Five years ago “The Sopranos” became a surprise TV hit on HBO. Who would have guessed that America would tune in every week to watch the family life of a New Jersey mafia family “cope” with the challenges of upper-middle class while keeping a crime ring running. Even for a mafia family, it is tough to get the manipulative grandma into a retiring home, the teenage son onto the football team and the daughter into Columbia University. Having the police breath down daddy’s neck is not helping either. The show was exceedingly well-conceived and written. The creators had a good ear for contemporary American culture. A couple of weeks ago, I began to watch Season 5 on DVD. But after two shows I gave up. The team of directors and writers were simply out of ideas to make the show move forward with dramatic force. Good night Anthony Jr., good night Meadow, good night Camilla, good night Tony… The first four seasons will always remain one of the highpoints in the history of TV.