The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) "The Sopranos", also known as "Pilot", is the first episode of the HBO television drama series, "The Sopranos", which premiered on January 10, 1999. It was written and directed by the series creator and executive producer David Chase. New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano passes out while barbecuing. Tony's collapse is diagnosed as a panic attack, leading to his referral to psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. Tony is initially uncooperative, but soon tells Dr. Melfi a story about a family of ducks which nested in his swimming pool. He goes over tensions between Carmela and Meadow over a
The Sopranos organized crime casts a shadow over both the state and its Italian American community." At the end of the series, the PublicMind conducted a second national survey on "The Sopranos". In this poll, 41% of the 776 people polled said that they watched the show regularly, and 61% of this group (194 people, or 25% of the total) disagreed with the idea that the show portrayed Italian Americans in a negative light. Professor Roberts stated: "The show helped to perpetuate one of the more problematic and stereotypical images of Italian Americans. Both Italian and Italian American cultures have much more