Was it a turd or just a candy bar?

Since everyone else is doing so, I'd like to weigh in briefly on last night's "The Sopranos" finale. I watched it with my in-laws, neither of whom watched the series, which was a perfect looking glass to borrow as I tried to briefly identify and sum up the cavalcade of characters. Too many questions remain for those that were sucked into the vortex of critical acclaim surrounding this bloated mix of storylines. Admittedly, I'm one of those that showed up late for the party and didn't drink enough of the Kool-Aid to become truly cultish about it all. But the non-ending ending was for me...perfect. There was no way to complete this over-exposed highwire act that would please the whole crowd. So David Chase chose to please no one. Or mostly no one. For those in the know - once the character Phil Leotardo (played by the utterly excellent Frank Vincent) got whacked and his skull was astonishingly shmooshed by his slow-rolling SUV, I was satisfied. Metaphors abounded, high and lowbrow references were certainly everywhere, and I expect everyone has a reaction. That's more than any writer working this milieu could hope for. I, for one, beg all interested parties to not buy into the inevitable temptation to follow things up with a movie or return visits on HBO. Leave it alone. But, of course, take the canoli.

Hope your own jukebox has at least one "Journey" tune cued up today. Rock on.