Believe it or not, The Sopranos made its debut on HBO 20 years ago today, on January 10th, 1999. While the network had found success with scripted dramas like Oz and Sex and the City, The Sopranos cemented HBO’s reputation as a haven for quality programming and top-notch storytelling, paving the way for more great HBO fare like The Wire, Deadwood, and Six Feet Under, and for networks like FX and AMC to make similar transformations. Without Tony Soprano (played by the late and truly great James Gandolfini), the television landscape might be a very different, and less interesting, place.
In honor of the show’s anniversary, we’ve picked our favorite moments from its six (or is that six-and-a-half?) seasons. Some are funny, some are morbid, but all made for compelling TV.
Source: IGN.com The 20 Greatest Moments from The Sopranos