Got myself a gun… about seven years late.

Update: Hey, this post was rambling and non-sensical even for me. I’ll leave it as an example of what happens when you put stuff on the internets while tired. But here’s what I would’ve written had I been typing coherently last night:

“The Sopranos” aired its series finale this week. In the seven years the show ran on HBO, and the year or so it’s been in syndication on A&E, I’ve never seen a single episode. And because I’ve heard so much hype about it, I’ve avoided reading any spoilers about the series, knowing that at some point, I’d get around to watching it.

Still, the show is such a cultural phenomenon that just by doing what I normally do, I’ve managed to have some pretty significant points ruined for me. I know of three characters who died or were killed off, one of them involving pool cues. Just [today], I read no less than five blog posts that hinted at what went on in the finale, without really revealing anything.

So here’s the start of a reasonably interesting experiment: I started watching the series this week, and I’m three episodes in. I’m going to see how long I can go without being completely spoiled for the finale. Not looking for recaps or spoilers, just going on as I normally have been — I want to see if the show is significant enough that its finale will just leak into common knowledge, “Rosebud” style.

As for the series itself: So far, I’m liking it. There’ve been several of these series that have been highly recommended, usually by my friend Cory, but when I’ve finally seen them, they just don’t live up to the hype. My reaction to “The Sopranos” pilot was “hell yes, I’d keep watching that.” And the other episodes have me intrigued. Which is actually kind of surprising — except for Miller’s Crossing, I don’t like mob movies, and Goodfellas bores me so much I’ve never seen it all the way through.

Original:

Here’s the start of a reasonably interesting experiment:

I started watching The Sopranos this week; I’m three episodes in. The series finale just aired last night, I believe, and I’ve already read five blog posts that mention the finale but don’t reveal anything about what happened.

I want to see how much of the series I can watch before the series and its ending are completely spoiled for me. All I know so far is the identities of three characters who’ve died or been killed over the course of the show, one of them involving pool cues.

And yeah, it’s a pretty good show. It’s been hyped a ton, and at least three episodes in, it lives up to it. Unlike some of the other HBO and Showtime series that I’ve heard about and then finally watched and been completely disappointed, this one looks like it deserves its initial hype.