It's been a heck of a run. Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX) and its spin-off Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) have reaped many financial and publicity-related benefits with the HBO hit series The Sopranos. But as any mobster would tell you, all good things inevitably get whacked. Or do they?

Is HBO really going to kill off Tony Soprano? That's the question on everyone's lips, with only about 100 hours to go before the season's much-hyped finale. But apart from the character, do the companies behind the man want to kill off potential future revenue? There is plenty to be made at the end of the series, of course, including key DVD and boxed set sales. But the really big payoff remains: Tony Soprano. The public still doesn't know if he lives or dies. The same goes for the rest of his crew and his rivals, but Tony is the key since without him any derivatives would be called The Goombas.

So this might not be the end after all for Tony. Since this was a huge driver for Time's HBO unit, it is hard to believe HBO won't try to milk it with future offshoots or at least some cameo shows.

Regardless of who lives and dies in the finale of the mega-hit series, the chances of an offshoot series called The Leotardos" has a name set for failure. Most likely -- given the "follow the money" theory -- if Tony Soprano dies, Time Warner will decide that any future continuation of the series just doesn't merit the costs.