Part of the tension, drama and balance of "Sopranos" was to intersperse almost slapstick comedy with pure, unadulterated evil, including lots of violence. It's probably what made a lot of people think the show was "real." As one of my friends put it, "Never get to liking these guys too much." He said that following the episode where Paulie and Chris have their blow-up at the AC dinner, kiss and make up, then kill the waiter in the alley.

And it undoubtedly contributed to the series' fanatical following, including many Italian-Americans. There are almost 20 million Italian-Americans. If enough of them found "Sopranos" offensive and wanted it off the air, it would have been off the air.