Is The Sopranos uber-popular for the wrong reasons

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

People who like it because they like the genre/same type of show/ect or just geniuinlly like the program

 

I was listening to a sports radio show where the two hosts were talking about the show and for some reason it struck me about how the two differed on their opinon on the Robert Loggia "Feech" character

 

To set this up, Feech is an old guard type of crusty mafioso guy. Kind of a blen of Junior's cantankorous and Tony's pit-bullness. Fresh out of prison and ready to "go back to work"

 

And to set this up further one of the hosts while not up on current pop-culture has an affinity to mafia/crime tv shows/movies (all the classics, Godfather, Scarface, ect) and has been watching the show since day one Guy is about late-40's-early 50's from NYC, former boxer and horse race watcher so he has a bit of a "wiseguy wannabe" edge to him.

 

His co-host is a complete sports nut so he isn't up on popculture beyond what he grew up on (probably 5-10 years younger than his partner) and has no time (or effort) to keep up with it now, kind of an easy-going kind of guy, probably started watching it (and he started with the last couple of years) because he wanted to see "what everyone was talking about" especially since talk about the show was becoming a regular feature on his radio show

 

Anyway, they were talking about Feech and the guy who just started watching said that basically despite who he is (a gueniune mafia dirt-bag asshole) he has a likable quality (probably along the lines of Paulie Walnuts' popularity) but his partner quickly stepped in an said that there was no way he could like him (aside from being entertained by his performance) as he is a pretty dispicable character. (As an aside, this is something that the show does well, kind of makes you remeber that you shouldn't LIKE these characters, that you should want them to get their comuppance)

 

Well that got me wondering about just WHY the Sopranos got so popular

 

Sure there are enough fans of the genres the Sopranos belong to to keep the show afloat and there are enough hardcore fans to keep watching but do the Sopranos get that audience that would rather see them be "the wacky overweight, funny Italian mafia gumbas" rather than go through the actual darkness that the storylines actually follow

 

BTW, a good case can be made that they haven't been the same since Ralphie pummled that stripper in Season 3 in terms of their darkness and violence

 

Steve

[Guest El Satanico]

The show has never really been "the wacky overweight, funny Italian mafia gumbas", so I doubt it's popular from people wanting that. The people that want that would've already tuned out by season three.

 

I don't really know how to explain someone thinking Feech was a good guy or nice guy. He had been nothing but a prick since showing up.

[Steve J. Rogers 0]

The show has never really been "the wacky overweight, funny Italian mafia gumbas", so I doubt it's popular from people wanting that. The people that want that would've already tuned out by season three.

 

I don't really know how to explain someone thinking Feech was a good guy or nice guy. He had been nothing but a prick since showing up.

Yeah but A) Big Pussy was and is one of the popular characters ever on the show, B) I think Paulie gets some of that fanbase as well and C) Steve Schrippa (sp) kind of parlayed it into a nice "Goomba's Guide to..." humor writing career

 

Also, did you know that there is a parody "interactive" theatre of The Sopranos around forgot the name, but its one of those interactive experiences where alot of stuff is going on and each time you see it you want to hang around a different section of the "play" to get the whole thing. Sort of like those sterotypical Itallian or Jewish wedding "interactive dinner theatre" productions only with a wise guy theme.

 

Definatly think most of the characters in that "act" are patterened after Paulie, Pussy, Bacala, Chris as he appears in "public," rather than say Richie Apprille, Ralphie or Jackie Jr.

 

Actually I can totally get someone thinking Feech was a "good guy" (as much as a mafia character can be) if they think Paulie is a "good guy" because essentially Feech seemed like an older and more POed version of Paulie.

 

Steve