The classic show “The Sopranos” began its life on HBO 25 years ago, singlehandedly launching the Golden Age of Cable Drama. It’s difficult to recall now, but when the show premiered, HBO was not yet HBO, and original programming outside of network primetime was still in its infancy. Creator David Chase crafted a series at once dark and comedic, violent and emotionally vibrant. It introduced the world to entertainment’s ultimate antihero in Italian-American mob boss Tony Soprano, played with power, pathos and perturbation by James Gandolfini. Beset by depression and panic attacks, he showed us what “The Godfather” never did: a gangster in therapy, regularly visiting the office of New Jersey psychotherapist Dr. Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) to download his many troubles and come to terms with a tox mother Livia (Nancy Marchand). Tony’s long-suffering wife Carmela (pitch-perfect work from Edie Falco) and precocious daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) completed his female-surrounding quartet.