The Sopranos' greatness was thanks in part to Tony Soprano's dad jokes

[TMC]

https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/...rano-dad-jokes

"Were these one-liners always manipulative in one way or another? I wouldn’t go that far," says Miles Klee of Tony's frequent use of lame dad jokes. "But they did evince a need — which Tony would have vehemently denied — to be liked. They also hinted at a desperation, in a world of decline and death, to keep things weightlessly light. And it was often this lightness that lulled victims into Tony’s orbit, this dad-at-the-grill banter that convinced them he was a friend and not a calculating opportunist. One minute, he’s got you chuckling; the next, he’s taken over your sporting goods store to settle a gambling debt."