James Gandolfini - gone at 51.

[Dave70]

Shit..

http://www.fastcocreate.com/1683251/james-gandolfini-dead-at-51-long-live-tony-soprano

 

[lukiferj]

Yeah heard this earlier. Was so young.

 

[JDW81]

At least he left us with the sopranos.

 

[stakka82]

Great actor, Sopranos is TV hall of fame stuff.

 

[NewtownClown]

was it a hit?

 

[bum]

It was a popular show.

 

[JDW81]

According to empire it is the #3 show of all time. I've seen it ranked at 2 somewhere else (behind the Simpsons), but can't remember where.

It certainly made a lot of money for HBO.

 

[manticle]

I liked him.

He was great in perdita Durango too.

 

[brettprevans]

I havent watched sopranos yet. Ive got it lined up to watch. Ive used snippets of it in leadership presentations. Baased of leadership sopranos style. Great book and really only works because of his brilliance as an actor. He has presence and its seemless acting. A really loss. And he leaves a baby daughter. V sad for his family

 

[brad81]

I guess he never, woke up this morning.

 

[Bribie G]

Condolences to the guy's family and friends but I've never watched an episode of:

The Sopranos
Home and Away
Neighbours

add 50 other shows here.

Up until about 15 years ago, everybody watched the same things because we were a captive audience sitting in front of our TEAC tube tv feeding whatever stuff they decided we should see. So we could go into work and say "how about Molly on A Country Practice, I cried" and everyone knew what you were talking about.

Nowadays the younger you are, the less you watch broadcast television. Just not enough time in anybody's life to keep fully acquainted or interested in the 15 FTA and 50 or 60 Foxtel channels. Edit; not to mention the thousands of offerings on Channel BT.

For example I have never watched an episode of Game of Thrones but it, apparently, is a phenomenon - hey what channel is it on?

Thus the "common" popular cultural glue that has held us together for probably millennia has now disappeared and for probably most people the death of this person means nothing personal as they have never seen him on TV.

Edit: hey that Rajamashama Halawallawah is bloody good isn't he, great toothpick player hey.

 

[manticle]

He's a film actor too and existed pre- sopranos. You not knowing who he is is probably an abberation rather than the norm (among first world adults anyway)

How would 'whatever's on TV' hold a culture together for millenia?

Sopranos was an award winning series. Neighbours and Home and away are more like your country practice - drivel that keeps people entertained while they cook dinner.

 

[bum]

He's a film actor too and existed pre- sopranos. You not knowing who he is is probably an abberation rather than the norm (among first world adults anyway)

How would 'whatever's on TV' hold a culture together for millenia?

Sopranos was an award winning series. Neighbours and Home and away are more like your country practice - drivel that keeps people entertained while they cook dinner.

Please remember who you are talking to and be thankful it was even remotely related.

 

[Bribie G]

I mean that a culture, until recently, was pretty much restricted to the entertainment, literary and artistic offerings that were very, very narrow by today's standards. The reason was that these offerings were channeled through a limited number of media: Radio, four television channels if you were lucky, film determined by the distributors, books determined by the publishers and magazine companies, and recordings and books you had to walk to a shop and buy hard copies of. In other words most people were in the same groove as far as popular entertainment and culture was concerned.

Now it's been blown wide open - Manticle (and bum) how many hours of FTA do you watch per week? Anything like the 1970s when we would settle down at 6 pm and just watch and watch till they played the national anthem?

Haven't done that for years and I know of quite a few gen Ys such as my kids and their mates who rarely if ever turn on the TV except to watch stuff on IPTV which probably ain't the Sopranos.

Edit: bought a 50 inch last year and offered the old 42 to the lad who was living in a share house, reaction was "we don't really watch much TV, probably wouldn't have a need for it" - they get most of their entertainment via iPad or Galaxy.

 

[bum]

Exactly the same number hours of TV I watch from other sources. Zero.

I probably don't factor into your argument very well.

The fact remains that the consumption of popular culture by the populations of wealthy nations (a matter upon which several of your points are sound, others, not so much) has little to do with some brewers being a little bummed-out (aren't we all?) by the passing of someone whose work the enjoyed.

 

[Bribie G]

Always sad to hear about an actor or entertainer who has died.. if their work has touched your life.

 

[bum]

But if it hasn't society is to blame?

Or something?

Probably some Government conspiracy to divest us of common cultural touchstones.

 

[browndog]

Vale James Gandolfini, great actor. I find that the older I get the more I see commercial TV as drivel. Having said that though, I'm a massive fan of GoT and have read all the books. If I do want to watch something, I record it and FF the commercials.

Edit

Except for the Little Paris Restaurant with the delicious Rachel Khoo which is about to start on SBS now, adios boys..

 

[manticle]

I mean that a culture, until recently, was pretty much restricted to the entertainment, literary and artistic offerings that were very, very narrow by today's standards. The reason was that these offerings were channeled through a limited number of media: Radio, four television channels if you were lucky, film determined by the distributors, books determined by the publishers and magazine companies, and recordings and books you had to walk to a shop and buy hard copies of. In other words most people were in the same groove as far as popular entertainment and culture was concerned.

Now it's been blown wide open - Manticle (and bum) how many hours of FTA do you watch per week? Anything like the 1970s when we would settle down at 6 pm and just watch and watch till they played the national anthem?

Haven't done that for years and I know of quite a few gen Ys such as my kids and their mates who rarely if ever turn on the TV except to watch stuff on IPTV which probably ain't the Sopranos.

Edit: bought a 50 inch last year and offered the old 42 to the lad who was living in a share house, reaction was "we don't really watch much TV, probably wouldn't have a need for it" - they get most of their entertainment via iPad or Galaxy.

Really your points could be summed up thusly:

1. You are unfamiliar with the topic/subject of this particular thread
2. Things were different forty years ago to today.

I watch very little FTA and no foxtel, etc (don't have cable). I watched the Sopranos on DVDs that I physically own. Most of my onscreen consumption comes from similar sources or occasional visits to the cinema.

I'm also probably not the typical demographic (neither am I gen Y) but none of this has anything to do with the thread. Dude died that did stuff some people know about. You don't know about that stuff.

Cool.

 

[surly]

Vale James Gandolfini, great actor. I find that the older I get the more I see commercial TV as drivel. Having said that though, I'm a massive fan of GoT and have read all the books. If I do want to watch something, I record it and FF the commercials.

Edit

Except for the Little Paris Restaurant with the delicious Rachel Khoo which is about to start on SBS now, adios boys..

Thanks for the tip
Found a new cooking show to watch.