"The Sopranos" Finale: Brilliant Conclusion Or Writer's Block?

There was no middle ground when it came to Sunday night's final episode of "The Sopranos." Some thought creator/executive producer David Chase (who wrote and directed the last installment) was a mad genius. Others thought he was simply mad. Indeed, HBO's website went into overload after the show aired, chalking up over 300,000 users.
I won't give away secrets from the final episode as per unofficial TH policy--but the show left me both hot and cold. At first, it looked as if the greatest finale in the history of television was shaping up in the show's first 45 minutes or so. But the final minutes were--sad to say--a letdown for me. But then, Chase isn't the first television producer that has disappointed fans with a less-than-stellar closure. (I suspect the finale will set up the long-rumored film version of "The Sopranos.")
Whatever failings the finale had (and I'm sure it will be dissected for some time to come). the basic series has held up through good and bad seasons. I'll say "The Sopranos" is one of the best dramas to come out of television ever. But I'm not calling it the BEST series ever. The best programs are the ones that defy convention and break imposed rules to provide good storytelling with rich characters. Chase was very lucky the major broadcast networks passed on his idea of a dysfunctional Mafia family. He was fortunate that HBO agreed to pick it up. And it was the relative freedom of HBO--in language, sexual situations and violence--that allowed Chase to deliver his vision. And he delivered.
But look at the producers who had to work with the restraints of network "standards and practices"--and managed to churn out dramas that were several cuts above the norm. Roy Huggins' "The Fugitive" was daring--even "un-American," as one ABC executive described it. But ABC had the guts to air the saga about a man wrongly convicted of murder who escapes custody and goes on the run. (And of course, the final episode of "The Fugitive" was the most-watched program in American history up to that time.)
And Steven Bochco. Yes, you may get ticked off hearing me call "Hill Street Blues" groundbreaking once again. But there's no doubt it changed the rules for both police procedurals and episodic drama. Even "The Sopranos"--not to mention dramas ranging from "CSI" to "The Shield" and even "House"--owe a debt of gratitude for Bochco and his mantra to "make it look messy." And the fact remains Bochco did it at what was then a network at its lowest ebb (NBC), who allowed him to create his vision with relatively little interference (except with the fights over language and certain scenes with the network's chief censor).
And there are still many devotees of the late 1980's CBS mob-police drama "Wiseguy," which also found new ways of telling very interesting stories. Not to mention the early years of "Moonlighting," the best television interpretation of the film "screwball comedy" ever.
Let me also praise Rod Sterling and his "Twilight Zone"--the original version--where modern morality stories were told in the guise of science fiction and unexplained phenomena. Sterling had it both ways--entertaining audiences while making his points on everything from racism to gossiping.
So yes, "The Sopranos" deserves a place in the television pantheon. But a rule changer for all of the medium? Maybe not. David Chase took advantage of what he was given to work with and made it a success. But blazing new trails? I'll let the historians sound off on that one.
Until next time, happy viewing!