First, let me say that I'm an avid Sopranos fan. I put the first-season DVD on my Amazon wish list and was thrilled when I was given it as a gift. I have a hearing problem and always use closed captioning while watching TV and videos. I have been disappointed to find that some DVDs that list CC don't actually have it. Unfortunately, The Sopranos: First Season is one of them. Yes, I do know how to use the DVD menu to select closed-captioning, but the only options listed are for quality of sound or the languages Spanish or French. Since my TV is always set for CC, that shouldn't be the problem. Consequently, I have to turn up the volume considerably, but still miss some of the dialogue.

This is a great show but i subscribed to HBO on demand and that has this on it. It shows all the soprano shows and its great, the shows are real dramatic with great acting, great setting and performence. This season was great but after this season they changed tony sopranos voice and it sounds kinda funny the way he talk at some lines, but i wonder why they changed his voice but this was a great season. I saw all the soprano seasons on HBO on demand and they were great, if you have io digital cable then thats more better when you want to watch movies, watch shows, watch animation and all those other stuff, thats what i did to the sopranos and its better then just spending 99.00 on a boxset cause thats how much the soprano boxset cost at stores but i have HBO on demand and thats better, and it shows all the soprano seasons and i watched them, so this was a great season.

By far, this is the best of the seasons. Of course, I should hold my tongue because I still haven't seen season 6, but my interest began to cool with season four. With some series, it takes a season or two to really 'find' itself and define its characters, but not this one. I laughed, I was shocked, and I was utterly impressed.

Take it from a Godfather I and II addict (and Goodfellas), this is phenomenal.

I recieved the item promptly and in the stated condition, no issues what so ever.

Warning! Spoilers Below for anyone who has yet to see the first season!


Going into the Sopranos, I wasn't sure if it was going to be good or not. Sometimes shows critics like aren't always the best. And I'll have to admit, the first 3 or 4 episodes wern't anything special. Then there was an episode called "College", which was definetly one of the finest hours of the season. From then on every episode continued to be better then the next. If I had to pick a favorite episode, I'd have to go with the season finale, "I Dream Of Jeanne Cusomona", for two reasons. One, because of the superb scenes between and Tony and his physciatrist, Dr. Melfi(Lorraine Bracco, deliverying probably my favorite performance of the season.)And the second one is when Tony confronts his mother(Nancy Marchand) after she has a stroke. THis was definelty my favorite scene of the season.

There is not a bad performance on this show. If I had to pick three, it would be Lorraine Bracco, James Gandolfini, and Nancy Marchand. These three are just perfect.

There is a body count, severel people have been killed. One of the main chracters fate is left open at the end of the season

This item was on my brother-in-laws wish list for Christmas. Since we have a gift exchange with a limit, it was hard to find things on his list that stayed in budget. I shopped Amazon.com and found the item at a price I could spend. I was thrilled to get it for him and he was thrilled to recieve it. The boxed set arrived in just a few days and made my shopping for the holidays so much easier!!

Its nice to get it fast and watch that quick drama that is the sopranos.

This pathetic mafia soap opera is an artless ripoff of the fan base built by Coppola, Scorsese, and other masters of the genre. A cheap knockoff. A waste of time. I find it very depressing that this rubbish became so popoular...speaks volumes about the vast wasteland of popular culture. The fact that Don Imus tirelessly promoted it should have been a tip-off that it is bad. Imus reminds me of a barkeep I used to know in college who claimed that -- if he wanted to -- he could switch the whole college town to a particularly bad brand of beer. I think Imus had similarly egotistical and perverse motives for hyping this thing.

For those who didn't subscribe to HBO, and wanted to view the Soproanos, this video is a must. I can't wait to start purchasing the entire collection.

The Sopranos caused a major blow in the mainstream, showing a never seen before depict of a mobster, his family and his daily problems. Beautifully packed DVD collection with tasty extra features. Most recommendend for every mafia lover and an obligation for the series fan.

I've been debating for some time now on actually writing up reviews for the six seasons of `The Sopranos', the hands down greatest show to even be embraced by television. I didn't want to do it an injustice by not giving the review's everything I had and I feared I didn't have the ability to really do this right. Then, last night while watching the Emmy's I was hit with this surge of determination. Watching the show win top honors I felt the need to reemphasize its legendary existence. Watching both Gandolfini and Falco get robbed of their awards I felt the incessant need to rant and rave about their godlike acting abilities so that the rest of the reviewers here at Amazon would know that it was a complete and utter travesty to have two of televisions most impressive and orgasmic actors walk away empty handed. So, this review will mark the start of my `Sopranos' rants. I doubt I'll write and post these back to back, but they will all come sooner or later.

From the very beginning `The Sopranos' was an eye opener. It was the most innovative show on television and it continued to improve from its first to its final season. Not very many shows can attest to that, to truly enriching itself with each passing episode. In fact I really don't know if any dramatic show can claim that apart from `The Sopranos'. I had this conversation with my wife last night as we watched once and for all the show come to an end. `The Sopranos' was for dramatic television what `Friends' was for the comedic sitcom. It's a show that was so brilliant, so effortlessly captivating and influential that it will never be recreated. There will never be another television show this impressive, this universally lauded and appreciated just like there will never be another comedy to top and or reach the cultural phenomenon that was `Friends'. They are two iconic pieces of television history.

In the first season we are introduced to the Soprano family. The most impressive thing here is that we're not just introduced to `the family' but we're introduced, quite intimately, to Tony Sopranos immediate family, wife, daughter and son. Like the show creator David Chase said last night, this is a story about a gangster who is living the same life we all are, taking his children to school and putting food on his families table. That's what makes this show so culturally valuable. It doesn't just illuminate the clichéd assumption of crime families but it really strips these human beings down to the rudiments of their very existence. We get to experience Tony Soprano for the man he really is and not the façade that he may want to put up, the tough guy exterior that all gangster assumedly possess.

The first season exposes struggles within the family, both immediate and professional. With the death of one family boss comes the birth of a new boss, and while Tony may be the overall favorite for the position he must decide if taking the job is worth the distain between family, namely his Uncle Junior. The stress of his particular situation is taking a toll of Tony's health and this is manifest in sudden blackouts. For this he concedes to visit a therapist, Doctor Melfi, who ends up being one of the key essential characters in Tony's life. Throughout the season the issue of loyalty is explored, whether doing the right thing by your `family' is the right thing morally. This issue is explored even further and with greater detail and delicacy in season two as the apparent handling of the disloyal takes an emotional and even physical toll on `the family'. Season one is mainly here to introduce and make nice, get us accustomed to and comfortable with the cast of characters. Everyone here becomes so real to us.

I'm a huge campaigner for the idea that James Gandolfini has single handedly created the greatest television character in the history of television. His performance is above and beyond what many have been able to accomplish in their entire careers. James is able to really get inside Tony's head and flesh him out for us. We discover and fall in love with this man who is only doing what he knows how to do and he's only living the life he knows how to live, but underneath that criminal veneer he is just like you and me, with wants and desires and pains and fears and responsibilities that he does his best to take care of. And yet while you realize all of this James is doing something utterly marvelous. He's making you sympathize and rationalize with a killer, a philanderer and a liar among other things. You look at the man that Tony Soprano is upon outside appearance and you'll find yourself disgusted, yet when you watch this show you find yourself fascinated and ultimately understanding. This I tell you now is the power of brilliant and dare-I-say `iconic' acting.

The other actors in this series are phenomenal as well. Edie Falco is just fantastic as Tony's wife Carmela. She plays Carm with the perfect mixed bag of admiration and exasperation. Michael Imperioli is also brilliant as young Christopher Moltisanti, and Tony Sirico is flawless as Paulie. Lorraine Bracco doesn't present a whole lot on the outset but as the season presses forward her character becomes more central to Tony's life and thus makes a strong impact. I will admit to never really finding myself adjusting the character of Silvio Dante, and it's not that I feel Steve Van Zandt does a bad job playing him; it's just that the character himself never really grew on me. The real standouts, at least in season one that is, aside from Gandolfini and Falco were none other than Dominic Chianese and Nancy Marchand as Uncle Junior and Tony's meandering mother Livia. The late Nancy Marchand is phenomenal here, completely loathe-worthy but overall phenomenal. Actually, neither her character nor Uncle Junior really give us much to love but both Marchand and Chianese are so in tune with their characters that we can do nothing but respect their performances.

The other actors here are given their opportunities to shine, but most of this will happen in later seasons. Take for instance Vincent Pastore who plays Tony's best friend Pussy. While he has his moments within the first season it's really his second (and final) season that prove to be his finest accomplishment on the show, and Christopher's girlfriend Adriana, played by the beautiful Drea de Matteo, is really nothing more than a prop within the first season but as the show progresses, especially in seasons four and five, she flourishes beautifully. Speaking of flourishing, both Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Robert Iler who play Meadow and AJ Soprano (the children) establish themselves within the first season but really gain steam as the show presses on. As they grow up with the show they really come into their own as actors and ultimately as characters, especially Meadow. Aida Turturro also makes her presence known and heard as Tony's loudmouthed, self centered, ultimately horrid and detestable sister Janice, and she does this effortlessly and orgasmically as the series progresses.

So, that's about all I can really say for season one (I guess there was a lot here about the show in general) and I'll surely rehash this discussion with my review of season two (whenever that comes). Just know that for those of us who have experienced this television show in all its glory, there will never be another show to take its place, and for those of you who have yet to experience this brilliance, what are you waiting for! With each episode there is more to love. Take this as a warning from me...a life without `The Sopranos' is a life wasted!

The season starts off in an interesting way with a middle aged alpha male seeing a shrink because of what he's told is a 'panic attack'. As he speaks to the mental health professional it becomes apparent he is somehow involved in the shady business of organized crime and despite his relatively common appearance is pretty well off with a small family and a big home. Of course, being an American show, it breaks into a chase scene inside of the first ten minutes. My immediate impression was 'uh-huh... same old same old' but the exchange between characters from two completely different backgrounds (good looking female shrink and Joe tough guy in involved in retrospective reflection) grabbed me. It becomes especially fascinating when we find out he talks to the duckies like Dr. Doolittle but has a smile like an amused psychopath. We quickly learn he is brutal, violent, very animated (almost cartoonish) and very scary but just as likable in a dark and menacing way. His aging mom is every middle aged guy's nightmare come true and it's easy to identify with his common manner. Fred Flintstone with an attitude. Wilma is pretty much Wilma except now she has blonde hair.

The premier episode shows Fred hitting on his lovely lady shrink and introducing the families through his reminiscences. Uncle Junior is a cantankerous codger, his nephew Christopher is a young hothead and inside of the first half hour a couple of guys have been beat up and one gets whacked. Of course there are all sorts of references to Italians. The only character introduced in the first episode who isn't of Italian descent is Hesh who makes it known immediately and often that he is a Jew who gives Fred advice. He's a smart Jew. Pebbles is pubescent, spoiled and at least a little whiny. "Our existence on this earth is a puzzle" says Wilma and the viewer is encouraged to put together the picture right from the beginning. It's an interesting jigsaw for sure.

One of the reasons why The Soprano families are so easy to relate to for most people is because, like your average Joe Sixpac and Sally soccer mom, they get a lot of their big picture of the world through what their television tells them. It's influence is just as pervasive and responsible for how they see themselves in their life's role as it is for real people.

As beastly as Fred and his cohorts might be the real monster isn't really introduced till the second episode. Superman has Lex Luthor and Batman has The Joker and both of these superheros would run screaming from Fred's mom. She renders Prozac ineffective and exudes death from every pore with a black poison cloud for a sidekick.

This is a really interesting series right from the get go and anyone who actually believes fans watch it for the profane language and T&A should consider a therapist themselves.

The absolute genuis of The Sopranos is how David Chase can turn unsympathetic figures and make them sympathetic. There is not an episode where a person would not be rooting for Tony to be ok whether it be against the FBI or another family. One of the most intelligent shows ever in television.

Every bit as good as expected. Fun to go back and remind myself how it all started.

The Sopranos is watchable time and time again. The writing is deeply layered and viewers see something new with each watching. The first season is my favorite and I can 99% guarantee that if you watch each episode of this first season you will join Sopranos addicts all over the country. This is my favorite T.V. program in over 50 years of watching television. Highest praise!!!

For people who like TV series with lots of violence, sex, corruption and excessive use of bad language, the Sopranos DVD's are tops.
My purchase, after viewing only 2 discs has gone where it belongs....... the garbage bin.

I had heard mnay things about the Sopranos.I'm hooked! After one episode, I wanted to see more.

Superb! Extra bonus features, purely uncut and real. Entertainment in it's highest form. A must see and must own.

I bought this product for my father. He's a big fan of the Sopranos. I think he's having a lot of fun with this DVD. And I enjoy seeing him happy with it.

Not one to watch much tv because of the decine in quality, I was impressed with the series "The Sopranos" which I had never seen. It is not something you would want your kids to watch---very adult themes, sex, profanity, drug use, but intelligent diaglogue and plot, not to mention fine acting!

Of course it had been a few years since I've seen it. Loved it all over again

I've seen some great reviews on the Sopranos, so I'm just gonna say - like many, I missed the first seasons of the Sopranos, and never got the hype. Having now seen them from the start, they are just plain brilliant.

What can be written about this series that hasn't already been written? The awards speak for it.

The Sopranos will be regarded as ground-breaking TV for years to come. Relive the early episodes - remember how evil Livia was. Remember how manipulative Uncle Junior was. Remember how young AJ was and how BIG Vito was! LOL Enjoy the quality writing, acting and directing all over again. The episodes don't lose any signifigance because you know how it all ends; rather, they give a perspective that enhances the memories. Start all over again and remind yourself just how good TV can be.

Can't vouch for the accuracy of the surroudings (what do I know about NJ)nor what a Mafia family is supposed to be like ( is anyone gonna admit they can?) but from an english perspective -just wish BBC could still make drama even half as good as this .

After 2 episodes you will be hooked - just raced thru 1st series - Episodes 1-13 . Brilliant script , great gags - had me & my mates in stiches , fabulous looking girls - lots of T&A , rocking intro soundtrack - plus a truly complelling performance by james Gandolfini .

nuff said - get it or you'll get wacked as Tony might have said .

Many viewers clearly loved the characterizations and found the mixture of mundane family life with mafia family life to be brilliant, but I disliked this show because I found the characters pathetic and dull. Most of what I remember is a bunch of glowering punctuated by a few arguments and gunshots.

The bulk of characters seem to represent a very mediocre brand of evil. They are human failures not because they gleefully engage in villainy, but simply because they are incompetent at living their lives. The acting, sound, and camera work were all quite competent, but since I was bored by the story, it was all wasted effort as far as I'm concerned.

Certainly I'm aware of how popular the show is; the only other negative reviews seem to consist of people who can't deal with language or feel unfairly stereotyped. I figured I should take the time to say some people simply didn't think this was a very good drama.

I didn't remember seeing the first season (and perhaps 2nd), but I did recall that the shot of the Twin Towers was removed from the opening credits. I was curious to see if the original opening would be on the DVD. Well, ya, there is a shot of the towers, but it appears to me as though it is a shot of the side view mirror of Tony's SUV with the image of the towers in the reflection. Does anyone know if it was always that way? If so, that simple shot was very prophetic; foreshadowing that, soon after, the towers would only be in our past. If it is not original, it was a well thought out adjustment.

I am a diehard Sopranos fan. I still have that Journey song bouncing through my head from the very last episode. So what is a 'made fan' supposed to do now that the only series I watched is now over? Start watching from the very beginning. I've been a fan since season 1 but how refreshing it is to watch it all again. It is amazing to see how young everyone is back from season 1. The intro to the characters and all the little nuances that you pick up is amazing. The storyline of Tony in his first session with Melfi, how conniving his mother was, Uncle Jun and his old school ways. Most amazing to me how virile and full of hope Tony seems to be and how much he changed over the years beaten down by the life he leads. Incredible writing and incredible acting. A dvd for the ages. Bada Bing!

This is a fantastic box set that collects my favorite episodes, the very ones that introduced Tony, his family, and his whole sick crew to millions of viewers worldwide. A friend first introduced me to the Sopranos after picking up the DVD's in the UK (they didn't show Sopranos as a regular series in South Africa). After the first 2 episodes I was hooked, and started buying the subsequent seasons. Now I can't get rid of my Soprano addiction, and find myself in a state of depression whenever I finish a season and have to wait for the next one to be released on DVD. What makes this show so compulsively viewable is the humanization of Tony and his cohorts, allowing us to see them as real people with real problems, and not as these merciless hitmen without a care in the world for anybody. Christopher Moltisanti is by far my favorite character, with Tony a close second. In this season we see Tony's first confrontation with his "Uncle June" and the discovery by his children that their father is "mobbed up." The central storyline revolves around Tony's panic attacks that forces him into the offices of Dr Melfi, a psychiatrist, who more than once regrets taking on Tony as a patient. There is plenty of drama and character development as well as action and an awesome theme song which I just can't get tired of. The Sopranos is well worth it. The only problem is that once you start with the first season, you will find yourself compelled to buy all of them. Enjoy!

I have finally had an opportunity to enjoy this great series. Of course, I had to start at the beginning. Now I see what all the fuss has been about over these past years. It is easy to see why this show has garnered such incredible accolades, awards, and critical support. The characters in the Sopranos are excellent as is the acting. I highly recommend this first season on DVD to the unititated - like myself - as the starting point to an excellent viewing experience.

This is probably my least favorite season--it was slow to develop characters I was interested in. That changed as the season progressed, but I still felt too much focus on Tony's frailty was given.

What do you say about the greatest drama series ever made. All seasons a must see.

HBO provides a rare view into the lives of an Italian American family, as dysfunctional as they are captivating. The main character of Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini is the key ingredient that keeps us watching episode after episode. Tony Soprano lives the struggle of having to head his mob clan, while raising a rather troublesome family.

The TV series is simply superb. From the start, Tony Soprano grabs out attention as the man who suffers from depression because of the pressures provided by his followers and family members. He seeks psychotherapy and the scenes between his doctor and Tony Soprano are classic material, especially given that I watch the show with a Mental Health Counselor, Alex Ariano. We find ourselves discussing Tony at length for days to come after watching each episode.

The Godfather offered us an elegant view into the underworld of the Mafia, but the Sopranos provide a mundane, seductive, terrifying, and criminal view to people who choose to by-pass law and order. We find ourselves going from family life, filled with violence, drugs, extra-marital affairs, and sorrow... to a group of New Jersey gangsters capable of murdering at the drop of a hat.

As the episodes start, we get to travel with Tony Soprano in his car, driving through the NJ Turnpike, with views of NYC in the distance. The background music captures the audience as it plays: "Woke up this morning, got yourself a gun, Mama always said you'd be the Chosen One. She said: You're one in a million, You've got to burn to shine, But you were born under a bad sign, With a blue moon in your eyes. You woke up this morning, all the love has gone, your Papa never told you, about right and wrong... But you're looking good, baby, I believe you're feeling fine, (shame about it), Born under a bad sign, with a blue moon in your eyes!"

You have got to see Nancy Marchand as she plays Livia Soprano, mother of Tony... a terrifying... nagging... depressed woman. Carmela, Tony Soprano's wife is played by Edie Falco, who provides an amazing performance as the woman who has to put up with so much, and yet, she finds the time and the strength to be loving to her family.

Our favorite is Lorraine Bracco, who plays the therapist, Dr. Melfi. She is highly professional and handles Tony Soprano with great finesse. This is definitely... La famiglia... modern age Godfather... at its best!

I finally came out from under my rock and checked out "The Sopranos," quite possibly the most beloved and ballyhooed show ever on television. Needless to say, I was dubious - how could a mere TV show merit the countless accolades that have been foisted upon it?

Then I pushed 'play,' and all was made clear. "The Sopranos" is easily one of the best-written TV series of all time - right up there with HBO's other magnum opus, "The Wire." In a genre rife with caricature, "The Sopranos" stands out because of its fully-drawn, well-rounded characters. The actors must drool over their new scripts!

The series may refer to the Soprano family, but the fulcrum for all the action is Tony (James Gandolfini). Tony is a lumbering hulk of a man with a twinkle in his eye and a penchant for bear hugs. A beloved "captain" in the crime world, Tony is recognized as a leader even though he does not have the official title of "Boss."

The series first humanizes Tony by giving him a charming affection for the ducks in his pool and a wonderful relationship with his therapist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco from "Goodfellas"). Tony has been blacking out a little bit of late, and needs some counseling. This choice is a fantastic mechanism for storytelling, as Tony is forced to break out of the mafia's notorious 'omerta' and open up. It also sets the wheels in motion for serious violence, because while the mafia places a lot of stock on silence, they don't place much in doctor-patient privilege.

So Dr. Melfi is Tony's sounding board for his manifold professional and personal problems. There are far too many to list here, but suffice it to say that whether it be a struggle for power within "our thing," or coping with his evil mother-in-law Livia (Nancy Marchand), or just taking his daughter to visit colleges, nothing in Tony's life is easy. As the season progresses, you begin to see Tony like a fat Italian Atlas, bearing the weight of the world on his monstrous shoulders.

But you don't want to give him a hug, either. Every time Tony gets just a little too sympathetic (like with his immortal line, "what constitutes a fidget?" to a child shrink who has diagnosed Tony's son with ADD), Tony goes out and does something mind-bogglingly evil and ruthless. While you may love to invite Tony into your house for an hour of TV, you sure wouldn't want to live next door to him (a plot twist that the writers nail perfectly).

Be warned - this is violent, rated 'R' kinda stuff - lots of blood and skin. Maybe not as much blood as HBO's great series "Rome," or as much skin as HBO's ill-fated "Carnivale," but enough that you don't want your eight-year old watching it with you.

Steeped in the lore of mafia movies and books (the characters quote Al Pacino's "Scarface" and the "Godfather" trilogy with aplomb), but somehow standing to one side of them, "The Sopranos" is a wonderful romp through life with an amazing family . . . that just happens to be in the mafia.

Check it out - you won't regret it.

Initially, I had started watching the Sopranos when it first started and wasn't impressed with the show. Last year, I went back to watching it from the beginning and discovered that I was missing the detailed character development that was taking place. I have since seen all of the episodes up until this season, and I have to say that I'll be in withdrawal once the series is completed. This is one of two series (six feet under is the second one) that I think is worth having a copy of in my video library.