hey i was re-watching season one and it hit me....the reason the sopranos has slowed down abit is because they don't have the one untouchable foil character for tony soprano. i mean, nancy marchant was amazing as livia...and the show was originally supposed to end with her death...obviously it became impossible when she died before season three started. and i think because they needed to change the whole show, that they were unprepared for it...and the show may have lacked a bit. don't get me wrong...i love the sopranos...but season one just had my mouth open for the whole thirteen hours. and i haven't felt like that with the sopranos since the first time i saw season one.