The Sopranos: Saying Goodbye to an HD Pioneer

I don't know how many people watched the series finale of The Sopranos last night on HBO but I'm guessing many of you reading this did. After all, by my (unofficial) chronology, Tony and his crew were the oldest HD series on cable -- and essentially tied with Law & Order among all TV dramatic series (both made their HD first-run debuts in 2002). As many of you know, HBO was one of the first HD networks available nationwide and the majority of the 86 Sopranos episodes aired originally in high-def, beginning with Season 4 in September '02. (85 of the 86 were shot in HD, with the exception being the pilot.) The Sopranos represented a pioneering effort in HD content, one that undoubtedly helped spur the adoption of HDTVs in homes around the country over the last five years.

As for the series finale itself, many people -- myself included -- weren't happy with the ending in what was overwise a pretty good episode. For all the speculation about Tony getting whacked, anyone who read the director's comments about even a small possibility of a Sopranos movie at some point in the future could see that would be difficult to pull off with the lead character being dead. Difficult, not impossible. And what were the other options, that Tony would go into witness protection? That he would reconcile with Phil Leotardo and harmonize the NJ and NY families? That he would actually get convicted of a crime and put in jail like Johnny Sack? None of those would have worked to anyone's satisfaction. So while I didn't really like the ending -- I thought for a moment that the cable had gone out, which I suppose is the effect David Chase was going for -- I can't really envision a scenario in which I would have been happy with ANY ending.

No one liked the Seinfeld series finale either...

All in all, I'm thankful for six great seasons (okay, maybe five great seasons and one decent one) of a dramatic series that not only was unlike anything else on TV, but also redefined how great TV is made.