Gareth Munday, 25/01/2008
From the very first episode to the penultimate installment, this American series is a master class in characterization, and therefore an anomaly in American television. Rarely has a television show encompassed the scope and breadth of ideas on display here. What you get is a mixture of hilariously bleak humor, sustained tension and uncomfortable familial interplay often cut with fairly graphic violence. It is sometimes shocking and challenging material that can make for uncomfortable viewing. The main protagonists are amoral and have virtually no redeeming qualities. But despite this the series is mesmerizing and you will find yourself going back to this box set many times to peel back the layers of the immigrant Italian american dream.
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