Attempted whacking of HBO website

Penning the series finale to a beloved show is a thankless job. A program's resolution is never quite good enough, and always leaves fans feeling disappointed, cheated, or flat-out angry (one notable exception, in my opinion, was the final offering of Newhart). Creator/writer of The Sopranos, David Chase, apparently couldn't please his rabid army of fans hungry for a fitting end to their favorite Mob family.

After the final curtain was drawn yesterday evening on the sixth and final season of the beloved series, angry fans began to stalk the HBO website. Countless letters of strongly-worded outrage at the show's less-than-fulfilling outcome (I won't post any spoilers here) ultimately crashed the site of the cable network, which is a unit of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX).

The Sopranos, which centers on the life of Tony Soprano (the inimitable James Gandolfini) as he balances his home life with his responsibilities as a high-ranking official in the world of organized crime, is the final of HBO's cash cows to bid adieu. While Entourage and Big Love are critically acclaimed, they do not attract the ratings of Sopranos (or former success story Sex and the City).

The Sopranos finale evidently angered so many viewers that some analysts are predicting a rapid spike in cancellations of the premium service, which costs about $10 to $15 each month, depending on your cable provider.

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.