Before the 1990s, TV shows often dealt with adult themes (“Dragnet,” “Hill Street Blues”), but rarely depicted anything close to tangible, horrifying, real-world violence. “Miami Vice” was cool and glamorous, but violent? No, not even by the standards of the 1980s.
This all changed in the ’90s, with envelope-pushing network series like “NYPD Blue” and “Twin Peaks,” and the rise of HBO. Unrestricted by traditional broadcast standards, showrunners deal with adult themes in adult — and the result was shows like the 1999 – 2007 run of “The Sopranos,” which followed in the footsteps of 1997 – 2003’s “Oz,” a brutal HBO prison drama that took many viewers into a fictionalized but “real” prison environment for the first time.
During its 86 episodes, Tony Soprano’s mobster friends and family amassed a body count of just under 100 people. As this comprehensive infographic details, these hapless souls were dispatched in a wide variety of ways. But, which were the most brutal? Let’s take a closer look at the carnage — but first, you might want to put on a raincoat to protect your clothes from pesky blood stains.
Tony Kills Fabian Pretrulio – Season 1, Episode 5
While “The Sopranos” had a critically-beloved run that resulted in 21 Emmys, “College” (Season 1, Episode 5) might be the most highly-regarded episode, right up there with “Pine Barrens” and “Whoever Did This. “
The defining encapsulation of Tony Soprano’s balancing act as half gangster, half family man, the episode employs this stark contrast to depict a man attempting to violently multi-task, but with both worlds constantly threatening to fall apart. Okay, maybe Tony was more like 3/4 gangster, 1/4 family man.
The episode began with Tony and his daughter Meadow touring universities in Maine, some 500 miles away from New Jersey. During a stop at a gas station, Tony noticed a familiar figure cleaning his car. When Christopher Moltisanti ran the plates, Tony knew it was Fabian Petrulio, a former “made guy” who was put into the witness protection program after becoming a valuable informant.
Of course, Fabian spotted Tony, too — and the result was a sharp detour from college recruitment. After 24 hours of following each other, Tony proved himself to be a 250-lb ninja, pouncing on Fabian with a Garrotte wire, strangling him to death. It would be the first of Tony Soprano’s eight murders on the show.
Brendan shot in the eye – Season 1, Episode 3
The first season of “The Sopranos” made several nods to “The Godfather” series, playing off audience expectations based on the characters in those classic Francis Ford Coppola films.
Silvio’s impersonation of Michael Corleone’s famous “Godfather III” declaration (“Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in!”) was taken a step further with the hit on Brendan Filone, Christopher Moltisanti’s friend and “colleague.” As Brendan relaxes in a steamy bath, slimeball Mikey Palmice shoots him in the eye — just like Moe Greene in the first “Godfather.”
