The Sopranos, the legendary HBO mob drama laced in the world of pulp fiction yet containing some of the greatest television literature ever penned, celebrates its 20th anniversary this month. The program was a cultural phenomenon during its peak, with a finale that remains controversial, but it was just part and parcel for an entire series that was controversial throughout its original run from 1999 to 2007, usually in the best possible of ways.

The Sopranos, one of the flagship programs of not only HBO but the entire contemporary “Golden Age of Television,” has been off the air for nine years now, but still remains a powerful catalyst and force in influencing the historic jagged shift the medium has taken on in the last 15 years or so. The mob drama, which ended its run in 2007 with a finale that is still read, dissected, and poured over for much heated debate and discussion a la the Torah, has influenced programs as rich as itself such as Breaking Bad, Boardwalk Empire, Mad Men and the latest, greatest show currently running on television, Better Call Saul.

Now, David Chase, the program’s creator, writer, and overall presence and lord of the trials and tribulations of the fictitious families in New Jersey, some of whose fates were left unknown when the final episode aired, has broken down that finale (a series finale that sent people in either exultation, uproar, or both).

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day is over at Amazon today is up to 65% off The Sopranos: The Complete Series box sets: DVD for $98.99 (down from $279.99) and Blu-ray for $109.99 (down from $279.98).

The 30-disc box sets contain all six seasons of the hit HBO series The Sopranos, which starred James Gandolfini as mob boss Tony Soprano. The set includes over 3.5 hours never-before-seen bonus features like secrets from the writers’ room; props stolen from the set; auditions of some of the cast; the music selected and the meaning behind it; and lost scenes saved from the editing room. There’s also a featurette on series creator David Chase‘s reaction to fan outcry over the series finale. The DVD set comes with a detailed 16-page episode guide.

Welcome to this week’s edition of The Digital Wire. Hope you all had a wonderful and scare-tastic Halloween because by the sound of the Christmas songs starting their yearly infection of the radio airwaves, an even more frightening time of year is upon us.

Below you’ll find info on several future home video releases complete with technical specs, release dates, and links to pre-order at Amazon. We would greatly appreciate it if you use those links to order because a small percentage of each order helps keep this website running at max power. The cover art for certain titles has yet to be finalized.

It’s official: Game of Thrones has passed The Sopranos to become the most popular show in HBO’s history.

Currently nearing the end of its fourth season, Thrones has had an average gross audience of 18.4 million viewers per episode. This season’s average surpasses the previous record of 18.2 million viewers per episode set by The Sopranos in 2002. Season three episodes of the fantasy drama based on George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” book series had an average gross audience of 14.4 million viewers.