I suppose that most well-adjusted TV watchers are interested in who will be the next person fired on "The Apprentice" or who will be the next American Idol. Me, I'm more interested in who's gonna get whacked next week on "The Sopranos." The preview makes it appear as if one and perhaps two people meet their maker at the hands of members of Tony's small-f family. However, the previews for the show sometimes have midirected viewers into expecting things that never materialize.

The shot in the preview of Christopher firing a pistol with tears in his eyes suggests that Adriana is found out and eliminated. That would be a shame. I've actually grown fond of Adriana ever since the FBI started squeezing her. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chrissy dreaming that he was shooting Ade on Tony's orders. It seems to be dawning on him that her demeanor has changed and that she is strangely curious about his activities. Having him realize that his girlfriend is a rat and dealing with the angst and conflicted loyalties of the situation would make for a great Christopher storyline. OTOH, Drea de Matteo will star in the "Friends" spinoff, so Adriana may not be long for this world.

Johnny Sack is another prime candidate to take a dive in the death pool. He started an internal war in the Lupertazzi family by whacking Lorraine the loan shark last week and pissed off Tony by working with Feech on that deal to steal all the cars at the Jewish wedding. Tony didn't look happy when Feech let him know that Johnny was doing business with one of Tony's underlings without Tony's knowledge. Also, Johnny has made it clear that he hasn't forgotten how Tony stiffed him when he wanted to kill Carmine. Tony may want to launch a preemptive strike on Johnny. I dig Johnny Sack, so I hope he hangs around.

Uncle Junior's senility has got to have Tony concerned. Who knows what information he'll give up when he isn't lucid? And it was Junior who ordered the hit on Tony back in Season 1. However, he is still the titular boss of the family. If Junior is whacked, I hope he gets to sing first, like he did at the end of Season 3.

Finally, Paulie Walnuts spent a good part of Season 4 talking out of school with Johnny Sack. Also, Paulie and Chrissy have been at odds off and on since Paulie got out of jail. Either Tony or Christopher could whack Paulie. However, Paulie is dearly beloved among viewers of the show, so to whack him might invite noisy protests outside HBO headquarters.

And then there's A.J. Soprano. His conduct towards Carmela merits at least a mock execution. I think he's cruisin' for a bruisin' with Tony but is too stupid to realize it.