Only A Dream

Watching The Sopranos on A&E, I caught "The Test Dream." It's one of the least popular episodes because, appearing late in season five, while the action was heating up, much of it is an extended dream sequence. The script is by show's creator David Chase and Mad Men's Matthew Weiner. I remember being let down when I first saw it.

Second time around, it held up better, partly because I wasn't expecting more action. I could sit back and enjoy the dream for what it is. Dreams often appear in The Sopranos. (If nothing else, they allow actors who have been whacked to pick up a paycheck.) For instance, one of the most memorable episodes ever, "Funhouse," features a fairly extensive dream. But this one is the mother of all Sopranos' dreams.

Taken by itself, it's well done. It's both spooky and funny, with major characters from the past, dead and alive, appearing throughout (plus Annette Bening as herself). Like a real dream, the storyline keeps moving through time and space, and its odd action and dialogue plays off the anxieties of Tony, who's doing the dreaming. It also allows characters to talk directly, if oddly, about subjects they would never bring up in the real world.

PS. Two theories about David Chase:

1) He called this episode "The Test Dream" because he wanted to test the audience and see how far he could go. If they stuck around, next week's episode, "Long Term Parking," had the kind of payoff they expected.

2) Maybe he was annoyed with some of the criticism, and just to show he didn't care, he started the next, and final, season with a couple episodes where Tony is stuck in purgatory.