The Sopranos Creator Answers YOUR Questions! 

"20 years in the can, I wanted a new Chase interview, I compromised. I got a replay of a 2 year old conversation"

That copyright strike, whatever happened there.

You know who dislikes Steve Schirripa? Joey Peeps

Old Man Bacala would be mortified to find out that Bobby ordered a strike on your page!! Where's the honor??

My estimation of David Chase as a show creator who actually remembers his show just fuckin plummeted.

Imperioli: So, in this scene, we used mirrored panels to reflect the light and give the scene a sense of otherworldly unease. Schlurpa: I had to take a wicked shit the entire time!

Steve shirippa didn’t have the makings of a varsity podcaster

David Chase not definitively proving that Ralphie killed Pie-O-My was a pretty good idea because it put the audience in the same position as Tony. we werent 100% sure just like he wasnt, but we still had a feeling that's what happened

dude fr steve was such an old man and just roasted micheal every time he tried to get deep

David Chase is 91 years old

funny to hear Chase doesn't think Tony got more "dark" or whatever you want to call it as the series progressed. Around season 4 and 5 its clear he's becoming more hostile and cruel to people. Not saying he doesn't still have his good side but him being more troubled manifested itself in hurting people more

I just hoped Chase would give us some insight about how many years Phil Leotardo spent in the can. Guess we’ll never know.

The translation from Bobby to Steve in real life is so astronomical. I don’t know how Chase directed him so well. Steve is such a goof ball.

Chase really put his heart and soul into this series. Must admit I was shocked by his belief his mother would have been a criminal if she'd been more a man. That's a deep dive.

I’d be lying if I said Steve didn’t make me laugh sometimes and I did enjoy him some but he talked over everybody and would interrupt Michael all the time when Michael would be in the middle of a good insight. That got really annoying.

Steve looks like a freaking lunch lady there 😂

CineRanter basically says Burger Boy needs a brain transplant.

As a f@ck up of a teenager myself I found AJ quite relatable.

Thanks for doing this video and arranging the answers, or, notes, as we call them.

Shirripa was absolutely clueless

1. Yes. 2. I don't know or care. 3. Probably.

I still believe what Tony 'got' in the desert is that his Dad was as equally a negative influence on him as his Mom and him becoming a mobster was determined for him.

Steve “IM A FAT NARCISSIST AND IM RIGHT AND YOUR WRONG, IM TRAUMATIZED FROM THE NUN AT CATHOLIC SCHOOL, IM FROM NEW YAWK” Schrippa :-)

Steve Schirripa is an old fashioned guy; very allegorical.

I loved that Steve Schirripa guy like a brother in law!

When Talking Sopranos hosted Sopranos Theories, it was like I was stabbed in the heart!

Funny thing about this interview is now I realize a collection of people who aren’t all that bright can collab on something brilliant. Also that we as fans make a lot out of so many details and situations we see where the ppl creating the scenes never thought deeply about much of any of it

Scenes with Janice always made my skin crawl…on yt i ff through them. I guess that’s a sign of good acting

Fascinating that he would share all these details. I thought his attitude previously has been for the fans to draw their own conclusions.

Not a lot of people know it but Phil did 20 years in the can and I‘m sure he had plenty of opportunities to explore an alternative life style

The sad truth to this is...Chase is a lot older now and his memory must not be as good. Some of the things he said in this full on contradict things he had said 10 years prior. And even a lot of the things they ask him he says he can’t remember.

Steve just talked about everyone he knew and how connected he was. Hahah. It was what it was.

its not that Tony got darker and darker as the show got to the later seasons but the show definitely got darker, less good times, the camera and everything got darker with less saturation, black and white and the show focused more on the psychological aspects, the first two seasons are just so much happier

Also, people need to remember the show was conceived from a 90s boomer point of view from Chase. Basically, boomers and older Gen X had reached financial stability and the "american dream" but still weren't happy at the time. This was seen in movies like American Beauty, Fight Club, etc and shows like Thirty Something. So this is why the tone is so different especially pre 9/11 where the premise is basically "In the 90s even a mob boss is so angsty that he needs to go see a shrink". Once 9/11 happened and younger writers like Winter and Weiner wrote for the show you start seeing the more familiar post 9/11 themes like existential dread, nihilism, and overall dark tone. Basically, people watching the show and seeing interviews with Chase need to realize he is looking at itas someone removed 2-3 generations from younger viewers of the show.

The AJ was the most complex - and well acted - characters on that show. The performance was subtle. AJ mostly observed , processed and tried to - somehow- fit into his surroundings

Could you make a video about if Tony wanted Ralph to kill Jackie jr or give him a pass? I always thought it was obvious that Tony wanted Ralph to do it but I’ve seen some discussion that supports different sides, would like to hear your opinion.

I personally think The Soprano's actors don't like their fans or something. The TalkingSopranos channel turns the comments off on every video they make. I'm not sure what the deal is with that exactly, but it comes off that way. I know they take questions on other sites, but still. They should allow people to comment and show their appreciation and what they think of the interviews. It's like "We don't care what you guys think, just watch us and listen to what we have to say"

Most definitive analysis of Sopranos, especially the last show, is a blog titled 'Master of the Sopranos' (I have no connection to it) Its explanations with scene screencaps is exceptional. Cineranter, your coverage of Schirippa was thought provoking and insightful.

Jonny V definitely would've been a warm and convivial host 😂😂

Steve Shrippa ruined that show which had great potential. That they disabled comments is extremely telling. The man has the insight and depth of thinking of a 5th grader.

Can you do this with every interview on that podcast? 🤣 on behalf of all sopranos fans: thank you!

Quasimodo predicted all of this!

Sometimes I wonder, after many saints, does David Chase even remember the show? Lol. He wrote it so what do I know, but I don't know how he can say Tony didn't get darker or worse, especially since he was trying to change and see "each day as a gift" him falling back into what he was before but worse, making bobby commit his first murder, killing christopher and having zero remorse, had always stuck out to me as a reason for his downfall. Also I think the therapy definitely helped him as a criminal, he got the idea to put junior as boss to take the heat off of him from therapy. He got the nerve and justification to himself to kill Tony B from therapy, which didn't fully help but was better than letting him go like he most likely would have done had he not went to therapy.

Half the time Chase sounds like he barely watched the show

David Chase: "I read the ending, I thought it was bs!"

I always thought Tony's experience in the desert represented his awakening to the sacred and the propane.

It’s amazing how WRONG David Chase is about his own show. I think the view he has of the show in his head, his vision, and the actual piece of art he presented are completely different.

I know to not take Steve seriously on anything but I think it’s a HUGE mistake to declare Meadow at the end ”a wonderful woman.” At the beginning she had been the teenager who recognized the devil in her family more clearly than anyone else on the inside. And choosing to stay close to them was her own deal with the devil-she’s even marrying into Tony’s “other family.” Along the way, her treatment of Finn is atrocious. Like I’m still astounded at how she outwardly disbelieved him about Vito, then later gossiped about it as true with Carm and Rosalie, which put Finn in that position in Satriale’s. Which of course also led to Vito being condemned to death or permanent exile. I *like* Meadow as a character a lot but I don’t hold her in morally higher esteem than AJ though she was always more sophisticated. I’ve wondered about her line to Tony about how his FBI persecution 😭 is what is motivating her to go into law, and whether it was earnest so that she actually believed Tony’s legal issues are like people facing genuine ethnic/religious persecution. Someone being “soohisticated” can just mean that they’re capable of making up propaganda on the spot and even convincing themselves of it.

Im so disappointed that he said phil was gay i kinda feel like that ruined his character

My estimation of David Chase as a writer/producer just fucking plummeted.

I always found it strange how Tony arrived at Phil's house and found Butchie there.

I disagree with Chase on the "deal with the devil" thing. I think Melfi was the one exception, and her not going to Tony about the you-know-what is definitely proof of that. Chase seems to forget a lot of things about sopranos, and maybe this is just one of them because why include that storyline, then?

Remember listening to this one as it came out! 😄 My car was in the shop and I walked home listening to this. Got the book Woke Up This Morning on sale over the weekend, and am excited to revisit this. The podcast was far from perfect, but it really helped me with getting through an awful job during a rough time.

Its disappointing to see how little the creator of the show even knows about the show all these years later

Davjd chase talks like someone whose never watched the sopranos lol.

David Chase used to write for Kolchak: The Night Stalker.

Steve blocks everyone on social media 😂

Were they on massive amounts of narcotics during Many Saints of Newark? That movie was the biggest screw you to the fans. Rhiannan's pic was hanging behind Butchie in his hair salon.

Steve was a ranter some days but the show would not have been the same without him! I love him!!!

The greatest guest character was Gloria Trillo. Anabella Sciorra nailed the part! I heard on Talking Sopranos that she was going to be brought on full time, but Chase had changed his mind.

Sometimes i go about in pity for myself, all the while a great podcast carries me through COVID

I never hated AJ. Great interview, Yes, he was spoiled, but of course he was. Ty. Good video

David chase sounds like Bill Maher but Chase is actually an intellectual I'm not saying he's gay he's just smart

I think that the whole AJ thing was played pretty well....in the sense you are not really supposed to like him. He is the baby of the family.

How do you not believe therapy made Tony a better criminal? It's where he got ideas for several things. Making Junior the lightning rod boss for example. Letting old people feel in charge.

I loved this ❤ I agree Steve was a bellend and spoiled the Talking Sopranos ego problems!!! Thank you for doing this ❤

I think Livia was way more vicious & cunning than Janice.

You are correct. He was an awful host. I so wanted to enjoy the podcast but only watched one - because of how awful the hosts were and because of the number of adds they had in-video. It was like one long spam video

We need time stamps

6:14 That’s not true. S1 Tony would never yell at Carmela, or do the same violent acts as s6 tony

There’s a lot of comedians that hate the guy too. He must be what his reputation reflects

Didn’t Chase accidentally refer to the ending as Tony’s death scene while being interviewed for Alan Sepinwall’s book?

I have nothing bad to say about the podcast, but I'll bother to comment that the suggestion of John Ventimiglia as a host is a superb one. I remember reading he was very well liked by the other actors and regularly called on to participate in readings, auditions, and that sort of thing. He should be hosting *something* somewhere. :)

Problem with Chase and finding out the ending is that nobody has asked him in a way that would checkmate him into giving an answer. And that way is.. “if you were a fan of the show, and you watched the ending, what would your opinion be on whether Tony lived or died?” That’s the only way he couldn’t skirt around the whole interpretation thing

I’m really happy that David Chase cleared up the whole “ David Chase confirms Tony really did die at the end when the screen went to black!” I really lost a lot of faith in American school systems after that. Because I remember within 12 months after the series had ended David Chase did an interview and he flat out says that he wanted the fans to go away thinking after the screen went to black was “I wanted the fans to think that no matter what happened in Tony’s life he’s always going to be looking over his shoulder and one day he’s either going to go to the penitentiary for for the rest of his life or he’s going to get killed.” And then a decade later, the Hollywood reporter runs a story and they use “David Chase confirms Tony dies at the end “ So I read the interview, and David Chase never once said in that interview that Tony died. Yes, there was a shady looking individual there, but if you actually use logic and pay attention to the story, they were telling nobody from either family, New Jersey or New York knew that Tony and his family were going to be in that restaurant. But so many people took a headline, and didn’t even read the article, and just believed it. I was so happy he cleared that up. Before James, unfortunately and sadly passed away in real life I really did want them to do a sopranos movie and then finding out a couple years after he died that after five or six years after the show ended. He wasn’t as burnt out on it as he was during the last three seasons And he was very open to the idea of doing a sopranos movie and coming back as Tony soprano. I really wish we could’ve gotten that.

8:12 this goes against the whole premise of the show! In an episode where Melfi tells Tony to pretend he’s still the same as always in charge, Tony takes that advice and beats his driver. The whole point of the therapy sessions is that Tony takes the advice the wrong way or can’t get over his trauma cause of his lifestyle. Strange how the creator himself doesn’t understand this

Never forget, George Lucas never created the light sabre, he created the Laser Sword. Just saying, not every showrunner is Quentin Tarantino.

There's one video that said everybody at the table dies, and there's two shooters, and there's a supper bowl car commercial, with jr & meadow . She can pull right up to recharge her car, she meets Aj and he is died, dressed all in black according to this guy. And it was dave chase director the commercial.

That's going to be an honor for dude being his favorite character

Huh, I never really thought that the runners intentionally wanted to make Phil gay or bi. I figured it was more humor that was appropriated for headcannon

I always knew it would be stupid from the writer's perspective to tell outright wheter Tony died in the end or not. It's really not the point. The point is that Tony will live rest of his days waiting for that moment. So many people online took it like a gospel...thanks for confirming that Chase isnt that stupid. Always knew it was bs.

Now thats how you do an ending. Bing! Pow!..

"To waste your time making fun of my interview, you might as well put a copyright strike here, here and here.."

It’s crazy how David Chase wanted Ray Liotta to be Ralph originally

Chase could have bothered to rewatch a few episodes before the interview. He sounds uninterested.

I think your 'warm and convivial host' line is my favourite Sopranos quote that you have slotted into your videos. Didn't expect it.

FUCKIN DE'NERO HIGHHATTED ME

I saw him in the desert, had to deal with his parents as well as Christopher. Because most of the time when he was in therapy, most of the stuff had to do with his upbringing in his parents. That it was about his dad too and not just his mom because he always just talk negative about his mom but always praised his father.

More interesting? Yes. But he (Tony) became increasingly paranoid as many #1s do, the longer they stay at the top. Yes, as a Therapist I absolutely KNOW Therapy improved Tony's criminal game. Absolutely.

Does Tony Soprano die? Yes and no. Imperioli touches on that sunyata Buddhist theory. Whereby nothing ends, it just continues. Dr. Schwinn explains the Schrödinger equation. Every calculation is based on ever changing variables in the equation. Nothing is constant, everything is in flux. Because Tony was enlightened by Gloria's understanding of Buddhist teachings, he subconsciously ponders the question in his coma dream. The monk tells him "There's no you, there's no me." We watch Tony take his journey toward the afterlife. What led up to his death. He suspected that his death was imminent. That conversation with Bobby on the boat. Tony comes to his conclusion, hence... "I GET IT!!!" When in a drug induced mindset, he adds up all the permutations, and comes up with an answer. The cobwebs are finally removed. He gets to eat for free. In the final scene, Tony selects the Journey tune, "Don't Stop Believin'". We are told to believe that Tony's journey continues, because of the Schrödinger's cat question. The 'cut to black' cinematic technique allows us to ponder Tony's fate. The "Members Only Jacket Guy" walks into the bathroom, the bell rings, Tony looks up, now our imagination takes over the rest of the story. Some says he dies; some says he lives; some say they don't know.

The toy train is the key. The fat guy is Old Sheldon

If therapy made him a better criminal I don't think Carlo would be testifying. Maybe. If he did flip.

This is excellent, thank you!

AJ finishes school and becomes an English Teacher… like the kind his Mom slept with.

Chase is lying...he is screwing with people's heads, Tony died, AJ's girl worked for NY.

I like your explanation about the Tony desert scene better

Great video, although I listened to every podcast of Talking Sopranos, so I believe I heard all this a couple of years ago. But nicely edited.

Shazz??? I had no idea you did that 30 second comedy video about Steve & David Chase?? How funny is that???? I wish I could have seen it? They ACTUALLY slapped a copyright strike on you??? Wow???? Can't you fight that?? Seems like you're absolutely right about the "technicality" issue about being unfairly chastised for your fair use rights? That really sucks, but you're more than likely spot on with your assessment about fragile egos!! I LOVE that you did that though and you're certainly within your rights to make a comical video of your own? Good for you my friend...keep it up and question those RU-vid rules and regulations my friend!! 🤔😉👍

@17:30- Steve: "AJ was a conman." David: "Ooohhhhw!" Steve: "I'm the boy's Uncle!"

Them two bickering got old quick