As you lot over the pond have a enviably mere two months to wait for what I feel is going to be the best season so far, I want to post about The Rise and Fall of the Soprano Empire.

Season One saw Tony's crew secretly rise to the top because of his allowing Uncle Junior to be the Boss of the Family. Things are going well. Nobody's in trouble with the law, nephew Christopher is a hothead, true, but is showing slight signs of maturing after his bad influence associate Brendan is killed by Mikey Palmice. Tony is flying high and running things behind closed doors, while Junior is secretly plotting against his "Rat" nephew with Tony's mother, Livia. The end of Season One sees a slight mishap in Pussy going AWOL, informant cop Makazian throwing himself off of a bridge, and Jimmy Altieri--a capo of all people!--is wearing a wire. But Tony is Tony, soon to be Boss of the Family, and has loyal underlings. Loyal enough to bump off Altieri at the drop of a hat. With one rate gone, it's time to bump off Junior and Livia. But while the former is conveniently arrested, the latter fakes a stroke to avoid any confrontation with her survived son. Tony's Family is back on top form with Palmice gone too, and his family also show signs of putting their somewhat dysfunctional season behind them, coming together on one stormy night at Artie's.

Season Two sees the return of best friend Pussy, and after an initial question of loyalty, Tony figures it's great to have him back. It's also great to have his hippy sister Parvati (Janice) back too, to look after that "old bat" Livia. Junior's in the can and then on house arrest, while Tony and Co. are having the times of their lives over in Italy arranging car deals. Things couldn't be better. The only thing Tony has to worry about is his in-law-to-be, hothead Richie Aprile, who needs to be kept on a tight leash lest he runs over the wrong person next time. But Beansy isn't that close of a friend of Tony's, so Tony lets it go, deciding to keep a close eye on Richie. Carmela is the same old Carmela, probably knowing of Tony's many affairs, but she is easily won back with a fur coat. Tony has her round his little finger; there's no need to worry about screwing every other bird who flashes more than a glance at him, is there? Then things start to go a bit wrong. Tony's having awful dreams about fish and betrayal and suddenly Pussy's wearing a wire. No more than 24 hours later he's at the bottom of the Atlantic. Bye bye best friend Pussy. Junior's winning Tony's trust back by leaking that Richie's eyeing up the Boss role. Tony's stress levels are high and rising, but are soon deflated when his sister blows Richie into an oblivion for him. Bye bye Richie.

Season Three comes round and we are finally shown signs of a crumbling Empire. The Soprano household is under heavy scrutiny from the Feds, while Tony has to live with the ordering of Bobby Baccalieri, Sr. virtually to his death by whacking Mustang Sally. Patsy Parisi is eyeing up a kill on Tony for the whacking of his brother Philly, too! And if things couldn't get any worse, Ralphie Cifaretto is causing problems by blowing up Albert Barese's dumpsters, and as always, Tony has to sort it all out. Ralphie wants to be captain, and Tony says no. Meanwhile, the books have been opened, and Christopher, showing heavy signs of becoming a major player in the Family, is finally made. But Ralphie's still at it. He's killing Bada Bing girls and disrespecting Tony, turning down drinks and all sorts. It's sorted out in the end by a forgiving Tony, seeing he hasn't won the battle with a stubborn Ralphie. If that wasn't bad enough, Tony is trying to convince himself that he's glad his mother died, while Family captain Raymond Curto is talking to the Feds. Meadow is seeing an African American, and then ups her standards a little in Jackie Aprile, Jr. But even that turns sour, and Tony constantly finds himself warning Jackie about mistreating Meadow. Tony finds some escapism in Gloria Trillo. But everybody has secrets, and Gloria's soon turn out to be very dysfunctional indeed. All of a sudden, Tony's marriage is on the line when Trillo threatens to phone Carmela. Meanwhile, Jackie, Jr. is holding up card games, a problem Tony lets Ralph deal with. Although Patsy Parisi deals with Gloria, Season Three ends in a bad way. Troubled Meadow runs out of Jackie's funeral, AJ has a panic attack because of the threat of military school, Tony has dodgy business with the Russians (thanks to some inability to shut up on Paulie's part) and Mr. Walnuts is arrested.

Season Four is the icing on the cake. Christopher Moltisanti is into drugs big time, and in every other scene he's got a needle of heroin injecting into his foot, while his fiancée Adrianna is under the venemous eye of the FBI. Paulie's in jail and very, very mad at Tony. He's singing like a canary to Johnny Sack, and it's costing Tony nothing but a lot of grief and a shit load of money. Tony has problems with Johnny Sack. Top earner Ralphie cracks a joke, and soon Sack's putting kids in hospital and wanting to whack the SOB. Old school Carmine refuses the sanction, and Tony soon sees himself heading for a war with New York, resolved not by Tony, but by an oblivious Johnny Sack himself. While Adrianna's telling the Feds everything they want to know and more, Tony can't resist havign a go at Ralphie's gumar, a deed which results in the killing of Pie O My, the only thing which gave him any real joy. Tony pays a visit to Ralph, and Mr. Cifaretto is soon headless and being thrown off a cliff into the sea. Furio, meanwhile, is having serious thoughts about Carmela, and Carmela is returning the gestures. Unbeknownst to Tony, Paulie is plotting against him with New York, and Junior's trial has started. Christopher's addiction is now at its worst, and it takes a convention to sort it all out, at which Paulie and Silvio try kicking some sense into him--literally. With Furio flying off to God-knows-where and Carmela down in the dumps, Tony, after a brief fling with one-legged Svetlana, buys the family a house. And it's all looking rather rosey, until Tony's past comes back to haunt him. Irina, his ex-gumar, phones Carmela. A scene later, and Tony's golf balls are rolling down the drive and everything. It's all gone wrong. Tony's financial problems are running high, his marriage is on the brink of a divorce, he's almost at war with New York (still!) and he hasn't got a house.

Season Four ends leaving us very high and dry as to what happens next with Tony. But it can only be worse. His wife is showing no remorse for kicking him out, he's in a financial mess, hasn't got a proper place to stay yet, and has lost his foundation on which his Empire was once built.

I can't wait for Season Five!

Mick