Whitecaps (The Sopranos) "Entertainment Weekly" placed "Whitecaps" #3 on their list of the 10 greatest "The Sopranos" episodes; "TIME" placed it at #4. Whitecaps (The Sopranos) "Whitecaps" is the 52nd episode of the HBO television series "The Sopranos", and the 13th and final episode of the show's fourth season. Written by the series creator/executive producer David Chase, and executive producers Robin Green, and Mitchell Burgess, it was directed by longtime series director John Patterson and originally aired in the United States on December 8, 2002. The episode attracted 12.5 million viewers and is regarded by multiple critics as one of the series' best.
The Sopranos of the New York City Columbus Day Parade won an injunction preventing Mayor Michael Bloomberg from inviting cast members of "The Sopranos" to participate in the parade. Fairleigh Dickinson University's PublicMind conducted a national survey in August 2001 which polled 800 people. 37% said that they watched the show regularly, and 65% of this group (192 people, or 24% of the total) disagreed that the show portrayed Italian Americans in a negative way. Professor William Roberts was associated with the poll, and is the author of several books on modern Italian history; he commented that: "The show's inflated image of