Final-season therapy with Soprano's shrink

When "The Sopranos" signs off the airwaves June 10, it's arrivederci to Dr. Jennifer Melfi, the leggy, bespectacled, dusky-voiced shrink.

Eight years ago, Tony Soprano took one look at her and thought, Bada bing!

Without a Melfi, we'd have never, literally, gotten inside Tony's head. Without a Melfi, "The Sopranos" might have been just OK.

So as the HBO series' final nine episodes approached (they begin airing tonight), we put Dr. Melfi actor Lorraine Bracco, 52, on the couch. She was interviewed over the telephone at the end of March, having just arrived in Las Vegas for some R-and-R.

Q: It's only been a short while since you filmed the last episode. How are you feeling?

A: We're still in it. We're not done yet. One more day.

Q: Are you getting sad?

A: Yeah, I am. I don't really want it to end. In my world, if I was the ruler of the universe, we'd be doing this for a much longer time. But I'm not the ruler of the universe.

Q: So you haven't yet had a chance to steal anything from the set. Melfi's chair, maybe?

A: (Laughs.) I really do want my chair!

Q: And these final episodes? Did the story turn out how you expected?

A: I think that's one of the reasons why it's been so interesting a show, because it's never been what we expected.

Q: Why do you think the public has fallen so hard for "The Sopranos?"

A: It's great writing. Great acting. No commercials. To me, that's a win-win situation.

Q: I've read that after "Goodfellas" (for which Bracco was nominated for an Oscar), you wanted to try something different. That you didn't want to be Carmela?

A: Correct.

Q: And what was so appealing to you about the Jennifer Melfi character (she's been nominated three times for an Emmy, four times for a Golden Globe)?

A: I loved that she was a character against him (Tony). A female character that was very strong. That was very smart. And I knew that she would always be a great addiction for him.

Q: And have there been moments when the words on the page just made you cheer or made you flinch?

A: All the time. Those politically incorrect moments. You know the show crossed religion, color, ethnic groups. No one's been spared.

Q: You've been very open about your own struggles in your book, "On the Couch." Personal, financial, emotional struggles. (A turbulent marriage to Harvey Keitel; an affair with Edward James Olmos). Can you talk a little bit about how your experiences helped you for this role?

A: I'm curious to look at it, as a whole. But I don't think I can really see it clearly right now. I need some time to look back in retrospect.

Q: We've seen the attraction between Melfi and Tony. His kiss. His fixing her car. But when she could have really used his talents for snuffing people — to go after her rapist — she declined. What are we to make of this relationship?

A: We've grown together. I think he's made progress. He acknowledges that, and that was very nice for me.

I could have told him about the rapist, but what would that have made me?

That would have made me a gangster, and that episode (in Season Three) was all about Melfi's morality.

And she wasn't going to cross that patient/doctor line. That boundary. She was going to stay true to the oath she took when she became a psychiatrist.

Q: For the most part, except for that bit when we saw Melfi with her son and ex having dinner, and when she was with her own shrink, we just see you in your office. In your chair. Did you ever get jealous that you didn't get to kill anyone on the show? Or have more scenes in which you're stuffing your face?

A: (Laughs.) It would have been good to eat. When I first met David (Chase, creator of the show), I said, "Listen. If you're going to make a mockery of therapy and if you make her some sort of psychosexual man-killer, I'm really not interested in that." And he agreed. And so I knew that that was not in the stars.

Q: But if you could have been any other character, who would it have been?

A: I would have liked to have been Uncle Junior. I just thought he had the greatest lines. And he was written so unbelievably well. Such an incredible character. And I've fallen in love with Dominic Chianese.

Q: There are a couple of books psychoanalyzing the show. Have you ever read any of them?

A: I've seen them.

Q: Can we play a little word association with some of the characters?

A: I'll try.

Q: Carmela.

A: Forceful.

Q: Christopher.

A: Weak.

Q: Meadow.

A: Young.

Q: A.J.

A: Confused.

Q: Janice.

A: Certifiable.

Q: Junior.

A : Great! (Laughs.) I love him.

Q: Did you ever wonder if your character would actually last through the duration of the series?

A: I don't think anyone really knew until David sat down and wrote out the arc for the season.

Q: Those of us who have fallen hard for the show have had to endure some long breaks in between seasons.

A: It's like Livia would say. Poor you! (Laughs).

Q: How did you spend your time during breaks?

A: I traveled. I have children (two: daughters Margaux Guerard and Stella Keitel). It was easy to do things or not to do anything. It was great.

Q: Is your character's legacy going to be that you've prompted more men to get into therapy?

A: That's true. So that would be kind of cool.

Q: Not to make light of depression, but how are we to cope when this is all over?

A: I've said that we all need to do group therapy. That we need one final session in Melfi's office. That would be fun.

Q: Do you know yet with whom/where you'll watch the finale?

A: I don't know.

Q: But it'll be with a bottle of Bracco wine? (She launched her own line in 2005.)

A: Absolutely. A nice barolo.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com