HITTING HIGH NOTES HBO'S 'THE SOPRANOS' MAINTAINS QUALITY IN THIRD SEASON.Byline: DAVID David, in the Bible David, d. c.970 B.C., king of ancient Israel (c.1010–970 B.C.), successor of Saul. The Book of First Samuel introduces him as the youngest of eight sons who is anointed king by Samuel to replace Saul, who had been deemed a failure. KRONKE TV Critic Nearly 11 months have passed since we've seen an original episode of ``The Sopranos,'' David Chase David Chase (born David DeCesare—although some sources list his birth name as David Del Cesare—August 22, 1945) is an Emmy Award-winning American screenwriter, director, and producer best known as the creator and head writer of the highly acclaimed HBO and HBO's acclaimed adult drama about the New Jersey mob and its family-man boss, Tony Soprano (Emmy winner James Gandolfini James R. Gandolfini (born September 18, 1961) is a three-time Emmy award winning American actor known for multifaceted portrayals of conscientious yet often inherently sinister characters. ). Chase requested an extra two months to re-energize his creative battery, attempting to ward off a backlash against the series (it happened, to a relatively minor degree, last season). And then, Nancy Marchand, who brilliantly played Tony's diabolical mother, Livia, died last June - remember, the show was initially inspired in large part by Chase's idea about a demented mother-son relationship (some of Livia's less murderous attitude was based on his own mother). With a large part of ``The Sopranos' '' bitter heart excised by Marchand's passing, where could the series go? No backlash here. ``The Sopranos,'' by definition, can't be the dynamically original phenomenon it was in its first season, but based on four third-season episodes, it has become something more impressive: a consistently excellent series that remains true to itself and its milieu while continually telling compelling stories that sprawl in numerous tantalizing tan·ta·lize tr.v. tan·ta·lized, tan·ta·liz·ing, tan·ta·liz·es To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. and unpredictable directions. At a certain point, another thing probably became clear to series Chase and his brain trust: that up against the feel-good populist patriotism of ``The West Wing,'' ``Sopranos'' doesn't stand a chance, Emmy-wise. (It lost the outstanding drama Emmy last September, even after a rule change that seemed designed to help it.) So, if anything, Tony and his gang are even meaner, more challenging to casual viewers tuning in tuning in, v process in which a therapeutic touch practitioner centers himself or herself so as to be aligned with or “in tune” with a healing energy “frequency,” so that the patient may choose to join the practitioner (tune to check out the latest hot show. How mean? Tony's hardly been softened - his virulent racism comes to the fore tonight when he insults daughter Meadow's (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) suitor SUITOR. One who is a party to a suit or action in court. One who is a party to an action. In its ancient sense, suitor meant one Who was bound to attend the county court, also, one who formed part of the secta. (q.v.) from Columbia University, where she's now matriculating - and a future episode is one of the most grimly brutal of the series. In fact, of the four episodes available for review, the funniest is tonight's second episode, about the death and funeral of Tony's long-suffering - and even-longer-haranguing - mother, Livia (Marchand appears posthumously in a most peculiarly edited sequence). Tony, who is seen in quixotic quix·ot·ic also quix·ot·i·cal adj. 1. Caught up in the romance of noble deeds and the pursuit of unreachable goals; idealistic without regard to practicality. 2. repose while watching the saintly saint·ly adj. saint·li·er, saint·li·est Of, relating to, resembling, or befitting a saint. saint  li·ness n. mother character in the Jimmy Cagney gangster classic ``The Public Enemy,'' has no patience for anyone who wants to remember Livia fondly. This doesn't stop his flaky/dangerous sister Janice (Aida Turturro), who knows how to impose her shrill will on the family without reproach. Tonight's first episode is an entertaining caper caper, common name for members of the Capparidaceae, a family of tropical plants found chiefly in the Old World and closely related to the family Cruciferae (mustard family). yarn, only it's the feds who are trying to pull off the complicated escapade: They're trying to plant a bug in Tony's basement, apparently the only place in the house he'll discuss the family business. As the soundtrack burbles a mix artfully combining ``The Peter Gunn Theme'' and the Police's ``Every Breath You Take,'' feds repeatedly scramble to get their men into and out of Tony's house in a small window of time when all the Sopranos and their housekeeper are absent - a difficult proposition at best - and aren't sure what to do when they stumble upon an apparent attempted hit. Next week, Christopher (Michael Imperioli) discovers the wisdom behind the old saw, ``Be careful what you wish for Be Careful What You Wish For is a 2006 novel written by Alexandra Potter. It tells the story of thirty-year-old singleton Heather Hamilton who is constantly wishing for things. ,'' as he becomes a made man and soon realizes what grim responsibilities attend his new assignation ASSIGNATION, Scotch law. The ceding or yielding a thing to another of which intimation must be made. . A future episode slated for April explores misogyny misogyny /mi·sog·y·ny/ (mi-soj´i-ne) hatred of women. mi·sog·y·ny n. Hatred of women. mi·sog , and not just in the Jersey mob. It unveils the stupid sadism of a new cast member, Ralphie (Joe Pantoliano, who essays scumbags as artfully as anyone around), the late Richie Aprile's runtier but equally unhinged cousin, who's tight with Carmella's (Edie Falco) sister but uses one of Silvio's (Steven Van Zandt) strippers as a sweet young punching bag. And Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) gets a new patient: Carmella grudgingly begins couples therapy with Tony. As usual, character psychology is satisfyingly complex and Chase's cast is excellent. The casting, in fact, is inspired even in small roles - bit players actually look related to the main characters, and the young actors cast as Tony and Janice in flashbacks seem dead ringers. ``The Sopranos'' continues to defy the odds in maintaining a level of bracing, nonpandering quality, as Chase and his collaborators refuse to settle into what could be a crowd-pleasing routine in search of something more interesting and, ultimately, more exhilarating. ``THE SOPRANOS'' What: Third-season premiere of the mob drama. The stars: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Lorraine Bracco, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Robert Iler, Tony Sirico. Where: HBO Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO) A form of oxygen therapy in which the patient breathes oxygen in a pressurized chamber. Mentioned in: Ozone Therapy . When: 9 p.m. Sundays (two episodes air tonight). Our rating: Four stars CAPTION(S): photo Photo: (1) James Gandolfini shares a familial moment with his TV daughter, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, in a third-season episode of ``The Sopranos.'' |
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