ADIOS ANTONIO

Wow. What a send off to one of my all time favorite TV shows... one that I've watched from the very beginning. Which is crazy, since I am SO not a lover of blood, gore and violence. Yet one look at Tony Soprano and I was hooked. I like his looks a lot and I think I also like the yin/yang of his character. One minute he can be a blood thirsty mobster and the next he can be a gentle lover to his wife and uh.... countless sluts. He was an emotional whack job, yes, but he was also a devoted father, raised by a lunatic mother, having been born into this family of crime. Did he ever have any choice BUT to be the head of the family? BOTH families?

I can't beLIEVE the incredible ending to the series last night. An ending that one TV critic dubbed as FINALE-IST INTERRUPTUS. Boy, I'll say. I was wowed, freaked, confused and unnerved all at the same time. Most of all, I was delighted at the sheer brilliance I felt David Chase showed in leaving us SO in the lurch as to what the REAL conclusion was. Indeed, the ending of the show was basically... uh... no ending. A mean, dirty trick, granted, but I loved it regardless.

The rest of the country is up at arms over the way we were jilted at being deprived of being told how the Soprano Story concludes. Many are cancelling their HBO subscriptions. I too, felt as if I was taken to a new height and then left merely dangling for life, but then... I felt wow. What an ingenious way to suck us all in to Chase's never ending saga. As for canceling HBO... get real. No way THAT'S going to happen.

Trust me... I was sucked in. I was on the edge of my seat, feeling all of the paranoia Tony felt as to who's around the corner, who's going to do him in or who's going to turn him in. Of course, we'll never know now, unless it's true what the aficionado's say: that we'll only find out, once the movie was made. God, I hope they make a movie. I'll be right up there, front and center.

While the rest of the county is displeased at how the finale went down, MY biggest displeasure is now figuring out what show I'll be watching at 9:00 every Sunday night as I sit and fold my clothes. Will I ever find another show to hook me in the way the Soprano's did? Never. Will I be folding my laundry every Sunday night now? Uh... I'm thinking no. Which of course means my choice for clothing on Monday mornings will DEFinitely become a major problemo. In the meantime, I'll miss you, Tony... and to A.J.... Jesus, lighten up, will you, please.