Sopranos returned for it's (final) sixth season tonight. If you haven't followed the show in the past, it's really tough to get into it.

If you've seen the season premiere, you'll notice that I'm skipping a HUGE spoiler. So please don't post it.

The stuff:
-Freaky opening scene with a weird poem being read. Shows us most of the regular characters and ends with Carmela dreaming about her new house and..Adrianna (is she still on NBC's "Joey"? or did that show get shitcanned?). Strange how Adrianna passes a cigaette to Carm.

-Johnny Sack is still in jail, and while it's quelled a bit, tension still exists between Tony and Phil Leotardo. Some of Phil's guys rough up Tony's old buddy Hesh (the Jewish guy) and his son.

-In an opening scene, Meadow dances in her undies and gives her husband a little burlesque show. Confirming my suspicions (and hopes) that Meadow will eventually get a job at the Bada-Bing.

-Tony and Carmela have a new favorite restaurant- a sushi joint. A longshot, but the raw fish might eventually lead to some issues with Tony (like how he was upset with the animated Big Mouth Billy Bass singing "Take me to the river..drop me in the water" a few years ago).

-After another visit to the Sushi joint, Tony surprises Carmela with a new Porsche Cayenne.

-Carmela is concerned about where Adrianna is..and wonders why she'd just disappear and never call anyone.

-Uncle Junior is really losing it, and insists that Tony dig up the yard to find some buried money. When a neighbor loooks over, Tony explains the holes by saying "these fuckin' moles..you got 'em too?" Jun is remembering a job from about 35 years ago and insists the fucker owes him money.

-Bobby Baccala (from SPIKE TV's Casino Cinema and the Tonight Show) has a new hobby: model trains. His entire garage is devoted to it and he even wears a Engineer Fred hat.

-Angie Bompensaro (Big Pussy's widow) suddenly has a new corvette. Interesting, considering Angie has asked Tony for money in the past.

-Vito (the fat guy with a knack for blowing construction foremen) has lost some weight and bought himself a new snazzy wardrobe. In the "previously on Sopranos" recap, they made sure to recaq the situation between Vito and Meadow's husband. Seems like Vito will have a bigger part this year.

-Gene, one of the background flunkies (always wears a Members Only jacket. One of Ralphie's old flunkies), has been squealing to the Feds and trying to get out of the business. He inherited some money from a deceased aunt and is working on moving to Florida. After buttering up Tony with some cash and a watch, he accepts what he believes is one final job-- he drives to Boston and whacks someone. A few days later, he hears from Silvio that the Florida relocation is a "no-go". Gene feels trapped and takes another way out.

Did you see last nights episode? Good shit. I was afraid the thing from Tony's POV was going to last the whole episode, but they maintained a great balance.

I really like the conversation between AJ & Meadow. It's one of the first times I've seen them converse like real family in a while. Not just the stereotypical shit.

I wasn't big on last nights show. I do however like the fact that they made it seem like all Tony's crew are making major plays over the next few shows. That and AJ showing his dark side was also pretty cool......

I do like how the seasons going so far though....

This is the first season I've watched as it came out, and I'm not disappointed. I do love the possibility of Pauly & Sylvio being more aggressive, though I can't wait until somebody whacks Vito. And not in the way that he likes it, either.

His little "homo" rant this week was fucking hilarious though..........he's sooooo fuckin gonna get caught.

This show really pisses me off. I want gangster stuff. It seems like they've been trying to give you everything but the gangster stuff over the last 3 seasons. All I want is them in the club, up to no good. How hard is that to pull off more often then not?

I think next week will be a big gangster week

It's just all that Carmella bullshit over the last 2 seasons has really pissed me off. No one fucking cares about Carmella and they pushed her down our throats for a long time.

Hey, moderator person...can you retitle this to "Sopranos thread"?. I think that'll be more appropriate and post-friendly.

The writers won an Emmy for Tony's dream sequence in Season Three, I think it was. When he was dreaming about water drops and his dead gumar (the car dealership lady who he was poking). They did it again in a lonnnnng dream sequence in Season Five...which really sucked (he was running down the street and his teeth fell out). So when they started out in a weird dream sequence, I was pissed that it might last the entire episode. But they cut a good balance and I really dug it. After first viewing, I was ambivalent, but I thought about it some more and by the morning I thought it was extremely cool. James Gandolfini showed off his acting chops...he pushed down the Tony persona and was more Clark Griswold. Hope he lands some good roles after Sopranos goes away.

I liked how they conveyed Tony's sense of being stranded and cut off from everyone. The helicopter searchlight was too obvious, but I really liked the flashing light on the horizon. Tony saw it as he looked from his hotel room, and it seemed like it was dimmer the second time. Great touch...plus, the way he started dialing the phone, then stopped and hung up. Is Tony giving up?! That was phenomenal.

Oh yeah, the guy at the bar who invited Tony over for dinner? For a second I thought that was Ralphie, sans toupee! That guy looked familiar, but probably because I've seen him in other stuff.

Biggest real-world shocker was AJ's promise to Tony. "I'm gonna' put a bullet in that fuckin' mummy's head!" Whoa. Loved Paulie calling him "hey, Van Helsing.. you're riding with me!"

There's possibly something brewing with Christopher and the middle eastern guys. He'll probably set 'em up to get busted by the Feds from the deli. In his mind, it'd be payback for the drug bust at Adrianna's Crazy Horse bar....which led to Aid having to squeal to the Feds and, in turn, getting whacked. When Adrianna revealed the whole situation to Chrissie, and he attacked her...that was probably one of the saddest scenes in the enitre series.

I think the thing with Carmela is that she feels incredibly guilty for being disloyal to Tony with the whole Furio thing (notice that Tony NEVER drinks coffee in their kitchen anymore? That's what Carmela and Furio did together). Despite the fact Tony's banged alot of broads, Carmela feels like she's the weak one in the relationship.

Looks like some good gangster stuff next week. Silvio's in charge and Tim Daly returns (Christopher's buddy from rehab). Be nice to see how Christopher fucks him over this time.

Good episode tonight. Silvio caved in to the added responsibility and Tony snapped out of the coma.

Christopher and Bobby's talk with AJ was hilarious. "Ya' gotta' channel that anger... Golden Gloves. Dumbbells. Fuck your girlfriend some more".

The bathroom scene where they're bothering Silvio was fun. I liked when Paulie walked in, saw Vito and said "hey, Ladies' room is down da' hall". That line's going in my arsenal. The way Paulie's babbling was conveyed into Tony's dream got me chuckling, too.

Christopher kicked ass tonight. Yup, he fucked over Tim Daly again! "It's a cross between Saw and Godfather". Vito: "Is he a ghost?". Christopher: "Ghostbusters! Another cash cow!"

Vito was trying to weasel him way into a higher position. He'll cause a mess, later on. Phin is still scared to death of him...but now he doesn't think Vito will just kill him...

Steve Buscemi returned! When I saw someone standing outside, with his back to the camera, I knew it had to be Tony B., Ralphie or Big Pussy. When Tony was walking up to the house, I'm guessing that was supposed to be his mother who turned and walked into the door.

I thought this weeks show was much better than last week. They are REALLY gettin into how 2 faced some of these guys are and they have succeeded in making several look like total pieces of shit.

Christopher is awesome. The movie business stuff I got a kick out of (anyone who knows me, knows that I'm an aspiring writer and filmmaker) especially because it wasn't bullshit at all. You'd actually be able to make some serious cash if you did what they did. Especially with all of the "financial backers". I found it absolutley hilarious though when all the guys where pointing out the flaws in the script too.

The dream sequence stuff was better this week too. I wonder if there is going to be a point and time where Tony's personality actually mixes in with this Kevin Finnerty guy?

All of the other stuff they showed was pretty great too. I got a MAJOR kick out of how Paulie was basically clipping coupons and the like.

I can't wait until next week. Tony gets out of the coma and starts going apeshit...............this seasons about to get REAL good....

The Kevin Finnerty stuff stil perplexes me. I saw around the Internet, where someone suggested that the name is a pun on the word "Infinity", with a Jersey accent. "Kev IN-FINNERTY". Sort of a stretch, but a better explanation that I can come up with.

The Buddhists were another question. Was Tony simply seeing the bald Asian guy checking his pupils, and began thinking of Buddhists?

I liked how Chrissie asked for Tim Daly's help. Sent two thugs into the classroom to smack him with a laptop, then drag him out. Too funny.

Am I the only one that finds it incredibly funny that one of said thugs was Vinnie aka Doogie Howser's best friend from Doogie Howser MD?

He's actually one of my favorite characters on the show. But that's probably because you don't see much of him.

And man, do I HATE Vito.

Paulie, though, is fucking hilarious. "I'm gonna take a piss, you want half of that, too?"

DITTO on the Vito hate. Anyone wondering how long it's gonna take before Meadow's man snitches him out?

Paulie is the only one outside of Bobby and Chris on the show right now that aren't looking like total shit. Paulie is a cheap fucker, but I don't get the same stab a guy in the back mentality that I get from the rest of them.

This shit's gettin good...

4/2 episode was different. The stuff with Paulie's aunt and ma was sudden. Notice how Paulie smacked that guy at the end and asked for 4,000?! The same fee the nursing home costs per month.

I'm an old fuddy duddy white man, but is D-Lux an actual rapper? It was fun to see Tony hanging out with some regular joes and kicking back. Tony always seems like a good guy, but he still does nasty stuff. Now, with his near-death experience, it seems like he's starting to become an actual good person. Notice how he didn't make too big of a stink with Phil's deal? It'd be a happy ending for the character if he ends up as a truly better person.

Funniest part to me was Tony's dinosaur book. Carmela: "I know how you like dinosaurs". Lemme explain. For years, I've been going over to my folks' house and watching the show on Sundays. My ma and I always tease my dad that he's kinda' like Tony-- he's a big guy with balding dark hair. He also has a big house with a pool out back and likes watching old movies, just like Tony. My dad also LOVES dinosaurs, so when Carmela gave Tony the dinosaur book, we busted out laughing.

Pauly's making the kid pay for his mom/aunt's nursing home. That's fricking hilarious.

I really liked the old guy. REALLY hated Pastor Bob, though. He's everything I hate about Evangelical Protestantism. I'm an Evangelical Protestant, and I think the world is older than 6 thousand years old. Am I going to Hell Pastor Bob, because I don't believe what you believe? Because, you know, I have a college degree and studied history. You probably have your high school diploma and a certificate from your church saying you can read the Bible. Smug assholes. Think they know everything.

ANYHOW, loved the episode. Especially the dude getting shot in the ass. Good aim.

Not too much action last night (4/9), but a good deal of character development. Looks like "actual good person" Tony wasn't long for this world-- as he kicked the crap out of his new weightlifter driver in front of everyone.

Biggest development was Vito getting spotted at a buns n' leather gay nightclub. So the big question is, what Vito will do next? It seems he didn't kill himself, and with the way his character's been built up this season, he'll probably be back to mess with the gang. He'll probably lay low and wait for a chance to strike back at 'em.

The stuff with Johnny Sack was kinda' sad. The bride and groom reminded me of "About Schmidt" a little bit. I also liked how Tony took John over to the old folks' table for audio interference. I can relate to Meadow a little bit... nowdays everyone's asking me when I'm going to reproduce.

I really liked Vito getting caught. It's about time something bad happened to him. Now he just needs to get whacked. I mean, offed. You know what I mean...

I really liked Tony beating the shit out of Penne Arrabiata, but who's gonna drive for him now? Chris? The kids getting a bit big for his britches at the moment. I also like how Tony considered EVERYONE in the room before taking out the driver.

I really like that Johnny Sac got screwed by the fuzz. Except when they drove in and prevented his daughter from leaving. That's just disrespectful. And they made such a huge deal out of him crying. Like they all haven't cried before. And the second Jenny Sac went down, I thought "Who the fuck is gonna catch her?"

Penne Arrabiata? Wow, I didn't catch his name at all... didja' find a cheat sheet?!

The driver's kind of a low-level "guido" job...so some other faceless goomba will pop in. Remember when Tony Siragusa was the driver in one episode?! It'll probably be one of those clowns who set up Tony's speakers on the boat in Season Four.

I still crack up at how Phin (Meadow's boyfriend) gets scared shitless whenever Vito talks to him. They seem to be refreshing that subplot every week. And Vito didn't necessarily get caught..yet. When he called Silvio at 3 am, he was checking to see if the word had spread.

Penne Arrabiata is a nickname Tony called him. It's actually a spicy pasta dish. Tony used it because the kid is a hothead. They also called him Muscles Marinara. Carmela used his real name, but how am I supposed to remember that?

Ahhh... I completely missed the joke and didn't catch "Penne Arrabiata" out of context. Other boards were simply calling him "Vin Diesel". Good call.

Am I the only one that thinks Tony paid the guy off to let him whoop his ass?

The guy would've taken him apart otherwise....

I thought about that...but that would have rendered the previous sequence null and void-- where Tony is looking around the table for the biggest, baddest dude to attack.

If anything, the guy could have realized he was in a bad situation and decided not to put up much of a fight. If he did take out Tony, one of the other guys would've attacked him. In a profession where you go to prison or take a bullet for the "family", deciding to stay down and absorb an ass-whupping from the boss doesn't seem that far-fetched.

Funny episode this week, and not just the continuous gay jokes. Tony talking to the construction guy on Vito's phone was hilarious. Christopher cracks me up, consistently.

Vito in Delaware was freaky. The scene in the restaurant was almost like something on Showtime: the Gay and Lesbian Premium Channel.

I'm guessing Phin dumps Meadow soon. He only proposed to Meadow as a way to protect himself from Vito. So.... hopefully this means Meadow gets all depressed and slums it up by getting a job at the Bing!!

I definitely think Meadow's relationship is going down the tubes. But that would be totally her fault, as you can't be a straight laced lawyer when your family is the mob.

And man.... Tony is starting to get a heart....

I wasn't too happy with this weeks episode........it just felt like filler to me.

Although I don't expect this Tony growing a heart thing to last very long.

I'm just dying to see Johnny Sac get what's coming to him though....

Plus, the Vito shit is hilarious......I wonder what the hell is gonna happen there.

Hey! It's being bumped back! And I forgot to type about last week's show.

-Anyways-- Vito having a picnic with Gay Biker Firefighter/JonnyCake Maker was about #5 on my list of "Shit I Didn't Wanna' See". Especially when Vito pulled the guy's shirt off. But, heh, Vito's still enough of a lowlife that he stole some schmuck's cellphone.

-Tony coulda' banged Juliana Margueleseeseis (who, by the way, looked really bangable in that particular scene), but didn't. So maybe my theory about Tony becoming a better person and having a "happily ever after" season finale might happen. Ya' gotta' remember: tony once banged the one-legged skanky Russian chic. For him to pass on Juliana was a big step.

-AJ and his pal working at Blockbuster and completely no-selling the customer: about the most realitsic scene they've EVER done! You just knew AJ was going to fuck up his murder attempt.

-Patsy and his buddy complaining "it's over for the little guy" was funny.

- They talked a little bit about the "Omerta" concept. I don't think that's been mentioned (by name) since Season 3.

-It looks like Phil Leotardo is being pushed as the main event heel. He's always been an rather nondescript goomba in the past, but now they're making him out to be a total skuzzbucket.

-"I got a baguette in my pants 24/7" is my line for the week.

I really like the fact that AJ is becoming more vital to the show

But VITO? Do I need to see that much Vito if he's not got anything else going on? Do I really need to know he's got a boyfriend with Johnnycakes?

Yeah, years ago I was thinking AJ would be featured more in Season 4-- right after Tony had taken Jackie Jr under his wing and, in the end, failed with him. But they've given him time and it seems more natural having AJ's stuff occur this season.

I remember an interview Robert Iler gave about AJ back in 2002 or so. He said that the best his character could hope for would be to end up as a "guido" or a lunkhead driver.

I concur-- less Vito. More Meadow. When she was working at the law office and some guy gave her the once-over. Was he interested, or was he scheming to use her as a mole?

And...stolen from several news sources:

Vito and Johnnycakes making out in bed. Worst. Scene. Ever.

When Johnnycakes woke up the next morning, I thought that Vito was drowning himself in the tub.

Johnny Sack's brother needs more screentime. Seeing him try to do the mafia doubletalk was a riot.

Felt bad for Ginny Sack (Johnny's wife), having to sell her house to Janice. Bobby's always seemed like a nice guy, albeit a little dim...creeps me out that he's married to that cunt Janice.

BIG news: Johnny Sack pleaded guilty. Probably the beginning of the end for the show and might set up a big showdown with Phil's gang.

For the 5/21 episode...

For the second week in a row, they had an intentional "gay guy visual joke". Last week, after Vito and JohnnyCakes were making out, they cut to Bobby's trainset and showed an engine going into the tunnel. This week, Phil Leotardo literally came out of a closet to beat the shit out of Vito.

Silvio and... fuck if I know his name (Carlo?..the old guy who took over for Vito) knifed and killed some fat asshole from Phil's crew. Tony was already pissed that Phil's guys had whacked Vito before he could, so it looks like the war is on. Without Johnny Sack to regulate things, both sides can go all out. That's probably Your Main Event for the show's finale, next year.

What's the deal with Patsy? He works for both sides, and his character's always confused me. (He's the older, background guy with the glasses. Complained about the "little guy" in the Jamba Juice episode). With Vito off the screen, maybe Patsy will get a push for the final arc?

Carmella in Paris seemed so phony to me. She seems like a lady who overreacts to everything and spouts out soap opera lines. Stuff like "who could have built this" was lame. But I liked how she was feeling mortal and insignifcant and it tied into Tony's coma-dreams... even had the beacon thingie and being away from the family. Tony ruled when he asked "how's da' toast over there?"

I pretty much agree with all points that you touched on.

I'm soooo fucking aggrivated though by HBO having the 3 episodes on next week so we have to wait 2 for the season finale.

FUCKERS.

I'm sooo glad they finally offed Vito. But I'm a bit pissed as I thought they would've found him in New Hampshire and whacked him there. Now I had to watch him make out with a guy for no reason at all.....

And I knew the fat guy was getting whacked the second he walked in. I like that he baited them into it, though

Finally saw the season finale last night.

-AJ got himself a nice piece of Puerto Rican/Dominican ASS! Damn. Instead of beating up some punks, he bribes them by giving them his bike. Ha!

-Hilarious scene where Carlo's stomping the Dead Fat Asshole's head down the sewer drain.

-Tony blew up one of Phil's joints. Later, when Phil had a heart attack, Tony dropped in and kinda' buried the hatchet. But, it looks like Phil's goons have already decided to go to war with Tony's guys.

-Christopher's banging Juliana, the real estate chic. He's also back off the wagon. Not surprisingly, he admitted that he didn't really want to get married, have a house and kid. Christopher's my favorite, so I hope he gets another big push in the final season.

-Janice had NO lines (well, maybe some background dialogue at the big Xmas party). Yay!

-Carmella's still curious about Adrianna..so Tony got Silvio to lean on the housing inspector and get Carm's house back on track. "My wife needs a career" said Tony.

-The friendly Fed guy told Tony that the guys in Brooklyn aren't happy with him. This might be the big thread for the final season. Tony's kind of a Triple A franchise and Brooklyn/New York's the big leagues.

-Alot of people have complained that nothing happened. This episode was fairly quiet, but in the course of the season ALOT of stuff happened. Tony's shooting and coma was awesome. A lesser show would have ended the season with Tony getting shot..and cliffhangered everyone until next year. Plus, the Vito situation, Johnny Sack testifying and the brewing feud with Phil. Funny stuff, like Christopher and Murmur slugging Lauren Bacall. Oh yeah...and Tony's BERET.

Honestly, I hated the finale. At this point, if they didn't have only 8 left.............I'd quit watching alltogether.

Bumpity Bumpity bump bump, since the show's back for it's final go-round.

Stuff from the 4/08 show (feels weird calling it "season premiere", since it's only half a season).

-The tension between Bobby and Tony came to a head. For once, somebody got the best of Tony in a fight, as Bobby kicked his ass. One of the tough things to swallow in the series has been how these old guys routinely kick the crap out of everyone (even the 70-something Veetch guy from two seasons back).

-Bobby's been in a tough situation for years, getting played between Janice and Tony. While Tony cleanly admitted that Bobby kicked his ass, Tony got the upper hand when he dispatched him to make a hit on a French Canadian.

-Probably a minor throway plot, but Bobby and Tony cut a deal to import OTC prescription drugs from Canada. Might be brought back if the Feds put the squeeze on Tony.

-Along those lines, the Feds are building a case against Tony, starting with a gun posession charge. A kid found the gun Tony threw away when he was escaping Johnny Sack's house at the end of Season....umm, Five? (aka: "The one with Steve Buscemi").

-Christopher got maybe two seconds of screen time, but it looks like he's aged, physically. Just a minor peep from Paulie and I don't think Silvio appeared at all.

-Carmela's house hasn't drawn interest. She needs some plot to play off of, so this might be coming back before everything's over. Along with her suspicions of Adrianna's whacking.

-Phil Leotardo's still lurking around and as ornery as ever. He had some new douchey bald guy in his little kiss-ass crew. Funny moment, but I think the douchey guy was just a throwaway one-spot punchline.

-AJ the Idiot has a tatoo-- the name of his Puerto Rican skank, Blanca.

-The show's back, but it wasn't "OMG!! IT's BACK!!" type of stuff.

-I watched a few editted episodes on A&E over the past few months. Just interesting to see all the forgotten plot threads and wonder if they'll come back.

Yeah, I wasn't overly impressed with The Sopranos this go around. It was your typical season premiere to set up the rest of the season episode.

I'm just hoping that Phil gets his before anything happens to Tony. I know Phil's a TV character but I LOATH that motherfucker.

Welp, Johnny Sack's dead. Creepy episode, dealing with mortality.

I coudn't stop laughing when they denied the Oriental guy (the director?) the microphone at the movie premiere.

"Anyone know who Leonardo was?"
"Yes. He wrote The DaVinci Code!"

I know it's standard Internet message board protocol to say something like this, but this week's episode was probably the worst of the entire series.

-Vito's kid took a shit in the school shower.

-Tony suddenly has a gambling problem. One that hasn't been mentioned in the previous 5 and 1/2 seasons.

Garbage. When they only have a few episodes left, it's discouraging that they wasted one on junk like this.