"The Sopranos" have been whacked

Tonight, they tell us, will be the last episode of "The Sopranos".
I wouldn’t borrow money from Tony to bet on it, ----if there is more money to be made in the future, I am sure he will be back ----but let’s just assume this to be true, that tonight is the end of it all.

"The Sopranos" have been whacked.

Final episodes always have a way of disappointing us. The bigger the show, the bigger the let down. The last episode of “MASH” engendered nationwide parties in homes, bars, even on the streets of NY. The ratings were phenomenal. The show? Pffsst. A big nothing. “Seinfeld”? One of the best sitcoms of all time [second or third to “I Love Lucy” and maybe “The Dick Van Dyke Show”] in its prime, had a last episode that truly bit the big one in a major way.

I think it’s because the writers are responding to the historical moment, rather than being inspired by what brought them there ---true to life experiences. So, they write what they think the public wants to see, and they fail. The hostilities in Korea never really ended. We’re still there after 50 years. Neurotic and self-absorbed comedians still live on the Upper Eastside. I know; I've worked with many of them.

Maybe “The Sopranos” will be different. David Chase seems like a very talented guy, who writes from his gut of inspiration, rather than from what he thinks the public wants to see.

I am a transplant to NJ [from Brooklyn, NY] as well as to “The Sopranos”. I never really watched the show on HBO. We never had HBO or cable for a long time. When I was in law school we did not watch that much TV. So, we cancelled cable as a cost cutting measure.

So, I got to know Tony, Paulie, Big Pussy, Christopher, AJ, Dr. Melfi, Silvio, Carmella, and Meadow all by rented DVD and all out of order.

Chase has whacked a lot of people over the years. Adrianna. Big Pussy. Cousin Tony. Christopher. Bobby. But never Paulie Walnuts. He was not very bright. He was completely without scruples or ethics of any kind. So why does he survive and others get whacked?

Paulie Walnuts: He is loyal to a "T"... and loves his mother.

He's the guy I will miss the most. Loved the name. Loved the hair. The always clueless guy, loyal to a T [literally] and loyal to his mother, real and adopted. He would just as soon shake down a guy for the extra ‘fig’ he owes from a lost sports bet by breaking his knee caps, as break a guy’s leg for not giving his mother the best room in her nursing home.

While Tony’s relationship with his mother sucked and was the basis for his therapy with Dr. Melfi, Paulie loved his mother, and visited her every chance he could. And how can you not love a crime thug who loves his mother? Will he ever rise above ‘capo’ in the family? No, Paulie Walnuts will never be a ‘don’, but he was fun to watch just the same.

Good night, Paulie. I know Chase will never whack you in the last episode. You are a survivor because you love your mother.