The opening credits and theme tune are brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.

The first few minutes of the pilot episode are very, very enjoyable. A man goes to a psychiatrist. In flashback, we see him and his family life. We see him playing with ducks in his swimming pool, in a genuinely charming and original scene. And then we have a wonderful dialogue between the patient and the psychiatrist where she lets him know that if he's committed any crimes she would "technically" be obliged to inform the police.

It's obvious after these first few minutes that David Chase is the man behind it. It's really, really enjoyable. Sure footed and enjoyable.

The next scene is a chase scene, in which our hero Tony tracks down somebody who owes him some money. The scene is well directed and action packed. It's very funny. It's also very strong. Just like Tony, David Chase - the director/writer - pulls no punches. What we see on screen is pretty graphic by America TV standards. But it's very engrossing.

The pilot is advancing nicely. We have four strands: the conversation between Tony and his Psychiatrist is framing all the action; Meanwhile we see Tony's medical difficulties (we saw him fainting/passing out at a barbecue);

And then we have two subplots: one involving a war with a rival waste disposal company, and Tony's nephew is shown taking care of that problem by killing one of the competition. The other subplot concerns news that Tony's uncle intends to "whack" somebody in Tony's friends restaurant. Something Tony wants to stop, because it will harm his friends business. He wants the killing relocated.

Tony leaves the psychiatrists and then we see him have another fainting spell. And he returns to her office.

I find the camera angle very interesting. The camera on the psychiatrist accentuates the fact that she is wearing a short skirt. Not in an exploitative way, but in a manner that reminds us: this is a very attractive woman. And she is. Very attractive.

And suddenly it's interesting for me - the viewer - to watch the dynamic that developing between Tony and the psychiatrist. One of the things Christ Carter says about The X-Files is that it's fun to watch a very intelligent man and a very intelligent woman, in the same room at the same time, kinda butting heads. That there's great sexual tension is such a scenario. And here - in The Sopranos - there's a huge sexual tension developing.

We just had a scene with Tony's wife and Tony's daughter arguing. The daughter has previously been punished for sneaking out to see a boy and the mother is trying to uphold a tradition whereby they always go together on a certain day every year for "tea and scones" at a certain hotel.

And it's a really, really compelling gripping scene. Well acted by the two actresses.

This pilot is just excellent so far. Engrossing. Entertaining. Brilliant, really. "Grade: A" material.

We've just had a very cool scene in a restaurant. Tony was out and he met the psychiatrist. She was out with her partner. He was out with… his mistress, I presume. And he, of course, being a prominent mobster was allowed jump the queue. And because he's so grateful to her (for giving him Prozac) he arranges for her to get a table really quickly. And it was just a really funny scene. Watching her partner's reaction to the fact that the psychiatrist knew the mobster and was so close to him that he arranged for her to jump the queue.

Yes, that girl was his mistress. The following scene makes that perfectly clear.

One thing David Chase is very good at is creating conflict out of the characters. Tony wanted to send his friend out of town (to close the business and thus relocate the hit mentioned earlier), so he gave him some tickets for a cruise, and the friend's wife objected because Tony's a mobster and the friend had to give back the tickets. And it was good conflict.

And the scene I've just seen, now, was the one where Tony tells his wife that he's seeing a therapist. It's a very funny, sharp, witty scene, and what's really good about it is the part where Tony tells his wife that if anybody finds out what he is doing, he'll get a gun in the back of the head.

Heightening the danger.

Creating a great sense of drama out of the fact that this man is going to see a psychiatrist. It's a great hook for a TV series.

It's interesting that while Tony told his wife he was seeing a shrink, showing her (and us) how much he trusted her - she being the only person he trusts "on the planet" - he did not tell her that this shrink was a woman. He failed to correct her misconception that the therapist was male.

Great character choice.

And, again, heightens the drama/conflict.

Okay, we just had a scene with Tony's mother and Tony's uncle. And it was a real threatening scene. Two very sinister, very bad, people. Cool.

We started off with Tony in the swimming pool, with the little family of ducks. They left, and it prompted his anxiety attack. The last thing we see in the pilot is the big empty swimming pool.

The closing theme tune is… interesting in the sense that I didn't initially like it. This was my first time to hear it. I suppose it will grow on me.