EDITORIAL

‘The Sopranos’ brought Jersey to the world.

   When the final scene of the final episode of "The Sopranos" faded to black Sunday night, it didn’t just bring to a close one of the most popular and acclaimed television series of all time.
   It also marked the end of an era in New Jersey.
   For eight years and 86 episodes, "The Sopranos" gave its devoted viewers across the country and around the world a weekly glimpse of gritty life (and, on more than a few occasions, grizzly death) in the Garden State. It was always fiction, to be sure, but with just enough allusion to fact to evoke wry smiles and knowing nods of recognition from tried-and-true New Jerseyans.
   From the opening credits — with familiar scenes of the Lincoln Tunnel viaduct, the NJ Turnpike toll booth, Sacred Heart Cathedral in Newark, the Carteret tank farms and so much more — to the Star-Ledger in the driveway, repeated references to Rutgers and other constant reminders of where this particular "family" made its home, New Jersey was as much a part of "The Sopranos" as no-show jobs, topless dancers and hit men imported from the old country.
   Many of the references were not widely appreciated.
   When Tony conspired with a corrupt assemblyman and a prominent African-American community leader to scam the Department of Housing and Urban Development, it didn’t sit well with some politicians, community activists and federal housing officials. But no one could argue that the art of David Chase, the show’s creator and mastermind, wasn’t imitating an all-too-familiar slice of life in his native state.
   When a few of Tony’s close associates, cheered on by Uncle Junior, attacked a group of Native Americans who were protesting the Columbus Day parade on the ground that its namesake was more exploiter than explorer, several Italian-American groups reacted with indignation. (It’s safe to say that many in New Jersey’s large Italian-American community have had a love-hate relationship with the series and the stereotypes represented by its principal characters.)
   A couple of the series’ more memorable episodes introduced viewers to places familiar to many New Jerseyans but virtually unknown outside the state. In one, Tony came face to face with his own mortality in a macabre dream sequence on the Boardwalk in Asbury Park — with a backdrop of Madam Marie’s fortune-telling stand, Convention Hall, the Paramount Theater and the Stone Pony.
   In another, Christopher and Paulie chased a Russian named Valery through the Pine Barrens in the dead of winter, then spent the night huddled in an SUV nearly dying of frostbite — and nearly killing each other.
   Some landmarks were made famous by "The Sopranos." There’s Satriales Pork Shop (a warehouse in Kearny that’s being torn down to make way for a condominium — to be called, appropriately, "Soprano’s Court"). There’s the Bada Bing (its real name is Satin Dolls) in Lodi. And Pizzaland (a real place) in North Arlington.
   And the cast of characters with ties to New Jersey was never-ending. Tony (James Gandolfini) was born in Westwood, grew up in Park Ridge and went to Rutgers. Tony’s right-hand man, Silvio (Steven Van Zandt), gained fame as a guitarist with Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Frankie Valli, one of the original "Jersey Boys," played Rusty Milio for seven episodes until . . . well, we won’t spoil it for those who are still catching up via DVD or the sanitized version on A&E.
   So arrivederci, Sopranos. And thanks for sharing a little bit of New Jersey — warts and all — with the world.