Bright Lights, Baked Ziti: The Unofficial, Unauthorised Guide to the Sopranos (Mass Market Paperback)

by David Bishop (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Sopranos is a cultural phenomenon. This award-winning drama breathes new life into the Italian/American mobster narrative, following the complex life of Tony Soprano - a major player in New Jersey's organised crimes fraternity who is also trying his best to be a good family man. Great characterisation, sharp dialogue and complex, darkly comic plots make the series compulsive viewing. This is the only complete, up-to-date guide to the series. The highlights of each episode are presented in an accessible, hugely entertaining format with obsessive attention to detail. It's all in here: the food, the music, the dreams, the visits to the psychiatrist, the snappy one-liners - plus all your favourite characters and five stand-alone essays about the series. This is the only completely up-to-date program guide, covering the first three seasons of this immensely popular and award-winning show.

About the Author
David Bishop was editor of the world-famous 2000 AD comic for 5 years...until 2000AD. He has written 3 Judge Dredd novels and one Doctor Who novel for Virgin, and is now a freelance writer living in Scotland. A self-confessed TV addict, he claims to be the UK's biggest fan of The Sopranos.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 284 pages
• Publisher: Virgin Publishing (October 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753505843
• ISBN-13: 978-0753505847
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,018,420 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A fun but not terribly insightful look at the Sopranos, December 19, 2002

By	Gary M. Greenbaum (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book consists of an episode guide for the first three seasons of the Sopranos, plus several short essays.

For each episode, Bishop gives us a plot description, then briefly discusses several topics "Mobspeak" has new mob terms used in the episode; "Mama Mia" tracks Livia's activities. The topics conclude with "The Verdict"--Bishop's opinion of the episode as a whole.

While the book promises insight and to tell us about things we might not have seen, it doesn't fully deliver. I doubt if any of the "insights" would come as news to anyone of normal intelligence who has paid attention while watching the series.

Bishop, a Brit, tends to use Britspeak at odd moments--he refers to the young Tony hiding in the "boot" of his father's car, for example, rather than the American "trunk". Much more annoying are the errors he makes--he misspells "Paterson" as "Patterson", gives the first name of the imprisoned mob boss (never seen) as Ercoli--it is actually Dominic, or Dom (Ercoli is Tony's late, mentally disabled uncle), and misspells "caporegime" as "copa-regime", among many others.

A somewhat-useful reference guide, since it includes cast lists (but you can get those from the HBO web site as well). But don't expect too much beyond it. The cheapest of the many Sopranos books out this season, and perhaps also the least worthy.

Try another Sopranos book before you go here.