The Sopranos Prequel

The Sopranos was, & still is, my favourite television show ever. This is partly a lifelong fascination with the mafia (thanks to the Godfather trilogy, the Wu-Tang Clan, & my library card), & the genius of David Chase.

Every so often, there would be rumours circulating on the internet about a Sopranos movie, which is now impossible with the passing of James Gandolfini. Also; I thought that it was always a terrible idea. Unlike most people, I liked the way the show ended (I’m not here for that argument, but Tony died. End of.) - & would like it to remain that way. See: Entourage.

However; after every re-binge watch of The Sopranos, I’d be left wanting more. More of the whole world in which Tony’s crew inhabited. More of the crew across the Hudson River in New York. More of what led to Christopher’s drug addiction, more of the early roots of Tony & Artie Buco’s friendship, more of Johnny Boy & Junior Soprano, just more of everything.

The answer to this of course, is a prequel. & yes, I know that this idea is sacrilege, but bear with me…

What if you had half a show focused on Tony at high school age with Artie, Silvio, Jackie Aprile, Pussy, cousin Tony Blundetto, Ralph Cifaretto(basically most of the similar aged characters from his crew - & their wives - over the years) where they’re doing early jobs, gaining reputation, & learning their trade – as well as getting in the way of their fathers. You could have infrequent interactions with other fringe characters such as Vito, the Parissi twins, Bobby Bacala, Richie Aprile (including the budding “romance” between him & Janice), Jimmy Altieri, & the New York crew - Johnny Sack, Phil Leotardo, Carmine Lupertazzi, etc.

The other half of the show could be based around Tony’s father Johnny & uncle Junior (Corrato) as they’re portrayed in flashbacks. Along for the ride with them would be Hesh, old man Bacala, Paulie Walnuts as a young man earning his stripes – fresh out of the army, & pretty much all of the older characters. There would also be some attention given to the marriage of Tony’s parents, & home life of the family including Janice (& what made her such an arsehole), & the other sister, Barbara.

There’s a lot to work off of, from just the flashbacks alone, when it comes to Tony as a kid (though we’re looking at 5-6 years after this time), the Soprano home life, & their relationships with each other. We know that Livia (Tony’s mother) had a thing for Johnny Boy bringing home the meat, so to speak. We know Johnny Boy & Uncle Junior were street level enforcers. We know that Janice was the favoured child, & we know that Tony started suffering panic attacks as a child.

As far as the high school history of Tony goes, we know he & Carmela met while they were that age. We know that Tony & Artie were close friends, & we know that Tony & Arties future wife Charmaine slept together one summer while Carmela & he were on a break.

Saturday Night Live did a skit based around a similar idea of Tony & his crew at high school in the ‘80’s:

I’ve often thought it would look like some hybrid of A Bronx Tale & Goodfellas. You can’t go wrong with that. The good news? No AJ Soprano. The bad news? No Christopher Moltisanti – well, maybe as a baby.

Of course, it’ll never happen, but think about it. It’d be fun, even if it’d be like Michael Jordan playing for the Wizards, we’d still have it in our lives.

Salut.

@Rarerecordings_