LETTERS

摘要

The sopranos, the widely viewed hbo television series por-traying contemporary Mafia life in New Jersey, recently aired its final episode. Future critics of popular culture who look back on The Sopranos years from now may especially appreciate its relatively sophisticated treatment of genetic themes. By my count, the 86 episodes aired since 1999 include 20 explicit dialogs about genetics. These range from the comical ("Two beautiful kids—you must be proud... yeah, yeah—how about that huh?... Even with our genes.") to dinnertime conversation about the number of nucleotides in a chromosome, to the forensic ("cut him up in the work area?... no more of that: DNA.") and the dramatic ("My God— there's nothing holding us together but DNA!").