I heard some info from someone that somehow works with the production of the show and he said that for days, weeks, maybe even a month chase and the others would sit around a table JUST to discuss the music selection, analyzing, overanalyzing and re-analyzing lyrics, songs, etc... so its more than obvious the songs/music he chooses have great significance (at least in his mind)... and knowing this info, as you see tony flip thru the jukebox, I can see this is actually chase agonizing over the final music selection, maybe subconsciously, maybe consciously.

While I am a little less critical of chase today than I was on Sunday, I have to stick by my original statements/comments, with all due respect to those who disagree. There were so many infinite, creative possibilities for the finale, and while it makes more sense to me now, we should not be discussing/figuring out 3 days later what actually happened. I've been watching the show literally since Day 1, if you want to take it a step further, I saw it before anyone because much of it is filmed in the town I live in, some scenes were filmed right across the street from where I live. That being said, its hard for me, much less any viewer, to remember faces/images from 10 years ago, let alone the last season which was 1.5 years ago, or at least it seems that long. Call it genius if you like, but it was so far psychologically and intellectually thought out, that it was lost on what seems (note keyword: seems) like 99% of its fans... this is why I stand by my original statement.

In the 'old days' there were 26 episodes/year for most shows, TV or otherwise. Then it was 25, then 24 -- there have been 86 episodes in the last 7 seasons of The Sopranos - simple math tells you this averages 12 episodes per season, half of the lowest given 'normal' amount. No one will question that The Sopranos was a great series, but consider this: For at least the last few years, chase has gotten bogged down in production; he shoots it in film, has it dumped to video, edits it in 24p (film rate frames per second opposed to 29.9), then outputs it back to 24p, only to broadcast it as video, and sold on DVD. Its never going to be shown in a theatre, so instead of going thru the trouble of all this extra production time/work... why bother? I understand film gives depth that video, even in high definition cannot capture as of yet, but is anyone really paying attention to that? As a fan, would you rather not see 15-20 episodes per season? Would you rather not have an 8th season where the war starts at the begining of the season and ends in the last episode, rather than have it last the last 2 episodes (more like an episode and a half)... ?

I know chase thinks outside the box, and in his heart he is truly dedicated to his art, he rather be true to himself and his vision than hand the fans what they expect in the end, but somewhere, somehow, there has to be a medium where he worries less about spending 1 week on one scene that will literally only appear for 10-20 seconds, and maybe giving us more episodes per season so we don't walk away feeling "hungry and unsatisfied".

That being said, I am hungry for onion rings, and I am going to satisfy my hunger this sunday by going out and buying the first season on DVD, getting a basket of onion rings and re-living the great series this was by watching it from the begining.

PS - Sorry for the influx of techincal notes and the legnthy post, but as most of you know I am not here often, but do feel a need to weigh-in and justify my previous post.