Six series

As soon as I can, I will sit down through all six series, and watch a man whose story starts with a panic attack, a mafioso who goes to therapy, the best show I have had the chance to watch.

Recently the Writers Guild of America voted the Sopranos the best written show ever. Some have hailed it as the first of modern television shows, the one that proved that this medium could be as good or better than films. It was the first adult show I watched. For me, it was real. It was the American dream, the human drama, and my first glimpse that "right" and "wrong" can be blurry.

James Gandolfini was 38 when the Sopranos debuted. He wasn't a well known actor then, which is one of the reasons he was perfect for the role: he became Tony Soprano. It's hard for me to see a picture of him now and not think "Tony". I can't say if he was perfect for the role, after all, I hadn't seen him in anything else before, all I can say is that the Sopranos were made believable by him (and of course Edie Falco). And now James Gandolfini is dead. I don't know why the news has hit me so hard, but it was a surprise and its made me sad. Maybe because he was part of starting what has become one of my favourite entertainments: well written TV. Maybe it's just because he was a familiar face, someone I expected to be around for a few more years, popping up in the occasional movie, the occasional show.

As soon as I can, I will sit down through all six series, and watch a violent man, a man who is a leader, a man who gets what he wants, a man who has panics attacks and goes to therapy, a man with friends, a wife, children, lovers, enemies. A man who lives in New Jersey. I will sit down to watch James Gandolfini.