming...so his mob career was over too, the turmoil was not going to end...David Chase just gave you another day in the life of the Soprano's family! and all of the staring and expectations at the restaurant was David's way of putting our own thoughts into the process (tremendous job at that ) we just don't like the results...I was convinced we was going to become a witness

chris, new york,ny (Sent Monday, June 18, 2007 6:31 PM)

Have you ever "popped" an onion ring in your mouth as soon as they are brought to the table? They just might be the hottest thing you will ever put in your pie hole! It had to be a dream, because in reality they all would have been spitting them out on the table!

R. Katt, East Orange, MN (Sent Tuesday, June 19, 2007 1:48 AM)

Paulie spinoff? Janice spinoff? That's thinking too small. I have half a dozen more:

http://ajliebling.blogspot.com/2007/06/soprano-spinoffs.html

Robert Stein, Weston. CT. (Sent Wednesday, June 20, 2007 10:42 AM)

Sopranos Alternate Ending
3/4 through the last episode, the same diner scene.  A mobster walks out of the bathroom in slow motion.  Anthony Jr. reaches for his wrist, grabs the gun and turns it on the mobster, fires 2 shots, then turns the gun on a mobster that his holding a gun to Meadows head.  AJ then shoots the guy in the eye.

The final scene:  They find Phil Leotardo.  They beat him up and call Tony.  Tony meets them in a downtown building.  Tony tries to make peace with the brusied and bloody Leotardo.  Leotardo says F U Soprano.  Tony shoots him.  On the way out, they see a lady hiding in a corner. It is Tony's therapist.  She recognizes Tony.  The screen fades to black.

Randolph Ragland (Sent Thursday, June 21, 2007 9:44 PM)

My brother works for a cable company in Oregon and says they were "warned" about the ending before the show aired, and were prepared for a flood of calls, complaints, etc.  But they were not innundated either.

Ken, Las Vegas, NB (Sent Friday, June 22, 2007 11:52 AM)



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