Warm up the TiVo … The Sopranos will be rerun on A&E come 2006.
It may or may not be the episodes as they aired on HBO:
Abbe Raven, president of A&E, said that the network would work with HBO to edit “tailor-made” episodes of “The Sopranos” that “meet our broadcast standards.” While the cable network is not subject to the same Federal decency requirements in prime time as the broadcast networks, A&E is advertiser-supported, and Ms. Raven said that the network is mindful of how the program’s harsh dialogue, violence and occasional nudity will be received by advertisers and viewers alike.
One person who had been apprised of the deal said that A&E was considering showing more than one version of the same episode – perhaps an edited version in prime time, and an unedited version later at night. TBS, which began broadcasting “Sex and the City” in syndication last year, worked with HBO to edit episodes of the comedy for broadcast.
In editing “The Sopranos,” A&E has already been given a head start by HBO. During production, HBO stipulated that actors on “The Sopranos” record alternative dialogue – known as a looping reel – in which some of its roughest language would be toned down. The dialogue had been rerecorded not necessarily with an eye on syndication but so that “The Sopranos” might someday be broadcast on airlines or in the international market.
I’ve watched only a handful of eps — we don’t take HBO, and I caught them in hotel rooms on business trips — but I always found them entertaining.