Fans of The Sopranos are still split on a controversial choice that cost HBO £234,000 (Image: Getty)
Fans of hit television show The Sopranos are still split on a “controversial” decision which cost $300,000 (£234,000).
Where the expensive CGI was groundbreaking at the time, fans say they could do without it in hindsight. The use of CGI in the show was deemed necessary by some, however, as one of the main stars of the show’s early seasons had sadly passed before the start of season three.
As a workaround, the show’s creators decided to use CGI to bring the actor to life on screen, a move still considered controversial by fans of the show. A social media user on has since shared a clip of the CGI work, which has aged rather poorly according to some fans who are still underwhelmed by the choice to use special effects to bring Nancy Marchand to the screen after her death. Marchand portrayed mob boss Tony Soprano’s mother, Livia. She sadly passed away in 2000 at the age of 71.
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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 Sopranos Guy™ (@uncle_june)
The Sopranos Guy, an expert on the David Chase programme, 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.”
March 4, 2001, marked the date the episode aired for the first time, with the CGI chosen “considered groundbreaking” but leaving sour viewing experience for some.
The Sopranos Guy added: “At the time, this was considered groundbreaking, but personally, I think this is one of those instances where we could have done without it.”
Fans of the show were split, with some not realising until now that the show had used CGI as a way of bringing Marchand back for the third season.
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One fan wrote: “I’ve probably seen this episode 10 times and I didn’t know it was CGI until now.” Another user wrote: “It was….not very good CGI and made watching the episode quite uncomfortable.”
Other fans even suggested a cheaper, tasteful workaround to the CGI which could have been incorporated into the show. They wrote: “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.”
Another disagreed, saying the CGI adds another layer to the scene which gives lead character Tony Soprano a moment of “closure”.
They wrote: “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.”