though the soprano be yet another gift from the megahit the godfather and sequel and which dramatize and to a certain extent glamorize the mafia and the sopranos take another tack . no suit up and classy mobster here with home in lake tahoe and stake in vega casino these guy be goombahs and with a front of waste management and who deal with thing that fall off the back of truck and topless bar and protection money in short and what the neighborhood mob be all about . colorful character dominate this series and which doesn not hold back on the sex and graphic violence . tony soprano ( james gandolfini ) be a mob head with a wife and two child and live in new jersey and who suffers from panic attack a he try to balance his biological family with his mafia one . to get to the bottom of his attack and he see a psychiatrist and jennifer melfi ( lorraine bracco ) and who be afraid of him and yet attract to him at the same time . tony henchman paulie and his nephew christopher and his uncle junior ( the titular head of the mob ) and his good friend pussy be all fully flesh out character . a we learn go through the series and there be enemy not only from without and but from within and and one of those enemy include tony sickly but horrible mother ( nancy marchand ) and who convince junior that tony be a danger to him . tony sister janice and meanwhile and be search for money in her mother house with a stethoscope and a geiger counter . tony have mistress problem and and a wife ( edie falco ) who put up with a lot because she love him and all the while keep tie to her catholic religion . the church frown on divorce and she tell one woman contemplate a split . let the pope live with him and be the response . as far a tony mistress problem and his psychiatrist point out that tony be attract to demand woman for whom nothing be ever enough and and ask him if it sound familiar . yeah and it sound like his mother . i be of italian descent and and yes and i be sick of italian be show in a negative light and everyone assume all italian be mobster . yet you can not help like this show and which be a constant reminder of our culture . ( thanksgiving and it point out and isn not turkey and sweet potato pie it the antipasto and the manicotti and the meatball and escarole and and then the bird . ) not to mention and the right on pronunciation of word like melenzana ( mullinyan ) and escarole ( scarole ) and manicotti ( manigot ) etc . the only un italian thing about tony be that he doesn not have a finish basement and something unheard of in the rest of my family ( except my parent never have one either ) . the standouts in this show be gandolfini and a a ruthless gangster on antidepressant and falco and who be brilliant a his wife and and bracco a the tortured jennifer . but everyone be excellent . if you can take the violence and the language and this be a great show and an unrelenting portrait of new jersey mob life .