Back With a Vengeance

In its first seasons, there was a shot of the World Trade Center in the opening credits of each episode. It later was removed, and "The Sopranos" reflects the realities of the post-9/11 world. Refusing to admit a delegate to a conference because the man forgot to bring a "photo ID," the young woman on duty notes, shrugging, "It's a whole new world." Indeed. Two FBI agents who had been assigned to the mob show up at a local diner (more meals are served in "The Sopranos" than Julia Child ever dreamed of preparing) lamenting that they've now been assigned to the terrorism beat.

That news is met with some skepticism by Christopher -- played by the explosive and indispensable Michael Imperioli. Although the death of Christopher's beloved Adriana was one of the climactic horrors of the last "Sopranos" cycle, it's conceivable you might get a glimpse of the ethereally beautiful Drea de Matteo -- who so memorably played the part -- early in the new one.

How is that possible? Chase and his creation, Tony, are increasingly enthralled by the thin line between life and death, here and now, by the beckoning, blinding light that supposedly shines from the other side. There's a pronounced Eastern influence to the new episodes, and not just in terms of philosophical musings. Little details enrich the milieu: Tony and Carmela's new passion for Japanese food; a strange encounter with a pair of bellicose Buddhists who are upset about the heating system in their monastery; or Tony pausing as he channel-surfs to watch a rerun of the ancient series "Kung Fu" on TV.

Circumstances compel Tony and other characters to face Zenlike issues of existence, fate and, especially, mortality. Hal Holbrook, looking like the spitting image of Albert Einstein, pops up in Episode 4 as a physicist given to pondering those ever-pesky universal questions about oneness with the universe: "Nothing is separate; everything is connected." In line with the miraculous reappearance of de Matteo as Adriana, it's possible that another resident of the hereafter, a good-humored ex-con played by the unmistakable Steve Buscemi, also might be spotted fleetingly.

We aren't saying he will; we aren't saying he won't. It does seem copacetic to mention minor revelations, such as: that Tony is off Prozac and that the Tony-Carmela union is back on sound footing after the acrimonious frenzy of last season; that the lethally berserk Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) is given to such delusions as having $40,000 buried somewhere in the back yard; that the intimidating Paulie (Tony Sirico) will take a break from bashing and thrashing and issuing venomous threats and find himself weeping helplessly over a stunning news flash; and that the surprisingly affecting rock star Steven Van Zandt finally will turn into bona fide actor Steven Van Zandt, his role in the show and in the family expanded.

Violence can, as usual, explode at any moment, almost always ingeniously timed and staged to catch a viewer off guard and leave him with a feeling of profound sadness. We also see, very graphically, the devastating effects violence can have -- say, a bullet fired into an unsuspecting victim at close range. The term "blown away" is more than colorful slang. Writer Terence Winter and director Tim Van Patten show us, in an early episode, the ghastly damage a gun can do. Parts of a human body can, indeed, be blown away. As obvious as that sounds, thousands of victims have been shot in hundreds of movies and suffered damage no more serious than a tiny hole in a suit jacket.

On "The Sopranos," it's different. Everything's different. That's because we are in a different dominion here, another place. Chase is making "The Sopranos" stranger, darker, more artful, more surreal -- a maze of alternate worlds to alternate worlds that still remains grounded in reality. Chase's series -- more than any other, ever -- helps justify the cheeky company slogan: "It's not TV. It's HBO."

In that sense, tonight marks much more than the return of another TV show. It's the extension of a masterpiece that sweeps you deeper into a dream. The good old days are back, and they're not just good, they're golden.