Someone's going to have to explain to me this obsession with The Sopranos.

I first saw it in a hotel room because I didn't get HBO at home at the time. The thing that "got" me about it was how each aspect of it (writing, production, acting, directing) was of the absolutely highest quality. It was more well-done than anything else I'd seen on television up to that point.

On top of that, it's about a group of people who you're supposed to hate. These are the bad guys. But it manages to twist your sensibilities and toy with you so skillfully that you actually care for the characters. There's just something intriguing about a show which so sucessfully centers around anti-heroes.

And yes, it certainly helps that they manage to thread together intricate soap-opera-style plot lines that keep you hanging on for the next episode...

Of course, all of that went out the window when I saw the Billy Bass episode.