Critics split on Sopranos ending

James Gandolfini made the role of Tony Soprano his own

WARNING: CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS

Critics and fans have been split over the finale of the mob drama The Sopranos, which has come to an end after eight years.

Some US viewers were convinced that cable station HBO had gone off air after a mid-scene fade to black which marked the show's unorthodox conclusion.

Opinion is split on whether this was a stroke of genius, or just left everything up in the air.

Washington Post TV critic Tom Shales said the finale "may have been the greatest double take by the audience in the history of American television".

'Mischievous dig'

But Hollywood publication Variety was underwhelmed, calling it "a finale without finality", while Alessandra Stanley writing in the New York Times called it a "prank".

"It was a mischievous dig at viewers who had agonised over how television's most addictive series would come to a close," she added.

Chase was true to himself, and that's what made The Sopranos brilliant on Sunday night, and the 85 episodes that went before it Frazier Moore, Associated Press

TV Guide critic Matt Roush said: "You could sue for dramatic whiplash," but that series creator David Chase remained "defiant to the end".

"It wasn't a finale, it was an ending. It just stopped," but added this was the "revolution" of the show's parting shot.

The HBO network said it was flooded with 10 times its usual volume of viewer feedback after Sunday night's final episode, while the official Sopranos chatroom on their website crashed.

Some fans posting messages on the site were angered, with one person saying "you guys got robbed, major big time!"

"David Chase left way too many loose ends dangling in the air, and too many questions unanswered," wrote another.