To celebrate the 20th anniversary of The Sopranos debut, Sepinwall and Seitz have reunited to produce a collection of recaps, conversations, and critical essays covering every episode.
Dense, all-encompassing ... Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine, and Alan Sepinwall, chief TV critic for Rolling Stone — are the real deal. Their analysis of that opening-credits drive — which compares the ride to the evolution of immigrants in American society — is enough reason for any fan to buy this book ... The writers pick apart and analyze, in exhaustive and exhausting detail, each hilarious and disturbing episode of the seven seasons, making you want to go back and watch them all over again.
Here is a perfect illustration of too much of a good thing ... laboriously detailed ... the book definitely enriches the viewing experience, but the level of detail becomes a bit overwhelming every once in a while. The text takes us deeply and often perceptively into the stories and themes of The Sopranos, but readers looking for an enthusiastic celebration of the series may be a bit put off by the professorial, film-school style. Even so, for hard-core The Sopranos fans, of whom there are many, it’s probably still a must-read.
Smart, lively writing ... The authors’ interviews with Chase are endlessly illuminating ... Essential for fans and the definitive celebration of a show that made history by knowing the rules and breaking every one of them.
