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*The show was originally slated to air on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] network and a [[Television pilot|pilot]] had already been made. However, [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] rejected the show and [[HBO]] picked up the series.
*The show was originally slated to air on the [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] network and a [[Television pilot|pilot]] had already been made. However, [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] rejected the show and [[HBO]] picked up the series.
*[[Tony Sirico]] signed on to play [[Paulie Walnuts]] as long as his character was not to be a "rat".
*[[Tony Sirico]] signed on to play [[Paulie Walnuts]] as long as his character was not to be a "rat".
* In "The Test Dream" (episode 63, 5.11) — when Tony states he's done his homework — he reveals the book "[[Joe Valachi|The Valachi Papers]]" written by [[Peter Maas]]. The book is the story of the first ever FBI informant to confirm the existence of [[Cosa Nostra]].
* In [[The_Test_Dream_(The_Sopranos_episode)|"The Test Dream"]] — when Tony states he's done his homework — he reveals the book "[[Joe Valachi|The Valachi Papers]]" written by [[Peter Maas]]. The book is the story of the first ever FBI informant to confirm the existence of [[Cosa Nostra]].
*Whenever major characters are to be [[murder|murdered]], [[David Chase]] tells the actors far in advance to prepare them for the scene.
*Whenever major characters are to be [[murder|murdered]], [[David Chase]] tells the actors far in advance to prepare them for the scene.
*In every season after the first, at least one multi-season character has been killed off.
*In every season after the first, at least one multi-season character has been killed off.
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*The cast has made it a tradition to take cast members who are killed off on the show to Il Cortile, a restaurant in [[Little Italy, Manhattan|Little Italy]], for a farewell dinner.
*The cast has made it a tradition to take cast members who are killed off on the show to Il Cortile, a restaurant in [[Little Italy, Manhattan|Little Italy]], for a farewell dinner.
*The fact that any cast member could be killed off at any time is referred to as the "Big Pussy Rule" (coined by [[Steven R. Schirripa]]).
*The fact that any cast member could be killed off at any time is referred to as the "Big Pussy Rule" (coined by [[Steven R. Schirripa]]).
*[[James Gandolfini]] was initially opposed to the [[murder]] of [[Richie Aprile]]; however, the writers and [[HBO]] disagreed and he was killed in Episode 25, "The Knight in White Satin Armor".
*[[James Gandolfini]] was initially opposed to the [[murder]] of [[Richie Aprile]]; however, the writers and [[HBO]] disagreed and he was killed in Episode 25, [[The_Knight_in_White_Satin_Armor_(The_Sopranos_episode)|"The Knight in White Satin Armor"]].
*[[HBO]] was concerned about the show's title ''The Sopranos'' because they did not want viewers to think it was about music. Therefore, there is a gun where the "r" should be in the logo.
*[[HBO]] was concerned about the show's title ''The Sopranos'' because they did not want viewers to think it was about music. Therefore, there is a gun where the "r" should be in the logo.
*When the show was a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] project, it was known as ''Made in Jersey''. Other titles that were considered included ''The Family Guy'' and ''Red Sauce''.
*When the show was a [[Fox Broadcasting Company|FOX]] project, it was known as ''Made in Jersey''. Other titles that were considered included ''The Family Guy'' and ''Red Sauce''.
*[[Drea de Matteo]] confirmed in her 2005 audio commentary for the episode "Long Term Parking" that the death of [[Adriana La Cerva]] was for real.
*[[Drea de Matteo]] confirmed in her 2005 audio commentary for the episode [[Long_Term_Parking_(The_Sopranos_episode)|"Long Term Parking"]] that the death of [[Adriana La Cerva]] was for real.
*James Gandolfini is the only actor to appear in every episode <!--(Seasons 1-5)--> of the series.
*James Gandolfini is the only actor to appear in every episode <!--(Seasons 1-5)--> of the series.
[[Image:Soprano liv cgi.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A [[Computer generated image|CGI]]-generated Livia in 3-2 "Proshai, Livushka"]]
[[Image:Soprano liv cgi.jpg|thumb|200px|right|A [[Computer generated image|CGI]]-generated Livia in 3-2 "Proshai, Livushka"]]

Revision as of 21:40, 23 April 2006

This article is about the HBO drama series. For the type of singer, see Soprano.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos title screen
Created byDavid Chase
StarringJames Gandolfini
Lorraine Bracco
Edie Falco
Michael Imperioli
Dominic Chianese
Steven Van Zandt
Tony Sirico
Robert Iler
Jamie-Lynn Sigler
Aida Turturro
Steven R. Schirripa
Vincent Curatola
Frank Vincent
John Ventimiglia
Ray Abruzzo
Dan Grimaldi
Joseph R. Gannascoli
Toni Kalem
Sharon Angela
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes71
Production
Running timeapprox. 60 minutes
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseJanuary 10, 1999 –
present

The Sopranos is an American television drama broadcast on HBO about a Mafia family in Northern New Jersey. It has enjoyed five very successful seasons, and is now in its sixth season, which premiered on March 12, 2006. In August 2005, HBO announced it was also producing eight "bonus" episodes that would debut in January 2007. It has been confirmed by the producers that the eight episodes will be the last of the series.

Since it first aired in 1999, the show has become a cultural phenomenon, gaining wide popularity and exceptional critical acclaim for its groundbreaking approach to its view into the Mafia lifestyle, the American family, the Italian American community, the effects of violence on the human soul and the grey area between what society considers morally right and wrong. Like other HBO programs, The Sopranos is rated for mature audiences only—for the adult issues it deals with, depictions of violence, frontal nudity, and strong language.

The series stars actors James Gandolfini, Lorraine Bracco, Edie Falco, and Michael Imperioli and highlights the difficulties faced by Tony Soprano, Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family in suburban Essex County, New Jersey, as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his wife and family, and his crime "family".

Overview

File:Ep62 tony melfi.jpg
Tony in a session with Dr. Melfi

The series begins with Tony collapsing after suffering an anxiety attack, which prompts him to begin therapy with Dr. Jennifer Melfi. Gradually, it is revealed that Tony's mother is manipulative and possibly psychotic; someone in his organization is talking to the FBI; his children have troubled futures; and even his own superiors are plotting his death.

File:Ep01 tony.jpg
Tony Soprano in an early episode.

Title sequence

One of the most recognizable parts of The Sopranos is the program's opening, in which the theme song "Woke Up This Morning", performed by A3, is heard. The show's main character, Tony Soprano, is seen emerging from the Lincoln Tunnel and entering the New Jersey Turnpike. Numerous landmarks in and around Newark, NJ (many of which are now famous due to the show's success) are shown. The sequence ends with Tony pulling into the driveway of his suburban home in North Caldwell, Essex County, NJ.

Between Tony leaving the tunnel and entering the New Jersey Turnpike, an image of the World Trade Center towers can be seen in his rear view mirror. Just prior to the start of the fourth season, HBO and Sopranos creator and producer David Chase removed this shot altogether, in response to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 during which the towers were destroyed.

Cast and characters

Main article: List of characters from The Sopranos
File:Sopranos6poster06.jpg
2006 promotional picture for Season 6.

Current cast

Formerly starring

Notable plots and timeline

Main article: List of The Sopranos episodes

Template:Spoiler

Pre-Season One

  • 1959
  • 1960s
    • Tony learns of his father's involvement in the Mafia.
    • Christopher Moltisanti is born to Richard "Dickie" Moltisanti and Joanne Moltisanti.
    • "Dickie" Moltisanti, a DiMeo Family soldier, is gunned down outside of his home.
  • 1970s
  • 1978
    • Giacomo "Jackie" Aprile Jr. is born to Jackie and Rosalie.
  • 1980s
    • Tony becomes a made man.
    • Jackie Aprile becomes capo of the newly founded Aprile Crew and becomes a top earner for the Family.
  • 1980
    • Allegra Sacrimoni is born to Johnny and Ginny.
  • 1981
    • Tony marries Carmela DeAngelis, his high school sweetheart.
  • 1982
    • Meadow Soprano is born to Tony and Carmela.
  • 1983.
    • Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero, a small-time cat burglar and family associate stands up for "Johnny Boy" Soprano during the conflict known as "The Unrest of '83" and gains respect within the family. He becomes a made-man shortly thereafter.
  • 1984
    • 'Feech' La Manna is arrested on a number of charges and is sentenced to twenty years in prison.
  • 1986
    • Anthony "AJ" Soprano Jr. is born.
    • Giovanni "Johnny Boy" Soprano, Tony's father, dies. Tony is made the captain of his crew.
    • Tony Blundetto is arrested during a truck hijacking; Tony Soprano was supposed to have accompanied him (but couldn't due to a panic attack). Tony B. is sentenced to fifteen years in prison.
  • 1995
  • 1998
    • Jackie Aprile, Sr. is diagnosed with cancer and begins chemotherapy treatments. Tensions between Tony and his uncle, Corrado "Junior" Soprano, start to grow.
    • Big Pussy begins working with the federal government after being caught selling heroin.
    • Artie Bucco's mother passes away.

Season 1 (1999)

File:Sopranos1st.jpg
1999 promotional picture from Season 1.

Season 1 premiered on January 10, 1999 with the Pilot episode, The Sopranos

  • 1999
    • Introduction to the Soprano blood and crime families.
    • New Jersey mob capo, Tony Soprano begins seeing a psychiatrist after suffering a series of panic attacks. He later falls in love with her, but Melfi tells him that his feelings are a byproduct of his therapy. He assigns a crooked cop, Detective Vin Makazian, to tail Melfi.
    • When Tony finds out that his Uncle Junior plans to kill "Little Pussy" Malenga in a restaurant belonging to Artie Bucco, a childhood friend of Tony's, he sends Silvio Dante to torch the restaurant for the insurance money (which would go to Artie Bucco). Tony believes this is preferable to the bad publicity (and subsequent loss of business) that would be generated by a murder on the premises.
    • Christopher kills Emil Kolar to settle the business dispute between the Family and Kolar Sanitation over the Triboro Towers contract. He hopes to be made for this and is disappointed when his deed is ignored.
    • Tony starts an HMO scam with advisor Hesh Rabkin after a degenerate gambler involved with the HMO cannot pay what he owes to Hesh.
    • Tony moves his mother Livia to a nursing home after she accidentally sets her kitchen on fire, hits her best friend in the driveway with her car, and quickly drives away a newly hired Trinidadian nurse.
    • Christopher and his friend, Brendan Filone, begin hijacking trucks owned by Comley Trucking, a company of which Uncle Junior has a percentage.
    • Uncle Junior warns Tony about the truck hijacking shenanigans and Tony relays the message to Chris and Brendan, though Brendan pulls off another hijacking nonetheless, resulting in the accidental death of the truck driver.
    • Meadow and Hunter try to score Crystal Meth from Brendan and Chris in order to stay up late and study for their exams.
    • Uncle Junior, who is enraged by Christopher and Brendan's loose cannon behavior, gets leadership advice from Livia to stage a mock execution for Christopher and a real one for Brendan. Brendan Filone is shot in his bathtub, clean through the eye by Mikey Palmice as Junior watches.
    • Chris and Adriana go to Brendan's home and find him dead in his bathtub. Chris is extremely furious, and he wants to confront Mikey for the death of Brendan.
    • Jackie Aprile, the acting mob boss for the DiMeo Crime family succumbs to cancer. Tony then nominates Uncle Junior as the official new boss, whilst conspiring to run the family from behind the scenes.
    • Anthony Jr. finds out that his father is involved with organized crime.
    • Tony accompanies Meadow on a trip to a series of colleges in Maine (Bates, Bowdoin, and Colby). When they arrive, Tony sees an old Soprano associate who turned out to be an informant and went into the Witness Protection Program. Tony murders him the following day.
    • Junior becomes power hungry due to his new title, and begins taxing all the capos and Tony's old friend, Hesh. Tony conspires with Johnny Sack to relieve Hesh of the debt while making Junior feel like he's in control.
    • A.J. is suspended from school for stealing wine from the church and showing up to gym class drunk. The school reveals that A.J. almost meets the criteria for ADD, although Tony doesn't buy that diagnosis.
    • Livia finds out from A.J. that Tony is going to a therapist, and immediately assumes that Tony is complaining about her. She begins to manipulate Uncle Junior.
    • The Family finds out that the F.B.I. is going to be conducting raids. Pussy is arrested for running away from the police after guns are found inside Jimmy's social club.
    • Tony learns that one of his associates is an FBI informant. Tony is told by Detective Makazian that Pussy is the rat, but Tony (half correctly) deduces that Jimmy Altieri is the informant. Altieri, like Pussy, a "fat fuck with black hair" is soon murdered and is found dead in an alley with a rat in his mouth.
    • Detective Makazian commits suicide after being found in a brothel and his mafia connections are revealed.
    • Because of concerns about what Tony will tell his psychiatrist, Livia and Uncle Junior arrange for Tony's murder. The assassination attempt ultimately fails.
    • The F.B.I. informs Tony that his mother and uncle were behind the hit against him, and offer to put his family into witness protection. Tony refuses and vows revenge.
    • Chucky Signore and Mikey Palmice are shot to death to prevent Junior from launching another assassination attempt on Tony.
    • Uncle Junior is arrested, sparing him from an assault from Tony, who goes to his mother's retirement home to suffocate her with a pillow, only to find out that she has suffered from a stroke.
    • Tony becomes the permanent boss of the Soprano mob family and seizes Junior's territory and income.


Season 2 (2000)

File:Sopranos2nd.jpg
Promotional picture from Season 2

Season 2 premiered on January 16, 2000 with the episode Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office

  • 2000
    • Tony refuses to speak to his mother Livia after she planned to kill him the year before.
    • Big Pussy Bonpensiero returns to New Jersey after claiming to have been rehabilitating in Puerto Rico. In reality, Pussy has been reporting secretly to FBI agent Skip Lipari.
    • Jackie Aprile's brother and Adriana La Cerva's uncle, Richie Aprile is released from prison on parole.
    • Beansie Gaeta, a well known owner of a local pizzeria is attacked and paralyzed by Aprile when he refuses to pay Richie protection money.
    • Tony's sister, Parvati Wasatch (otherwise known as Janice Soprano) arrives in New Jersey from Seattle.
    • Tony reconciles with Uncle Junior.
    • Janice reunites with Richie after they meet at a yoga class.
    • Meadow throws a party at Livia's empty house which gets out of hand.
    • In order to reconnect family ties between the mob in Naples: Tony, Christopher and Paulie travel to Naples to meet with the boss. However the acting boss turns out to be a woman named Ana Lisa to whom Tony is immediately attracted.
    • Furio Giunta, a capable Neapolitan soldier is sent to New Jersey to work for the Soprano family.
    • Tony and Silvio reinitiate the "high-rollers" poker night (called the Executive Game) which had previously been run by Tony's father.
    • David Scatino, a degenerate gambler looks to Tony for help. However, when he makes risky investments and foolishly enters Tony and Silvio's Executive Game, he ends up losing all the money that Tony had loaned him. Tony takes his son's car and a percentage of his business.
    • Janice decides to renovate Livia's home and invites her back home after she has recuperated.
    • Christopher proposes to Adriana La Cerva, his long time girlfriend.
    • Christopher is shot badly near the Skyways Diner in Kearny by Matthew Bevilaqua and Sean Gismonte. Bevilaqua escapes and Gismonte is killed by Christopher in the shootout.
    • Christopher is briefly pronounced clinically dead and makes a surprising revelation to Paulie and Tony, saying that he went to hell and saw Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice.
    • Matthew Bevilaqua is captured, beaten, and murdered by Tony and Pussy. A witness goes to the police, but retracts his statement when he learns that the murderer may have been Tony Soprano.
    • Carmela tries to seduce David Scatino's brother-in-law who leaves after finding out who Carmela's husband is.
    • A dispute over selling drugs on the late Jackie Aprile Sr.'s garbage routes causes hostility between Richie and Tony resulting in Richie conspiring with Uncle Junior to potentially take out Tony. However Junior realizes he would be better off financially with Tony alive and informs Tony about Richie's plot.
    • Tony ends his relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Irina.
    • Carmela leverages her husband's menacing reputation to obtain college recommendations for Meadow in hopes that she will attend Georgetown University.
    • Richie Aprile is murdered by Janice after he punches her in the mouth. Christopher and Furio dispose of the body at Satriale's, using the meat cutter and knives to dismember the body.
    • Pussy becomes further involved with the FBI but gets into even deeper water when he runs over a pedestrian and hides his involvement with the Bevilaqua murder.
    • Tony gets food poisoning (from eating in an Indian restaurant) the day prior to Meadow's graduation.
    • Tony is arrested after the feds discover he had given Livia stolen airline tickets.
    • Pussy is murdered while on a boat with Tony, Paulie and Silvio where he confesses to being an informant.
    • Meadow graduates from high school and decides to attend Columbia University.


Season 3 (2001)

File:Sopranos3rd.jpg
promotional picture from Season 3

Season 3 premiered on March 4, 2001 with two episodes, Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood and Proshai, Livushka

  • 2000
    • After hearing of Big Pussy Bonpensiero's murder, the FBI plants a bug in a lamp in the Soprano basement where several of Tony's private meetings occur.
    • Tony re-establishes contact with his mother in hopes of convincing her not to testify against him. His fears are alleviated when Livia Soprano dies in her sleep of a massive stroke.
    • On the eve of their birthday, Patsy Parisi learns that Tony ordered the hit on his twin brother and, unberknownst to Tony, goes to his house with the intent to exact revenge. But due to his inibriated state at the time he only takes a leak in his pool. Tony finds out about him knowing and eventually questions his loyalty. Patsy tells Tony that he "put the grief behind him".
    • Janice returns to New Jersey and plans her mother's funeral (which Livia did not want to happen). The funeral and subsequent afterparty becomes uncomfortable as no one has anything nice to say about Livia.
    • Meadow begins dating Noah Tannenbaum, a Jewish-African-American whom Tony immediately takes a (racially motivated) dislike to.
    • In the wake of Richie Aprile's disappearance, Ralph Cifaretto unofficially takes over the Aprile crew even though Tony is reluctant to make him a captain due to his bad attitude.
    • After he takes Jackie Jr. on a collection against Tony's wishes, Ralph is passed over and Gigi Cestone is made captain of the Aprile crew.
    • Janice moves back into Livia's house, and immediately causes trouble by stealing the prosthetic leg of Svetlana, Irina's cousin and Livia's caretaker. Svetlana gets two Russian friends to come and beat up Janice and retrieve the leg.
    • Christopher is officially made along with Eugene Pontecorvo in a special ceremony involving Tony and other family associates. He finds that life as a made man isn't easy as he thought it would be, and is haunted by a black bird that he saw in his initiation ceremony.
    • A rivalry between Paulie and Christopher begins due to Paulie breaking Chris's balls as a way of initiation into the family.
    • During football practice, Anthony Jr. suffers a panic attack.
    • Jackie Aprile, Jr. becomes a love interest of Meadow, as well as a thorn in the side of Tony, who unsuccessfully tries to keep him out of the family business.
    • Dr. Melfi is brutally raped while walking to her car one evening. Her rapist is let free on a technicality. Melfi considers telling Tony about it, but does not because of her ethics.
    • Bobby Baccalieri's cancer-stricken father comes out of retirement to carry out a hit on Mustang Sally for Uncle Junior. He dies in a car accident after leaving the scene.
    • Tony befriends a Bada Bing stripper, Tracy, who becomes pregnant by Ralph Cifaretto. After insulting Ralph in front of other crew members, Tracy is brutally beaten and murdered by Ralph outside of the Bada Bing. Tony is furious and attacks Ralph, a made guy. He is restrained by his own crew.
    • Noah dumps Meadow, who then begins seeing Jackie Aprile, Jr. soon afterwards.
    • Tony retracts Ralph's invitation to Thanksgiving dinner due to the bad blood that's developed between the two. Due to Johnny Sack's manipulations Ralph eventually apologizes to Tony, and becomes the New Jersey pointman on the Esplanade project.
    • Gigi Cestone dies of a heart attack and Tony reluctantly makes Ralph captain of the Aprile crew.
    • Tony meets Gloria Trillo, a Mercedes salesperson at an appointment with Dr. Melfi. The two start an affair.
    • Carmela's birthday is celebrated. On the same day, A.J. vandalizes the school and eventually gets caught. Tony and Carmela think the school does not punish A.J. enough.
    • The Soprano family celebrates Christmas at a dinner held by Janice. Tony makes sure that everyone gets exactly what they want which includes: Janice's attacker being beaten up and publicly humiliated, each of the kids gifts and Carmela's gift. Tony then witnesses Jackie, Jr. (who is still seeing Meadow) receiving a lap dance from another woman at a strip-club. Tony beats him up in the bathroom.
  • 2001
    • After Silvio catches the flu, Tony asks Paulie and Christopher to collect some money from a Russian mob associate, Valery. The meeting turns sour when Paulie starts a fight with the comrade. They beat Valery and plan to kill him and dispose of his body in the Pine Barrens woods. When they arrive, Valery makes quick work of Paulie and Chris by slamming a shovel into Chris' face and busting Paulie in the gut with his knee. Since Chris and Paulie have guns, Valery takes the opportunity to escape. Paulie is able to shoot Valery in the head, apparently killing him. However, despite finding a trail of blood in the snow, no body is discovered. Paulie and Christopher get lost in the woods and spend the night in a van they find. Paulie also loses his shoe and Chris accidentally shoots a deer thinking it could have been Valery. Eventually, Tony and Bobby Bacala come to find them. No mention is made of whether Valery was in fact killed, but this seems to be the case, as he has not surfaced or been mentioned in the past three seasons of the show.
    • Tony breaks it off with Gloria after she engineered a meeting with Carmela.
    • Jackie, Jr. and his friends, Dino Zerilli and Carlo Renzi, rob Eugene Pontecorvo's poker game in the hopes of impressing Tony and the rest of his crew. However the robbery goes totally wrong and a number of people are shot. Dino and Carlo get killed along with Sunshine, the dealer. Jackie, Jr. manages to escape and goes into hiding in the Boonton projects. Because Eugene is a member of Ralphie's crew, the game is officially Ralphie's.
    • Paulie becomes frustrated with Tony's siding with Ralph over business issues. Johnny Sack reaches out to him.
    • The F.B.I. assigns an undercover officer to pose as Adriana's friend.
    • A.J. is kicked out of Verbum Dei High School for stealing test papers. Tony and Carmela consider sending him to military school, only to learn that A.J. also suffers from panic attacks and cannot attend the school.
    • Jackie, Jr. is murdered by Vito Spatafore after hiding out in the Boonton projects.

Season 4 (2002)

File:Sopranos4th.jpg
promotional picture from Season 4

Season 4 premiered on September 15, 2002 with the episode For All Debts Public and Private

  • The following is how Sopranos creator David Chase summarized the major themes of the first four seasons. "Season one was about Tony and his mother. And then season two, to a certain extent, was Tony and his sister. Season three was deliberately about Tony and Carmela as parents, that was sort of the spine of it. This year [Season four] focuses on Tony and Carmela as a couple, on their marriage."[1]
  • 2001
    • Christopher murders the policeman who murdered his father when he was a child.
    • Tony buys a property from Uncle Junior on Frelinghuysen Avenue in Newark knowing it to be worth far more than he is paying.
    • The New York and New Jersey mobs invest in a riverfront property called the Esplanade to be shared between the two families.
    • Silvio and Ralph plot to interrupt a Columbus Day parade protest by local Native Americans.
    • Ralph invests in a race horse nicknamed Pie-O-My. Tony gives tips on racing that turn Pie-O-My into a winner and starts to become involved in her care.
    • Paulie is in prison in Youngstown after being caught in possession of a firearm used in a murder in the town eight years earlier. He has an impromptu meeting with Johnny Sack, who strokes Paulie's ego by telling him how highly Carmine thinks of him. Paulie tells Johnny about a fat joke that Ralph told about John's wife, Ginny.
    • Johnny asks Carmine to sanction a hit on Ralph. Carmine refuses, and goes to Tony with the suggestion that Johnny should be killed instead for his insubordination. John comes to his senses when he realizes Ginny has not been keeping herself healthy.
    • Uncle Junior faces a RICO trial.
    • Adriana learns that her friend Danielle is an undercover FBI agent named Deborah Ciccerone who wants information about Christopher's involvement in the mob.
    • Tony learns that Gloria Trillo committed suicide shortly after their breakup.
    • Artie tries to commit suicide after entering a flawed business deal with Tony. Tony wipes the debts, but threatens Artie and tells him not to tell anyone what happened.
  • 2002
    • Tony enters a housing and urban development (HUD) project with Ralph, Assemblyman Zellman, and Maurice Tiffen, buying property in rundown neighborhoods in Newark. The group sends young black men to clear out a crack house in the neighborhood.
    • Zellman tells Tony he has started a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Irina. Tony acts as if he is fine with it, but in reality he is not and whips Zellman with a belt.
    • Paulie is released from prison and continues meeting with Johnny Sack, telling him about the housing project.
    • Tony meets Ralph's girlfriend, Valentina and begins seeing her secretly.
    • Ralph's son is hospitalized following a serious injury.
    • Pie-O-My dies in a stable fire which Tony believes Ralph is responsible for. Ralph is strangled and killed by Tony after refusing to confess, yet defending the act of setting a fire to collect the insurance money on the horse, suggesting that he may have been responsible. His body is dismembered and disposed of by Tony and Christopher.
    • Tony has a brief fling with Svetlana after the two share drinks at Uncle Junior's house.
    • Christopher is mugged by drug dealers and subsequently beats Adriana after finding rehab brochures in the mail (courtesy of the FBI). He is confronted in an intervention that ends in a fight when the crew uses the session to insult him. After a talk with Tony at the hospital, Chris agrees to enter rehab.
    • Adriana begins reporting to Agent Sanseverino after she is reassigned from Agent Ciccerone for her protection.
    • Tony quits therapy with Dr. Melfi, saying that the sessions aren't going anywhere and that he stayed longer than anyone thought he would.
    • Furio leaves America after developing a mutual attraction with Carmela.
    • Paulie discovers that Johnny has been using him as a double agent after meeting Carmine, who doesn't know who Paulie is.
    • Christopher is released from rehab. He and Tony decide that he should skip the part of the 12 step program where he has to apologize to anyone he has wronged.
    • The Lupertazzi and Soprano families come close to a war after Tony refuses to share his HUD project with Carmine. Johnny Sack suggests that he would give Tony a better deal, and that Carmine should be bumped off. Tony agrees. As the wheels for the hit are in motion, Carmine has a change of heart and arranges a sitdown Tony have a sitdown where the two families reach a deal. Johnny tells Tony that the hit on Carmine should still go forward. Tony, suspicious of John's eagerness to go forward with the hit even though the problems with New York have been solved, pulls out. Johnny is angered, saying that he won't forget this, but the two decide to remain friends.
    • Tony puts down a deposit on a beach house for the family, named Whitecaps. The seller of the property shooes away a buyer already in place because Tony can pay for the house quickly, and in cash.
    • The case against Junior is declared a hung jury after a juror is threatened and refuses to cooperate with the other jurors.
    • Carmela learns of Tony's infidelity with Svetlana after Irina calls the house, causing her to throw out his belongings and demand a divorce. Tony refuses to leave and stays in the guest house. Carmela tells Tony about her feelings for Furio, and the two nearly come to blows. Tony calls Dr. Melfi, presumably to ask to come back to therapy, but hangs up without saying anything.
    • Tony tries to back out of the Whitecaps deal, but the dealer refuses to bargain with him. Tony's reacts to this by settling the Stugots just outside the seller's beach house and blasting Dean Martin music.
    • Tony decides that it would be best for the family if he moved out.

Season 5 (2004)

File:Season5poster.jpg
2004 promotional picture from Season 5

Season 5 premiered on March 7, 2004 with the episode Two Tonys

  • 2004
    • According to creator David Chase, Season 5's theme is "the limitations of family and friendship in a materialist world."[2]
    • A flood of parolees begin to reinitiate contact within the Soprano and Lupertazzi families. They include Tony Blundetto, Tony's cousin who was jailed 15 years after a failed hijacking. Phil Leotardo, a longtime Lupertazzi soldier. Angelo Garepe, Carmine's former consigliere and Feech La Manna, a Soprano capo prior to his arrest.
    • Tony and Carmela have been separated for some time and Tony attempts to woo Dr. Melfi. She rebuffs his advances but Tony has difficulty taking no for an answer.
    • Paulie and Chris finally reconcile after long-standing tensions, but only after an innocent waiter is murdered in what became a three-way dispute over payment of a restaurant bill.
    • Tony B. tells Tony that he wants to remain a civilian but thanks him for his job offer.
    • New York family boss Carmine Lupertazzi dies after suffering a stroke. A power struggle for succession ensues involving Johnny Sack and Little Carmine.
    • Lorraine Calluzzo, a loan shark, and her boyfriend bodyguard, Jason Evanina, are murdered by Billy Leotardo and Joe Peeps because they remained loyal to Little Carmine.
    • Tony returns to Dr. Melfi for therapy.
    • Feech is set up by Tony due to his insubordination and gets sent back to prison for violating parole.
    • Adriana and Tony are involved in a serious car accident causing much chatter between the family that the two are having an affair. Christopher, enraged at the rumors, beats Adriana and shoots up Tony's red Suburban. Tony nearly shoots Christopher for his actions, but Tony B. talks him out of it and proves that there is no truth to the rumors.
    • Carmela begins an affair with A.J.'s guidance counselor, Mr. Wegler. The relationship ends badly when Wegler accuses Carmela of using sex to get her son better grades.
File:Ep64 family toast.jpg
Tony, Carmela and AJ have a toast.
    • In therapy, Tony reveals that he feels tremendous guilt for Tony B's imprisonment for hijacking, as Tony was supposed to have joined him but suffered a panic attack. He went on to claim that he was mugged by some black men.
    • Tony B. finds a bag full of money that reminds him about the mafia lifestyle. He returns to the mob after his frustration with his boss ends in a fist-fight.
    • Tony meets his father's mistress, Fran Felstein, and learns that she was not given her equal share of a racetrack owned by Hesh and Phil Leotardo at the time of his father's death. Spending time with Fran causes him to reminisce about how his father was with his mistress the night Livia lost their fourth child due to a miscarriage, and that he covered for his father by lying to his mother. Dr. Melfi encourages him to forgive Livia.
    • After dodging payment owed to Felstein, Phil Leotardo is forced into a car accident by Tony. Tony arranges for Phil's car to be fixed in Big Pussy's Auto Shop, now run by Angie Bonpenserio, who suffers Phil's unreasonable demands for repairs.
    • Despite being separated, Tony and Carmela throw a 75th birthday party for Carmela's father Hugh. The two reconnect during the party, but Carmela decides to go through with divorce proceedings anyway.
    • Tony B. accepts an offer from his friend, Angelo Garape, and Little Carmine's supporter, Rusty Millio, to kill Joe Peeps in retaliation for Lorraine Calluzzo's death. He attacks Joe Peeps outside of a brothel in his car along with a female witness, but Blundetto's foot is run over by the car when he pulls off the execution.
    • Johnny Sack suspects Tony B. performed the Joey Peeps hit after a witness identifies him. Tony confronts his cousin about it but covers for him, saying that the two were together the night of Joe Peeps' murder.
    • To further compensate for his feelings of guilt for Tony B's incarceration, Tony decides to give his cousin stewardship of a casino, as well as telling him he'll try to expedite his being made. This largesse is deeply resented by Christopher, who perceives he's being pushed aside.
    • Carmela informs Tony that she wants to start divorce proceedings and "aggressively pursue...an equitable distribution of assets." However, she has difficulty finding an attorney willing to defend her. Tony had already met with most of the highly recommended ones, precluding them from representing her. When she does secure a lawyer, he's unable to find an accountant willing to investigate Tony's finances and quits the case
    • Meadow's boyfriend Finn, while on a construction job arranged by Tony, accidentally stumbles upon Vito Spatafore performing oral sex on a security guard. In a state of panic, Finn decides to get away and that causes him and Meadow to argue about their relationship. Finn offers to make peace by suggesting they get married. Meadow accepts and promptly informs Tony and Carmela of the news.
    • Tony reveals to Dr. Melfi that he was not attacked by black men the night Tony B. was caught in an armed robbery, that he actually suffered a panic attack that night after getting into a fight with his mother.
    • Tony B. and Christopher are sent to Uncle Pat's farm to dig up the remains of Emil Kolar after Pat decides to sell his farm, moving to Florida instead. Christopher is reminded of his bad childhood and how he was bullied by Tony B. and Tony when the two Tony's make fun of him at dinner.
    • Johnny Sack makes business hard for Tony at the docks, where Albert Barese's crew is supposed to steal a load of scooters for a deal, but Johnny's crew gets there first. Johnny denies stealing the scooters, blaming increased port security for the deal falling through. Tony sees a news report that contradicts Johnny's claims.
    • Janice attends anger management classes after violently beating a soccer mom. Tony, annoyed with her brighter outlook on life, baits her into losing her cool by bringing up her estranged son, Harpo.
    • Angelo Garepe is ambushed and murdered by Phil Leotardo for the death of Joe Peeps.
    • Tony B. learns of Angelo's death and attempts to murder Phil but instead hurts Phil and kills his younger brother, Billy Leotardo.
    • Tony has a dream involving many of the deceased people who had an impact on his life (this includes: Mikey Palmice, Richie Aprile, Big Pussy Bonpensiero, Ralphie Cifaretto, Gigi Cestone, Vin Makazian, and various others). The dream persuades him to get back together with Carmela.
    • Carmela, realizing that she cannot get a good lawyer for divorce proceedings, decides to let Tony move back into the house if he puts up the money for her real estate project.
    • After Adriana covers up a murder at her club, the FBI orders her to wear a wire. Matush and Kamal had murdered Gilbert Nieves and Adriana was charged as being an accessory to murder. She then confesses everything to Christopher and tries to persuade him to turn informant and enter the Witness Protection Program. Christopher nearly kills her in his anger, but relents. Eventually, he tells Tony who has Silvio kill Adriana the following day.
    • Johnny is officially named the boss of New York after Little Carmine retreats back to Florida. Johnny demands that Tony give up Tony B. Tony refuses after Johnny insinuates that Tony B. will be tortured.
    • Phil Leotardo threatens Christopher and sends Benny to the hospital, driving the two families on the brink of mob war.
    • After much hesitation, and being confronted about his problems with authority by Silvio, Tony delivers a single barrel twelve-gauge shotgun cartridge to his cousin's forehead to spare him torture, ease things over with Brooklyn, and regain the loyalty of his own crime family.
    • Johnny tells Tony that Phil still isn't happy with what has happened. Tony tells Johnny to tell Phil that he better accept it and suggests that Johnny give Phil an interest in Johnny's sports book operation. Johnny tells Tony that he already had thought of that himself and that he thinks he could sell it to Phil. Tony and Johnny appear to reconcile, following this, and discuss the difficult decisions involved in being the boss of a family. Johnny invites Tony to a private meeting in back of his house before it is interrupted by an FBI sting that takes down Johnny. Tony escapes through the woods and walks home, finding out later that he was not a target in the sting.

Season 6 (2006-2007)

Part One of Season 6 premiered on March 12 2006 with the episode Members Only

  • 2006
    • In the span since Season 5, Vito has lost 100 pounds and is a model for a weight loss program, Carmela has begun building her spec house (which she has to start over because the wrong type of wood was used), AJ is in college, Meadow is deciding between a career in law and medicine, Chris has been named captain, and Janice and Bobby have a baby girl.
    • Phil Leotardo has been named Acting Boss of the Lupertazzi Family while Johnny is in prison and is resolving issues peacefully and amicably with Tony despite recurring tensions.
    • After more than a year, Carmela still doesn't know the truth about what happened to Adriana, but still thinks about her. She even has dreams involving Adriana. Tony dismisses the topic, saying that she must have run off with another man.
    • Raymond Curto, who had supplied the FBI with information and recordings about illegal Soprano business, dies of natural causes while sitting in a car and talking with FBI Agent Robyn Sanseverino.
    • Eugene Pontecorvo, a Soprano family soldier who became a made man in the same ceremony as Christopher, is revealed to be an FBI informant. He commits suicide after learning that he is restricted from retiring to Florida with his wife and two children (by both the FBI and Tony).
    • Uncle Junior, suffering from dementia, thinks Tony is "Little Pussy" Malanga breaking into his house, and shoots him in the abdomen. Tony is left bleeding on his uncle's kitchen floor after dialing 911.
    • Tony is taken to the hospital shortly after being shot by Uncle Junior. Tony undergoes surgery and goes into a comatose state.
    • Uncle Junior is arrested and interrogated by specialists to determine if he knew Tony was the victim he shot. He reveals further evidence of his dementia by stating sincerely that Tony must have shot himself because "he is a depression case". Junior is also being represented by a new attorney, because his previous attorney Harold "Mel" Melvoin, had a stroke and Junior did not feel comfortable with Melvoin's paralyzed hand.
    • With Tony in a coma, Silvio takes the position of Acting Boss of the Family.
    • Agent Harris, eating at Satriales, asks Christopher to give him a call if he ever sees any suspicious Muslims or Pakistanis. Christopher mocks him and his new counterterrorism job. Later, he talks to two Muslims, Ahmed and Muhammad, at the Bing who ask how Tony is doing.
    • AJ tells his unconscious father that he will "get" Uncle Junior. Afterwards, he reveals to Carmela that he flunked out of junior college.
    • While in the coma, Tony has a dream-like [3] sequence where he is a businessman at a convention in California. He mistakenly picks up a wallet and briefcase which belong to "Kevin Finnerty" instead of his own at a bar. Throughout the dream, Tony is mistaken for Finnerty and acts differently from how he acts in his normal life, even losing his famed New Jersey accent. While hurriedly walking down a flight of stairs in his hotel, Tony falls, is hospitalized for a minor concussion, and diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
    • With a tip from Vito, Paulie makes a big score robbing Colombian drug dealers, but suffers a groin injury during the heist. Both are dissatisfied when Silvio orders them to kick up money for Carmela.
    • Christopher and Bobby warn AJ about going after Uncle Junior after finding out AJ tried to buy a gun.
    • Carmela angrily tells AJ that he's "a cross to bear", after seeing a news report of AJ commenting on the shooting.
    • Carmela visits with Dr. Melfi and reveals her worries about her children being exposed to the business, and also wonders about the reason she loves Tony.
    • Vito has a disagreement with Bobby over Eugene's Roosevelt Ave. collections, an Aprile crew income on Junior Soprano crew territory. Neither is satisfied with Silvio's 'temporary' decision to grant Bobby a percentage.
    • Christopher reunites with his old AA sponsor, JT Dolan, and forces him to write a slasher/mob film crossover screenplay tentatively titled "Cleaver". He brings in Little Carmine, Silvio, and the rest of the captains to produce the movie, and leaves a spot open for Tony.
    • Silvio, unable to handle the pressures of being Acting Boss, suffers an asthma attack and is taken to the hospital.
    • Tony, during a coma-dream sequence, encounters and eventually meets with a group of Buddhist monks who claim to have been ripped off by Kevin Finnerty. During their meeting they say they need to find someone who will take responsibility for Finnerty's actions. In the dream, Tony says "I can't do that."
    • Vito meets with his cousin-in-law, Phil Leotardo, and Larry Boy Barese insinuating that he take over the Family if Tony doesn't recover.
    • In Tony's coma-dream, he is met by Tony Blundetto, who he does not recognize. Tony B. tries leading him into a house which he calls a "family reunion". Approaching the house, Tony sees a woman resembling his mother walk through the front door. After Tony hears Meadow's voice (as a child) urging him not to go, he resists giving his briefcase (symbolizing his life) to Blundetto, and awakens from his coma before it could be taken away.
    • Still recovering in the hospital, Tony discusses life, religion and science with visiting evangelicals Aaron Aarkaway and Bob Brewster, and a neighboring patient, a scientist named John Schwinn. When he finally leaves the hospital, he realizes what a lucky man he is to be alive.
    • Urged by Tony to pull his weight as an earner, Bobby makes a deal to shoot and wound Marvin, a rapper hoping to gain notoriety, in "the fleshy part of the thigh." Bobby misses and shoots Marvin in the buttocks.
    • AJ and Carmela make up from their fight, and AJ gets a job at Blockbuster.
    • Jason Barone looks to sell his late father's company, Barone Sanitation, which Tony uses for income, as well as for his W-2 form and health insurance. He accepts a bid from Cinelli Trucking (a business owned by the Lupertazzi Family) until he is threatened by the Soprano family. Jason tries to back out of the sale, but one of his truck drivers gets beaten. Once out of the hospital, a mellowed Tony accepts the compromise offered by Johnny Sack to sell to Cinelli, and be on the payroll for 10 years and receive 12% of the sale price. Jason's mother goes to Tony to beg for mercy for her son, and Tony assures her he will not be harmed.
    • Paulie learns that his real mother is actually his Aunt Dottie (who reveals the truth to him on her deathbed), a nun who had an affair and was forced to give him up to her sister, Nucci, in order to spare her and her family from shame. Paulie disowns Nucci for lying to him all these years, refusing to pay for her room at Green Grove Nursing Home. After seeing Mrs. Barone show so much love for Jason, Paulie gets emotional and attacks the young man, demanding payment of $4000 a month, the same amount it costs to keep Nucci at Green Grove, which is to be kept secret from Tony.
    • Phil Leotardo passes on a request from Johnny Sack, for Tony to carry out a hit on Rusty Millio but Tony refuses to take part in the hit.
    • Christopher sells stolen credit card numbers to Ahmed and Muhammad. The two ask him where they can buy TEC-9 submachine guns to "take care of a family problem".
    • Junior is put into a psychiatric ward for rehabilitation so that he can stand trial. He still does not believe he could have shot his nephew, claiming that if he did shoot Tony, the gun must have gone off because he hadn't cleaned it.
    • Tony refuses to talk about Junior and the shooting, even to Dr. Melfi. Carmela throws out a newspaper section with Junior on the front page in order to shield Tony from the sight of his uncle.
    • Johnny Sack is let out of prison for six hours in order to attend his daughter's wedding. He is escorted by two United States Marshals and is made financially responsible for wedding security, including metal detectors and additional marshals.
    • As Tony is entering the church for the wedding, the metal detectors at the entrance go off and the federal marshalls force Tony to remove his shoes. While attempting to do this, he collapses in front of hundreds of wedding guests.
    • At the reception, Tony speaks to Johnny, personally, about the proposed Rusty Millio hit and this time, Tony agrees to take care of it. As Johnny's daughter is about to leave for her honeymoon, the marshals block her exit and proceed to bring Johnny back to jail. As he is handcuffed, he begins to cry and as a result of the whole situation, his wife faints. Afterwards, Phil speaks out on his lowered esteem for John due to the incident outside. Chris and Paulie voice their agreement while Tony defends him.
    • Vito's homosexuality is discovered when he is seen at a gay bar by two wise guys collecting their protection money. Vito returns home and picks up a handgun before he absconds to a motel. After placing his handgun on the nightstand he makes a cryptic early morning call to Silvio. After the call, Vito stares at the handgun, possibly contemplating suicide.
    • Arriving at Satriale's, Tony notices Vito's absence and inquires about it. Fearful that his collapse at the church made him appear weak, Tony, inspired by Dr. Melfi's advice to change how his crew sees him, decides to take action. He acts as if nothing is wrong about Vito's absence. Tony then baits his new bodyguard (a former bodybuilder) into a fight and beats him in front of the rest of the crew. After the fight, Tony enters the men's room and vomits what appears to be blood, in the toilet, before looking at himself menacingly in the mirror and then vomiting again.
    • Tony and Christopher advance the plot to put a hit on Rusty, with Tony ordering Chris to provide two hit men arriving from Naples with a contact to sell them weapons to use in the assassination.
    • Chris and Murmur are told by a guy in AA about Vito's homosexuality. When they tell the guys about it, Paulie and Tony are skeptical while Carlo voices his anger.
    • Vito flees when approached by his associates while staying at his gumar's. He eventually ends up in rural New Hampshire, where he holds up in a B&B and begins trolling the local antique shops.
    • After much posturing, Tony admits to Dr. Melfi about being conflicted about ordering a hit on one of his top earners solely for his alleged homosexuality.
    • Meadow reveals to Carmela and Rosalie that Finn caught Vito giving a security guard a blowjob. Tony brings Finn to Satriales, where he confirms the story to the guys.
    • Carlo is given Vito's position as point man for the construction business. He tells Tony that the guys in Vito's crew and the captains don't want to associate themselves with Vito, but Tony reminds him that he's the one that makes the call about what happens. Silvio warns Tony against going soft on Vito fearing that it may damage Tony's street cred.
    • Finn is derisive of Meadow's defense of her family's way of doing business, recounting for her his testimony against Vito at a makeshift tribunal and predicting that Tony and his associates are preparing to mete out their own justice against Vito.

Symbolism

Dreams

One of the unique aspects of The Sopranos is the use of dream sequences. They are used in an unusual way, using heavy symbolism and foreshadowing, to convey what characters (particularly Tony) are thinking and feeling, but not saying. Some of the more famous dream sequences include Tony talking to Big Pussy as a fish and realizing his friend is an FBI informant, the 20+ minute sequence in The Test Dream, and Tony as a regular man having his identity mistaken for a man named Kevin Finnerty.

"Kevin Finnerty" in season six appears to symbolize Tony's life as a criminal. His "mistaken identity" of episode two is a dissociation (and possible dissatisfaction) with his own criminal history, while the straight-laced Tony of the dream sequences symbolizes Tony's life as if he had never entered the Mafia. He experiences the mundane inconveniences and problems of everyday law-abiding life such as losing one's luggage, getting barred from admission to the convention due to security regulations, hotel problems and so on. The woman he nearly has an affair with in the dream sequence is noticably older and less attractive than the women Tony Soprano usually is involved with in his real life. His experiences with the Buddhist monks may symbolize his inability to take responsibility for the damage he has caused through his criminal activity.

Eggs

Eggs foreshadow something unfortunate will occur, generally a loss of life, loss of rationality, or both. For example, in season five, Adriana offers to make Christopher eggs after admitting she has been working with the FBI. She is killed shortly after. In season four Irina offers to make egg salad before Tony beats Zellman with a belt and Ralph offers to make Tony eggs for breakfast just before they fight and Tony murders him. Also in season five, Carmine Lupertazzi suffers a stroke when eating egg salad; later, Uncle Junior asks Bobby to make Tony an egg, then calls Tony B. "Tony Egg" by mistake, right before the phone rings and it is announced that Carmine has died. In addition, Tony Soprano's goomah, Valentina, has her kimono catch on fire from the stove while preparing egg substitutes for Tony. Furthermore, Richie Aprile offers to make Tony eggs when Tony finds him sleeping in Janice's house. He gets shot by Janice, a few episodes after that. Finally, Tony Soprano steps in broken eggs just before resolving to murder his cousin, Tony Blundetto. A similar foreshadowing occurs in The Godfather film series whenever oranges appear on screen.

Types of murder

There are many references to different types of murder. The most obvious is the death of Brendan Filone when he is shot clean through the eye. This manner of killing is called the "Moe Greene Special" after the character Moe Greene from The Godfather. Moe Greene was based on a real-life gangster, Bugsy Siegel; Bugsy was shot through the eye. This style of murder has become a trend in mafia related movies and shows and Brendan Filone's death is the best representation in The Sopranos.

There are also several nods to the Martin Scorsese gangster film Goodfellas in the show, including Christopher shooting a bakery store cashier in the foot, muttering "it happens" (Imperioli's character, Spider, was shot in the foot in the film). Another character, Phil Leotardo, shot Angelo Garepe in the trunk of a car (Frank Vincent's character in Goodfellas was shot and stabbed in the trunk of a car).

Animals

Animals are often used as symbolism in the show. Most famously, ducks are used in the first season to represent Tony's family, squirrels are used in the fourth season to represent the changing times, and a black bear is used in season five to represent Tony himself.

Also, Tony has shown a certain fondness for animals that (as Dr. Melfi points out) he doesn't show towards people, apparently as a form of displaced affection. Tony's depression originally began when the family of ducks left his pool. The race horse Pie-O-My in season four brought out Tony's soft side, and the animal's death in a stable fire demanded as bloody a payback as if she had been a member of the family. And Tony showed more anger at Christopher when finding out that he had accidentally killed Adriana's dog, Cossette, than when he discovered that Chris was still using drugs. Tony also refuses to forgive his mother despite having arguably ample reason to do so, stating, "She made my dad give my dog away."

Three O'Clock

The time three o'clock seems to have some significance, especially in season six. The time was first mentioned in season two in the episode, "From Where to Eternity" where Christopher comes out of a coma thinking he was in hell and gives a message to Tony and Paulie from Brendan Filone and Mikey Palmice : "Three o'clock." In season six the episode "Mayham" Tony awakes from his coma at exactly three o'clock. Also in season six, the episode "Mr. & Mrs. John Sacrimoni Request" Vito phones Silvio at three o'clock in the morning after being spotted at a gay bar and going on the lam.

The Godfather

Many of the characters are interested in The Godfather series of movies and some of the actors who portray them also appear in the films. For example in The Godfather Part II, Dominic Chianese plays Johnny Ola and Tony Sirico has an uncredited role as a gangster.

Christopher Moltisanti is practically obsessed with the films' depictions of the Mafia. They have all watched the films so often that Paulie, for example, refers to The Godfather star Al Pacino in conversation simply as "Al", and several of the characters refer to the movies by their numbers: the first movie in the trilogy is simply referred to as "one". Tony and his compatriots sometimes discuss favorite scenes from the films: e.g. Tony's favorite is when Vito Corleone returns to Sicily. Silvio Dante in the early seasons would impersonate Al Pacino saying "Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in" (a quote from The Godfather Part III). He has also done impersonations of the final scene in The Godfather Part I between Michael Corleone and Kay and also "Our true enemy has yet to reveal himself." The mobsters compare themselves to the cinematic images of organized crime in The Godfather trilogy, as well as other well known films about the Mafia, such as Goodfellas. In addition, Ralph Cifaretto has a fascination with gladiator movies. Ridley Scott's Gladiator, in particular, seems to stimulate Ralph's bravado and he can be heard quoting several lines from the film during the third season.

There are also various visual homages to the Godfather trilogy. Just before Tony is shot in a failed assassination attempt in season one, he buys a bottle of orange juice, a reference to Vito Corleone buying oranges during a similar attempt on his life. In season five, Carmine Lupertazzi suffers a fatal stroke while eating brunch. At the table, all the glasses are filled with water, except Carmine's, which has orange juice. In addition, following the death of Livia Soprano in season three, there is a point-of-view shot of Tony taking an elevator to the funeral home basement. The scene is a direct homage to the scene in The Godfather where Vito calls on a favor to Bonasera following the murder of his son, Santino. In The Test Dream we hear Annette Bening make a reference to the line "not coming out of the toilet with only his d**k in his hand" and we see Tony reach behind the cistern for a gun in the same way Michael does in The Godfather.

Awards

Main article: List of The Sopranos awards and nominations

After being nominated for and losing the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2003 (losing to The Practice once and The West Wing three times), The Sopranos finally won the award in 2004, becoming the first and only cable series to win the award. The Sopranos has also won at least one Emmy Award for Acting in every season, and has dominated the writing categories, picking up 17 nominations over five seasons and winning the award four times. It is also a perennial nominee at the Golden Globes (winning the Best Drama Series in 2000) and the major guild awards (Directors, Producers, Writers, and Actors).

Depiction of brands

The Sopranos has been consistent in the frequent depiction of actual brand names for products on the program - this practice is widely regarded as product placement in the media [4] [5] [6]. HBO officially denies that it accepts product placement - paid or otherwise - and asserts that brands depicted are not a commercial decision, but a creative one made by the show's producers. [7] In terms of brands seen in the program, Soprano family members, for instance, typically drink Snapple or Coca-Cola. Motorola and Nokia cellphones are sometimes seen. Some devices utilized include scene settings (scenes have taken place in OfficeMax and Home Depot stores) and products directly incorporated into the storyline, such as luxury cars (the Chevrolet Suburban and Porsche Cayenne Turbo SUVs as well as the Maserati Spyder sports car have all been plot devices) and the New Jersey newspaper, The Star Ledger, which is regularly seen reporting on the show's storyline. Several of HBO's other shows have been used in The Sopranos episodes such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and Band of Brothers.

Criticism and praise

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The Sopranos on the cover of TV Guide magazine.

The Sopranos has been consistently hailed as one of the best shows on television, being named the top drama series of All-Time by TV Guide, #5 on their Top 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time list (behind only Seinfeld, I Love Lucy, The Honeymooners, and All in the Family). The show topped virtually every "Best TV Show" list in its debut season in 1999, with the New York Times calling it "the greatest work of American popular culture in the last 25 years". Newsweek has said in the past that it was "far and away, the best show on television." As a sign of its popularity, a TV Guide ad for the show's fourth season features a promotional shot of the regular cast, but the title is omitted.

However, the show has faced a variety of criticisms. It has been called anti-Italian with discrimination directly aimed at Italian-Americans due to a certain mob stereotype. The "discrimination" claim which has occurred throughout its entire run led to a bizarre moment when the cast was banned from participating in the Columbus Day Parade mere weeks after "Christopher", an episode that revolved around the threat of mob violence when local Native Americans threatened to protest a Columbus Day parade. [8]

Many have claimed that the series' content is too vulgar and violent. However many fans criticized the fourth season for lacking the violence that the other seasons had. For this, many consider season four to be the weakest of the six seasons that have aired thus far.

Other criticisms (pointed out by journalist Eli Evans) include that the show has become formulaic with characters placed as foils for Tony Soprano, following the formula of the character being introduced at the beginning of the season, disobeying Tony repeatedly throughout their run on the show, then eventually getting killed (or targeted) for their insubordination, usually towards the end of the season. The major examples of this are Mikey Palmice in season one, Richie Aprile in season two, Jackie, Jr. in season three, Ralph Cifaretto in seasons three and four, and Tony Blundetto in season five.

Many viewers have also been frustrated by how many storylines are left unfinished, the most frequent examples being the missing Russian, Valery from "Pine Barrens" and Dr. Melfi's rapist from "Employee of the Month" David Chase has insisted that both storylines were self-contained episodes not meant to be long-running arcs [9]. It should be noted that the writers of the show are known for building certain storylines very slowly and seemingly forgetting certain details for months and even years, and then bringing them up briefly in certain episodes, the best example being the Raymond Curto/FBI informant storyline.

Despite the criticisms, The Sopranos is the most critically praised show of its time [10]. The show has seen appreciation from many other shows and programs in the world of media. The opening sequence was sufficiently recognizable as a parody on an episode of The Simpsons in 2002, with Fat Tony standing in for Tony Soprano. The Simpsons episode also featured Silvio Dante, Paulie Walnuts, and Chris Moltisanti as the "Jersey Muscle."

It was also parodied in the Adult Swim show Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law, in 2003, in an episode where Fred Flintstone is a mob boss. During the 2001 Fox NASCAR coverage of the Coca-Cola 600, a segment called "The Pit Reporters" was played where Chris Myers is Tony Soprano, and Jeanne Zelasko is Dr. Melfi. It was inspired by an incident where FOX NASCAR studio host Chris Myers and analyst Jeff Hammond were attacked by Super Soaker water gun-wielding pit reporters Dick Berggren and Matt Yocum during a rain delay at The Winston. Myers commented, "They should appear at The Sopranos." For the 600, Tony Soprano (Myers) makes an appearance at Dr. Melfi's (Jeanne Zelasko) office previewing the 600. The show has many other references in a wide variety of media resources. The level of popularity the show has reached can be considered that of a cultural phenomenon.

Music

The show has been noted for it's fitting and obscure music selections. David Chase and music editor Kathryn Dayak handpick every song, sometimes with the seal of approval from Steven Van Zandt. [11]Many songs are repeated multiple times through an episode, such as "Living on a Thin Line" by The Kinks in University and "Glad Tidings" by Van Morrison in All Due Respect. The creators of the show have used several artists multiple times through the course of the series, such as Annie Lennox, The Kinks, Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, and Frank Sinatra.

Trivia

File:Tony newspaper2.jpg
A traditional season opening scene with Tony getting the paper. From 4-1 "For All Debts Public and Private"
File:Soprano liv cgi.jpg
A CGI-generated Livia in 3-2 "Proshai, Livushka"
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The Soprano home at sunrise in 3-1 "Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood".
  • The season finale of Season 4, "Whitecaps", is the longest Sopranos episode to date, clocking in at 75 minutes.
  • The only character allowed to wear sunglasses on the series is Christopher Moltisanti, according to David Chase; however, Tony and Jackie Jr. have been seen wearing sunglasses on at least two occasions. This rule was broken in the sixth season premiere; Tony, Christopher, Paulie and Silvio were all seen wearing sunglasses while visiting an optometrists office.
  • Although the series was shot in HDTV (High Definition Television, 16:9 widescreen) from its inception, the show wouldn't be broadcast in this format until the fourth season (2002). The DVDs, however, maintain the widescreen format of HD.
  • HBO has thrown a premiere party at Radio City Music Hall for every season premiere. In an interview, Lorraine Bracco said that the network will forgo the premiere party of the sixth season (and all advance screenings) to preserve a surprise plot twist that occurs in the first episode of the new season. HBO did host the show's sixth season premiere at the Museum of Modern Art, but only friends of the cast and assorted A-Listers attended the event.[12]
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Chris Moltisanti, Johnny Tightlips, Silvio Dante, and Paulie Walnuts in The Simpsons
  • The first episode of every season (except for the sixth) features a closeup shot of the newspaper laying on the driveway of the Sopranos residence. The first four seasons had Tony coming outside to pick up the newspaper. The fifth season, due to Tony moving out of the house in the season 4 finale, had Meadow running over the newspaper with her car. The sixth season began with a montage of characters clips, followed by Tony digging up Junior's backyard. The fifth episode of the sixth season featured the newspaper shot, with Carmela coming outside to pick up the paper and throwing away the section with Uncle Junior on the cover.
  • The characters most commonly speculated to be "whacked" in the near future (i.e. are the favorites in mid-season speculation from year-to-year) are Christopher and Paulie.
  • Lorraine Bracco, who had previously played the role of mob wife Karen Hill in Goodfellas, was originally asked to play the role of Carmela. She took the role as Dr. Melfi because she felt that would be more of a challenge for her. Coincidentally, Suzanne Shepherd, who played Karen Hill's mother in "Goodfellas", now plays Carmela's mother in "The Sopranos".
  • Steve Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) and David Proval (Richie Aprile) auditioned to play Tony Soprano. Ray Liotta was a prime candidate for the role of Tony Soprano ahead of James Gandolfini.
  • Every season finale (up to the fifth season) which include I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano, Funhouse, Army of One, Whitecaps and All Due Respect have been directed by John Patterson. Patterson was expected to return to direct several episodes of Season 6 but died in 2005 .
  • At one point there were talks of a Sopranos feature film that was to be released after the series had ended. While this idea was reportedly scrapped in favor of "The Final Eight" episodes that are set to debut in January 2007, creator David Chase did not rule out the possibility of a Sopranos movie sometime down the road.[13]
  • During the fourth season it is revealed that Bobby Jr's AOL screen name is PowerBob386. After the airing of the episode, a real PowerBob386 AOL account was made and later sold on eBay.
  • Six of The Sopranos cast appeared in Mickey Blue Eyes the same year that The Sopranos began: Tony Sirico (Paulie Walnuts), John Ventimiglia (Artie Bucco), Aida Turturro (Janice Soprano), Vincent Pastore (Sal Bonpensiero), Frank Pellegrino (Bureau Chief Frank Cubitoso), and Joseph R. Gannascoli (Vito Spatafore).
  • Carmela is usually found reading the book "Memoirs of a Geisha" on her bed.
  • Tony uses the codename "Mr. Spears" when he contacts Assemblyman Zellman and uses the name to schedule a therapy appointment with another therapist. Tony uses the name "Mr. Petraglia" when checking into the Plaza Hotel.

Broadcasting

The Sopranos is broadcast on the following channels around the world.

HBO broadcasting history

References

  1. ^ [1]"Mob Secrets", Union Tribune, September 12, 2002
  2. ^ [2]"Jersey cases inspire new 'Sopranos' season", The Star Ledger, January 9, 2003
  3. ^ [3] "Tony Checks into Hotel California", Newark Star-Ledger, March 20, 2006
  4. ^ [4] "Sopranos Product Placement Watch", BusinessWeek Online, 2006
  5. ^ [5] "HBO shows use real brands", USA Today, December 12, 2002
  6. ^ [6] "Advertisers find "Sopranos" hard to refuse", Reuters, October 11, 2002
  7. ^ [7] "Sopranos Product Placement", Chicago Tribune
  8. ^ [8] "Soprano Parade Plans Iced", E! Online, October 10, 2002
  9. ^ [9] "Jersey Cases Inspire New Season", Newark Star Ledger, January 9, 2004
  10. ^ [10] "Sopranos Invitation", DGA, March 11, 2004
  11. ^ [11] "The hits keep on coming", The Star Ledger, March 08, 2006
  12. ^ [12] "'Sopranos' Creator Whacks Press", FoxNews.com, March 01, 2006
  13. ^ [13] "Tony Soprano Ready for His Close-Up?", E! Online, Feb. 27, 2006

See also

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