MANILA, Philippines?Lorraine Bracco misses ?The Sopranos? dearly.

In the gripping series?an unpredictable and satirical chronicling of a modern-day Mafioso family?s daily dealings (which concluded a few months ago after six seasons)?the actress plays beleaguered psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi, whose most challenging patient is mob boss Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a powerful, conflicted man with equally complicated issues and family ties.

HBO is again airing the show, which won a total of 21 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Direction.

In a recent phone interview, Bracco? an Academy Award nominee for ?GoodFellas,? ecstatically revealed that she had felt ?honored? to be a part of the acclaimed show, created by Emmy-winning writer and executive producer David Chase.

She had nothing but praise for her former cast mates and their characters. They were all ?interesting and exciting,? she said.

?It was so different,? Bracco enthused. ?The show was written so well and the characters were so [well thought out], that it made you stop and say, ?Oh my, that?s quite a different point of view!? Also, we showed therapy for what it really was. In truth, all the writers had been in therapy, so they knew the process by heart. Dr. Melfi is a thoroughly educated Italian-American psychiatrist. She?s so much smarter than Tony Soprano, so there?s that special kind of attraction [between them].?

Did viewers of the show confuse you with your character and ask you for advice at times?

They wanted to confuse me (laughs)! I always told them that I was fully booked and I didn?t have room for anyone. I told them to call Dr. Phil!

Did you expect Dr. Melfi to develop in a certain specific way?

No. The way the characters grew and the way the story was written, nothing was anything that I expected. I think that?s how David kept it very interesting.

Were you free to inject your own interpretation of the character?

We stuck to the script. We called that ?word for word.? We learned the script the way David wrote it.

How stressful or tough did it get for your character, and what does it say about James?

All psychiatrists have psychiatrists, because [the job] is very, very stressful. All you do is listen to people?s problems everyday! It?s absolutely a normal practice that they see someone. I think, for her, he was a very fascinating patient!

What do you miss the most about the show?

I miss being with the boys! I miss going to costumes and hair. I miss having it all very familiar and knowing where I was going!

(Back-to-back episodes of ?The Sopranos? air every Monday at 11 p.m. over HBO Asia.)