Guys and dolls

Channel 4's The Sopranos oozes machismo. But, as Fiona Morrow learns from the show's creator and his female stars, it's the Mafia women who are increasingly calling the shots

The Sopranos may look like a show about men but, let's face it, it's the women who have elevated it beyond the standard myth-making Mafioso fare. Sure, Tony and his crew run a good line in extortion backed up with a serious threat to personal safety, but they're all momma's boys at heart.

It could hardly have been otherwise: the show's creator, David Chase, admitted from the get-go that his baby was inspired by his mother, and that Tony's mom, Livia, (played by the late Nancy Marchand) was her screen incarnation. He was also clear that the gangster milieu was simply a sexy façade for exploring that far more mundane question, the meaning of life.

"Tony's a guy. He's younger than me, but he's approximately my age," says Chase. "He thinks like I do; he watches the same programmes that I do; so I guess I can relate to him OK. And I would like to think the show is successful because people are seeing in it human beings behaving in the 21st century in the way human beings really do behave. I hope the audience is going, 'You know what? I'm not a mobster but I know people like that. In fact, that's me.'"

The fourth season (now screening on Channel 4) was due to go into production shortly after September 11. The events of that day caused Chase and his team to take the scripts back to the drawing-board. Along with the more obvious responses – reshooting the opening credits without the twin towers; making reference to the tragedy and its economic effects through the characters – Chase believed that the show needed a shift in tone and emphasis. He decided that the fourth year would focus more explicitly on the family.

If that makes it sound as though The Sopranos has turned to mush, don't worry – it hasn't. In fact, although the violence may have taken a bit of a back seat, the personal crises perpetuated in the current season are twice as dark. And, with the fifth (and possibly final) year about to begin shooting in New York, it's the behaviour of the women that may determine how Tony (James Gandolfini) lives or dies.

Gandolfini knows the score: "Tony just sits there and is completely abused by women. And they're all very strong, almost like Lady Macbeth. In a lot of ways, they get into more trouble than the men."

At work, Tony is top dog – who dares contradict him braves his wrath – but at home it's a different story. His daughter stands up to him; his wife is becoming dangerously disillusioned; his female psychiatrist never lets him off the hook; his nephew's fiancée has been compromised by the FBI; and his sister's middle name is trouble. Tony's a wiseguy with more than one serious domestic headache on the cards.

"Isn't it great?" laughs Edie Falco, in Los Angeles for the Screen Actors Guild awards (she won best actress in a drama series for her role as Tony's long-suffering wife, Carmela). "I love doing this show so much, but after a while it was like, 'Oh look, I make a lasagne', and all of a sudden I had this meaty stuff to do. I was really excited.

"To me, it's always been about the marriage and the family," she says. "But it's true that they all go through an awful lot in this season. The marriage has never been an ideal one; Carmela's never been particularly thrilled with it and she's finally started asking herself the question: 'Is this what I want? Am I getting all that I need?'"

Though inevitably morally compromised by her husband's line of work, Carmela has mastered the art of turning the other cheek. But easy living has become increasingly sour for her, as have her husband's many infidelities. Though she's never strayed herself, remember that Carmela has had a couple of flirtations – first with her priest Father Phil, then with a decorator who ran scared when he learnt of her connections. The frustrations of family life continue in the current series, with Senora Soprano increasingly open to a bit of care and attention.

"I think for her it's about being loved and just being seen," suggests Falco. "All that she is when she's around her husband and kids is the wife and the mother, but she's human. And she's alive at the same time that we're all alive, dealing with whatever we are dealing with in our country. So, when an attractive man looks at her and really sees her, she finds it intoxicating."

Flirting gives Carmela an emotional fillip, but she's savvy enough to recognise that cash is the root of all independence: suddenly financial planning is high on the Soprano household's priorities. "It's very interesting to wonder how far she'll decide to take it," says Falco. "Will she take it to the next level? Will she leave her marriage?" She shakes her head at my raised eyebrows. "Don't ask me. I'm always the last to know."

If Carmela is taking control, Dr Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) is messing with Tony's head. "She's on him," laughs Bracco in that inimitable gravel-packed voice. "But it's not like I'm a nagging wife; it's a whole different approach. I'm always bringing up the past, bringing up his mother, and he's always fighting it. But," she grins, "I love it that Melfi's smarter than him; I really get off on that. I don't know why, but I do."

We all know that Tony has the hots for the buttoned-up shrink, but does Bracco believe that Melfi has any power over her infamous client? "When Tony says that Melfi has caused him to make mistakes at work, that's when I figure I'm doing a good job. So he didn't kill 12 people this week; he only killed 10 – we're doing good here."

Talk of killings makes Drea de Matteo squirm. As Adriana, De Matteo is both the most dangerous and the most endangered of the female characters – the FBI has got to her, and how soon will it be before she puts up or is shut up? "Oh God," moans De Matteo. "I just wish that she would tell – I spent the whole year thinking that I was going to get whacked, and now I'm nervous all over again."

But surely the girls have the upper hand in this relationship now? "Yeah, that sounds good to me," smiles Falco. "It certainly looks that way. The matriarch of an Italian family is always a silently powerful entity. But, while I think Carmela would say she was the most powerful in the relationship, I don't know that I would. Tony's a pretty powerful guy."

So does she think he'll eventually bite back? "I don't know. I don't think so. What's the alternative? I can't imagine Tony's going to kill her." She gulps at the thought. "Well, if he does, I guess I'm out of work."

'The Sopranos' is on Channel 4 on Tuesday at 10.35pm