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 about New Jersey, as opposed to New York, where most similar dramas have been set. In the first three seasons, between Tony leaving the tunnel and passing through the toll plaza, the show had a shot of the World Trade Center towers in Tony's rear-view mirror. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, this shot was removed and replaced with a more generic shot, beginning with the show's fourth season. In a 2010 issue of "TV Guide", the show’s opening title sequence ranked #10 on a list of TV's top 10 credits sequences, as selected by readers. "The Sopranos" features a