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American Morning
Interview with Janice Min
Aired September 16, 2002 - 07:42 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE SHIRRIPA, ACTOR: Mom really went downhill after the World Trade Center. You know, Quasimodo predicted all of this.
JAMES GANDOLFINI, ACTOR: Who did what?
SHIRRIPA: All of these problems, the Middle East, the end of the world.
GANDOLFINI: Nostradamus. Quasimodo was the Hunchback of Notre Dame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Got to love it. Everyone's favorite crime family back after a long hiatus, "The Sopranos" began its fourth season last night on HBO.
A question now, some say it's off to the darkest season yet, now off and running.
Let's talk about it with Janice Min, executive director of "Us" magazine, who joins us here on AMERICAN MORNING.
Good to see you.
JANICE MIN, "US" MAGAZINE: Good morning.
HEMMER: I had the decided impression last night that this was -- this show last night was full of tension. Some people say it was a bit slow in terms of the plot, but I just noted a lot of storylines working back and forth. Your impressions.
MIN: Well, for long-time "Sopranos" watchers, they definitely -- this was definitely an excellent episode for them. For newcomers, it might have been a little bit confusing.
But what you saw on the show last night were Tony's two families -- his biological family and his mob family -- in total chaos. From the outset, you see Meadow attacking Carmela. You see Tony and Meadow getting into a fight. And then, of course, you see Pollie Walnuts and his mob family in prison, unexpectedly, and a lot of infighting within the mob.
HEMMER: So, do you agree, though, with those who say it's a darker season? MIN: Oh, it absolutely is a darker season. All of a sudden, you're seeing the unraveling of every relationship there. And I think one of the best small clues early on was when you see Furio, the mobster from Italy, coming over, and Carmela checking her reflection in the oven mirror. Cleary, Carmela's thoughts are drifting away from the family.
HEMMER: Did you think last night, was it a good start to a new season? Or was it somewhat plodding, at least for the first 30 minutes, let's say?
MIN: It was a little bit slow, I have to say. But I have actually seen the first four episodes, and they have laid the groundwork beautifully for what are extremely engaging episodes following.
HEMMER: So, then, go forward, and you would read that it continues to get better and better, then?
MIN: Oh, absolutely. I was riveted to all four episodes. Some of the surprises are extraordinary, and it still manages to be both one of the best comedies and dramas on TV.
HEMMER: Why do you think that is? I mean, do they have screenwriters that are just so excellent right now that they keep the plot and the writing so tight that there is no deviation and the storylines continue to be powerful?
MIN: Yes. One of the brilliant things about "The Sopranos" is that David Chase, the writer -- the creator of the show, he doesn't feel the necessity, like a lot of other TV people, to wrap up plot lines neatly, to be cute, to have the -- you know, to have the show be done with every conflict at the end of the hour.
There are a lot of plot lines from last season that have never been resolved, like Dr. Melfi's rape. Other -- there is a famous episode where Christopher is riding in the woods away from an attacker. You never knew what happened to that man who was after them.
It's the beauty of the show that it's filled with ambiguity on every level.
HEMMER: Give us a sneak peak here. I believe you said that Silvio, played by Steve Van Zandt, actually has a more enhanced role as the season progresses.
MIN: Yes.
HEMMER: Accurate to say?
MIN: Yes. Silvio has long been almost this comic-book type character in the show, just a sidekick. But all of a sudden, you see Silvio not being very happy to be just the sidekick anymore, and he begins to act up a little bit. HEMMER: Well, last night, I caught about 30 minutes, but I was getting tired and had to flip it off. What did I miss in the final 30?
MIN: Well, you missed a really important moment.
HEMMER: I missed the most important moment as a matter of fact.
MIN: Tony drives Christopher outside of a restaurant, and inside he says, the man, the police officer who killed your father is in there. He gives Christopher the man's home address. Tony leaves, gets in a car and drives off, goes to a diner. Christopher, then, takes the address, goes to the man's house, waits for him when he comes back, and basically tortures him a little bit and eventually kills him.
HEMMER: You love this, don't you?
MIN: It was good. It was good.
HEMMER: Well, you can catch the reruns throughout the week on HBO, and then episode No. 2 next Sunday night.
Thank you, Janice -- great to see you.
MIN: Thanks.
HEMMER: Janice Min from "Us" magazine.
MIN: Thank you.
HEMMER: And thanks for stopping by.
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