Bada Binge! Again

 I finished the last episode of my umpteenth binging of "The Sopranos" last night. It is still the best series that has ever been on television, and probably always will be. It is so good, that even when you know everything that is going to happen, happens, you still enjoy it. Rewatching gives the viewer a chance to study characters closer, understand their arc more, and appreciate the actor's skill at their craft. James Gandolfini was born to play Tony Soprano. He owned the role and did it better than no one else possibly could. Tony was a horrible person. I've heard all my life that actors prefer to play the villain because they can better display their acting chops and really explore the role. Fine. Probably. Daniel Day-Lewis is arguably the greatest actor alive today and he was born to play Bill the Butcher in "Gangs of New York", also a mob boss. Neither actor could step in and play either role, great as they are. That's just the way it goes with acting and storytelling.  

There are internet fan sites dedicated to the Sopranos and a myriad of other shows, as well. These entail a lot of cheesy fan fiction, but that really can't be helped. Readers and viewers have a right to step into characters and become them in their mind, right or wrong. I just wish they wouldn't be so wrong about characters and storylines and bore other fans with their bullshit takes that often leave others wondering if they have actually watched the show everyone else is watching. 

"The Pitt" (also a gem from HBO) is quickly entering Sopranos' territory in television greatness. Get on the internet and you'll find millions of people who absolutely LOVE this show. I don't think anybody who has seen it has hated it. Real ER doctors and nurses love it and applaud its attention to detail. They get it right, day in and out, according to the experts, and that plus top-notch acting and writing is the recipe for greatness. 

But- people... They fuck everything up! Why? Why do they think they know better than the writers and actors? 

I've been hearing through the internet grapevine that many people are upset with actor, Noah Wyle, for his portrayal of Dr. Robby as an angry, abusive boss rather than the handsome, loveable hero he started the show out as. Some of these people seem not only bitterly divorced from the reality of television viewing, but from life itself. I used to be that way- when I was 8 years old and mom was watching "As the World Turns". Soap operas were slow-moving and stupid to my young mind, but I liked them when it was Christmas time and everybody seemed happy and joyful. Well, I grew up and found out that life was full of drama whether you liked it or not and that things and people had to be dealt with as they came, regardless of the season. That is reality. You can still have Christmas, but it isn't always going to be easy. Deal with it. 

Noah Wyle is not only the lead actor on this show, but he is also a producer and a writer. This means he knows where the show and his character is going and it's not towards the magic of Christmas. For one, he's Jewish. Christmas for them is Chinese food and a movie. It's also Hanukah, so there is that. But the real reason is that, as fun as the show can be, it's a drama. Dramatic things will happen. As handsome and heroic as Dr. Robby is, he's depressed and suicidal. Alert viewers caught onto this early on. It has been developing these first two seasons. He's not getting better. If you are depressed yourself, or know anyone who is, you can't just tell someone to "cheer up" or to "knock it off". It's not a question of getting over it but rather getting through it. At the end of season two, Dr. Robby is finally voicing his intent to commit suicide, possibly on his motorcycle as he embarks on his three-month sabbatical from The Pitt. We've seen the signs all season. The cliffhanger is maybe he won't go. The Pitt is a teaching hospital, and he is dedicated to preparing the young doctors and nurses he is charged with for their continuing careers in medicine, with or without him. Dr. Robby is clearly very serious about them being ready. For reasons obvious to most sentient beings, Robby is under intense internal pressure. His own death is hanging like a cloud over him, compounded by the deaths- and births- of others. He can save the lives of others (not all of them) but can he save himself. It's a familiar tale, but one that must be told in its own way. This is not a story out of Central Casting. 

Why can't stupid people get that? There are untold thousands of people out there in TV Land, who just openly wish that Robby could be his old, fun, nice guy self. Well, I can't help those people. I get that. They are DNR- Do Not Relate to. They just don't get that people and characters are complex entities. Robby is depressed. Many victims of depression hide their sadness. Hide it very well. Tony Soprano probably was depressed too, but he was a sociopath on top of that. I think most real-life mobsters are. I can picture Silvio right now, all hunched over, sitting there nodding his head, saying, "Eh, dats true. It kinda goes with the job description". He's right. 

As someone who has been told at times by family, friends and complete fucking strangers how I "really" feel about something, I find this regrettably relatable. For some people it's not enough to be the main character in their own story, they must be the main in yours. That's very fucked up! Shut up and enjoy the shows. These writers tend to know what they are doing. That's why they are doing it, not you.