The HBO Original Series The Sopranos takes a page from the Martin Scorsese school of storytelling by exploring the motivating factors behind being a gangster in equal proportions to the life and lifestyle of a gangster. This proved to be a good idea for the first two seasons of the series, which featured some great storylines and evolving characters. As the story unfolds, many fans seem to feel that things have overall gone downhill for the show. Now you can decide for yourself with the DVD release of The Sopranos – The Complete Fifth Season, the last of the unreleased episodes thus far.

The fifth season of The Sopranos introduced a number of strong new characters, most notably Tony Blundetto (Steve Buscemi) and Feech La Manna (Robert Loggia). It also further developed the growing distance between Tony and Johnny Sack (Vincent Curatola), a friend and highly-placed member of the Lupertazzi Family in New York. The distance grows as the power structure in the Lupertazzi Family deteriorates and a struggle for control ensues. On top of all of this, Tony is dealing with a separation and possible divorce (a big mobster no-no) from his wife Carmela (Edie Falco). Things with Christopher (Michael Imperioli) and his fiancé Adriana (Drea de Matteo), who is informing for the FBI, also build up steam. Oh, and there’s a bear too.

The Sopranos comes off of a bad stretch entering into its fifth season. While the third and fourth seasons were no slouches by network television standards (the worst of them still far exceeds the CSIs of the world), the storylines had definitely taken a downward turn. In this fifth season, some aspects of the show begin to shine again while others wither. The worst of the offenders is Tony’s crush on his psychiatrist, Dr. Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) early in the season. This subplot has been visited before and it didn’t work too well then either. The deterioration of Tony and Carmela’s marriage also leaves a bad taste. This is also a subplot that was approached differently previously; her infatuation with Furio (Federico Castelluccio) one season earlier. It didn’t work then either. She’s stayed with Tony for this long, so why leave now? It’s not like Carmela doesn’t know what her husband does or what it means for her to leave him. Based on what’s come from the first three seasons, this seems out of character for her. Growing apart is one thing, but Carmela always seemed more like the sort to remain in a loveless marriage for the sake of the kids and appearances.

Of course, when the season nails a plotline, it really serves up the goods. Steve Buscemi seems like an odd choice at first, be he’s great as Tony’s cousin Tony B. His role ties into the sorry state of affairs between Soprano and Johnny Sack and the unrest in the New York, by far the season’s strongest elements. Only revealing mild spoilers, Carmine Lupertazzi (Tony Lip) dies early in the season and a power struggle for control of the family ensues between Johnny Sack and Carmine’s son, Little Carmine (Ray Abruzzo). Tony B has ties to an associate of Little Carmine’s, whom he did time with. Without giving anything away, this proves to be a point of contention between Johnny Sack and Tony S and one that has disastrous consequences.

The DVD release of the fifth season of The Sopranos is pretty light in the special features department. This time around, HBO didn’t even make an attempt to give the appearance of bonus content. There are commentary tracks for five episodes featuring the director for each episode (and, in one case, actress Drea de Matteo); “All Happy Families…” (Rodrigo Garcia), “Sentimental Education” (Peter Bogdanovich), “In Camelot” (Steve Buscemi), “Cold Cuts” (Mike Figgis), and “Long Term Parking” (Drea de Matteo). That’s all. The commentaries are cool additions, considering the presence of Bogndanovich and Buscemi, and fairly informative, but still, that’s all you get. Considering the relatively high price tag for the box set ($60-100, depending on where you shop), a bit more in the bonus content department would be nice.

Ultimately, the fifth season of The Sopranos is a mixed success. The strong elements are incredibly good, but the only way to get to them is to endure the boring stuff. Not much has changed on the show stylistically, a fact which works to its advantage. No matter how the story has unfolded, viewers are still getting the same kind of program they got when they first tuned in six years ago. The DVD box set is worth buying if you’re really a fan, but the fact that HBO consistently airs reruns of its popular programs, not to mention the advent of OnDemand stations, mean that a purchase really isn’t necessary. The release of a box set containing the episodes and little else is just not worthy of the $60+ price tag attached to it.

DVD Season Score: B+
DVD Special Features Score: C-
Overall Score: B