An entry in the MINI Cooper Chronicles not about my recent "event"... how refreshing!
So, we're innocently watching the season finale (or the "half" season finale) of HBO's The Sopranos... and what motors onto our screen... a MINI Cooper!

Above, Christapha speaks with MINI Cooper owner/real-estate agent Julianna (played by ex-ER Nurse Hathaway Julianna Margulies... just a coincidence that the character and actress name is the same?).
While it was nice to see a Cooper, it didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. Granted she works with commercial property (wheeling and dealing for Jamba Juice)... but don't real estate agents generally have fancier (or at least bigger!) cars to cart around clients? I guess the driver's side window came in handy during the filming of the sex scene... those side windows seem much bigger than other cars!
We also thought we saw another Cooper in the previous episode... when Ro and Carmela were dining in Paris, we are pretty sure there was a grey MINI stopped outside the restaurant window. I didn't get a chance to screen-cap that one... I was just relieved that Carm had shut the f*ck up about her f#ckin' spec house for one god-damn minute! (Sorry, this show makes you talk like that sometimes)
I am a bit surprised over the negative criticism about the season finale (`The Sopranos' ends on disappointing note) - geez, for the most part James Gandolfini can sneeze and critics are hailing him a shoe-in for an Emmy... and our local newspaper television critic is nothing short of orgasmic about the show.
Personally, I have always thought the show was/is a bit over-hyped... that said, it's still easily on my short-list of best shows on television... but even I didn't have any problems with the finale. Sure, on the surface, it appeared to end with a whimper... but there are a lot of things simmering. But I guess since it didn't have a "shocker" (though, for me, the Julianna developments certainly qualify)... folks were left wanting a little more. One of the nice things about this show is that it doesn't rush. Unlike some other shows, I have confidence that David Chase & Co. will get where they want to, when they want to.

Yes it was product placement. It was actually the 4th time in the series this year that a mini cooper was feautured- this being in my opinion a bit too extreme and improperly placed. That isn't the kind of car that girl would drive. But they were stuck with what she would drive.
Posted by: Cast Extra | Friday, June 09, 2006 at 12:19 AM