The Sopranos - The Complete Fourth Season (2002)

The Best Entertainment Out There

In the Sopranos Season 4, we see a bit of a shake up on many levels. We see trust damaged, we see human frailty, we see what happens when someone hits their breaking point, we see some good things come to an end and a beginning for other things to come. We see a series smack in the middle of their prime, and you wonder, where will it go from here?

Again, I have to say that it still surprises me that a show like this, can capture such a huge audience, even a fan like myself (who is not normally into this sort of thing). But it shouldn't be shocking, not when you have such a large outstanding cast and creative and gifted writers like this show does. And why is it so huge? Because this show does what many can't- and that's to be about more than one or two central premises. The Sopranos is about a lot of things, one of which is organized crime. But even more it's about family, friendships, morals, inner turmoil. I think it's the characters struggles that we relate to the most. Well, but don't get me wrong, we all enjoy the excitement of the family business as well! That's what we can't look away from, that's where we inhale a breath and hold it, wondering what's going to happen next.

Buy it, rent it, borrow it, whatever you have to do, just do it. Get this show and watch it. It's the best entertainment there is out there! July 12, 2008

Sopranos

I have found the series 4 season a great watch as i have every other season, well done and thank you January 23, 2008

Excellent

Package was perfect. Product was perfect. Delivered on time. What more could you ask for. January 1, 2008

Beginning to fade

Upon the suggestion of my soon to be father-in-law, my fiancée and I embarked upon the Odyssey that is The Sopranos. He loved it to such an extent that he began to emulate specific cultural traits of the characters. While my fiancée and I will incorporate certain "catch phrases" into our conversation we didn't take it that far.
At this point we're at the beginning of Season 5 but all the seasons' are starting to blend together. This may be high praise in the sense that the overarching storylines are so well entwined that seams are non existent or this may be damning in the sense that it's all the same and nothing stands out.
Whichever the case may be, this can be said; for these two viewers the series started off great, got better with season 2 when we admitted our commitment to it, stalled with season 3 or at least maintained itself but began to boor a bit with season 4. Of course, the outrageous highway robbing, price gouging cost of the later seasons jumping to $100.00 dollars a pop in stores has left a bad taste in my mouth just for the principle of the issue. Even Amazons discount, as good as it is, is still pricey for a series that boasts only 13 episodes per season, most of them under an hour. Don't even get me started on the price of the 6th season which has been divided into 2 boxed sets. The DVD distributors certainly took a page from the playbook of the characters being depicted in this series. November 4, 2007

Without doubt the greatest show to ever grace the small screen...the fourth installment...

Season Four was a turning point in the show for me. I have always been in love with this show, from its conception even, but within the fourth season lies the root of my lust. This season is, for me at least, the definition of perfect entertainment. What this season does so magically is really flesh out Tony's home life, from his wife to his children, and delivers for us a brilliant scope into what makes this man who he is. The season is filled to the brim with relationships, both business and personal, getting started and even coming to bitter ends.

With the start of the season we immediately realize that this is going to be one of those seasons to set things in motion, especially when concerning a certain young lady named Adriana. Yes, the same Adriana who has played second fiddle to Christopher is now finally stepping out of her comfort zone and making herself heard. In fact, I'm tempted to say that Drea de Matteo is probably the most impressive and valuable asset to the cast for both season four and season five. Season four spends a lot of its time establishing a relationship between Adriana and the feds, beginning with her friendship with an undercover agent named Danielle that ends badly, ultimately resulting in Adriana being nearly forced to leak information to the cops.

Tony though, and his relationships inside and outside work, are the true focus of the season and any season for that matter. A strain between Carmela and himself is established relatively quickly as she quarrels about their finances and establishing some sort of trust fund for her and children in case Tony were to die. Finances are something Tony is becoming increasingly worried about with the slowing economy but he's reluctant to get involved in something he's not comfortable with, regardless of Carmela's feelings on the matter. Carmela is not the only one giving Tony grief though. Meadow is taking it upon herself to plan a trip to Europe against her parent's wishes, putting school on hold for a year to come into her own. This season was a nice push for Jamie-Lynn Sigler. She really took hold of Meadow and steered her in a great direction, acting wise. It's funny how as each season progresses you want to just take both Meadow and Anthony Jr. aside and smack some sense into them, but it's the beauty within the acting that helps establish those feelings in the audience.

On the business side of things Tony continues to have to put up with certain someone's who only seem to bring him trouble. For starters Paulie, in jail on a firearms charge, begins to stir things up from behind bars between Carmine and Ralph, thus causing major problems for Tony as he attempts to make things right. Ralph never fails to get on everyone's bad side, from making comments about Carmine's wife to frustrating Tony, and he further twists the knife by starting a relationship with Tony's sister Janice despite being in a serious relationship with Rosalie Aprile. Ralph is also seeing the beautiful Valentina who just happens to take a liking to Tony, and visa-versa. Ralph also brings a beautiful horse, a race horse that Tony takes a liking to. This horse is the eventual chink in the chain that is Tony and Ralph's relationship.

Tony's relationship with Artie is also tested when Artie borrows money for a deal that seems too good to be true. When he's ultimately screwed out of the money he finds himself indebted to Tony and this causes a major rift in their friendship.

As Tony and Carmela drift apart Carmela finds herself infatuated with Furio. As the season progresses their relationship becomes dangerous. Furio finds himself falling in love with Carmela but realizes that being the bosses wife means she is off limits to him and this is further cemented when he visits his family back home in Italy. As Tony contemplates what to do in regards to his wife's incessant nagging for some sort of financial stability he begins to integrate her cousin Brian into the business as he advises Tony of ways to increase his wallet size.

The acting this season is once again superb beyond words. James Gandolfini is god in my book as he continues to outact and outshine just about any and every actor he comes in contact with. His portrayal of Tony Soprano can stand its ground against some of the most legendary and highly lauded performances ever given. Edie Falco also brings her A-Game to this season, as always, and this is proven with that final episode that brutally brings Carmela and Tony's relationship to a boiling point. Those two Emmys were well, well deserved. Aside from Drea and Michael Imperioli, who are brilliant, standouts include the always effortless Dominic Chianese who continues to mold Uncle Junior into an essential character. Aida Turturro is just getting better and better as each season progresses and this is no exception. Steve Schirripa also gets a boost towards the end of the season where he becomes more than just Junior's caretaker. Tony Sirico and Vincent Curatola continue to ignite with their dynamic performances and newcomer Leslie Bega sizzles as Valentina, leaving a lasting impact on Tony as well as the audience.

In the end season four is far from a disappointment, in fact it is one of my favorite seasons for it does so well what this show is supposed to do. It helps form ties to the cast of characters and further cements them into our hearts. If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times...there is no show that can even compete in the same league as `The Sopranos' and I'm pretty certain there never will be. October 18, 2007

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