The Blue Comet

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This article is about the episode of the television series The Sopranos. For the train after which the episode is named, see Blue Comet.
"The Blue Comet"
The Sopranos episode
Sopranos620.jpg
Bobby holds his model Blue Comet at a model train store in Lynbrook, New York, moments before he is gunned down.
Episode no. Season 6
Episode 20
Directed by Alan Taylor
Written by
Produced by David Chase
Featured music
Cinematography by Phil Abraham
Editing by William B. Stich
Production code S620
Original air date June 3, 2007 (2007-06-03)
Running time 50 minutes
Guest stars
Episode chronology
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List of The Sopranos episodes

"The Blue Comet" is the twentieth episode of the sixth season of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos and eighty-fifth episode overall. It is the eighth episode of the second part of the sixth season, which was broadcast in two separate batches and the show's penultimate episode. It was written by series creator and showrunner David Chase and Matthew Weiner, both of whom are credited as executive producers for the episode. It was directed by frequent series director Alan Taylor. It originally aired in the United States on June 3, 2007, two weeks after the preceding episode.

In the episode, a mob war erupts between the Lupertazzi and DiMeo crime families, which leads to the shooting of people close to DiMeo boss and series protagonist Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). In a parallel storyline, Tony's psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco) gains some new insight on Tony and decides to drop him as a patient.

"The Blue Comet" was filmed at Silvercup Studios, New York City and on location in New Jersey and New York in January and February, 2007. It was watched by eight million American viewers on its premiere date and received significant critical praise for its suspenseful narrative and dramatic resolution of series-long storylines; many critics have also retrospectively named "The Blue Comet" a highlight of the series. Bracco received an Emmy Award nomination for supporting actress for her performance in the episode and it was also nominated for a Cinema Audio Society Award for sound mixing.

Contents

[edit] Plot

Silvio Dante (Steven Van Zandt) visits Burt Gervasi (Artie Pasquale) at his home and murders him with a garrotte. In Brooklyn, Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) has a sit-down with Albie Cianflone (John "Cha Cha" Ciarcia) and Butch DeConcini (Gregory Antonacci). He makes the decision to eliminate the DiMeo family: "We decapitate and we do business with whatever's left." After initial reluctance, Butch and Albie set Phil's plan in motion and order the murders of Tony, Silvio and Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa). Tony is visited at Satriale's by FBI Agent Dwight Harris (Matt Servitto), who shares with him information he has gotten from a "snitch" in regard to Phil's plan. Tony, Silvio and Bobby meet at the back room of the Bada Bing!, where Silvio informs Tony that he has killed Burt Gervasi and that many members of the DiMeo family are "getting squeezed hard" by the Lupertazzi family "to sway them towards new 'management'". The three then convene at Nuovo Vesuvio, where Tony makes the decision to have Phil murdered by the Italian hitmen they've used before.

At a dinner party with friends and colleagues, Dr. Jennifer Melfi hears again of a study that claims sociopaths take advantage of talk therapy to become better criminals. Melfi's psychiatrist, Dr. Elliot Kupferberg (Peter Bogdanovich), also reveals to the party that Melfi is treating Tony Soprano, which upsets her. She later reads the study and ends her professional relationship with Tony at their next appointment.

Paulie Gualtieri (Tony Sirico) and Patsy Parisi (Dan Grimaldi) arrange the murder of Phil by using Corky Caporale (Edoardo Ballerini) as a liaison with the Italian assassins. The hitmen kill Phil's Ukrainian mistress and her father, whom they confuse for Phil. Tony and Carmela (Edie Falco) have dinner at Nuovo Vesuvio, where they put on a good face as they talk to Charmaine and Artie Bucco (Kathrine Narducci and John Ventimiglia). Janice (Aida Turturro) visits Tony at his house and tries to persuade him to pay for their uncle Junior's living arrangements, but Tony refuses. Tony is later visited by Silvio, who informs him of the failed murder of Phil.

While shopping at a model train store in Lynbrook, New York, Bobby is encountered by two Lupertazzi soldiers, who murder him by several gunshots to the chest. While trying to drive from the Bada Bing! parking lot, Patsy and Silvio are intercepted by two Lupertazzi members in car and a gunfight ensues, which ends when Silvio gets hit twice and is left for dead and Patsy flees. At Tony's house, Paulie tells Tony that Silvio is in a coma. Tony informs Carmela and A.J. (Robert Iler) of these events and tells them to go into hiding; he resorts to force to make A.J. go. Carmela and Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) visit Janice, who is in a state of shock. Tony and his closest associates drive to a DiMeo safehouse,[1] where they take up residence. Tony goes to sleep clutching the assault rifle Bobby gave him for his birthday.[2][3]

[edit] Production

[edit] Writing

The episode's general plot outline was developed collectively by the writing staff of The Sopranos, which for the second part of the sixth season consisted of showrunner and head writer David Chase, executive producer and co-showrunner[4][5] Terence Winter, executive producer Matthew Weiner and supervising producers and writing team Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider.[6] After the main story had been outlined, the script for "The Blue Comet" was written by Chase and Weiner, who had been a writer and producer of The Sopranos since the show's fifth season and was promoted to executive producer during the production of the second part of the sixth season.[6] It is Chase's twenty-ninth writing credit for the series (including story credits) and Weiner's twelfth and final (Chase also wrote the next episode, the series finale "Made in America"). The penultimate episode marks the fifth time Chase and Weiner have collaborated on a The Sopranos script, following "The Test Dream" of season five and "Kaisha" (also with Winter), "Soprano Home Movies" (also with Frolov and Schneider) and "Kennedy and Heidi" of season six.[7]

The cardboard cutout of the character Silvio Dante that appears near the end of the episode in the safehouse was added by the writers as a way to give the character some sort of presence in the scene. The writers created the safehouse as an unoccupied house the family keep for emergencies and where various items, such as the promotional cutout of Silvio for the Bada Bing!, are stored.[1] The study Melfi is shown reading is an actual study called "The Criminal Personality", written by Dr. Samuel Yochelson and Dr. Stanton Samenow and published between 1977 and 1986.[8] The episode is named after the Blue Comet, a passenger train that was operated by the Central Railroad of New Jersey and ran between Atlantic City and Jersey City from 1929 to 1941.[9][10] In the episode, Bobby is about to purchase a Blue Comet train model just before he is murdered. A flashback to "Soprano Home Movies", the thirteenth episode of the season, was included in the episode.[2][3]

References to real-life American Mafia history and events were added to the script by Chase. The character Phil Leotardo's complaints about the DiMeo family's inattention to the Mafia induction rituals closely mirror those the Mafia Commission made about the DeCavalcante family, which has often been regarded as a source of inspiration for the DiMeo family of The Sopranos.[11][12] The character Paulie Gualtieri's line, "I lived through the '70s by the skin of my nuts when the Colombos were going at it", alludes to a mob war in the 1970s that involved the Colombo crime family and in particular to the battles between Mafia factions led by Joseph Colombo and Crazy Joe Gallo. Tony Sirico, the actor who portrays Paulie on the series, was personally involved in this conflict.[11]

[edit] Filming

Interior scenes set at the Soprano residence, back room of the strip club Bada Bing!, Italian restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio and Melfi's psychiatrist's office were filmed at Silvercup Studios.

"The Blue Comet" was directed by Alan Taylor and photographed by Phil Abraham. Both had worked intermittently on the show in the same capacities since the first season. The penultimate episode marks Taylor's ninth credit as director and Abraham's forty-seventh credit as director of photography; it is the final credit of the series for both. Before filming commenced, David Chase and Taylor held a pre-production director's meeting—called a "tone meeting" by the crew—in which Chase explained how he envisioned the filming of the episode's scenes in great detail and provided directions for Taylor to follow during principal photography.[13][14]

"The Blue Comet" was filmed in January and February 2007, primarily at the show's usual filming locations: exterior and some interior scenes were filmed on location in New Jersey and New York while the majority of the interior scenes were shot at Silvercup Studios, New York City.[11][15] The Soprano residence, meat market Satriale's, strip club Bada Bing! and Italian restaurant Nuovo Vesuvio—four of the most frequently recurring and recognizable backdrops of the series—are all featured prominently in the episode.[2][3]

Some scenes were set in environments not typically featured in the series. The gunfire scene that takes place in a model railroading store was filmed on location at a store called Trainland in Lynbrook, New York.[16] Scenes set at the Averna Social Club, a meeting place for the Lupertazzi family in the context of the series, were filmed at a bar on Manhattan's Mulberry Street, New York City.[17] Janice and Bobby's residence, formerly owned by Johnny Sack, appears briefly in the episode; the scene was shot on location in North Caldwell, New Jersey.[18]

[edit] Post-production

The editing of "The Blue Comet" was done by William B. Stich in close consultation with Chase. During post-production, Chase selected the music for the episode, using previously recorded and released songs he saw fit for particular scenes and rearranged the filmed scenes into their final order.[19] Some filmed scenes were cut during editing. One such involved the character Burt Gervasi telling Silvio Dante that he has begun cooperating with the Lupertazzi family, a scene that was meant as a setup for the murder that ended up as the episode's opening.[11]

[edit] Reception

[edit] Ratings

According to Nielsen ratings, "The Blue Comet" attracted an average of eight million American viewers when first broadcast in the United States on HBO on Sunday June 3, 2007. This was the show's second best ratings for the second part of the sixth season. Only next week's series finale, which drew 11.9 million viewers, received higher numbers.[20][21]

[edit] Critical response

"The Blue Comet" received very positive critical reviews following its original broadcast and has since then frequently been named by critics as one of the best episodes of the series.[1][22][23][24][25] Much praise was directed at the episode's pacing and efficient build-up of suspense as well as the execution of the gunfire scenes toward the end of the episode. The episode was also praised for story elements concerning the escalation of the conflict between the rivaling Mafia families of the show and for the conclusion it brought to the professional and personal relationship between the characters Tony Soprano and Jennifer Melfi.

Tom Biro of television webblog TV Squad was impressed with the episode because of "the way we're beginning to close the door on the lives of some people and get an idea on who will be around at the end and who won't" and because "we're treated to something thrilling not only in story, but visually as well." Biro awarded "The Blue Comet" the site's highest score of 7.[26] Geoffrey Dunn of Metro Silicon Valley stated that "Chase orchestrated the tension to a full crescendo."[27] Tim Goodman of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote "In this penultimate episode (which David Chase co-wrote), you can see the veil of surprise, of artistic feints, red herrings, theory-bating and any other cool narrative device totally vanish. It's as if things snuck up on us. Time is not just running out, it's almost all gone. Action needed to step forth and be counted. And so, true to form historically, the second to last episode had more than it's [sic] fair share of Big Moments." Goodman also called Bobby's death scene "priceless" and "Really well done."[28] Heather Havrilesky of Salon wrote "No sad music, no slow motion, no teary funeral, no time for condolences. When the blood-dimmed tide finally rolled in during last night's penultimate Sopranos episode, an eerie quiet settled in."[29] Matt Roush of TV Guide gave the episode a favorable review, writing "TV's landmark family crime drama went on a bloody rampage this week, just as we expected might happen in the next-to-last episode. [...] It was a sensational way to get us primed for Sunday's series finale."[30] Maureen Ryan of the Chicago Tribune wrote that "[The] second-to-last episode was certainly a classic" and praised it for its suspenseful storytelling.[31] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly offered "The Blue Comet" a favorable estimation, writing "Every moment in this bloody, bullet-riddled penultimate episode is about regular, familiar old ways that have now gone terribly, irreversibly awry. [...] In the last hours of this epic drama, every detail glitters with bitter meaning".[32] Matt Zoller Seitz of Slant Magazine described the episode as "the most atypically typical whack-fest the show has served up in quite some time" and "an orgy of Mafia mayhem". Zoller Seitz also praised the final therapy scene between Tony Soprano and Jennifer Melfi for its depth.[33] Alan Sepinwall of The Star Ledger called the penultimate episode "one of the best—and certainly one of the busiest—episodes in the history of The Sopranos," further describing it as "a superb, scary, thrilling episode." He also characterized Bobby's death scene as "a little masterpiece of editing".[34][35] Brian Tallerico of UGO called the episode "mind-blowing" and "intense", wrote that "[he] really didn't expect David Chase to take his show out with this much gunfire" and gave it an "A", the site's second-highest score.[36] Brian Zoromski of IGN awarded the episode a score of 9.1 out of 10, writing "Overall, 'The Blue Comet' was a very well done, sometimes shocking, build-up to next week's series finale."[37]

[edit] Awards

In 2007, Lorraine Bracco was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in "The Blue Comet" but lost to Grey's Anatomy's Katherine Heigl at the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards. Bracco had previously been nominated three times in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for playing Dr. Melfi.[38] In 2008, sound mixers Mathew Price, Kevin Burns and Todd Orr were nominated for a Cinema Audio Society Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing – Television.[39]

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-05). "Second opinion: The Blue Comet". The Star-Ledger. http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/second_opinion_the_blue_comet.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  2. ^ a b c "HBO: The Sopranos: S 6 EP 85 The Blue Comet: Synopsis". HBO. http://www.hbo.com/the-sopranos/episodes#/the-sopranos/episodes/6/85-the-blue-comet/synopsis.html. Retrieved 2011-03-07. 
  3. ^ a b c O'Connor, Mimi (2007-10-30). "The Sopranos: Episode Guide". In Martin, Brett. The Sopranos: The Complete Book. New York: Time. p. 225. ISBN 978-1-933821-18-4. 
  4. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2010-09-09). "Interview: 'Boardwalk Empire' creator Terence Winter". Hit Fix. http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/interview-boardwalk-empire-creator-terence-winter. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  5. ^ The Sopranos – The Complete Series: Alec Baldwin interviews David Chase (DVD). HBO. 2008. 
  6. ^ a b Lee, Mark (May 2007). "Wiseguys: A conversation between David Chase and Tom Fontana.". Written By (Writers Guild of America, West). http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenbysub.aspx?id=2354. Retrieved 2010-09-23. 
  7. ^ The Sopranos – The Complete Series (DVD). HBO. 2008. 
  8. ^ Friedman, Roger (2007-06-04). "Bloodbath on 'The Sopranos'". Fox News. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,277633,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  9. ^ "The Blue Comet". New Jersey Monthly. 2010-06-22. http://njmonthly.com/blogs/njmyway/2010/6/22/the-blue-comet.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  10. ^ "Filmmaker Lets the Blue Comet Ride Again With New Movie About Nostalgic NJ Train". Rutgers University. 2010-09-10. http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2010/09/filmmaker-lets-the-b-20100910. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  11. ^ a b c d Van Zandt, Steven; Nascarella, Arthur (2007). The Sopranos – Season Six, Part II: "The Blue Comet" commentary track (DVD). HBO. 
  12. ^ Bruno, Anthony. "Real Life Sopranos". Crime Library. http://www.crimelibrary.com/gangsters_outlaws/mob_bosses/sopranos/1.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  13. ^ The Sopranos – The Complete Series: Supper with The Sopranos (DVD). HBO. 2008. 
  14. ^ Ressner, Jeffrey (2007). "Shooting the Sopranos". Directors Guild of America. http://www.dgaquarterly.org/BACKISSUES/Spring2007/TelevisionDirectingtheSopranos.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  15. ^ Wolk, Josh (2007-04-06). "Burying the Sopranos". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20033896,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
  16. ^ "Lionel Trains at Train World". http://www.trainworld.com/. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  17. ^ "The Sopranos location guide". The Sopranos location guide. http://sopranos.zanderz.net/location-284. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  18. ^ "The Sopranos location guide". The Sopranos location guide. http://sopranos.zanderz.net/location-85. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  19. ^ Biskind, Peter (2007-03-13). "The Family that Preys Together". Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/03/chase200703. Retrieved 2011-01-09. 
  20. ^ "Big Ratings for 'Wife,' 'Wives'". zap2it.com. 2007-06-05. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-starterwifearmywivesratings,0,998623.story. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  21. ^ "'Sopranos' Body Count: 11.9 Million". zap2it.com. 2007-06-12. http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-sopranosfinaleratings,0,4265982.story. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  22. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-06). "The Sopranos' Top 10 hits". The Star-Ledger. http://blog.nj.com/sopranosarchive/2007/06/the_sopranos_top_10_hits.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  23. ^ Cullin, Liam. "The Sopranos (The Complete Series) DVD / Blu-ray Review". Empire Movies. http://www.empiremovies.com/dvd/reviews.php?id=25158&thesopranosthecompleteseries.htm. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  24. ^ "Memorable Sopranos Episodes". AOL television. http://television.aol.com/feature/sopranos_tv/most_explosive_moments. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  25. ^ Meaney, Patrick (2007-06-07). "The Sopranos: The Top Ten Episodes". Blogcritics. http://blogcritics.org/video/article/the-sopranos-the-top-ten-episodes/. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  26. ^ Biro, Tom (2007-06-03). "The Sopranos: The Blue Comet". TV Squad. http://www.tvsquad.com/2007/06/03/the-sopranos-the-blue-comet/. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  27. ^ Dunn, Geoffrey. "It's Life and Life Only". Metro Silicon Valley. http://www.metroactive.com/metro/06.13.07/sopranos-0724.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  28. ^ Goodman, Tim (2007-06-04). ""Sopranos" Ep. 20: "A glorified crew."". San Francisco Chronicle. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/tgoodman/detail?entry_id=17232. Retrieved 2010-09-24. 
  29. ^ Havrilesky, Heather (2007-06-04). ""Sopranos" wrap-up: Hide-and-seek". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/ent/tv/review/2007/06/04/sopranos/. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  30. ^ Roush, Matt (2007-06-05). "It's Almost Over for The Sopranos". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/roush/Sopranos-9978.aspx. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  31. ^ Ryan, Maureen (2007-06-04). "The end is near for Tony Soprano and his crew". Chicago Tribune. http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/entertainment_tv/2007/06/the_end_is_near.html#more. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  32. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (2007-06-04). "The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20041259,00.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  33. ^ Zoller Seitz, Matt (2007-06-04). "The Sopranos Mondays: Season 6, Ep. 20, "The Blue Comet"". Slant Magazine. http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2007/06/the-sopranos-mondays-season-6-ep-20-the-blue-comet/. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  34. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-04). "Sopranos Rewind: The Blue Comet". The Star-Ledger. http://sepinwall.blogspot.com/2007/06/sopranos-rewind-blue-comet.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  35. ^ Sepinwall, Alan (2007-06-04). "Sopranos Rewind: The Blue Comet". The Star-Ledger. http://blog.nj.com/alltv/2007/06/sopranos_rewind_the_blue_comet.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  36. ^ Tallerico, Brian. "Sopranos Column - Episode 6.20: "The Blue Comet"". UGO. http://www.ugo.com/ugo/html/article/?id=17364. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  37. ^ Zoromski, Brian (2007-06-04). "The Sopranos: The Blue Comet Review". IGN. http://tv.ign.com/articles/794/794050p1.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  38. ^ O'Neal, Tom (2007-07-24). "Finally! Your official Emmy episode cheat sheet!". The Los Angeles Times. http://goldderby.latimes.com/awards_goldderby/2007/07/finally-your-of.html. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 
  39. ^ "2008 CAS Award Winners and Nominees - Cinema Audio Society". Cinema Audio Society. 2008. http://www.cinemaaudiosociety.org/casawards/cas2008nominees.php. Retrieved 2010-09-21. 

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