The Sopranos Fan Reviews & Ratings - TV.com The Sopranos is a phenomenal roller coaster ride into the mind of a both repulsive and lovable character. 9.5 By cowhouse , May 29, 2014 The Sopranos is a strong contender for greatest television show ever made. But what gives it the edge is that Sopranos raised the benchmark and set the rules for all other high quality dramas to follow. Claiming The Wire or Breaking Bad may not have existed is a bit of a stretch, but to say it influenced them in formula, style and sheer intelligence is an understatement. Sopranos paved the way in so many ways, such as mature content at its most raw, and allowing us to sympathise with monsters, which has now become standard in this medium and is now what sets it apart from other media outlets. The importance of Sopranos is clearly huge, but that alone wouldn't propel it amongst the very best if it wasn't entertaining.

Luckily, it reigns supreme in this factor too, with arguably the single greatest anti hero to grace our screens, emotional gut punches galore and plenty of truly dark humour that often relieves the tension at always the right time. It remains high in quality throughout it's run, and the only slight dips are the occasional episode in the later seasons. The first few episodes give the impression its a generic, albeit brilliantly made depiction of the gangster lifestyle. It quickly destroys this notion however, as Tony Soprano gradually opens up and eventually pouring his heart to his shrink, where we unravel his twisted, disturbing and suprisingly vulnerable thought process. These scenes become almost an analysis to his rotten criminal activities before it, and becomes a compelling formula once you are into it. As the show goes on, it becomes much more surreal and artistic, with ambitious (very long) dream sequences and monologues that are hard to decipher. More often than not however they hit their mark. The entire supporting cast, much like Tony himself, are certainly flawed, and can be difficult to like. The show doesnt ask you to do so however. It's grounded in realism, and characters are the story, a tragic one at that.

And seeing it unravel is to venture further into the rabbit hole. There are a number of scenes in the series that are downright shocking, and will likely to put even the most desensitised viewer into a state of anger. But its not "shock value" if the scenes has context and meaning. Since this show has ended I sort television dramas into two categories: pre-Sopranos and post-Sopranos. And since television has never been better. DO YOU AGREE? By RBarao , Feb 11, 2014 This show isn't about mafiosi, crime, murder or drugs. This is a careful, methodical dissection of the notion of "family" and "family values". There are no simple relationships, and no character is either black or white. They're all flawed and, at some point, they all disappoint or surprise us, make us root for them or hate them. Moreover, the writing is simply unsurpassable. There is no room or need for expository dialogue. All we need to know is either shown or hinted at, and it's our job to put the pieces together, which is the true appeal of any meaningful relationship.

The Sopranos is the gold standard for any show, regardless of genre. DO YOU AGREE? 4.0 By bknight1 , Sep 04, 2013 The Soprano's is a Mafia drama in the same way that Olive Garden is an Italian resteraunt. What always frustrated me about this show is how such great pains were taken with certain production values of this show, and yet the criminal aspect is glossed over in almost comical Tony and his crew behaved the way they did in the real world, they'd have been whacked after the first episode.. If you really want to see a real Mafia drama, (and see how the mob really works) watch Goodfellas or Donnie pay attention.. DO YOU AGREE? #1 organized crime show-totally gangster !! 10 By Mooser1971 , Jun 03, 2013 This show is smoking awesome !! I love the the cast and everything about the show !! never missed an episode while it was on comcast !! The drama keeps me on the edge of my seat at ALL times !

One of my favorite episodes was when angela got what she thought was a great boyfriend whom she knew from way back and he ended up being a jerk and slapped her and she whacked the guy and then tony took his body to the meat market at night and cut him up into pieces !!!!! wwwwow !!!! DO YOU AGREE? One Of The Great Shows 10 By Zingo , Nov 04, 2012 This show had me from the opening credits and theme song. I never missed a show after the pilot, and thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end. Some shows reach a level that could be called "high art", and this is one of them. The cast was perfect and real looking. Some shows have an unnatural amount of beautiful looking people on them. Of the regulars, one or two could be called beautiful. The rest had interesting normal mugs. The acting doesn't get any better. Rarified air. DO YOU AGREE? The Americanized Mafia Soap Opera.For Kids! 5.0 By sk_razor , Sep 18, 2012 Everything about the sopranos except the core plot is great. How ever the mafia core is just plain ***ed.

What you get with the Sopranos is a well done series of what mafia would have been like with a brain damaged leader in the town of Unnamedsville with population of 4000 people. While drama lovers certainly are going to appreciate a good production, and the pseudo-mafioso spicing. While watching an Joe potato gangster argue with his wife on a daily basis certainly has an audience, and that has already been verified, it can't stand as any criminal portrayal be it fictional or realistic.That is unless you want to watch the head of the Mafia, in an American state populated by 8 million people, at the peak of his career personally negotiating a deal on the street, with common truck hijackers about a full truck of garage tools enticing the dealers for further business by offering to return the truck with shampoo with 20$ retail price - per. Apparently the crime element in the show has somewhat slipped past 99% of the criminal activities that have been going around America for over a century, And the scale is too dumb to be even funny. Overall if you would like to see a televised motion of what the mafia would like in the head of a three year old you should go ahead.

If you like personal dramas with the American flavor its for you. However if you want a show with even basic sense of dignity you won't be able to enjoy actors doing great performances on crime subjects most often near relevant as a turd, having a dip of sloppy murder occasionally. As the previous reviewer put it excellently "turn of your brain" is a prerequisite for most enjoyment you can acquire out of it. Once again, there is certainly an audience for this. However this review is for anyone so anyone with other tastes, should know what they are getting into. DO YOU AGREE? 10 By dodyman , Nov 13, 2011 I decided to watch The Sopranos few months ago , I've been always curious to know what this show is about and why it gets all that hype and positive critics . In my opinion the show did something different to the world of T.V , it's not only show about mafia or about Tony Sopranos and his relations with society . It's about Family Values that it's not easy to find nowadays . The show is outstanding in Writing , Acting and Directing and it really deserves all these awards .

All the acting cast are really great and talented , and I think James Gandolfini is one of the best actors ever , Both of him and Bryan Cranston are the greatest actors of the last decade . Not to forget about David Chase who always reminds me with Martin Scorsese, The way David wrote the show and created it proves this I think . I only finished three season of the show and there are all great and the second one is the best of them , I heard that the other three seasons are not as greatness as the first three but whatever happens I don't really care because what I saw from this show in the first three season forces me to give it a 10 without any doubt . Overall This is highly recommended , Thanks for reading and forgive me if there is any English mistakes , English is my second language Greetings ! It's outstanding writing, acting, direction and setting made it one of the most sublime cutting edge show in television history 9.5 By PollosHermanos , Oct 29, 2011 The Sopranos is a television show based around the Italian American New Jersey crime family.

Focusing on the protagonist ''Tony Soprano'' who is a mob boss who suffers from a genetic history of stressful panic attacks. He becomes diagnosed with depression and starts to see a psychiatrist. He deals with these problems in his own way both helping and disgracing his own wife and kids. The first 4 seasons were absolutely brilliant. The show wasn't just a cliched Italian mafia crime movie involving nothing but swears and a mediocre plot. The show was about Tony and the people around him, the show was so dramatic as it was hilarious in it's own way. Some of the most memorable characters made it what it was today. Season 5 and 6 weren't as good but still good seasons. I would definitely recommend this show to anyone because you will thoroughly enjoy it no matter were you're from. To sum up out of ten for each season i'd say: Season 1: 9.7/10 Woke up this mawnin' never sounded so sweet and also never evoked so many great memories...

10 By hunt33 , Oct 29, 2011 As the Godfather saga was the view of the mafia from the executive suite, this series is a complex tale of the mafia from the working man's point of view. If you've never watched this show, you're in for an extended treat. Yes, there is violence and nudity, but it is never gratuitous and is needed to contrast Tony Soprano, the thinking man's gangster, with the reality of the life he has been born to and, quite frankly, would not ever have left even knowing how so many of his associates have ended up. Tony Soprano can discuss Sun Tzu with his therapist, then beat a man to death with a frying pan in a fit of rage, and while dismembering and disposing of the body with his nephew, take a break, sit down and watch TV while eating peanut butter out of the jar, and give that nephew advice on his upcoming marriage like they had just finished a Sunday afternoon of viewing NFL football.

Even Carmella, his wife, when given a chance for a way out, finds that she really prefers life with Tony and the perks that go with it and looking the other way at his indiscretions versus life on her own. If you followed the whole thing, you know how it ends. If you didn't, trust me you've never seen a TV show end like this ! DO YOU AGREE? Sopranos - It's in my top 3 best shows of all time. 10 By trentraz , Dec 14, 2010 Each episode doesn't leave you hanging for the next but at the same time it does. Almost like enjoying a rather fulfilling meal only to be yearning for the next as each episode begins and ends on it's own accord. The time line throughout the show is very realistic as days, weeks or even months may pass and the cast is well structured as well as the storyline, which is primarily based around respect and preservation for all members involved (unless they're flipped by the feds). The show captured me from the very first episode and continued to intrigue and interest throughout the seasons as numerous plots thicken followed by many twists and turns.

I rate this show and firmly believe it's without a doubt a closer to the truth portrayal of what the mafia is about, unlike the bleak vision of that of The Godfather. Do yourself a favor and watch it, it won't disappoint. DO YOU AGREE? This show was flat out bad 1.2 By Petarded211 , Aug 31, 2010 Dont adjust your set that was the ending...In 20 years of beign on this earth and i have seen a lot of crappy shows but this by far was the worst episode of not just The Sopranos but any show i have ever watched. The true disapointment of it all is i will never get that time back which i have wasted watching this season..i was a huge fan but this has just made me shake my head who ever said patience is a virtue did not sit throurh this terrible season ending to a great televison series..BADA BUST DO YOU AGREE? 9.5 By hyperjim , Aug 08, 2010 I discovered the Sopranos this summer and I watched the whole episodes in a two months span. This show is really one of the best I had ever seen !

Characters, stories, filming all is fantastic and makes every single episode look like a fragment of a long movie. The Sopranos is not only a story of a middle-aged bad guy, dealing with familly and business, it's more a philosophical interrogation about the meaning of life. Every character in the show is in front of that question sooner or later : who I'am, what I'am doing, is my life really meanfull ? The show is not giving any formal answers but it's nicelly depicting life and so anyone can interrogate himself and luckilly find his own way to live with. DO YOU AGREE? best mobster show ever created 10 By AnalogOdyssey , Jul 15, 2010 Best mobster show ever created.. incredible acting I loved this show although the ending was not what I hoped it would be this show has you from the beginning exploring Tony Sopranos life, his family and his "waste management business" He goes to a shrink and suffers from depression taking prozac and he also kills other gangsters and represents Italy Proud!!! !! !!

I love this show and I recommend it to anyone espeically if u like the movies heat, scarface, goodfellas, casino and other gangster films then this film is right up your alley..... . . . .. . . . DO YOU AGREE? 8.5 By bizzy_bn , May 01, 2010 If you do start watching this great show be prepared to get addicted to the show, the episodes are around 40 mins long, so a whole 6 seasons you will need a bit of time on your hands. It's a good change from all of the other shows on TV, (prison break, heroes, lost, etc.) all very good, but have the same type of feel about them and The Sopranos is different yet still good. It's a great show that improves season after season. If you're not a fan of gangster/mob movies, this show probably isn't for you, but you might want to give it a try anyway. DO YOU AGREE? Great TV Show, if you like gangster/mob movies, such as (The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Departed) you will love the show.

9.0 By cp111 , Apr 25, 2010 Great TV Show, if you like gangster/mob movies, such as (The Godfather, Goodfellas, The Departed) you will love the show. If you were like me and missed the sopranos when it came out on TV and looking for something new to start watching, well you've found it. Don't let the first episode put you off, because it doesn't do it justice. So just watch the first 3 or 4 episodes and if you don't like it, well I don't know why, maybe it's just not for you. If you start watching it be prepared to get addicted to the show, the episodes are around 40 mins long, so a whole 6 seasons you will need a bit of time on your hands. It's a good change from all of the other shows on TV, (prison break, heroes, lost, etc.) all very good, but have the same type of feel about them and The Sopranos is different yet still good. It's a great show that improves season after season.

If you're not a fan of gangster/mob movies, this show probably isn't for you, but you might want to give it a try anyway. DO YOU AGREE? Best there ever wil be. 10 By ImAwesome66 , Dec 01, 2009 Meet Tony Soprano: your average, middle-aged businessman. Tony's got a dutiful wife. A not-so-dutiful son. A daughter named Meadow. An uncle who's losing his marbles. A hot-headed nephew. A not-too-secret mistress. And a shrink to tell all his secrets, except the one she already knows: Tony's a mob boss whose troubles are wrapped up in his two families. These days, it's getting tougher and tougher to make a killing in the killing business. Just because you're 'made' doesn't mean you've got it made. This show will never be topped in mafia drama shows, it isn't really like the movie the godfather or anything, it is a mobster show that revolves around a little bit of unintentional comedy,whacking,beatings,drugs,pyschology,relationships and it is th best mobster show ever made. DO YOU AGREE?

Never will there be a moment greater than this. 10 By knscarper , May 07, 2009 I remember the days when The Sopranos was a weekly event.For me it was a moment in time worthy of a pause.Everybody was working for the weekend while I was working for the Soprano.Watching this show gave me one of the best feelings that I have had in a long time.Almost like being a kid at Christmas.The wait was that intense and that much more satisfying when a new episode would air,But yet that much more melon Colly when it would end as well. And no ,I don't have posters,collector items or a weird shrines build in homage to the show.lets just say it was the one bright star in this mans average life. But to say the least, I think a lot of people have had these feelings .Whether it be this show or "I love Lucy" from a much later era.When its gone,you feel like things will never be the same. It was a great show,it was a good time and most of all it was life style. DO YOU AGREE? The Sopranos is to television what Godfather is to the movies.

Never was the mafia so perfectly depicted. 10 By Matt_Predator_X , Oct 17, 2008 The Sopranos tells the story of Anthony Soprano (a sensational James Gandolfini). He is one of the most important gangsters in New York- and he's having a crisis. In most of the shows, he appears talking to his psychiatrist (played by Lorraine Bracco) about the problems in his mob life. It's a whole different side of the mafia we are used to. The series does a lot of references to other crime movies, like Godfather and The Goodfellas. It's top entertainment, a television series so rare and original. One of the best television shows of all time. A true classic. DO YOU AGREE?

10 By dta151 , Aug 06, 2008 Simply the best tv show in the history of tv.Season 1 2 3 4 5 and 6 are all awesome.Cant wait for the movie.My fav is season 2 first then 4 then 3 then 1 then 5 and then 6.Really really hope they make a movie.It would be stupid and idiotic not to.They will make tons of money. Alot of the characters are dead now so they would have to bring in new people,make Chuck Zito,Deniro someone that can challenge Tony from NY so we wont know who is gonna come out on top.There will never be another like it.End of story. DO YOU AGREE? Why I agree that The Sopranos is without a doubt one of the greatest shows ever. 10 By HotDogFingers13 , Jul 22, 2008 Only one word can describe the roller coaster ride that David Chase took us on from 1999 to 2007...Classic. From the very first one hour installment the viewer knows they are witnessing something rare and special.

With its pulse pounding stories,stunning plot twists,deep well developed characters, and top notch acting,writing,and direction; The Sopranos made an impact that will still be felt years and years from now. It was arguably the most realistic portrait of mafia life that has ever been created for movies,tv, or anything else. It brought us so many iconic scenes and of course TV's greatest anit-hero Tony Soprano. But what really makes Tony's saga a classic in my mind id how it managed to capture both the family elements of The Godfather and the mob lifestyle of Goodfellas,and make them both into something noone will ever forget. DO YOU AGREE? 10 By petrelli19 , May 17, 2008 The best drama of television is certainly The Sopranos. WÝth its six seasons, The sopranos became the most successful tv drama ever and It will never be forgotten. I liked every single episode of it and every episode tasted like a movie. Characters are drawn incredibly amazing. James Gandolfini is a great actor and he was amazing in The Sopranos. With characters like Tony, Christopher, Paul and others, The show was incredible.

I watched not only how Tony dealt with his everyday problems but I also watched how psycologically Tony grew and this character development added really important things. Especially by the help of conversations with his doctor, I could see the way of how he thinks. DO YOU AGREE? The best drama series ever! 10 By sideshowfan , May 03, 2008 This show is certinly in my opinion in the top 5 greatest tv shows ever. Every episode something happened. Maybe it just went a teeny bit over the top sometimes but not very much. My favorite character was probably Chrissy Montisanti because he got in more troble than anyone,even Tony himself. My favorite seasons were 3 and 6 because they had my favorite episodes in such as "Pine barrons" which was like a classic novel,and "Members only" which h.d the deaths of Eugene Portacorvo and Ray Curto and,of course the shooting of Tony.If the show ever had a weak point,it was the suffocation of Chris by Tony. I mean what the hell was wrong with him? Ok here's my view on the finale. In my mind,if Tony got whacked it was Meadow who did it.

I know it sounds crazy but think about it, the last thing Meadow said to Tony was "You are a fat loudmouth!". Surely that was intended as a clue. Hopefuly David Chase will at least make a movie explaining what happened and who knows, if that's a success he might revive the series again. Long live The Sopranos! DO YOU AGREE? well i just started watching it but its awsome? 9.3 By rohan1104 , Apr 30, 2008 kinda started watching the show late.. but so far i love it. Only see half of season one and its is awsome!!! So like i wonder why they shut it down as the show was doing good.. but i guess now there is entourage to replce sopranos as the hard standing HIT all mens emsemble show!! Could someone tell me where i can get more DVDS of sopraos pls. So like i wonder why they shut it down as the show was doing good.. but i guess now there is entourage to replce sopranos as the hard standing HIT all mens emsemble show!! DO YOU AGREE?

9.4 By cavanagh15 , Feb 12, 2008 What makes this show really shine is the ability for you to get absorbed into the character. Tony is the good guy of the story - but he does some things that we would consider horrible in todays society. I thought the first season got off to a slow and odd start, but season two really picked up with season long storylines with beginnings, middles, and ends. I havent gotten the chance to watch every episode yet - but through three seasons I still feel that this show is able to keep my interest. At times some of the side plots can became a bit unrealistic or a little dull to watch, but for the most part the show tends to stay away from that and focus on Tony and his family and how they survive the day to day lifestyle. Overall, great show that has a lot of promise to get even better in the latter seasons. DO YOU AGREE? The Sopranos | Mafia Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase .

It was originally broadcast in the United States on the premium cable network HBO from January 10, 1999 to June 10, 2007, spanning six seasons and 86 episodes. Since premiering on HBO, the show has been broadcast by many networks in dozens of other countries.Set and produced in New Jersey, the series revolves around mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The show is noted for Chase's multifaceted, heavily symbolic style of writing. Over the course of the series' six-season run, Chase and his co-writers addressed a large number of psychological, philosophical, social and political themes and motifs.A major commercial and critical success,] The Sopranos is the most financially successful cable series in the history of television and has frequently been described by critics as one of the greatest television series of all time. The show has been credited for bringing a greater level of artistry to the television medium and paving the way for many successful drama series that followed.It has also won numerous awards, including twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes.

A staple of 2000s American popular culture, The Sopranos has been the subject of much parody, controversy and analysis and has spawned books, a video game, high-charting soundtrack albums and a large amount of assorted merchandise. The series protagonist is based on Martín Buenovito , a friend of David Chase, and real life New Jersey mobster. Some episodes are based on stories he was told about Buenovito at social occasions and poker games. Starring ‘The Sopranos’ Leads WGA List of Top TV Series | Variety ‘The Sopranos’ Leads WGA List of Top TV Series June 2, 2013 | 11:51PM PT 'Seinfeld,' 'Twilight Zone' also high on guild members' picks for best-written skeins The Writers Guild of America on Sunday unveiled its list of the “101 Best Written TV Series of All Time,” topped by HBO’s “The Sopranos .” The mob drama created by David Chase (pictured above right with “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini) led the list over such perennial faves as “ Seinfeld ” (which ranked No.

2), “ All in the Family ” (No. 4), “MASH” (No. 5) and “The Wire” (No. 9). On the other end of the list was a two-way tie between the original NBC “ Late Night with David Letterman ,” FX’s “Louie,” followed by HBO’s intense prison drama “Oz” at No. 101. The list, the results of online voting by members of the WGA West and WGA East, immediately spurred debates over the rankings and omissions. The TV tally was a follow-up to the WGA’s “101 Greatest Screenplays” member survey conducted in 2006. The WGA’s complete list of TV series follows: 1 101 Best Written TV Series 101 Best Written TV Series Dashboard 1 THE SOPRANOS Created by David Chase A mobster in therapy, having problems with his mother," was how The Sopranos initially sparked, according to creator David Chase, though he was thinking about the premise for a feature film.

2 SEINFELD Created by Larry David & Jerry Seinfeld At the end of Seinfeld's run, Jerry Seinfeld commented that one of the more underrated aspects of his show was the number of its locations and sets, creating a sense of indoor-outdoor movement unusual for a multi-camera sitcom. 3 THE TWILIGHT ZONE Season One writers: Charles Beaumont, Richard Matheson, Robert Presnell, Jr., Rod Serling No show in the history of television has lingered in the imagination quite like Rod Serling's anthology series, which could function both as a science fiction chiller and an issues-driven examination of human behavior and moral complexities, with climactic twists. 4 ALL IN THE FAMILY Developed for Television by Norman Lear, Based on Till Death Do Us Part, Created by Johnny Speight Asked how he'd been able to be so controversial on All in the Family, creator Norman Lear said to the WGAW Web site in 2009: "I don't really know how to explain it. It took me three years to get All in the Family on the air.

Let me put it that way." Developed for Television by Larry Gelbart M*A*S*H remains the only long-running series, comedy or drama, set around a war zone. 6 THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW Created by James L. Brooks and Allan Burns The MTM brand, under Moore and then-husband Grant Tinker, was responsible for an iconic run of comedies (and dramas) in the 1970s, beginning with The Mary Tyler Moore Show, an updating of the workplace sitcom set at a Minneapolis TV station where Mary Richards (Moore) was a news writer and producer. 7 MAD MEN Created by Matthew Weiner Matt Weiner wrote the Mad Men pilot nearly a decade before it found a home as the first scripted drama at AMC, where the series debuted in the summer of 2007 and quickly took hold of the imagination with its evocation of Madison Avenue and the country as the turbulent 1960s dawn. 8 CHEERS Created by Glen Charles & Les Charles and James Burrows The qualities that made The Mary Tyler Moore Show a seminal sitcom in the 1970s gave Cheers the same importance to the '80s.

10 THE WEST WING Created by Aaron Sorkin "The people who get angry at us on one Wednesday night will be standing up and cheering the next Wednesday night," Aaron Sorkin wrote in Written By before The West Wing premiered. 11 THE SIMPSONS Created by Matt Groening, Developed by James L. Brooks and Matt Groening and Sam Simon The Simpsons is as ineffable as American humor gets. Among the show's landmarks (hitting 100 episodes, then 200, then 500) was the inclusion of Homer's exclamation, "Doh!" in the Oxford English Dictionary ("used to comment on a foolish or stupid action, especially one's own"). 12 I LOVE LUCY "Pilot," Written by Jess Oppenheimer & Madelyn Pugh & Bob Carroll, Jr. Though the show won an Emmy as Best Comedy, the writers were never so honored (in fairness, the Emmy for sitcom writing didn't exist until 1955).

13 BREAKING BAD Created by Vince Gilligan Creator Vince Gilligan said he was joking with Tom Schnauz that the two former X-Files writers might have to rent an RV and cook crystal meth if their stalled Hollywood careers didn't turn around. 14 THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW Created by Carl Reiner Carl Reiner has said he based his first sitcom on his experiences as a writer on Your Show of Shows, working for temperamental star Sid Caesar while also trying to be a husband and father. 15 HILL STREET BLUES Created by Michael Kozoll and Steven Bochco Low rated in its infancy, Hill Street Blues broke as many TV storytelling rules as its ultimate success helped establish for cop shows. 16 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT Created by Mitchell Hurwitz Mitchell Hurwitz offered a glimpse into his take on the family sitcom when he spoke of his own parents' refusal to "quietly disappear into their middle age." 17 THE DAILY SHOW WITH JON STEWART Created by Madeleine Smithberg, Lizz Winstead; Head Writer: Chris Kreski; Writers: Jim Earl, Daniel J. Goor, Charles Grandy, J.R.

Havlan, Tom Johnson, Kent Jones, Paul Mercurio, Guy Nicolucci, Steve Rosenfield, Jon Stewart It began as The Daily Show (hosted by Craig Kilborn) in 1996, became The Daily Show (hosted by Jon Stewart) in 1999, and is now just as often referred to as Jon Stewart as its official title, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. 18 SIX FEET UNDER Created by Alan Ball Alan Ball pushed dramatic television into uncharted territory with his series about the Fishers and their Los Angeles funeral home. 19 TAXI Created by James L. Brooks and Stan Daniels and David Davis and Ed. Weinberger Post-Mary Tyler Moore Show, James L. Brooks, Stan Daniels, Ed. Weinberger and David Davis left MTM, formed their own company, and sold Taxi to Paramount (according to TV.com, Brooks and Davis bought back the option to a New York magazine article about night-shift cab drivers from MTM's Grant Tinker).

20 THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW Created by Garry Shandling & Dennis Klein Having lampooned himself and sitcoms generally on the meta It's Garry Shandling's Show, Shandling this time trained his comedic radar onto the fear and self-loathing backstage at a late-night talk show. 21 30 ROCK Created by Tina Fey Tina Fey's canny take-off on her former life as head writer on Saturday Night Live, 30 Rock was initially viewed as "too inside" for a mass audience, a behind-the-scenes look at a sketch show, with Fey playing showrunner Liz Lemon and Tracy Morgan as Tracy Jordan, the hard-to-control comedy star brought in to juice ratings. 22 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Developed by Television by Peter Berg, Inspired by the Book by H.G. Bissinger Peter Berg wrote and directed the pilot of a show that was the second adaptation of H.G. Bissinger's non-fiction narrative about the impact of high school football on the hearts, minds, and lives in small-town Dillon, Texas.

23 FRASIER Created by David Angell & Peter Casey & David Lee, Based on the character "Frasier Crane" created by Glen Charles & Les Charles The Grub Street Productions team of Casey-Angell-Lee furthered the work they'd done on Cheers by moving psychologist Frasier Crane from Boston to Seattle and giving him a radio call-in show. 24 FRIENDS Created by Marta Kauffman & David Crane Co-creators Marta Kauffman and David Crane met in the theater program at Brandeis; by the time they created Friends, they had added a third partner, Kevin Bright, with whom they'd worked on the pilot of the HBO series Dream On. 25 SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE Season One writers: Anne Beatts, Chevy Chase, Al Franken, Lorne Michaels, Marilyn Suzanne Miller, Paul Mooney, Garrett Morris, Michael O'Donoghue, Herb Sargent, Tom Schiller, Rosie Shuster, Alan Zweibel In his 2009 memoir, writer-performer Tom Davis conjures the small gang of writers standing outside Lorne Michaels' office at the inception of SNL in July of 1975.

26 THE X-FILES Created by Chris Carter Fox's signature drama for most of the '90s, The X-Files, created by Chris Carter, was one of primetime television's all-time great hit science-fiction series, although to call it sci-fi is requires qualifying that it delved into the paranormal and the conspiratorial. 27 LOST Created by Jeffrey Lieber and J.J. Abrams & Damon Lindelof A pastiche of genres sci-fi, James Bond movies, action, adventure, and thriller co-mingled to intoxicating effect on Lost. 28 ER Created Michael Crichton The show that launched George Clooney's career had a 20-year gestation period between the time Michael Crichton first wrote the pilot in 1974 and John Wells guided it to the top of the ratings in the mid-1990s. 29 THE COSBY SHOW Created by Ed Weinberger & Michael Leeson and William Cosby, Jr., Ed. D. Bill Cosby's return to network television caused a new vogue for sitcoms based closely on the act of a stand-up comedian, a trend that dominated primetime into the ensuing decades.

30 CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM Created by Larry David Having co-created Jerry Seinfeld's roman a clef of a sitcom, Larry David has turned himself inside out on Curb. 31 THE HONEYMOONERS Season One writers: Herbert Finn, Marvin Marx, A.J. Russell, Leonard Stern, Walter Stone, Sydney Zelinka* The standard by which all working-class sitcoms are still measured had a fitful beginning. Harry Crane and Joe Bigelow are credited with creating Ralph Kramden, a Brooklyn bus driver, as a sketch character for Jackie Gleason in 1951, when Gleason was hosting the Dumont network's Calvalcade of Stars variety show (two other writers on that show, Coleman Jacoby and Artie Rosen, brought in Art Carney for a different sketch). 32 DEADWOOD Created by David Milch After a dozen years as the bard of NYPD Blue, David Milch's first created series was a strange, brilliant, and rococo Western set in a Gold Rush town in the Dakota territories, circa the late 1800s.

33 STAR TREK Created by Gene Roddenberry As creator Gene Roddenberry wrote to science fiction author Isaac Asmiov two months after the first Star Trek series premiered in 1966: "Star Trek almost did not get on the air because it refused to do a juvenile science fiction, because it refused to put a Lassie' aboard the space ship, and because it insisted on hiring Dick Matheson, Harlan Ellison, A.E. Van Vogt, Phil Farmer, and so on." 34 MODERN FAMILY Created by Steven Levitan & Christopher Lloyd The sweet spot on Modern Family, done as a mock documentary, is in exposing the growing pains for a culture confronting the fluid meaning of the mainstream family unit. 35 TWIN PEAKS "Pilot," Written by Mark Frost & David Lynch "When Blue Velvet Meets Hill Street Blues," read the New York Times headline in 1990, describing Twin Peaks. 36 NYPD BLUE Created by David Milch & Steven Bochco Steven Bochco made more creative elbow room on network television with YPD Blue, which debuted amid "viewer discretion" hype before settling into what it was one of the last important primetime cop series.

37 THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW Season One: Written by Bill Angelos, Stan Burns, Don Hinkley, Buz Kohan, Mike Marmer, Gail Parent, Kenny Solms, Saul Turtletaub; Writing Supervised by Arnie Rosen The kind of beloved series that television executives abandoned long ago comedy-variety, with an infectiously multi-talented comedian as host, aided by a small band of merry pranksters, Burnett's show was part of the era that also included Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, The Flip Wilson Show, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. 38 BATTLESTAR GALACTICA (2005) Developed by Ronald D. Moore, Based on the Series Battlestar Galactica, Created by Glen A. Larson Having written for the series Star Trek: The Next Generation and Star Trek: Voyager, Ronald Moore arrived at his remake of Battlestar Galactica determined to bring the "space opera" genre out of its fusty cartoon past. 39 SEX AND THE CITY Created by Darren Star, Based on the Book by Candace Bushnell Is the show over? Because the movies aren't.

Creator Darren Star based his series on Candace Bushnell's book, adapted itself from her columns in the New York Observer. 40 GAME OF THRONES Created by David Benioff & D. B. Weiss, Based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin Medieval (or thereabouts) fantasy is not a TV genre with a particularly exalted tradition, which is why Game of Thrones, in its lavish production values and depth of mythology, feels so unprecedented in television. 41 THE BOB NEWHART SHOW - TIE Created by David Davis and Lorenzo Music Talking about the success of The Bob Newhart Show on the podcast "Bullseye" recently, Newhart told a story about Jack Benny. 41 YOUR SHOW OF SHOWS - TIE Season One: Written by Mel Tolkin, Lucille Kallen, Max Liebman* If you journeyed from Vaudeville to Saturday Night Live, you'd want to stop awhile at Your Show of Shows.

43 DOWNTON ABBEY - TIE Created by Julian Fellowes* Series creator Julian Fellowes' lavish period piece is also a pace-driven soap opera, set on a spectacular estate out in the English countryside of Yorkshire, home of the aristocratic Crawleys and their staff. 43 THIRTYSOMETHING - TIE Created by Marshall Herskovitz & Edward Zwick Since this sensitive ensemble drama burst onto the scene at the end of the "greed is good" 80s, many have tried and just as many have failed to replicate a show about well, ennui-riddled, upwardly mobile strivers, encountering speed bumps or ruptures in their relationship lives. 43 LAW & ORDER - TIE Created by Dick Wolf The son of an advertising executive, Dick Wolf went into the ad business himself before moving into film and television. 46 HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREET - TIE Created by Paul Attanasio, Based on the Book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets by David Simon Homicide was based on the book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets, written by David Simon from his time as a crime reporter at The Baltimore Sun. 46 ST.

ELSEWHERE - TIE Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey, Developed by Mark Tinker/John Masius Like other important shows from the 1980s MTM stable, St. Elsewhere, which twice won Emmys for its writing, featured a writing staff whose future series appear elsewhere on this list. 48 HOMELAND Developed by Howard Gordon & Alex Gansa, Based on the Original Israeli Series Prisoners of War by Gideon Raff Homeland is a more humanist and psychologically disturbing version of 24, a show on which co-creators Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa were writers. 49 BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER Created by Joss Whedon Part of the fun, and influence, of Buffy was in the way it mixed and matched genres while maintaining the integrity of its comedy and its heart. 50 THE COLBERT REPORT - TIE Season One writers: Mike Brumm, Stephen Colbert, Rich Dahm, Eric Drysdale, Peter Gwinn, Jay Katsir, Laura Krafft, Allison Silverman "Anyone can read the news to you.

I promise to feel the news at you." That was Stephen Colbert's mantra when The Colbert Report debuted, and he has hardly wavered. 50 THE OFFICE (UK) - TIE Created by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant* Early in the 2000s, the buzz began moving west across the Atlantic: There was this quirky and very funny faux-documentary comedy series out of England called The Office. 50 THE GOOD WIFE - TIE Created by Robert King & Michelle King Leading roles for women on TV don't grow on trees, much less leading roles as layered as Alicia Florrick, played by Juliana Margulies. 53 NORTHERN EXPOSURE Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey The series' classic fish-out-of-water premise involved Joel Fleischman, a New Yorker fresh out of Columbia Medical School who is sent to run a clinic in frigid, off-the-grid Cicely, Alaska. 54 THE WONDER YEARS Created by Neal Marlens & Carol Black Created by Neal Marlens and Carol Black, this sweet, intelligent confection of a half-hour comedy functioned as a looking glass into a late '60s suburban childhood. 55 L.A.

LAW Created by Steven Bochco & Terry Louise Fisher Over its eight seasons, L.A. Law racked up 15 Emmys in various categories (including two as outstanding drama). 56 SESAME STREET Created by Joan Ganz Cooney Simply put, the show's continual inventiveness and impact as an educational tool forged via the runaway popularity of the Muppets changed the landscape of children's television. 57 COLUMBO Created by Richard Levinson & William Link As a writing team, Richard Levinson and William Link were an anomaly, given that they started writing together in junior high. 58 FAWLTY TOWERS - TIE Written by John Cleese & Connie Booth* In a TV interview, John Cleese called Fawlty Towers "just little 30-minute farces that start very, very low-key and finish up absolutely frantic." 58 THE ROCKFORD FILES - TIE Created by Roy Huggins and Stephen J. Cannell As smooth as Columbo was rumpled, private eye Jim Rockford, an ex-con, lived and worked out of a trailer at the beach in Santa Monica.

To a certain extent the character was the creation, as Columbo was, of the personality of its star, James Garner. 60 MOONLIGHTING - TIE Created by Glenn Gordon Caron Nominally a comedic detective series, the show's originality came from the electrifying chemistry between stars Bruce Willis and Cybil Shepherd, whose verbal jousting earned the duo, and the series, comparisons to Howard Hawkes comedies like His Girl Friday, or William Powell and Myrna Loy of The Thin Man series. 60 FREAKS AND GEEKS - TIE Created by Paul Feig The title itself was an ironic statement about the pejoratives that get attached to those kids who don't quite buy into the aspirational idea of fitting in. 62 ROOTS Written by William Blinn, M. Charles Cohen, Ernest Kinoy, James Lee; Based on the Book by Alex Haley Roots, from executive producer David L. Wolper, and produced by Stan Margulies, was more than a miniseries it was a spectacular and unprecedented example of television's power as a storytelling medium, one that could simultaneously direct the national conversation and prod its conscience.

63 SOUTH PARK - TIE Created by Matt Stone & Trey Parker* From "The Spirit of Christmas," an animated holiday card made for Fox executive Brian Graden that got passed around Hollywood like comedy samizdat, to The Book of Mormon, their current Broadway smash musical, no comedy writers have been on quite on such a run of wrongness as Trey Parker and Matt Stone. 65 PLAYHOUSE 90 Season One writers: Edna Anhalt, Edmund Beloin, Harold Jack Bloom, Marc Brandel, George Bruce, James P. Cavanagh, Whitfiled Cook, Helen Doss, Scott Fitzgerald, Devery Freeman, Frank Gilroy, Helen Howe, Speed Lamkin, Ernest Lehman, Herbert Little, Jr., Don Mankiewicz, Elick Moll, Paul Monash, Dean Reisner, Norman Retchin, Selma Robinson, William Sackheim, Rod Serling, Leonard Spigelgass, Leslie Stevens, Brandon Thomas, David Victor, Charles M.

Warren, Hagar Wilde, Cornell Woolrich "One cannot imagine the joy one had as a professional viewer of this windblown medicine show called television to be able to deal every week for four years with the depth, the quality and sometimes the disaster that was the weekly Playhouse." 66 DEXTER - TIE Developed for Television by James Manos, Jr., Based on the Novel Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay The movement toward dark characters on TV had grown dark enough to make possible a series, albeit on pay cable, about a Machiavellian serial killer whose targets are other serial killers. 66 THE OFFICE (U.S.) - TIE Created by Ricky Gervais & Stephen Merchant, Developed by Greg Daniels, Based on the BBC Series The Office Adapting the British comedy by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, Greg Daniels gathered around him writer-performers B.J. Novak, Mindy Kaling, and Paul Lieberstein. 68 MY SO-CALLED LIFE Created by Winnie Holzman "I cannot bring myself to eat a well-balanced meal in front of my mother.

It just means too much to her," the searching teenager Angela, played by Claire Danes, says in voice-over in the pilot of My So-Called Life, which lasted 19 episodes before being cancelled by ABC. 70 THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW Episode 1, "The New Housekeeper," Written by Jack Elinson and Charles Stewart Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle upon the death of Andy Griffith, David Wiegand pointed out that Sheriff Andy and the good folks of Mayberry, N.C., found wide appeal in primetime in an era when "the sexual revolution, the divisiveness of the Vietnam War and the general rejection of traditional values' by younger Americans had an impact on TV. 71 24 - TIE Created by Joel Surnow & Robert Cochran Heading into its debut, the challenges facing this intriguing new thriller were narrative ones namely, the ability to attract, and hold, a large audience through a story that unfolded by the hour, in weekly installments.

71 THE SHIELD - TIE Created by Shawn Ryan You could argue that no series in the history of television left a greater imprint on its network than The Shield, which enabled FX to branch out into grittier, R-rated dramatic fare while also keeping its dignity intact. 71 ROSEANNE - TIE Created by Matt Williams, Based on a Character Created by Roseanne Barr In 1985, on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, America met a comedian named Roseanne Barr. Three years later she had a hit sitcom that furthered her inimitable persona as the housewife sardonically self-identifying as a "domestic goddess." 74 MURPHY BROWN - TIE Created by Diane English Series creator Diane English left after four popular and award-winning seasons to create new shows, just as Murphy Brown's decision to become a single mother was blasted as morally irresponsible by then-Vice President Dan Quayle. 74 HOUSE - TIE Created by David Shore Creator David Shore's series came along a decade after ER and gave the medical drama a jolt, basing a show on a physician who didn't have a God complex so much as a complex that was vociferously godless.

76 I, CLAUDIUS - TIE Written by Robert Graves and Jack Pulman* 'Twas the year of the miniseries: In January of 1977 Roots premiered on ABC; in March the network's scandalous hit Rich Man, Poor Man concluded, and in November, public television's Masterpiece Theater waded into the muck – albeit the rarefied muck – by airing the 13-hour I, Claudius from the BBC. 76 BARNEY MILLER - TIE Created by Danny Arnold & Theodore J. Flicker The air of world-weary sadness that hung over the denizens of the 12th Precinct made Barney Miller feel different from other sitcoms, quieter in personality and more offbeat cops in action via inaction, dragging themselves around the squad room like drones in an office otherwise made colorful by the perps coming in off the street. Episode 1, "The Fight of the Felix," Written by Peggy Elliott & Ed Scharlach Neil Simon's hit Broadway play was directed by Mike Nichols and starred Walter Matthau and Art Carney.

79 STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION - TIE Created by Gene Roddenberry For his follow-up to a sci-fi series phenomenon roughly the size of the cosmos, Gene Roddenberry wanted to demonstrate, as he put it in a 1991 Los Angeles Times Magazine article, "that TV need not be violent to be exciting." 79 ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS - TIE Season One writers: Gwen Bagni, Samuel Blas, Robert Blees, Ray Bradbury, Richard Carr, James Cavanagh, Eustace Cockrell, Francis Cockrell, Marian Cockrell, John Collier, Robert C. Dennis, Mel Dinelli, Stanley Ellin, Fred Freiberger, Irwin Gielgud, Gina Kaus, Terence Maples, Richard Pedicini, Louis Pollock, Joseph Ruscoll, A.J. Russell, Stirling Silliphant, Andrew Solt, Harold Swanton, Victor Wolfson, Cornell Woolrich Some of Hitchcock's most memorable films came out while he was hosting his anthology TV series, including Vertigo, North by Northwest and Psycho; Rear Window had come out the previous year.

79 UPSTAIRS, DOWNSTAIRS - TIE Created by Jean Marsh and Eileen Atkins* Long before the sotto voce buzz and chatter at Edwardian era Downton Abbey, there was 165 Eaton Place, London, and the Bellamy family. Conceived and Written by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Neil Innes, Terry Jones, Michael Palin* Greatest comedy in the history of television? You wouldn't get an argument in some quarters. 83 GET SMART "Pilot," Written by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry Not having seen Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove or Woody Allen in What's Up, Tiger Lily, for that matter I didn't read Get Smart as a take-off on Cold War-esque, mutually assured destruction; I'm just now realizing the CONTROL vs. KAOS dichotomy. 84 THE DEFENDERS - TIE Created by Reginald Rose Reginald Rose won two Emmys for his writing on The Defenders, which continued in the vein of the work for which he was most known for writing, Twelve Angry Men.

84 GUNSMOKE - TIE Episode 1, "Matt Gets It," Written by Charles Marquis Warren & John Meston Already a hit on radio starring William Conrad as Marshall Matt Dillon, Gunsmoke, starring James Arness, became the most popular Western in TV history and one of the longest running shows ever. 86 JUSTIFIED - TIE Developed by Television by Graham Yost, Based on the Short Story "Fire in the Hole" by Elmore Leonard Graham Yost, after working on two major miniseries for HBO, Band of Brothers and The Pacific, segued into something entirely different in Justified. 86 SGT. BILKO (THE PHIL SILVERS SHOW) - TIE Created by Nat Hiken In a New York Times article in 1996, when the movie version of Sgt. Bilko was to be released, David Everitt, author of the book King of the Half Hour: Nat Hiken and the Golden Age of TV Comedy, paid homage to one of early TV's great overlooked comedy writer figures, dating back to Fred Allen on radio. 88 BAND OF BROTHERS Written by Erik Bork, E.

Max Frye, Tom Hanks, Erik Jendresen, Bruce C. McKenna, John Orloff, Graham Yost; Based on the Book by Stephan E. Ambrose The television miniseries had traditionally gone to war, but Band of Brothers did so with a budget that reportedly stretched to $120 million. 89 ROWAN & MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN Season One: Written by Chris Beard, Phil Hahn, John Hanrahan, Coslough Johnson, Paul Keyes, Marc London, Allan Manings, David Panich, Hugh Wedlock, Digby Wolfe Unlike other landmark comedy variety series, most notably Saturday Night Live, It's impossible to talk about Laugh-In without viewing it through the lens of its times, the late 1960s and early '70s. 90 THE PRISONER Premiere Episode: Written by George Markstein and David Tomblin* A strange, psychedelic amalgam of Cold War spy fiction, sci-fi and Kafka-esque anti-authoritarianism, The Prisoner starred Patrick McGoohan as Number Six.

91 THE MUPPET SHOW - TIE Season One: Written by Jack Burns, Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl, Marc London Behind Jim Henson's genius and generosity of spirit were writers who shared his vision for puppetry that could tickle kids while delighting adults. 91 ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS (U.K.) - TIE Episode 1, "Fashion," Written by Jennifer Saunders, Based on an original idea by Jennifer Saunders & Dawn French* Jennifer Saunders was already known in the U.K. as part of the comedy double act French and Saunders when she created "Ab Fab," which featured the besotted exploits of middle-aged gal pals Edina (Saunders) and Patsy, played by Joanna Lumley. 93 BOARDWALK EMPIRE Created by Terence Winter, Based on the Book Boardwalk Empire by Nelson Johnson As a writer on The Sopranos, Terence Winter's name is on some of the show's most iconic episodes, including "Pine Barrens," and "Long Term Parking," in which a mobster's fianc was taken out.

94 WILL & GRACE Created by David Kohan & Max Mutchnick The season prior to Will & Grace's debut had seen TV history, when Ellen Degeneres' sitcom alter ego came out as a lesbian in a two-part episode of ABC's Ellen. 95 FAMILY TIES Created by Gary David Goldberg In 1986, The Washington Post reported that at a White House ceremony honoring 141 high school students selected as presidential scholars for achievement in academics, the arts and leadership, President Reagan called Family Ties his favorite TV show, pointing to how "the wider culture is once again beginning to respect, even to celebrate, family life." 96 LONESOME DOVE - TIE Teleplay by Bill Wittliff, Based on the Novel Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry "It was so big, and at that moment, Westerns were dead," Bill Wittliff, who adapted Larry McMurtry's novel into the acclaimed miniseries, told the San Antonio Express-News in 2007. 96 SOAP - TIE Created by Susan Harris What more could you want from a primetime satire of daytime soaps?

The comedy, centered around the extended family circus of the wealthy Tates and the middle-class Campbells, hit all the soapy plot points and then some extramarital affairs, major crimes, spells of amnesia, a guy abducted by aliens and cloned, another guy who talks only through his puppet, transvestitism, incest, asexuality, homosexuality, a demon spawn, and the butler who had to put up with all the shenanigans. 98 THE FUGITIVE - TIE Episode 1, "Where the Action Is," Written by Harry Kronman The series finale set a ratings record with a 72 percent share, and went down as history-making for the way it gave audiences a climax to all the tension it had built up over four seasons. 98 LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN - TIE Season One: Writing Supervised by Merrill Markoe, Writers: Andy Breckman, Tom Gammill, David Letterman, Richard Morris, Gerard Mulligan, Max Pross, Karl Tiedemann, Steve Winer The sort of irony that David Letterman popularized on his show involved, for starters, calling attention to the fact that he was doing a talk show.

98 LOUIE - TIE Season One: Written and Directed by Louis C.K. The show, about a bemused comedian and divorced father of two girls, has the feel of honest autobiography. James Gandolfini: master Soprano dies of suspected heart attack in Italy | Culture | The Guardian James Gandolfini: master Soprano dies of suspected heart attack in Italy Heart attack suspected in death of much-loved actor who starred as gangster family head in The Sopranos Thursday 20 June 2013 02.40 EDT First published on Thursday 20 June 2013 02.40 EDT Close This article is 3 years old The actor James Gandolfini , who played mafia boss Tony Soprano on the hit TV series The Sopranos, has died of a suspected heart attack in Italy. He was 51. Colleagues and fans expressed shock after news broke late on Wednesday. "It is with immense sorrow that we report our client James Gandolfini passed away today while on holiday in Rome, Italy," said his managers, Mark Armstrong and Nancy Sanders.

"Our hearts are shattered and we will miss him deeply." Tributes flooded in for an actor who won three Emmys and showed that being fat, bald and playing thugs was no impediment to charisma. "[James] was a genius. Anyone who saw him even in the smallest of his performances knows that," David Chase, who created The Sopranos , told TMZ.com. "He is one of the greatest actors of this or any time. A great deal of that genius resided in those sad eyes. I remember telling him many times: 'You don't get it. You're like Mozart.' There would be silence at the other end of the phone." Gandolfini had been due to take part in the Taormina film festival in Sicily this weekend. Mara Mikialian, a spokeswoman for HBO, the network that made The Sopranos, told Reuters the cause of death might have been a heart attack. Gandolfini was set to star in a new series for HBO, Criminal Justice, one of several projects in the works. His film credits included Get Shorty, The Mexican, Zero Dark Thirty and In The Loop .

A New Jersey native, Gandolfini worked as a truck driver, bouncer and nightclub manager in New York before he went to an acting class with a friend and got hooked. "I'd also never been around actors before," he told Time magazine, "and I said to myself: 'These people are nuts; this is kind of interesting.'" He made his Broadway debut in a 1992 revival of A Streetcar Named Desire with Alec Baldwin and Jessica Lange. The following year he played a philosophising, brutal hitman in the film True Romance, written by Quentin Tarantino , which paved the way for his lead role in The Sopranos, the gangster family saga that ran for six seasons from 1999. It swept awards and has been voted the best television show of all time. Tony Soprano's struggles with his relatives, henchmen, psychiatrist and, above all, himself anchored the show and created a new type of anti-hero. Deadline.com described his portrayal of Soprano as "the schlub we loved, the cruel monster we hated, the anxiety-ridden husband and father we wanted to hug in midlife crisis". James Gandolfini at the Toronto film festival in 2006.

Photograph: Warren Today/EPA Joseph Gannascoli, who played Vito, said: "James is one guy who never turned his back on me. He was the most humble and gifted actor and person I have ever worked with." Tony Sirico, who played Paulie, said the late star was one of his best friends. "He was there whenever I needed him. Not only did he help me with my career, but also in life, God bless him. He and I were always helping the troops, we even went to combat zones to visit the marines." Hollywood took to Twitter to mourn its loss. "I'm truly heartbroken ... he is one of my all time favourite actors. Tragic loss," said Jonah Hill. Colleagues and acquaintances said Gandolfini had been in high spirits and full of plans – including one for a tattoo. There had been speculation about a Sopranos movie involving the fictional family's Italian origins. The actor is survived by his wife Deborah Lin, who gave birth to the couple's daughter in October. He also has a teenage son from a previous marriage.

The Sopranos showrunner discusses his 'soulmate', friend and colleague, who died last week – and Tony Soprano, the 'angry guy' they created together Published: 26 Jun 2013 Sopranos star appears as a bar owner in crime drama Animal Rescue Published: 27 Jun 2013 Following the death of American actor James Gandolfini, we take a look back at his career defining role as Tony Soprano in HBO's the Sopranos Published: 20 Jun 2013 James Gandolfini will always be remembered for his role in The Sopranos, but he had a memorable film career, too.

Peter Bradshaw recalls his best performances, from In the Loop to Killing Them Softly Published: 20 Jun 2013 Watch The Sopranos Online | Watch Full The Sopranos episodes online Watch The Sopranos Online Watch Season 6 Part 2 Watch The Sopranos Online The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around New Jersey-based mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads. The Sopranos Full Episodes Online The series also features Tony's family members and Mafia associates in prominent roles and storylines, most notably his wife Carmela (Edie Falco) and cousin and protégé Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). Watch The Sopranos Free Online The series premiered on the premium cable network HBO in the United States on January 10, 1999 and ended its original run of six seasons and 86 episodes on June 10, 2007. The show has also been broadcast on A & E in the United States and internationally.

Watch The Sopranos The Sopranos was produced by HBO, Chase Films and Brad Grey Television. It was primarily filmed at Silvercup Studios, New York City and on location in New Jersey. Watch The Sopranos Online A major commercial and critical success, The Sopranos is the most financially successful series in the history of cable television and is acknowledged as one of the greatest television series of all time and a seminal work of fiction. The series is noted for its high level of quality in every aspect of production and is particularly recognized for its writing and the performances of its lead actors. The Sopranos Full Episodes The show is credited with bringing a greater level of artistry to the television medium and paving the way for many successful drama series that followed. It also won a multitude of awards, including twenty-one Emmys and five Golden Globes.

Original air date: May 13, 2007 "Kennedy and Heidi" Original air date: May 20, 2007 "The Second Coming" Original air date: June 3, 2007 "The Blue Comet" Original air date: June 10, 2007 "Made in America" Original air date: February 6, 2000 "Commendatori" Original air date: May 6, 2001 "Pine Barrens" Original air date: May 23, 2004 "Long Term Parking" Original air date: March 19, 2006 "Join the Club" Original air date: September 15, 2002 "For All Debts Public and Private" Original air date: December 8, 2002 "Whitecaps" Original air date: March 7, 2004 "Two Tonys" Original air date: June 10, 2007 "Made in America"

Question: Who created the US television show ‘The Sopranos’?
Answer: David Chase