The Big 3 of HBO

I finally realized why HBO succeeded in the TV industry starting in 1997. Oz, The Sopranos, and The Wire: the big 3 of HBO. They were all about humanity and change.

The first great show on HBO, Oz. It is a prison show. Can the worst of humanity in the worst situation, prison, can some of them change for the better? Can some of them take responsibility for their actions and change to become better, different people compared to their past selves?

The Wire. Baltimore, America, the systems in the communities, and the world refuse to change. But the individual's change is important and should be acknowledged and remembered. Reginald is no longer Bubbles the heroin addict. He overcomes drug addiction. He literally rises to see the light of a happy, good life.

The Sopranos. One of the greatest tragedies is that Tony Soprano is unwilling and unable to change. He causes other people to suffer and his own suffering, but he is also a victim of his family and circumstances. Tony is never truly loved by his parents. Tony is not loved by his mother, Livia, and that hurts him more than guns and knives could ever hurt him. It hurts him more than prison could. Because Tony is already a prisoner. He is a prisoner in his mind, a prisoner of his family, permanently traumatized and damaged because of who his family is. His character and his damage also severely damage his family.

In the first episode of the series, David Chase and the other writers of the show are asking the audience, "Is Tony Soprano redeemable?" At a certain point, the answer is clear. No. What point is that? It is up to the audience to decide.

Tony Soprano is doomed because of who he is. He chooses to ruin himself and everyone around him.

I'm glad I started watching The Sopranos this year. I realized I was just like Tony Soprano and his mother, Livia. When I saw the two of them, I told myself I have to change myself for the better. The Sopranos is a fictional TV show. I don't want my life to always be a tragedy like the show.