Television
Get ready for some mafia love!
Updated : Jan 11, 2019, 02:32 PM IST
One of the great pieces of Television shows, The Sopranos, is celebrating the 20th anniversary of the day pilot episode released on HBO. The show told the story of Tony Soprano, an Italian-American mafia boss (is there a different kind on television?) who manages his professional criminal life and balances it with his family affairs in New Jersey. The pressure of his job and personal life affects his mental health which leads him to seek the help of professional psychiatric counsellor Dr Jennifer Melfi.
The show ran from 1999-2007. The season finale left a lot of hardcore fans in a lurch as it never revealed if Tony Soprano lives or dies. It also started a debate about whether this uneasy ending is the biggest cop-out of pop culture history. For the uninitiated, The Sopranos was Game of Thrones of its time with fans, critics, even movie scholars analysing and debating every scene, every frame of the show from the day it released to the eternity that's yet to come.
But we are not here to discuss or write a thesis about The Sopranos' standards. Something brilliant happened Thursday when HBO's official Twitter handle decided to give away Soprano nicknames to those who asked.
Along with the regular joes of Twitterverse, the list included who's who of the entertainment industry from Lin Manuel-Miranda of Broadway smash hit Hamilton to Ben Schwartz of Parks and Recreation. Silicon Valley's Kumail Nanjiani was not far behind.
Food franchise Wendy's, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)'s official Twitter handle, shows like The Walking Dead and TV channels like TMC wanted to know what would the Jersey Mafia families use to refer them as if they had a chance.
But the crown jewel of responses ought to be what Tennis legend Roger Federer received, who was incidentally the first one to respond to the offer.
Take a look.
In honor of the 20th anniversary of The Sopranos, I’m handing out Soprano nicknames today. Who wants one? FYI if you tell me your first name, this is way easier for me.
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Roger Federer
No, you're pic.twitter.com/c4Ofh1ZBjj
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
WWE
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
History Channel
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Ubisoft
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Game of Thrones
Game.
— Game Of Thrones (@GameOfThrones) January 10, 2019
TCM
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Wendy's
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
GIPHY
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Blake Griffin
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Bayern Munich
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Macaulay Culkin
A belated Merry Christmas, you pic.twitter.com/iXZDrt1XBB
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Ben Schwartz
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Lin-Manuel Miranda
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Tinder
— HBO (@HBO) January 11, 2019
Television Academy
We'll tell you after the break pic.twitter.com/2nxh6RsgIF
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Jake Tapper
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
HBO
— HBO (@HBO) January 10, 2019
Sadly, likes of BBC News (World), New York Stock Exchange, New York Times, and you were too late to the party.