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Sopranos Finale Sends HBO's Web Site Into the Black

The series finale of HBO's hit show The Sopranos closed last Sunday with a controversial ending which reportedly brought hundreds of thousands of cable and satellite viewers online to HBO's web site which reportedly crashed the site due to the volume of visits from many confused and upset viewers.

After an arguably slow paced season, the final episode brought resolution to a heated New York vs. New Jersey organized crime rivalry, however the final minutes of the episode left cable and satellite subscribers with plenty to discuss on the online blogs, message boards and radio.

The episode ends with Tony Soprano (played by actor James Gandolfini) awaiting his family's arrival at a diner to the soundtrack of Journey's "Don't Stop Believing." One by one, Tony’s family enters the restaurant with Tony habitually watching the front door - eyeing entrances and movements of suspicious patrons for what could be his last supper.

Sopranos Director David Chase managed to successfully take viewers through an emotional roller coaster ride to "Don't Stop Believing" in these final minutes instilling circular emotions of horror, tension, fear and relief.

The show ends with daughter Meadow Soprano about to make her entrance into the diner after spending the last few moments struggling to parallel park her car, when Tony abruptly looks up - the screen goes to black for several moments, only to be followed by the final credits in silence.

Video and Internet Usage

This ending caused many confused and upset HBO subscribers to check the web site to verify if what they just saw on their television was actually the end of the show. The large surge of viewers who went to HBO's web site reportedly brought down the site temporarily due to the unexpected increase in web traffic from the ending of The Sopranos.

Interaction between the entertainment medias of video and internet should come as no surprise in this day and age and is expected to increase with the accessibility of bundles services (video, internet and phone) as well and the growing popularity of special interest blogs where online subscribers can discuss and read about video programming.

Many cable and satellite customers who subscribe to HBO can watch the final episode and see for themselves what all of the buzz is about via OnDemand services in case they missed it.

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