I binged on the Sopranos while a member of my immediate family was experiencing a period of terrible health and in the hospital for a month, which I don't want to go into here. I find myself watching really weird and violent shows like Walking Dead and Lost and Sopranos when things are particularly worrisome in my life. Not sure of the psychology there, but it is what it is. Maybe it's my own inner Bengal tiger (if you've read Life of Pi) trying to cope. It's one of those shows that I'm glad I watched, and I'm also more than glad to never watch again.
Anyway, I never got to the point of actually liking Tony Soprano like Drew. I did feel for his family, who were caught up in his madness, and loved him even in spite of his many flaws. But he was completely deranged, in a somewhat charming way, but ultimately just deranged and completely loathsome in my book. I've later found out that his mental illness is something called "borderline" which has a heavy dose of narcissism in it but also manifests in violent mood swings and paranoia and a complete lack of empathy, and in the story his mother had it too, and probably passed it on to him via both nature and "nurture".
One thing though - the final episode of the Sopranos was full on genius. I won't spoil it for anyone like JCG who might end up watching it, but I'll just say that if you last through all the grotesque violence and madness of the earlier seasons, all six of them, make sure you stay until the end, and don't let anyone spoil it for you. It's one of the greatest endings in the history of television, if not the greatest. And listening to Journey (not a group I care much for, with the exception of Neal Schon's guitar playing, but they're everywhere like Musak, so it's unavoidable) will never be the same.
Oh, and last I looked it's on Amazon Prime.
