It’s hard to dispute the fact that the Sopranos is one of the greatest television dramas to come along in quite some time. In my mind, the only other show that even comes close to it’s level of entertainment is another HBO series entitled - “Six Feet Under”. Over the years the Sopranos has received countless awards and nominations - and Season 3, which I’m about to review was nominated for a whopping 22 Emmy’s last year. The critics consistently praise the show for its ingenuity and unsurprisingly - each new season seems to out do the last. There’s little doubt in my mind that some day, when the show eventually goes off the air, (to the tears of many hardcore fans) it’s going to go down in television history as one of the most innovative, captivating and ground breaking series’ to ever hit the airwaves.

So what is it about the show that gives it such power? Is it that fact that it offers everything that a big screen mobster flick has to offer, all rolled up into one perfect little package? In essence, I think “Yes!”. The show moves along like an involving soap opera, constantly calling you back to watch again and find out what will happen next. Yet it never stoops to the ridiculous level of discovering there’s some evil twin is involved or that Tony Soprano’s sister is actually is mother - or some other crap like that. The plotlines are intricate, the character development is intriguing, and the no hold barred approach is thoroughly addicting.

The show shirks away from nothing. The language is consistently fowl, the violence is relentless, and the odds of seeing nudity are constantly looming on the horizon. Somehow this bold approach to production has given the show a level a realism that is seldom seen in other crime dramas. Quite simply is deserves every ounce of recognition it has received thus far. The casting and the acting is absolutely flawless and convincing. There’s not a simple weak character in the entire show. In every way, each hour long episode feels like a big budget movie, and each subsequent episode feels like a superbly crafted sequel. It’s simply a fantastic show - and I can’t even begin to express how impressed I am to see something like this on TV. So read on and I’ll share with you my thoughts on Season 3 of the Sopranos.

SPOILER WARNING!!! Given the nature of this review, and my intensions to lightly go ever the plotline for each episode, it’s safe to assume that this article is going to be loaded with spoilers. I’ll try my best to keep thing to a minimum, but that’s not going to be easy since each show has story elements that run into the next episode. It’s basically one gigantic 13 hour movie. So consider this official warning. If you’ve seen this season, then by all means - read on! But if you haven’t, you might want to skip down to the technical details and my final thoughts.

DISC 1:

EP1: Mr. Ruggerio’s Neighborhood
At the end of Season 2, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and his goon squad were forced to wack Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore) after it is discovered that he might have turned tables and become an F.B.I. informant. Since the F.B.I. now believes their key informer to be shark bait, this episode starts with them trying to figure out how they’re going to get more incriminating information on Tony Soprano’s illegal operations. After picking up a warrant from a judge the F.B.I. intend to infiltrate the Soprano homestead and plant a bug in his basement. The Basement is apparently the only room in the house that Tony feels is safe and secure to discuss family business.

Much of this episode revolves around the F.B.I. and their attempts to plant this bug. Each member of the Soprano household ends up under strict surveillance, including their maid. They’re carefully watched for days in order to learn the routine of their daily lives. The plan is to strategize the safest time to enter their home and set up the bugging equipment. Whether it's Carmela (Edie Falco) receiving tennis lessons or A.J. (Robert Iler) ditching high school. The family members are never to leave their sight.

A secondary plot in the episode involves Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) and his growing suspicion that his identical twin brother Spoons, may have been killed on an order given by Tony.

EP2: Proshai, Livushka
This episode begins with Tony face down on the kitchen floor in his bath robe. For those of you who are familiar with previous seasons of the show, you’re aware that Tony tends to have panic attacks and pass out whenever he’s stressed about something. During a brief visit home from campus Tony learns that his daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) may be getting a little friendlier - in a romantic sense with Noah, (Patrick Tully) a boy from her school. The big problem revolves around that fact that the Noah is not only Jewish, but he’s of African-American decent. As you probably know, a relationship outside of the family, especially with a different ethnic group is a big mob family no-no. Needless to say Meadow is a little upset with her fathers reaction and treatment of the boy, and as things turn out, this really puts a strain on their normally healthy, father-daughter relationship.

Last season Tony’s mother Livia (Kathy Marchand) was busted at the airport with some stolen plane tickets given to her by Tony. In this episode Tony confronts his mother at her home and warns her to keep her trap shut about them. Fortunately for Tony he doesn’t really have to worry about it much, when his mother suddenly passes away in her sleep. While a small part of Tony is upset over her death, the bigger part of him is relieved.

When it comes time to put Livia’s soul to rest, Tony’s sister Janice (Aida Turturro) flies out from Seattle and quickly begins preparations for a huge catered wake and tons of guests. Needless to say, Livia’s last wishes decree that there be no funeral services for her what so ever, but Janice is unable to accept or respect her dying wish. Simply put, things get a little ugly at the wake when Janice forces the quest to share friendly remembrances of Livia. (It’s should also be pointed out that Livia’s death in the show is in many ways related to the fact that the actress who played her - Kathy Marchand - passed away in real life.)

EP3: Fortunate Son
The day finally arrives and Christopher Maltisanti (Michael Imperioli) at long last becomes a “made” man. In his mind, not only will this new rank mean greater responsibility within the family, but it also means more money is his pockets. Needless to say, he and his girlfriend Adriana (Drea de Matteo) instantly have plans to move up to a richer lifestyle.

Still, things aren’t as easy as they seem and the money doesn’t exactly flow in. Even though Christopher has been given total control and possession of one of the families most profitable underground businesses, this also means that he now has to pay Paulie (Tony Sirico) a 6 grand gratuity each and every week. Paulie, in turn has to pay one to Tony Soprano. It’s the basic pecking order.

Also taking place in this episode, Tony’s sister Janice has moved into their dearly departed mother’s home. Immediately she turns her mother’s live in housekeeper Svetlana (Alla Kliouka) out into the street. Along with throwing her out of the house, she demands the return of an old and valuable record collection. The thing is, the collection was given to Svetlana as a gift from Livia - and she has no intentions of giving them up. This situation turns ugly when Janice, who’s not exactly a reasonable person, decides to hold Svetlana’s prosthetic leg for ransom.

Tony Soprano sits young Jackie Aprile Jr (Jason Cerbone) down for a heart to heart talk. Reaffirming his own, and the late Jackie Sr’s wishes that he stay out of trouble, stay out of the family business and become a respected and legitimate member of society. As Tony and Jackie’s father were once great friends, it’s out of respect that Tony has taken on a sort of fatherly position with the young man. However, keeping Jackie out of trouble is easier said than done when Christopher, struggling to get the 6G together to pay off Paulie is forced to use Jackie Jr’s help to pull off a heist.

EP4: Employee of the Month
While attempts to keep Jackie Aprile Jr away from the families business obviously didn’t work so well last episode - things aren’t much better in this one. Ralph Cifaretto, (Joe Pantoliano) who has been dating Jackie’s mother Rosalie, (Sharon Angela) decides to take him along for the ride when he goes out to collect some money from a low-life who has refused to pay him.

Things with Janice and Svetlana begin to heat up when the Russian Mob is brought in to get Svetlana’s prosthetic leg back - by force if necessary. Looks like Janice is once again causing big problems for Tony - but what else is new? She’s may be his sister, but she’s also a huge pain in his…

Tony Soprano is a little stressed and perhaps annoyed when he learns that Johnny Sacks, (Vincent Curatola) boss of the New York City crime world has taken up residence in Tony’s backyard of New Jersey. Could his sudden relocation have anything to do with a 25 million dollar business development that Tony’s involved in?

The main plotline of this episode revolves around Tony’s psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco). When leaving work late one evening she is attacked and sexually assaulted in the stairwell of a parking garage. Needless to say this is a traumatic experience that not only causes problems with her home life, but with her mental state as well. Tension escalates when she learns that the offender - who had been quickly apprehended after the incident, has been released from custody on a technicality. There are decisions to be made when Dr. Melfi considers using her growing connection and relationship with Tony Soprano as a means to get not only justice, but perhaps - a little vengeance.

DISC 2

EP5: Another Toothpick
Things start of violently in this episodes when Bryan Spatafore, (Vincent Orofino) cousin to Jackie Aprile Jr is the victim of an unprovoked attack at the hands of a fella named: Mustang Sally (Brian Tarantina). To make a long story short, Mustang Sally decided to treat Bryan head to the same level of respect as the welcome mat of a golf course. Needless to say, he’s injured severely and Tony gives Gigi, the new captain of Aprile crew the go ahead to deal with this situation however he sees fit.

Gigi (John Fiore) decides to pull an elderly hit man, dying from lung cancer out of retirement to deal with Mustang Sally. The only problem is, Junior Soprano, (Dominic Chianese) who is essentially the real boss of the entire family, even above Tony, doesn’t want the man used for the job. Will Tony go over Uncle Juniors head? After all, what can Uncle Junior do about it? He’s been under house arrest since last season.

While traveling home with his wife, Tony is pulled over for speeding and is issued a ticket from and over zealous policeman (Charles S. Dutton). When bribery doesn’t work Tony decides to use his connections in government to get the ticket squashed. This also results in the policeman being transferred off the streets. While this little side story has very little resonance in future episodes, it serves to show you the extent of Tony’s power and how his political affiliations, like his mob connections can make him nearly untouchable.

In conclusion, things take an unknown turn in Tony’s favour when his daughter Meadow, inadvertently frees him from the clutches of the F.B.I. wiretap.

EP6: University
The relationship between Meadow and Noah approaches the next level and things really start to heat up. It becomes much more apparent in this episode how much they truly care for one another. However, every relationship has its section of unpaved, bumpy roads when Meadow’s obsessive-compulsive room mate Caitlin (Ari Gaynor) begins to cause friction in the happy couples lives. Perhaps even leading them to the break point.

Things aren’t so easy for Tony either. After giving some good advice to one of the strippers at the Bada Bing Club, Tony finds himself in the awkward position of trying to keep things professional between them. One friendly word of advice has this stripper thinking that Tony’s her new best buddy. This situation is complicated by the fact that Ralph Cifaretto has been sleeping with her.

The fact is, Tracee the stripper (Ariel Kiley) isn’t exactly the brightest. As if being mixed up with drugs and Ralphie isn’t bad enough, she ends up getting pregnant with his baby too. Tony ends up unwillingly giving her advice again when she asks him what he thinks she should do about the baby. In the end it doesn’t matter much, as Ralph isn’t exactly what you would call a model father. While arguing one night we see just what kind of a guy he is when an upset Tracee starts challenging his manhood behind the Bada Bing.

EP7: Second Opinion
While it was somewhat of an underlying plotline in episode 2 - and even more so in episode 5, Tony learned that his uncle Junior had been diagnosed with stomach cancer. This episode concentrates to a great degree on Junior’s trip to the hospital for surgery. Even after having a huge tumour the size of a fist removed from his stomach we learn that perhaps the chief surgeon, Dr. John Kennedy (Sam McMurray) may not have removed enough of the healthy tissue around the tumour to totally eradicate the cancer.

When it comes to Juniors attention that he may have to go under the knife again, Tony insists that he get a second opinion. Junior unwillingly agrees to do just that, but fears the next doctor might recommend chemotherapy. Junior reluctant to undergo this type of treatment, claiming that the cure is almost worse than the disease.

Problems persist for Christopher as well. Paulie seems unable to lay off, forcing Christopher to strip down completely so he can be checked him for a wire. Not only that, but he is making Christopher’s home life hell as well - by showing up in the middle of the night and essentially looting stuff right out of his living room.

DISC 3

EP8: He is Risen
Problems between Tony and Ralph Cifaretto continue to escalate as Ralph seems to be showing less respect for his boss as the days go on. Obviously he’s still angered over Gigi being made captain of the old Aprile crew over him. Not only that, but the incident involving the stripper Tracee from a previous episode is still weighing heavily in Tony’s mind. Tony can’t help but feel that Ralph is somewhat of a lose cannon. Not only that, but when Tony uninvites Ralphie, Rosalie and Jackie Jr from Thanksgiving day dinner - Ralph start to consider taking action against Tony that wouldn’t go over to well within the crime family.

Things between Ralph and Tony are quickly resolved when Gigi, the recently appointed captain of the Aprile crew un-expectantly dies of heart disease. Tony reluctantly finds that he has no choice but to bump Ralphie up to captain - which makes Ralph happy and seems to have quelled the bad blood between the two - at least for the time being.

After a recent break-up with Noah, Meadow runs into Jackie Jr at a house party. The pair get to talking and even though they have known each other most of their lives, they suddenly realize they have far more in common than mobster fathers.

The Thanksgiving Day weekend leads to a scheduling problem at the offices of Dr. Melfi. Tony learns that he has been accidentally booked for an appointment at the exact same time as an attractive Mercedes car sales-woman. In a kind gesture Tony gives up the slot to the women, and can’t help but wonder why such an apparently perfect woman could possibly be in need of a shrink.

EP9: The Telltale Moozadell
In this episode the relationship continues to blossom between Meadow and Jackie Aprile Jr. Tony is pleased to see that Noah has disappeared from the picture and that Meadow has started to date someone from a family that he both knows - and respects. While Tony has done his best to make sure that Jackie stays out of organized crime and out of trouble, he’s especially adamant about it now that Jackie is dating his daughter.

When a New Jersey nightclub owner figuratively looses his shirt when he gamble off more money and he can afford to pay, Christopher and Furio (Frederico Castelluccio) decide to take ownership of his club in order to settle the debt. As a surprise, Christopher hands ever the club’s management duties to his fiancée - Adriana. He and Furio intend to stand on the sidelines as silent partners.

While A.J. might be doing well in football, it seems he may be doing himself more harm than good when he’s caught vandalizing school property. Tony and Carmella are forced to take his punishment into their own hands when they learn that his school plans to take no disciplinary action against him. With A.J. quickly becoming a key player in their football teams success, it seems that the school’s zero tolerance policy isn’t exactly zero at all.

After making efforts to get together with the Mercedes car salesperson Gloria, (Annabella Sciorra) Tony slowly starts to see a different side of her. Not only is she a bit of a free bird, but she’s showing signs of both increased attachment to Tony, and maybe a little more dependence on him than he’s willing to accept. Little does Tony know the real reason why Gloria visits Dr. Melfi - but he’s gonna find out.

EP10: …To Save us all from Stan’s Power…
With Christmas fast approaching, the gang finds themselves haunted by the ghost of Christmas past. Tony and his crew are given continuous and unwelcome reminder or their past friend - turned traitor, Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bompenseiro. A Santa Claus costume, pulled from a box of holiday decorations reminds Tony about last Christmas, when Big Pussy wore that very suit. In fact, Tony’s has been thinking about Big Pussy a lot lately, and upon seeing this suit he comes to realize that he may have been wearing an F.B.I. wire for as many as 5 years. Tony’s entire crew, when thinking back about sees that all the sign indicating that he may have been turned were always there, but they were just to blind to pick up on it.

On the home front things with Jackie Aprile Jr are starting to rub Tony the wrong way. Even thought he’s sat Jackie down a number of times and insisted that he stay away from trouble; Tony keeps finding him hanging out in all the wrong places. Not only disrespecting Tony’s wishes, but disrespecting Meadow as well. When Jackie gets busted by Tony again, this time getting a lap dance from a stripper, Tony comes to the conclusion that Jackie needs another taking too, but this time with his fists.

DISC 4

EP11: Pine Barrens
When Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt) falls ill and is too worn out to go make a cash collection from a Russian named Valerie, (Vitali Baganov) Tony decides to send Paulie and Christopher to collect in his place. Unfortunately things get complicated when Paulie’s lack of respect for the man turns into an unplanned battle for their lives. Fortunately our goodfellas come out on top, forced to kill the man in the process. No big problem right? A quick drive out to the middle on nowhere with a shovel and their problems will be buried forever A least this was the plan until the discover that the supposed corpse in their trunk isn’t dead.

From here on out their problems only get worse as the Russian escapes and leads them deep into the woods where they inevitably find themselves lost, freezing and starving. With absolutely no sense of direction, despite Paulie’s military background, our 2 friends are forced to spend the night in an old abandoned van; as is often the case when trapped alone with someone for too long, they quickly turn on one another.

On the home front, Tony’s relationship with Gloria is starting to go downhill. Tony discovers that Gloria suffers from terrible mood swing and can go for sexy to psychotic in an instant. Needless to say, she can be a little temper-mental.

Ahh yes, then there’s the young lovers: Meadow and Jackie Jr. When Meadow also falls ill, (there must be something going around) Jackie decides that the best thing he can do for her is to bail out so she can get a good night’s rest. This bothers Meadow somewhat - and when the same thing happens the next night, she comes to suspect that perhaps he’s cheating on her.

EP12: Amour Fou
Obsessed with becoming a criminal big shot, Jackie Jr bites off a little more than he can chew in this episode. When Ralph tells Jackie a story about how his Father; Jackie Sr and Tony pulled off a daring robbery when they were young - Jackie Jr can’t help but be impressed. With this heist, Tony and Jackie Sr found themselves on the fast track to becoming ‘made’ men. Unfortunately this story only serves to influence young Jackie’s plans, and for those of you who have been watching, he’s not exactly the sharpest pencil in the box.

With plans laid out, Jackie and a few of his friends attempt almost the exact same thing that his late father did - sticking up an illegal card game. However, Jackie wasn’t expecting to see Christopher and Furio seated at the table when he and his buddies charged in with ski masks and heavy artillery. Things quickly get out of control when Jackie’s friends - who are a little excitable as well as wired on ecstasy make a huge mistake. Their smooth plan quickly goes from simple to extremly complicated as a hail of gunfire ensues.

Tony is just about at his wits end with his mistress Gloria Trillo. Since last episode he’s decided to dump her. This comes to no surprise as events over the past few episodes have firmly established that she’s a nut job. This only causes bigger issues when she threatens to tell his wife Carmella (Edie Falco) about them. Tony sees red. Not only that, but he comes to realize that she’s almost exactly the same as his wacky, deceased mother. When it becomes clear that Gloria might not let this relationship die so easily, Tony has no choice but to have one of his goons give her a personal warning to stay away from him - at the receiving end of a shinny, black glock

EP13: Army of One
As we reach the final episode of the season we find that Jackie Jr has gone into hiding, primarily because Christopher knows he was involved in the botched robbery from episode 12. Tony is put into the difficult position of figuring out how best to deal with the situation. Tony decides that he’ll leave it up to his newly appointed captain Ralph Cifaretto to deal with. This is a difficult issue for Ralph, since he has been dating Jackie Jr’s mother for the entire season. Still, he’s made a commitment to the Soprano crime family and he knows what needs to be done. Could this spell the end for Jackie Jr?

At home, things are just as complicated. Tony’s wife Carmella has been giving the methods in which Tony puts food on the table a lot of serious thought, but more importantly, their son A.J. is in trouble with school again. Could A.J. be in need of a little military discipline?

Overall this final episode contained a lot of closure for the season, and since I’ve undoubtedly spilled the beans on a number of key issues already, I’ll keep the rest to myself.

The Sopranos Season 3 comes complete on 4 DVD’s and is presented in an aspect ratio of approximately 1.78:1. Naturally, it has also been enhanced for 16x9 TV’s.

Overall, the picture quality of this season remained consistent from one episode to the next. I’m also happy to report that aside from a rare - and I do mean rare! speckle here and there, the transfers looked virtually flawless. While I do own a few seasons of other television shows on DVD, none of them even come close to the level of clarity that this one does.

The picture is very crisp and detailed throughout. Colours are right on the money and right where they should be. There’s no over saturation and flesh tones are both realistic and accurate. Black levels also caused little concern. Shadows were nice and solid, and even though high contrast scenes were occasionally fuzzy, this problems was certainly kept to a minimum.

With all this being said, this really is a great looking show. It’s not perfect mind you, but it does come very close. I found myself to be pleasantly surprised and satisfied with everything regarding this season’s visual presentation.

In the sound department we get our choice of either Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Surround or either French or Spanish Stereo. For the purpose of this review I chose only to watch the show in 5.1.

While the music from the opening title sequence seemed to dominate the front speakers, many of the tunes throughout the program were separated quite nicely through all 5. While it’s no surprise that most of the sounds lived at the front of the room, being that this is a TV show, it was nice to see that the rear surrounds weren’t without occasional activity. Explosions, gunfire, traffic, even clanking cutlery in restaurants all seemed to help create the mood and ambiance of actually being there.

While this show will certainly never be a showcase of digital surround sound, it’s still make the Sopranos at home, that much more enjoyable. Sure, just about any feature film you rent is going to be a better example of what surround sound has to offer, but you’ll rarely find a DVD set of a television show that will sound better than this. It’s very well done throughout, and only serves to enhance the experience of the show itself.

One of the nice things included with Season 3 that isn’t really categorized as a special feature is found once you click your way into episode one. For your convenience and as refresher before you watch the first episode you can view a Season 1 and 2 recap. Both of these selections allow you to watch a great montage of clips from each episode of the first 2 seasons. Personally I found this to be a great addition to the set, since I found myself only remembering a few specifics from the first 2 years.

Once of the primary special features of this set are the 3 episode specific audio commentaries. The commentaries are available on episodes 9, 11 and 12.

Our first audio commentary comes to us on episode 9 - “The Telltale Moozadell”. The commentary is provided by Michael Imperioli, who plays Christopher Moltisanti on the show. Not only is Michael giving us commentary on this episode from the perspective of an actor, but also as a writer. Yes, not only does it act, but apparently he likes to dabble in the production of the show from the other side of the camera as well.

Michael’s commentary was surprisingly more interesting than I expected. One can’t help but be surprised by how intelligent and articulate he turns out to be. This isn’t meant to be a putdown - it’s just that you can’t help but formulate your opinion of the man based on what you know of him as a character. Needless to say, Michael Imperioli is no Christopher Maltisanti - and as a writer, he did a fantastic job.

During his commentary he discusses everything from his interest in writing since about the age of 20 - to how absolutely impressed he is with the show’s success and the amazing casting for the characters. He also goes over how much pleasure he gets from writing for people that he knows personally. Stressing that he loves to write out lines that he knows a particular actor is absolutely going to love saying. He also talks a lot in the beginning about the subtle messages he was trying to get across to the viewer with some of the most basic of scenes. Overall Michael’s commentary was fairly enjoyable, although he started to get a little quieter as the show progressed and began to repeat a lot of the same things he said earlier on. I guess he was just running out of things to say. Regardless, it was a great effort.

Our second audio commentary comes to us during episode 11 - “Pine Barrens”. The commentary is provided by the episodes director - Steve Buscemi. Buscemi as you may know is a highly respected actor who has starred and appeared in dozens of films. As an actor the guy is simply fabulous - and at present he’s one of my favourites.

Buscemi begins his commentary talking a little bit about how the show’s creator - David Chase has intended to have him direct an episode as early as the first season, but how his busy schedule has prevented him from being able to do so until this episode.

He also talks a lot about his enjoyment of directing and admits that he still has a great deal to learn about the process. As a director who also acts, he finds he rarely has any director to give the actors since he likes to give them room to do what they think is natural. He also mentions that at this point in the series he feels that many of the actors already know how to play their parts far better than he could instruct them.

Buscemi also talk fairly in depth about the difficulty involved in shooting the show outdoors, in particular out in the snow. As snow doesn’t tend to hang around were they filming for any great length of time, he expresses how worried he was that it wouldn’t be there for the next days shooting.

Overall Buscemi’s commentary was very informative, but unfortunately it was also a little dull. As an actor I’m used to seeing him portray all kinds of wacky characters, and I guess a part of me was expecting a little of that in his commentary. In the contrary, he was very monotone most of the time. Hardly ever getting excited about anything. In fact, there were times when I felt like he was hoping to get this commentary over with so he could go take a nap. Sorry Steve, we didn’t mean to keep you up.

Our 3rd and final commentary is provided by series creator David Chase during episode 12 - “Amour Fou”.

I found this particular commentary to be the weakest of the 3, although Steve Buscemi’s was very similar in regards to its entertainment value. While Chase does discuss a lot of things like how the music is selected for the show, and how he first heard the theme music he wanted to use on a radio station on L.A, he never really gets into much detail.

As the series creator I found that Chase didn’t talk a whole lot about the production of the show, but rather he spoke about the show from the perspective of a story teller. He often would discuss the underlying intentions of the characters. Quite often he would say thing like - ‘so and so did this because’.

As the creator of the show I have great respect for the man’s creativity, he’s obviously well educated and well read, but I couldn’t help but feel as though he didn’t think the listeners understood what was going on. He often would talk about a characters motives as if some of us were perhaps too unintelligent to read between the lines. Personally I followed the show quite well and picked up on a lot of the character subtlties, but thankfully David was there to fill me in - just in case I didn’t get it.

On disc 4 we find a behind the scenes featurette hosted by HBO’s - Karen Duffy. It’s unfortunate that this segment runs for a mere 3 minutes and 46 seconds. One hardly has time to get their juices flowing when suddenly - it’s over. For a season that spans approximately 13 hours, you would expect a little more. I certainly was expecting and hoping for a good 30 minutes at least, but alas, this isn’t that case

What we do get is brief answers to basic questions and a couple comments from a few of the principle actor. Namely James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli and Frederico Castelluccio. I was admittedly surprised to find that Frederico Castellucio, who has the strongest Italian accent of anyone in the show - has no accent what so ever in real life. Other than this surprising discovery, there was little else remaining to tantalize my interests. It’s too bad, since I was really looking forward to this segment.

Cast and Filmmakers allow you to view brief biographies on 17 members from the cast and crew of the show. Some of the personalities include regulars like series creator David Chase and actors James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese and many more. Overall this section is both informative and moderately interesting. However it doesn’t really offer anything we haven’t seen in a million other biographical segments like this.

Awards and Nominations contains page after page of kudos for the show. In this section you can view dozens of snippets of recognition that the show has received. One only needs to view this feature once to know that it’s a highly regarded drama. Any doubt about the shows merits will quickly be put to rest after you peruse this segment.

The final thing provided with this set is DVD-Rom/Weblink. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to check this particular feature out since my present PC doesn’t contain DVD-Rom capabilities.

I’ve decided against leaving my individual thoughts on each episode since the Season is far from episodic in nature. In a series like Star Trek, each episode seems to have little impact on the events in the show thereafter; but in the case of the Sopranos, one episode has things occur they may seems unimportant at the time, but have a larger meaning in the big picture. Even the smallest and most insignificant moments of an episode may have an unforeseeable resonance in the future. In fact, a great deal of what happens in this season is a direct reflection of things that have happened in either season 1 or 2. This being the case, I figured my final thoughts were best left to evaluating season 3 as a whole and not by the sum of it’s parts.

So with that being said, how was it? Well, since I have seen the previous seasons, I can honestly say that season 3 is as good, if not better than those. In fact, it’s hard to point out a single weakness in the Sopranos. This season, like those before is both engaging and addicting. Storylines involving Ralph Cifaretto, Jackie Aprile Jr and Tony’s mistress Gloria Trillo were particularly enjoyable - as they were certainly the focus of many episodes.

From a personal standpoint in how episode 11 - “Pine Barrens”, which was directed by Steve Buscemi to be my favourite. It features some good action with Paulie and Christopher, as well as some great drama between Tony and Gloria Trillo. On top of that, it was hilarious! While the subject matter was meant to be serious, I couldn’t help but laugh at Paulie and Christopher as they fought back and forth while lost in the woods. I was really a great episode.

Overall Season 3 contained fantastic picture quality, with hardly any room for complaints. The sound wasn’t quite as impressive as the picture, but was still very well done. A little more activity from the rear surrounds would have been nice, but for a television how, it more than exceeded my expectations.

As for the bonus material, it was a bit of a mixed bag. While 3 commentaries is more than enough, the entertainment value of these commentaries left something to be desired. With the exception of Michael Imperioli works, neither of the remaining 2 commentaries were particularly interesting. Steve Buscemi offered some good information, but his demeanour was that of a man getting ready for bed. David chase on the other hand offered little insider info, and seemed to spend most of his time explaining the episode for those of us who might be somehow confused. The remaining bonus material, specifically the featurette was too short and simple to really grab my attention. While this DVD set contains a good number of supplements, the effort that went into making them more than ‘ordinary’ just wasn’t there.

Lots of television programs have been getting the DVD treatment as of late, but in my opinion, the Sopranos stands out in my mind as one of the only shows that is truly worth owning. Despite the basic supplements, this DVD set is worth owning simply for the show itself. Now if you’ll excuse me, episode 1 of season 4 is about to air.