The Don Of HBO

Like a lot of people, I was saddened by the news in the middle of the week that actor James Gandolfini had died in Italy. As so often (unfortunately) happens, Ganfolfini was probably under-appreciated while he was alive and it has only been since he passed away that people have been more open with their praise for his acting skills and for what kind of person he was. Very rarely a leading man on the big screen, Gandolfini still had a habit of popping up in several acclaimed movies and often was very good in them. Still, he was obviously best known for his work on "The Sopranos" and while everyone was talking about that this week it made me think that sometimes we forget just how much of a game-changer "The Sopranos" really was. Before it came on the air in 1998, the majority of original programming on HBO (and most of the premium cable channels) were either comedy show where people just swore because they could or sex shows which were nothing more than an excuse to show gratuitous nudity. "The Sopranos" was really the first premium-cable drama that was also accepted by a mainstream audience and rewarded by the critics. Now those kinds of shows are pretty much the only ones which get nominated. It went from being niche to being the way business is handled.

I didn't even have HBO during that time and I got just as swept up in the phenomenon as the next person, which should tell you all you need to know about how popular this show was when it was airing. Even in its later years it still held a position of power, as evidence by the global freak-out with its controversial series finale. "The Sopranos" proved to television executives that there was an audience out there who not only could handle a little extra violence and the occasional swear provided the writing was good enough but they actually preferred it. At a time when more shows were being cleaned up and watered down it was unapologetically an adult show and if you had a problem with the content that was your fault for ignoring the warning at the start. It also challenged the accepted format which stated seasons needed to be 22 episodes, instead contending 13 was enough as long as the 13 you aired were really good. Plus it came along at just the right time as the quality of TVs were improving and people ran out to buy season after season on DVD. Honestly, it completely altered the way TV operates. Shows like "Breaking Bad" owe their very existence to the success of "The Sopranos." I can only hope someone close to Gandolfini reminded him of his place in TV history because far too often we don't acknowledge these kinds of things until after they have happened.