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
Made in America (The Sopranos) than bringing the series to a close, that blackout made "The Sopranos" live forever." Tim Goodman of the "San Francisco Chronicle" characterized the finale as "[a]n ending befitting genius of "Sopranos"" and wrote that "Chase managed, with this ending, to be true to reality [...] while also steering clear of trite TV conventions." Frazier Moore of the Associated Press called the episode "brilliant" and wrote that "Chase was true to himself." Kim Reed of Television Without Pity gave "Made in America" the highest score of A+ and praised it for staying true to the show. Alan Sepinwall of "The Star-Ledger"