HBO draws record ratings for the fourth season premiere of `The Sopranos'

Associated Press ^ | 9-17-02 | DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer

[Oldeconomybuyer]

NEW YORK (AP) --

[dennis1x]

Great show.

[RANGERAIRBORNE]

I don't get it. I actually TRIED to watch several episodes of this thing, and I was never able to get through one- it looked like a rip-off of the daytime soap opera format with a pinch of "The Godfather" (Part III, the lousy one) thrown in.

Ah well, "De gustibus non disputandem est"as some old Italian once said!

[Oldeconomybuyer]

It's the only "entertainment" TV show I never miss.

[lelio]

The other shows on HBO are really good, IMHO. Hopefully "The Wire" will be shown in reruns soon. "Six Feet Under" is good, and I can't stop laughing through the entire show of "Curb Your Enuthusiasm"

[Inkie]

Is there a thread dedicated to the discussion of this show? I know there are on other sites, but those sites are littered with liberals, who always manage to make the discussion political. I'd just like to discuss the show.

[AStack75]

Now if they would only give this show the Emmy it deserves.

[cmsgop]

I have rented all the seasons to catch up!...

Started with 3 and went to 1 and am half way through 2. Bada Bing!!!

BTW I am Hooked on "6 Feet Under "Too. Any other FReepers watch 6 Feet Under?

[clamboat]

It is awefully soap-opera-ish, isn't it...
Makes me feel guilty for following it so avidly (on VHS only - no cable).

[BrooklynGOP]

I can't stop laughing through the entire show of "Curb Your Enuthusiasm"

Yea, I watch that religously. It's excellent!

[BrooklynGOP]

BTW I am Hooked on "6 Feet Under "Too. Any other FReepers watch 6 Feet Under?

I saw the first season in its entirety, but I missed a few in the beginning of the second one, so I decided not to watch and wait till they repeat from the start. Its pretty good.

[AStack75]

I'm hooked on the Sopranos, Sex and the City, Six Feet Under, and starting to get hooked on Curb Your Enthusiasm.

I'm not a fan of Arliss, Mind of the Married Man, Oz, or The Wire.

[cmsgop]

Right On! Your Story is the same as mine as far as watching.... I Love That Show....

[cmsgop]

Oz is Damm Dark! Good, But I really can't watch it anymore..

[AStack75]

I have a lot of friends that really love Oz, but I personally haven't been able to get into it. Although I would like to see the episodes that Edie Falco was in.

[lelio]

but I missed a few in the beginning of the second one
The 1st season just ended in re-runs and episode 2 of season 2 just aired last Sunday. So you've only missed the first two episodes.
Season 3 starts up in the spring.
What I like about the show is that I care about all the characters in there. Characters aren't perfect, but they try to do the right thing, and you see what happens to them when they don't (ie David taking drugs and losing Keith).

[cmsgop]

It's all on DVD saesons 1,2,3,

[cmsgop]

Thats=Seasons....

[AStack75]

"Sopranos" Premiere Mobs Ratings

By Kimberly Potts

The killer of Christopher Moltisanti's gangster pop wasn't the only thing that got whacked Sunday night.

•	Test your Sopranos savvy in E! Online's quiz
•	Bada Bing! Sopranos kid to wed
•	Totally Tube: E! Online breaks down fall season

E! Online Photo

The much- (much, much...) awaited fourth season premiere of HBO's The Sopranos not only racked up the cable network's all-time best ratings for an original series, but it also mowed down all the regular networks' programming in the ratings.

After a 16-month wait between the show's May 2001 third-season finale, The Sopranos ( news - Y! TV)' return Sunday night pulled in 13.4 million viewers, according to Nielsen, almost 3 million more than tuned in for runner-up NBC's repeat of Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

In fact, The Sopranos would have ranked sixth among all shows--cable or broadcast--last week, a virtually unheard-of achievement for a cable series, especially since HBO is a pay-cable net that reaches about as third as many homes as the broadcast networks. (Nielsen keeps broadcast and cable shows separate in its ratings rundown.)

For the week, CBS took the top spot, averaging 9.6 million viewers behind its 9-11 coverage and reliable repeats like C.S.I. and Everybody Loves Raymond ( news - Y! TV). ABC, on the strength of the week's highest-rated program, Monday Night Football, finished second (9 million prime-time viewers) and NBC trailed in third with 7.9 million, followed by Fox (7.1 million), UPN (3.4 million), the WB (3.2 million) and PAX (1.5 million).

Overall cable ratings for the 51st week of the 2001-02 TV season won't be released until Thursday, while the new season officially--for Nielsen purposes--kicks off on September 24, though ABC, UPN and the WB have tried to get a jump on the competition by premiering several of their new series this week.

Meanwhile, those all-time high numbers for HBO and the mobsters mean that a whole lot of viewers are anxious to see just which one of Tony Soprano's cohorts may be sleeping with the fishes before the end of the season. Rumors have been rampant for months that a key character will be offed this season, with an Internet gambling company even laying out the odds of which character is mostly likely to join the hit list.

Will it be crazy Ralphie Cifaretto, whose new alliance with Soprano sis Janice makes them the scariest couple since, well, Richie Aprile and Janice? Or what about increasingly drug-addled loose cannon Christopher? Or Tony's wing(haired) man Paulie Walnuts, whose current jail stint has made him even less happy--and perhaps less loyal?--with his Soprano crew?

Even the show's stars claim they don't know the answer to that one, since spoiler-hatin' Sopranos creator David Chase is said to have filmed several season enders.

But one's thing's for sure: those Joisey guys aren't the only ones who should be quaking in their cement boots. HBO and the broadcast networks have officially gone to the mattresses in the Sunday night ratings war.

Here's a recap of the most-watched broadcast network shows for the week ended Sunday:

1. NFL Monday Night Football, ABC, 19.1 million viewers
2. NFL Monday Night Showcase, ABC, 17.1 million
3. Everybody Loves Raymond, CBS, 14.2 million
4. CSI, CBS, 13.9 million
5. CSI (Monday), CBS, 13.8 million
6. 9/11, CBS, 12.2 million
7. Becker, CBS, 11.9 million
8. 60 Minutes, CBS, 11.3 million
9. Dateline NBC (Tuesday), NBC, 11 million
10. ABC News Special: 9/11, ABC, 10.9 million

[Jonathon Spectre]

Greatest television show ever.