The Sopranos made history when it used CGI to bring a deceased character back to the screen, but 24 years later fans are still divided over the move which cost $300,000
Fans of the popular TV series The Sopranos remain divided over a “controversial” decision that cost HBO $300,000.
While the groundbreaking CGI was considered innovative at the time, fans now believe it could have been avoided. The use of CGI became necessary when one of the main stars of the early seasons passed away before the start of the third season.
To address this, the show’s creators opted to use CGI to resurrect the actor on screen, a move still debated among fans. A social media user on X recently shared a clip of the CGI work, which some fans feel has not aged well and continue to be disappointed by the decision to use special effects to bring Nancy Marchand back to the screen after her death.
Marchand played mob boss Tony Soprano’s mother, Livia, and sadly died in 2000 at the age of 71. Twenty four years ago today, the episode “Proshai, Livushka” of The Sopranos premiered as a double bill to kick off season three.
Due to Nancy Marchand’s death, HBO controversially spent $300k to bring the actress back for one final scene using CGI.
The Sopranos Guy, an expert on the David Chase show, wrote: “Also, on this day, 24 years ago, The Sopranos episode “Proshai, Livushka” premiered as a double bill to open season 3. “Due to Nancy Marchand’s passing, HBO spent $300k to controversially bring the actress back for one last scene using CGI.”
The episode in question first hit the screens on March 4, 2001, with its use of CGI being lauded as “groundbreaking” at the time, yet it left a less than satisfying impression on certain viewers.
The Sopranos fan commented: “At the time, this was considered groundbreaking, but personally, I think this is one of those instances where we could have done without it.”
The show’s fans were divided; some had not even noticed the use of computer graphics to resurrect Marchand for the third season. One viewer admitted: “I’ve probably seen this episode 10 times and I didn’t know it was CGI until now.”
Another added: “It was…. not very good CGI and made watching the episode quite uncomfortable.” Meanwhile, other spectators suggested cost-effective alternatives to the controversial CGI that might have been more congruent with the show.
Suggesting a different approach, a fan mentioned: “Honestly if they had just used a double, shot from behind the chair and reused some audio clips it would’ve worked better than the cgi head lmao.”
Yet, there were those who disagreed, believing that the CGI added an additional dimension to the scene, giving protagonist Tony Soprano a semblance of “closure”.
A fan explained their perspective: “Do people really not like this scene? The fact that he’s obviously arguing with preexisting footage and she’s not really there makes it so surreal, I take it like he’s hallucinating some closure.”
