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.

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day is over at Amazon today is The Sopranos: The Complete Series DVD box set for only $104.99 (that’s 63% off the list price of $279.99).

Note, this sale is valid only for today, Monday, August 19, 2013 until 11:59pm PST while supplies last.

This is a 30-disc box set containing 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. To top it all all, the set comes with a detailed 16-page episode guide.

I’m still in stunned disbelief over James Gandolfini passing away last week. It’s like when this happened to John Ritter 10 years ago this year, the sudden, almost magician vanishing act-likr quick yet utterly tragic now you see him, now you don’t that Gandolfini also seemingly went through. Unlike a death where there was time affixed to it, and one laid up in a hospital bed withering away as their inner and outer framework slowly shatters, the death of The Sopranos star was as shattering for its unexpected abruptness as the death itself.

I make no bones about what an unabashed fan of The Sopranos I am AND a fan of the overall mafia/real gangster genre in general. From Paul Muni to George Raft; Jimmy Cagney to Lee J. Cobb’s turn as the heavy in On the Waterfront; from Marlon Brando as evil with a heart of gold patriarchal Vito Corleone in the original Godfather film to Al Pacino as the sibling successor in the latter two; Robert DeNiro’s portrayals of small time hoods with Joe Pesci in Martin Scorsese productions; to James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano.

Killogy
Trade Paperback
Written by Alan Robert
Illustrated by Alan Robert
Lettered by Alan Robert
IDW Publishing
Release Date: June 19, 2013
Cover Price: $17.99

So, Frank Vincent, Marky Ramone, and Brea Grant are locked in a Brooklyn jail cell together… No, it’s not the start of some bizarre joke—it’s the start of one powerful gorefest by Alan Robert entitled Killogy. IDW has bundled the miniseries into one volume that every horror comic devotee should plan to have in their collection.

Alan Robert’s tight script drops the reader right in the middle of a high-tension scene thanks to his Tarantino-esque manipulation of the story’s timeline. This is a tricky thing to pull off properly, but Robert (best know for Wire Hangers) makes it seem effortless as he fills in the plot with pieces of the past to reveal the strange and possibly supernaturally-influenced connections between the characters.

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day is over at Amazon today is The Sopranos: The Complete Series DVD box set for only $111.99 (that’s 63% off the list price of $299.98).

Note, this sale is valid only for today, Saturday, June 11, 2011 until midnight PST while supplies last.

This is a 30-disc box set containing 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. To top it all all, the set comes with a detailed 16-page episode guide.

HBO has been busy setting up their future in television lately.

The network recently ordered an entire season of the highly-buzzed about adaptation of George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” series called Game of Thrones, and just this week they debuted their new Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks produced World War II drama, The Pacific. To go along with these things, they’re also preparing the return of their most popular show ever, and the debuts of future series.

HBO has announced that their ultra-popular series True Blood has an official start date for Season 3. The show, which is about vampires who live amongst us and is set mostly in the deep Louisiana South, will return to the air on June 13, 2010.

Continue on over to the other side for more on HBO’s upcoming new shows and to see their trailers.