It was almost fitting. After years of Channel 9 shafting The Sopranos, they found a way to shaft the show once more during its series finale. After years of timeslot changes, bad timeslots, and stopping the series mid-season, Channel Nein finally screened the final episode of the series last night.

For those of you familiar with the finale (as featured on Televised Revolution here), the final scene ends with Tony meeting his family at a diner. As Journeys “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” plays on the jukebox, the family file in one by one as Tony views his surrounding diners suspiciously. It looks like almost any one of them might be there to whack him. The scene abruptly cuts to black and hangs there for 30 seconds before the credits roll. For Tony, this is the rest of his life. Never knowing whether each meal may be his last, always fearful that someone nearby may be there to kill him.

It’s a brilliant scene and an amazing way to take out the show. The final black screen just hangs there, creating an amazing sense of anxiety in the viewer.

So, what do Channel 9 do? They edit it. The screen fades to black, then Channel 9 edit out the 30 seconds of the static black screen to roll the credits. This edit strips the show of almost any meaning its final scene had.

It is bonehead moves like this which is why viewers are giving up on free to air broadcasters and simply moving toward DVD’s or illegal downloads. Based on the past, one should have expected a move like this. But, it’s difficult not to approach these situations with a misplaced faith.

Don’t stop believin’.