The Sopranos

Ok I admit it, I'm a television junkie. That doesn't mean that I have my nose in front of a set 24/7 - the TV gets turned on at 6 pm so I can catch the local evening news and later, a half hour of Lou Dobbs just so I can keep my eye on those crazy Americans. I say that with affection, not malice. Well, except for Bush..

Last night I finally caught the series finale of one of my favourite shows, The Sopranos. Before I go any further a warning for anyone who hasn't seen the finale yet....**SPOILERS AHEAD**.

So anyway...there have been months of speculation on how HBO was going to end the series and the general consensus was that Tony would definitely be whacked. Probably in a big bloody way. Tony himself whacked Christopher a few episodes back and he almost fed Paulie to the fishes but couldn't make himself do it.

The ultra-cool Sil was shot last week and although he didn't die in the series, we pretty well knew he was about to being in a coma and all.

The thought of whacking Tony didn't sit right with me. It just didn't seem right, somehow. But I had heard so many rumours that he would be that as I settled in to watch last night's finale, I was practically on the edge of my seat cringing at who would do it, how they'd do it and when it would happen all the time dreading the moment.

So, when it happened - no, not the whacking but the ending - my immediate reaction was WTF?? A blank screen right in the middle of a conversation between Tony, Carm, Meadow and AJ?? Ok, I thought as I continued to watch that blank screen, they're going to show us a the scene of the carnage after everyone's been shot in the head.....

But it didn't happen! HBO was absolutely brilliant. They decided to let the fans decide Tony's fate. Now the entire set-up to the last scene in the diner was meant to give one the impression that an assassin was there at the counter. Tony checked him out when he came in, the guy looked guilty as hell but he sat down at the counter and Tony seemed to relax.

Then Meadow arrived and at that moment the would-be assassin got up abruptly from his seat, turned toward Tony's general direction (Tony was back on alert) but instead headed for the men's room.

The last shot was of the Soprano family together discussing what they were going to order. That's when the screen went blank.

The end.

So for this fan, nobody got whacked. The guy at the counter was just that - a guy in the diner for a bite to eat and the Soprano family went on to live another day. That's exactly the way I wanted it to end.

For other fans, that guy was indeed an assassin, he went into the men's room but made a quick u-turn, came out with guns blazing and whacked the whole family. That's exactly the way they wanted it.

I tip my hat to HBO and the writers who came up with this ending that so intimately involved fan participation.

Choose your own ending...who woulda thunk it?