Sunday, March 07, 2004

Packing Heat

Death, mayhem, and brutality for brutality's sake..... Yes, all is right with the world as The Sopranos returns tonight. So if any of you come looking for me on Sunday nights for the next three months or so, you'll be able to find me on the sofa watching Tony and the gang.... With a baseball bat at my side in case any of you do show up looking for me.


So much of broadcast TV a vast, empty wasteland completely devoid of intelligent life. Indeed, it's almost as bad as the surface of Mars. And the situation is only going to get worse: Angel, arguably the best written show on commercial television, has been canceled by the geniuses at the WB; ABC has already announced that Karen Sisco won't be back at all; and the future of Fox's Arrested Development is in doubtful at best. That leaves The Simpsons as the one show I'll be watching come next season.

That's what makes HBO and The Sopranos all the more precious. Sure, it's a violent and dysfunctional family, but that only serves to make you appreciate your own relatives' foibles more.

Even more importantly, I'm willing to bet your mother hasn't tried to have you whacked.