Crucially, of course, what makes the comedy/drama debate irrelevant and uninteresting in this thread, was that The Sopranos being a "comedy" was used somehow in defence against a would-be negative portrayal of Italian-Americans.

Since when has comedy been a legitimate excuse for casual racial or ethnic stereotyping in art?

As I argued earlier in this thread, I don't think The Sopranos portrays Italian-Americans in a way that merits such protests against it; but I don't think the argument for this should rest on the fact that The Sopranos is a "comedy". That's doing both the show itself and comedy in general an injustice.

And it reveals a lack of thought and a moral irresponsibility on DiMaggio's part.