I must confess a temptation to complacent laughter at the frustration of all ''The Sopranos'' fans at the conclusion of the series. It was the most important television project ever, comparable to Don Quixote, Shakespeare, maybe even St. John's Gospel. Why did it end not with a bang but a whimper? It was also a powerful critique of corrupt capitalist American culture. Academics and intellectuals -- and pseudo-academics and intellectuals -- had searched the weekly bloodshed and vulgarity for wisdom hidden from the ages. How could the series stop without ending? Ordinary viewers, satisfied with the violent whacking of "Uncle...