Fade to Black Has 'Sopranos' Fans Seeing Red

English-lit fans who liked the ending really got a chance to strut their stuff yesterday. Some insisted the "Sopranos" final scene was a clincher for that great line Macbeth got off in his play -- you know, the one that goes, "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

There was some disagreement as to whether the final nine episodes represent the nine circles of Hell in Dante's "The Divine Comedy."

And, theologians debated onion rings as Eucharist.

Some critics, most of whom came from the "Sopranos"-as-greatest-TV-drama- of-all-time camp, also liked the finale.

"Whether you were waiting for one of the more popular predicted endings -- Tony in Witness Protection, Tony killed by Phil's guys, Furio and/or the Russian coming back for revenge, what have you -- or just for an ending, period, chances are that cut-to-black had you pulling a William Shatner in 'Wrath of Khan,' pointing your face at the heavens and bellowing, 'CHAAAAASE!!!!!!' " wrote Newark Star-Ledger critic Alan Sepinwall.

"And yet the finale, both the first 55 minutes of it and that sadistic last scene, fit perfectly with everything Chase has done on this show before."

Dallas Morning News media critic Tom Maurstad asked rhetorically: "So 'The Sopranos' ends with what may be the most frustrating episode ever. Could there be a more appropriate conclusion to a series that all along refused to cater to audience desires?"

In conclusion, for all you "Sopranos" fans who speculated Tony died when that last scene went black because those people in Holsten's were various characters from the series' past who had tried to do in our Tony, you are mistaken, according to the HBO rep.

And, if you are hoping to weigh the final scene that aired against the two alternative endings, that will never happen because, contrary to reports, there were no alternative endings shot, the HBO rep said.

But most important, if you were counting on . . .

[CUT TO BLACK]