"The Sopranos" returns for a fifth season with all of its early verve and none of the torpor that weighed the show down last year. Its creator, David Chase, is cocky: the first episode posits a bear that wanders into the Sopranos' backyard, terrifying AJ and Carmela. The furry intrusion signals that things are about to get wild in this ruptured family, that the breakup has unleashed forces beyond their control. But it also contrasts rather comically with the ducks that so lyrically flew away from the Sopranos' backyard pool in the first season, driving a bereft Tony into therapy. Most of all, the bear is a rather crude reminder to viewers: "The Sopranos" is no ordinary television show. |
