Soprano's Question, and TV series on DVD

[The Other Librarian]

I've been catching up on the Soprano's, thanks to my unlimited video rental dealie, and I'm now current through Season 4.

My question is concerning Johnny Sacks and the whole "98 pound mole" incident. Didn't Carmine give Tony the ok to whack Johnny after he started causing trouble? Didn't Christopher go and hire those geriatric killers (with the blind daughter) to do the job? I must have missed something, because after that, nothing was done and by the end of the season Johnny is conspiring with Tony about removing Carmine.

I haven't seen any of season 5 yet, so please don't spoil me on that.

Second question is now that I'm caught up on the Soprano's what are some other good series to catch on DVD. My wife and I have done all the Wheedon shows, so that's out. I'm thinking of getting Band of Brothers today, but that's just a mini series. Any recommendations? Don't have to be fantasy/sci-fi necessarily, although thats kosher too.

Cheers.

 

[Morrus]

On a similar note - does anyone know if a Season 6 is planned? Or a Season 4 of The Shield, for that matter?

 

[Fast Learner]

I don't remember the storyline well enough to answer your question about Johnny Sacks.

I can highly recommend Six Feet Under, another super-high quality HBO show.

And yes, there will be a Sopranos 6th season, and that will be the end of it. It's going to run some time next year, IIRC.

 

[Crothian]

I've been catching up on Smallville since the first 2 seasons aree on DVD and the third is coming out in a week and a half. Babylon 5 has been another really good one and one that really shows the huge five year plan when you watch all the seasons relatively close to each other. A non sci fi show that I really enjoy is Sports Nights. It only had two seasons and both are in the same DVD set. Six feet Under is another great one, so I agree with the others on that one.

 

[Tarrasque Wrangler]

In the fourth season episode "The Weight", Tony gets the tip from Carmine to have Johnny taken care of because of his instability and the potential his anger has for screwing up the Esplanade deal. Johnny, meanwhile, has gone behind Carmine's back and ordered a hit on Ralphie in Florida. As Johnny's assassin is closing in on Ralphie (looking oh-so European in his Speedo), Johnny up in NY comes across his wife scarfing down candy bars like they're the last food on Earth. He has a sort of epiphany and realizes that his anger towards Ralphie and Tony is his way of denying his wife's weight problem. He calls the goon in Florida (who's in an elevator with Ralphie) and calls it off at literally the last minute. Johnny then tells Tony that he'll accept an apology from Ralphie and put it to rest. I can't remember how Tony cancelled the hit with Lou DiMaggio but I assume it happened off camera.

A nice little diversionary subplot in season four, but it set up a lot of fun in season five, which I will not spoil for you. Also, to respond to Fast Learner's response, I hear season six will be abbreviated; maybe 10 eps instead of 13.

And might I second Six Feet Under? It rules. It's like a soap opera, but good. I miss it as much as Sopranos when it's off the air. The only problem is they're moving at a snail's pace getting DVDs out for it. They've finished four seasons and there's only two on DVD AFAIK, and it took a long time for that second season disc to come out. I think they're rerunning it on HBO now though.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

On a similar note - does anyone know if a Season 6 is planned? Or a Season 4 of The Shield, for that matter?

Yes. Season 6 of the Sopranos will be the final season. HBO isn't going to show it until 2006.

Season 4 of The Shield will feature Glen Close and should start the first week of April 2005.

 

[The Other Librarian]

TW- thanks for that, now I can connect the dots. I remember Johnny stopping the hit on Ralphie, but I must of missed him making nice with Tony. Yeah, I'm looking forward to season five, but I'll probably wait and catch it on DVD.

Thanks to the rest of you for your suggestions also. Looks like 6' U has a lot of fans here, so I might give that a shot. Smallville I watch every now and then on network tv, but I really can't get into it. I really only watched it while waiting for Angel to come on. Bab 5 I caught sporadically when it ran on tv and I wouldn't mind finally seeing the whole thing. Like you say Cro, it makes a huge difference in how you perceive a show when you can watch episodes back to back.

 

[Fast Learner]

Let me very heartily second Sports Night, the poorly-named show that you don't have to like sports to love (I dislike sports but love Sports Night). Incredibly funny, fantastic witty dialogue (Sorkin went on to create and write The West Wing), poignant... really, the show has it all. Its common denominator with my other recommendation, Six Feet Under, is lead Peter Krause, who is outstanding in both show.

 

[Cthulhudrew]

I'll recommend Alias seasons 1 and 2. (Haven't picked up season 3 yet, so don't feel safe recommending that.) Season one has a few continuity gaffes, but both seasons make for some pretty intriguing watching.

Other than that, 24 seasons 1 and 2 are pretty good. I really didn't like season 3, and won't be picking it up myself, but I highly recommend the first two seasons.

 

[The Other Librarian]

'thuludru - I enjoyed the first 2 seasons of 24 also. We had to watch those first run on tv. Wife-y has a Keifer fixation that goes back to the Lost Boys, I think.

The third season was ok. I caught most of them, but they weren't a must watch. Alias is a good possibility.

For the record I went to look for 6' under last night and my local video store only has the second season to rent. :\ So I got the first Band of Brothers disc. The first episode was a little slow, but the second ep was excellent.