2007'S VALEDICTORIANS: THE SOPRANOS

Every now and then, David Chase will open up the newspaper and suddenly feel the old crackle of inspiration that kept The Sopranos alive and electrifying for eight years. ''I'll see a story about some bit of Mob business and go, 'Oh, that would have been a great story for us,''' he says. ''Sure, I miss it.''

Five months have passed since that ''Don't Stop Believin''' finale, in which Tony, Carmela, AJ, and Meadow gathered for a late (and last?) supper, only to be interrupted by a smashing, baffling cut to black. Show creator Chase still bristles at what he calls the ''twisted desire'' of those who wanted to see Tony get rubbed out. But he doesn't buy into the life-went-on/people-never-change theory, either. ''I do think therapy helped Tony,'' says Chase, ''but it was never going to 'cure' him of being a mobster.'' Either way, the debate itself epitomized everything that was bada bing! about the show to begin with. Chase, truly the godfather of today's watercooler TV, puts it this way: ''I always liked hearing how there would be these dinner parties, where people would have ziti, watch the show, and talk about it afterwards. Knowing we had viewers like that emboldened us and challenged us to create a richer, deeper show.'' And now — smash to black — the party's over. —Jeff Jensen

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