Long before the so-called "golden age of TV" arrived, "The Sopranos" seemed to hint at what was in store for the small screen. The groundbreaking show suggested what today seems axiomatic: that TV could be just as compelling, contain just as much tight storytelling, and feel just as premium as any movie. As far as television dramas go, "The Sopranos" set a standard that few series, even today, manage to meet.

Still, not everything the writers did was met with unanimous praise. The legacy of "The Sopranos" wasn't exactly sullied by what is surely one of the most divisive endings in TV history, but that infamous fade-to-black left some fans feeling let down by a series that never shied away from depicting the brutality of mob life. Put simply, you never really knew who was going to be offed from episode to episode, and while killing off characters on "The Sopranos...