The Top 15 Sopranos Moments!

*Spoilers Alert*

The time has come to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of The Sopranos, one of the most critically acclaimed TV shows ever. The multi-faceted and celebrated drama, with some of the most memorable performances and characters in TV history, is still considered to be one of the most thrilling and entertaining shows around. 

The Sopranos’ revolutionary debut radically altered the TV landscape, cementing HBO's reputation as the frontrunner for quality programming and paving the way for further incredible TV shows such as The Wire, Band of Brothers, Boardwalk Empire and Game of Thrones.

The Sopranos: The Complete Collection is releasing on Blu-ray for the first time ever on 8th September, and in honour of the show's 15th Anniversary we take a walk down memory lane and look at the Top 15 definitive Soprano moments. Re-live the brilliance all over again...

---

• Tony Sopranos’ first kill

Tony Soprano’s first on-screen kill doesn't happen until halfway through the first season, but it takes place on a trip to show daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) New England colleges. Here he strangles a former mobster turned snitch who went into Witness Protection Program. Tony perfectly walks the delicate line between doting father and ruthless killer – and wins his first Emmy for Season one

• Tony shows he’s the boss 

After being shot by Junior, things get a bit testy in the family as members jostle for position but Tony re-asserts himself despite only just coming out of his coma. Still physically frail, he picks a fight with his own bodyguard, beating him up before heading to a bathroom where he doubles over and vomits.

• Tony faints after seeing jar of Uncle Ben’s

After having a fight with his daughter Meadow over his racist remarks about her new boyfriend, Tony opens the cupboard to see only a jar of Uncle Ben’s and promptly has one of his panic attacks.

• Death of Philly Leotardo

After doing his best to kill Tony, Leotardo finally gets his come-uppance. Talking to his wife through a car window at a Raceway gas station, he is suddenly shot in the head by Walden Belfiore, a soldier in the Gervasi crew of the DiMeo crime family. Leaving the grandchildren in the van, Leotardo’s wife rushes to Phil’s side in a panic. The large SUV van idles forward and a wheel rolls over and crushes Phil’s skull. 

• Second Comings

Tony receives a major wake-up call when his son A.J. attempts suicide. Even just thinking of Tony clutching his dear son, murmuring "Come on, baby," gives us chills.

---

• Tony and Carmela’s epic argument about the secrets in their marriage

Tony and Carmella’s marriage was famously fraught as she struggled to cope with his constant infidelity and Mafia dealings but the Sopranos' marriage finally comes to an end in an epic argument scene between the two. Raw, intense and fearless, both stars deliver performances for the ages.

• Tony on the couch

Tony’s relationships with the women in his life are often dramatic, and his relationship with his psychiatrist Dr. Melfi is no different. Tony first starts visiting Dr. Melfi to deal with his panic attacks but it comes immediately evident that there’s a romantic attraction, at least on one side of the couch... 

• Funhouse

Tony expertly runs the gamut of emotions when he is forced to kill his best friend Sal "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore) after he was revealed to be an FBI informant. He brilliantly portrays the turmoil of anger and despair he feels. 

• Gloria Trillo

Of all Tony's many extra-marital affairs, his relationship with the dark-eyed, troubled Gloria is easily the most compelling. Women are often attracted to Tony's savage nature, but no other woman was ever so enticed to the darkest part of it. The result is a clash of personalities that's among the most memorable in TV history, and certainly among the most emotionally harrowing portions of the series. 

• Tony Sopranos speech to “The Family” at dinner

Tony gives a speech to Capos and soldiers within his family regarding the Tony Blundetto problem and the escalating conflict with New York. Here, we really see how Tony was a good man as he offers protection to his people and makes them understand they are a family. Most bosses aren’t like this.

---

• Tony is different 

Love them or hate them, the bizarre dream sequences that defined some of The Sopranos' experimental storytelling hits critical mass when Tony goes on a long, confusing dream-jaunt as travelling salesman Kevin Finnerty, who lacked the thick New Jersey accent and toughness we’d grown accustomed to. 

• The Big Showdown

Carmella receives a call from one of Tony’s ex-girlfriends and hits the roof. After years of putting up with his wandering ways, it’s the final straw and she gives him both barrels. Brilliant TV as years of baggage finally comes out.

• Goodbye Adriana

One of the saddest moments in the series as Adriana la Cerva (Drea de Matteo), the long-suffering girlfriend of Christopher, is ousted as a rat and meets a lonely, undignified death at the hands of Silvio, crawling on her hands and knees.

• “I heard The Tapes Ma”

We all knew who the real boss of The Sopranos was – Tony’s mum Livia, who along with his Uncle Junior are caught on tape discussing getting him killed. Tony finds out after hearing the tape and heads to the hospital, where his mum has just been admitted after having a stroke. Bending over her on the bed, he whispers, “I heard the tapes, Ma”. Her response? A broad smile...

• The Famous Final Scene

What makes the finale to The Sopranos so amazing, particularly as "the great divider" between the good and bad portions, is that the particulars of the actual episode remain fuzzy, even to those who will defend the episode's merits voraciously. The crux of the great finale debate boils down to a few precious minutes, when Tony is gathered with his family in a diner. The familiar chords of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" starts to play, and the tension becomes intense; dread builds and builds, as writer/director/creator David Chase cuts around the diner... Are jack-booted thugs going to come in and wipe out the family? Is Tony going to impart some words of wisdom to his family? Maybe Tony himself will pull out a gun and start shooting? But instead, the music just continues to soar until… blackness.

---

The Sopranos: The Complete Series Collection is available for the first time ever on Blu-ray, courtesy of HBO Home Entertainment, from Monday 8 September 2014 just in time to celebrate its 15th Anniversary.