Sopranos was vastly overrated in my opinion. It had 3 great seasons, and gradually petered out because David Chase either ran out of steam, or just lost interest altogether. I enjoyed those first 3 seasons. They were some of television's finest moments. However, I cannot abide to the notion that it's the immaculate conception of scripted television when you factor in its later lackluster seasons. I don't know why Sopranos seems to get this infallible praise by alot of people here and elsewhere on the net, but there are shows that were definitely better than the Sopranos in terms of writing and collective execution on the part of their creators.
The sad, and frustrating part of it all in saying this is that David Chase had all the advantages going for it to have been better than it ended up being. Shows like Deadwood, Rome, and Carnivale, could have only dreamed that they had been given the same opportunity to complete their stories as David Chase was with The Sopranos. Sadly, however, they were put on the chopping block way too early because of various factors that weren't their fault. In the case of Deadwood, it certainly wasn't for a lack of quality in its writing and production. The creators of those shows were just as deserving of the same opportunities as Chase, and seemed to have a more deferential view in how to execute their storylines from start to finish. I've watched The Wire from beginning to end. And although it was never my personal favorite, I have respect for David Simon in that he didn't allow directorial ego to cloud his judgement on the things that mattered. Yes, symbolism can be a rewarding function to a storyline. But when it's used at the expense of presenting a cohesive storyline, the gesture comes across as vapid and arrogant on the part of the writer. David Simon (The Wire), on the otherhand, presented his story, and didn't try to hide behind cheap sleight of hand gimmickery to compensate for a blatant disregard for the most basic fundamentals in storytelling.
