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Hanna Delaney's avatar

Am I going to have to try The Sopranos again? I only saw a few episodes but it didn't hook me. Now I'm more interested than ever! Could have been the relentless, badly timed adverts on Now TV...

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Rebekah King's avatar

Bloody Now TV! I highly recommend The Sopranos, it's got way more horror tropes and actually way more funny moments than you'd expect. As as storyteller you'll probably get something out of watching the way that character arcs develop over such a long form. It's quite like a novel (and there are loads of literary references!)

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Hanna Delaney's avatar

Ok, I trust your judgement. Yeah, you get ads even if you pay! I'll look into the DVDs, they're always around! I know other people absolutely rave about it but maybe I wasn't being fair. I love that you find horror moments in so many things. I'm still getting over the teletubbies tbh but this has still been a treat.

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Rebekah King's avatar

Haha thank you so much, Hanna - I trust your judgement so I’m pleased that you’re enjoying them!

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Helen Barrell's avatar

Oh, yes, those sequences are so well done and so uncanny. That bit where he's walking but not making progress and that guy slides past him on a dream-travelator...!

I liked how they referred back to the talking fish in a later episode when someone buys Tony one a singing-fish-on-a-plaque. Everyone's laughing and Tony looks *very* uncomfortable. It's horrible being reminded of something you've seen in a nightmare, and especially so when it's tied to guilt and horror for Tony.

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Rebekah King's avatar

Absolutely! Yes there were loads of bits of the fever dreams I didn't have time to get to, like the bit where he looks through the binoculars out to sea and sees a scene unfolding in a train station... it's all oddly comic too, like the scene when Tony smashes the singing fish to pieces.

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Helen Barrell's avatar

Yes, exactly, there's a thread of humour in it all as well. It's such ingenious writing and performing!

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Sheila (of Ephemera)'s avatar

Great article, Rebekah! I'm going to have to watch this show at some point...I liked the pun on "sleeping with the fishes" (for being tossed into the ocean). Funhouses are creepy things!!

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Rebekah King's avatar

It's so grim yet funny, The Sopranos does that blend so well!

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Kev Rooney's avatar

Excellent article, and thank you for the shout-out! I somehow missed the Sopranos but I'm impressed how well they capture the nauseating feel of fever dreams; the disorientation, the games your brain plays with perspective, and especially the horror of having to do something unthinkable (for Tony, self-immolate) as if it's perfectly natural and unavoidable. Great stuff (sort of). Pale Horse, Pale Rider sounds interesting too, will try to find a copy!

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Rebekah King's avatar

Thank you Kev! I think The Sopranos captures dream logic better than almost anything else I’ve see. Pale Horse Pale Rider is so good and so underrated!

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Mata Haggis-Burridge's avatar

I only watched a few episodes, but this sounds like a fascinating deviation from the norm of mafia drama.

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Rebekah King's avatar

It’s a great show and there are so many horror elements!

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