The Desert Sun
June 12, 2007 June 12, 2007

"Sopranos" aficionado Patrick Evans had flown in two pizzas from Tony Soprano's favorite pizzeria, Pizza Land in North Arlington , N.J.

He and 12 friends were physically and emotionally attuned to the final episode of "The Sopranos" when, at the climactic moment, the screen went black.

But, there was nothing wrong with their television set, as millions of viewers across the nation soon discovered. That's how series creator David Chase wanted to end the show.

Fans on Web sites, and Evans' party, went through various phases of the grieving process.

"I would say the immediate reaction was everybody seemed stunned," said Evans, an Italian-American who uses that name for his jobs as weatherman and host of "Eye on the Desert" for CBS TV2 in Thousand Palms.

"When they went to black there was a silence of disbelief in the room. But, after they contemplated it for a little bit, some people said it was a great ending, but horribly unsatisfying."

Evans, who paid $75 to order pizzas from New Jersey , said he found the ending satisfying because he didn't want the HBO series to end. Now, he said, "I crave to see what happens next."

The HBO Web site was buzzing with complaints and raves about the finale. It did a good job building to a suspenseful climax, they said, but the climax never came.

Tony Prenesti, owner of Tony's Pasta Mia in Palm Springs , which displays a large picture of himself with the "Sopranos" cast, liked the ending.

Prenesti is friends with cast members Steven R. Schirripa, whose character, Bobby Bacala, was whacked in the previous episode, and John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia, who participated in the final sit-down meeting between the Jersey and Brooklyn mob bosses in the finale.

Prenesti predicted there'd be a sit-down and that Tony Soprano would escape unharmed.

"The way they ended it, I thought it was kind of ingenious because they left themselves open to come back and do a movie or something else," Prenesti said. "But they didn't leave you knowing if the guy was going to go to the bathroom and come back and whack him."

A Monday morning series of calls indicated "The Sopranos" was not in great demand in bars and coffee houses. Even Show Girls, the Cathedral City gentleman's club where women dance topless like the girls in "The Sopranos'" Bada Bing, kept its TVs on sports shows, a bartender said.

John Petievich, owner of the Fireside Lounge in Palm Springs , made a batch of spaghetti and watched the finale at home with his wife. He was disappointed there was no end, but appreciative of the way Chase teased his audience.

"I think the writer got what he wanted," Petievich said. "Everybody's talking about it today."