I am – Hercules!!
From Ain’t It Cool’s April interview with “Veronica Mars” mastermind Rob Thomas:
.... AICN: Leaving aside for the moment the many filmed
entertainments on which you yourself have labored,
what do you believe to be the finest hourlong series
ever crafted for American television?
.... THOMAS: The show I most adore would be The Office, but you've limited me to American series. I'd put Mr. Show on the short list. The Sopranos. Freaks and Geeks. If the Simpsons would've called it quits after season five, it would be there for me. Oh, wait. I can't read. You said hour-long. Uh...then I'll stick with Freaks and Geeks and The Sopranos.
.... AICN: Did you see the last "Sopranos" season with Steve
Buscemi? Do you feel the show gets better as it goes
along? Or do you feel it peaked with Nancy Marchand?
.... THOMAS: I don't think it's lost steam. I think some fans who show up for mob hits might have lost some enthusiasm, but Tony's journey is every bit as complex and interesting as it was in the first season -- for me.
10 reasons to revisit the fifth – and I’m willing to declare the best – season of “The Sopranos”:
1) An enfeebled Junior’s return to the “old neighborhood.”
2) Feech La Manna’s plasma screens, and his take on modern grooming.
3) Carm’s paranoid romance with Anthony Jr.’s guidance counselor.
4) Christofuh’s reaction to the news that Ade might have been boning Tony.
5) Christofuh having to collect from the fellow rehab vet played by Tim Daly.
6) The panic Meadow’s boyfriend endures when Tony’s homosexual soldier invites him to a ballgame.
7) The New York Cold War pitting Little Carmine against Johnny Sack.
8) Big Pussy Bonepensiero, Richie Aprile, Ralphie Cifaretto, Gloria Trillo, Vin Makazian and Annette Bening (!) all turning up in one of Tony’s dreams.
9) Adriana’s FBI-snitch story-arc finally coming to an extraordinary, Emmy-winning close.
10) The amazing Steve Buscemi as Tony’s doomed cousin Tony Blundetto.
