Alas, Tony Soprano, I knew him well

I was reminded earlier today of an excerpt from "Macbeth":

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more: it is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.*

There you have it — the "Sopranos" series finale, summed up by the David Chase of the 17th Century, William Shakespeare.

It was the ultimate anticlimax for pay-TV's ultimate antihero. It was an ending meant to simultaneously please and embitter all viewers.

But instead of pondering what it all means, I can only wonder what the ending of HBO's showcase series will mean for the world.

Assuming the water-cooler talk continues on through the week (thanks in some part to those catching up with the finale on DVR or TiVo), productivity in workplaces worldwide will either see a big boost or — far more likely — turn their collective attentions to The Next Big Thing.

Again, I constantly remind myself that a small percentage of Americans have ever watched HBO beyond the realm of big-ticket boxing, let alone a single episode of any series... and that the diehard "Sopranos" aficionados represent a small enclave of Americana.

And if you've read this far into this post, you must have something to say about how Casa Soprano closed up shop for good. Email me or comment back on how you thought the series should have ended.

At least you can stop wondering if Furio or the Russian are coming back.

UPDATE: The ratings are in... "The Sopranos" series finale, despite being available to only 30 million households nationwide, bested all of the programs on Fox, ABC and CBS for the ratings week.

Of course, the Don of New Jersey has always been obsessed with ducks, but in this case it's the Peacock Network that did better than the HBO series' swan song. The premiere of NBC's "America's Got Talent" came in at No. 1.