Tony’s Pride [The Sopranos] (Season 5) Part 2

In my first post about season five of The Sopranos, I addressed how heavy the season felt due to an existential crisis the likes of which the series had not experienced to that point. However, underlying that tension is a much more subtle theme that holds the season together, Tony’s pride. Sylvio calls it out towards

Harry and Meghan and [The Crown]

My wife and I resumed watching The Crown (we re-entered at season 3) at the most culturally relevant moment we could have hoped for, just as Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah to spill all the tea on the royal life and its pitfalls.  I am not the first, nor will I be the last, to

The Long Slow Burn: [The Sopranos] (Season Four) Review

Season four of The Sopranos is a victim of its own greatness. For me, Whitecaps, is the best episode in the entire series, a wrenching, hour long tour de force by Gandolfini and Falco. But to reach that peak, the show needed to burn slow, slower than they normally burn. Which means the first half of this season

You’re a captain, Ralphie, when I say you’re a captain. [The Sopranos] (Season 3)

Season 3 of The Sopranos was more of a follow up than a continuation of season 2. Most of the storylines that dominated season 2 found a hard stop in its two-episode finale, and the one that lingered- Tony and his mother- was brought to an end by Nancy Marchand’s passing. So instead, we got new storylines,

The Meaning Of ‘Those Goddamn Ducks’ [The Sopranos]

The Sopranos is a show about family, nuclear and crime, and in the pilot episode, a family of ducks grows up in Tony’s pool and then flies away. Get the symbol? Yet to simply say that the ducks flying away represented Tony’s fear of losing his family (as Dr. Melfi ascertained) seems oversimplified and limited.

Looking Into The Lens [Fleabag] (Season 2)

That’s it??? Fleabag’s done??? But it was only two seasons! And there were only six episodes a season! And they only gave each episode a half hour! How can they be done?? That should probably be all I say to recap my feelings on season two of Fleabag, since I had no clue that there weren’t plans for a

Babu Bhatt: An Appreciation for The Minor Characters of [Seinfeld]

My favorite of the minor Seinfeld characters is Babu Bhatt. His lines were good enough (“You bad man. You very very bad man.”) his actions replicable enough (that finger wag though- challenging Mutumbo for the finger wag heavyweight title), the episode funny enough, and my exposure to it early enough that I haven’t shaken it from my

The Language of [Seinfeld]: 22 Years Later

Seinfeld went off the air in 1998. That is officially 22 years ago. And yet, Seinfeld-isms abound in our modern lexicon- words and phrases that were either invented or given a boost into the realms of common slang by the show.  Language changes rapidly. Just imagine if someone was saying ‘groovy’ or ‘square’ or ‘far-out’

Why Did Kendall Steal The Batteries? [Succession]

In the midst of the delay of shooting the third season of Succession, I have been wandering the internet realm of Succession discussions. In that wonderful world of Tom quotes, Roman/Gerri memes, and “Fuck offs” there is one topic of conversation that recurs frequently- Why, in episode two of the second season, did Kendall steal and throw away

Two Bobs- The Perfect True Crime [The Jinx]

As Bob Durst sits down for his interview at the end of the first episode of The Jinx, which detailed all of his misdeeds- being accused of killing his wife, running from the law in an investigation into a different murder, stealing a sandwich when he had thirty thousand dollars in cash, ya’ know, the usual-