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==Symbolism==
==Symbolism==
===Eggs===
===Eggs===
Eggs foreshadow something unfortunate will occur. For example, in season five, Adriana offers to make Christopher eggs after admitting she has been working with the FBI. She is killed in the next scene. In season four 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. In addition, Tony Soprano's goomara, Valentina, has her [[kimono]] catch on fire from the stove while preparing egg substitutes for Tony. Finally, Tony Soprano steps in broken eggs just before resolving to murder his cousin, Tony Blundetto.
Eggs foreshadow something unfortunate will occur. For example, in season five, Adriana offers to make Christopher eggs after admitting she has been working with the FBI. She is killed in the next scene. In season four 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. In addition, Tony Soprano's comare, Valentina, has her [[kimono]] catch on fire from the stove while preparing egg substitutes for Tony. Finally, Tony Soprano steps in broken eggs just before resolving to murder his cousin, Tony Blundetto.


===Types of murders===
===Types of murders===

Revision as of 20:09, 20 March 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
Dan Grimaldi
Joseph R. Gannascoli
Toni Kalem
Country of originUSA
No. of episodes66 (85 ordered)
Production
Running timeapprox. 0:60 minutes
Original release
NetworkHBO
ReleaseJanuary 10, 1999 –
present

The Sopranos is a television drama 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 is currently believed that those eight bonus 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, and the effects of violence on the human soul. 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 and Edie Falco 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 earlier 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 in this opening. The sequence ends with Tony pulling into the driveway of his suburban home in Essex County.

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 cut altogether in response to the terrorist attack of September 11, 2001 in which the towers were destroyed.

Characters

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

Notable plots and timeline

Main article: List of The Sopranos episodes

Template:Spoiler

Pre-Season One

  • 1959
    • Tony Soprano born to Giovanni "Johnny Boy" Soprano and Livia Soprano. He is their second child, following Janice Soprano. The couple would later have a third child, Barbara.
  • 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
  • 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 soon 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 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.
    • Tony ends his relationship with his longtime girlfriend, Irina.
    • Richie Aprile is murdered by Janice after he punches her in the mouth.
    • 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.
    • 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 include: 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 fine, but it turns out that 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.
    • After Christopher's heroin addiction worsens he is confronted in an Intervention which leads to his agreeing to attend rehab.
    • Adriana begins reporting to Agent Sanseverino after she is reassigned from Agent Ciccerone for her protection.
    • Tony quits therapy with Dr. Melfi.
    • 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.
    • 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. Carmine and Tony have a sitdown and the two families reach a deal. Johnny tells Tony that the hit on Carmine should still go forward. Tony thinks the problems with New York have been solved and pulls out, angering Johnny who was set on becoming the boss of the New York family.
    • Tony buys a beach house for the family, named Whitecaps.
    • The case against Junior is declared a hung jury after a juror gets 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 tries to back out of the Whitecaps deal, but the dealer refuses to bargain with him. Tony sends the Stugots to the beach house and blasts Dean Martin music to get his money back.
    • 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.
    • Tony B. tells Tony that he wants to remain a civilian but thanks him for his job offer.
    • Carmine Lupertazzi dies after suffering a stroke. A power struggle ensues thereafter 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.
    • Tony somewhat blames himself for Tony B. going to jail, because he was supposed to be at the robbery where Tony B. was caught. The excuse Tony uses is that he was jumped by a gang of 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 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.
    • Phil Leotardo is forced into a car accident by Tony, who is annoyed at not receiving his payment in a timely fashion. Tony arranges for Phil's car to be fixed in Big Pussy's Auto Shop, now run by Angie Bonpensario. Phil abuses Tony's connection to the Auto Body.
    • 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.
    • To avenge the deaths of Lorraine Calluzzo and Jason Evanina, Tony B. gets an offer by his friend, Angelo Garape, and Little Carmine's soldier, Rusty Millio, to kill Joe Peeps. Tony B. ponders on the offer and later accepts. He kills Joe Peeps outside of a brothel in his car along with a female witness, Heather, and Blundetto's foot is run over by the car when he pulls off the execution.
    • Johnny Sack suspects Tony B. for the Joey Peeps hit after finding out about his foot injury. Tony confronts his cousin about it but decides covers for him, saying that the two were together the night of Joe Peeps' murder.
    • To further compensate for his feelings of self-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.
    • Meadow and Finn become engaged.
    • 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, Hal.
    • 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. It is eventually revealed that he had lied to Tony, telling him that Adriana had planned to fold on Christopher and alleging that she faced less time than the reality of her situation.
    • 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)

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 interviewing for a law internship, 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. Despite calm negotiations between the two families on business dealings, he is still causing problems for Tony when a member of his crew attacks Hesh and his son-in-law.
    • 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 in critical condition two days after the shooting. The attendant physicians in the ICU sedate Tony into an induced coma after he wakes from a prolonged dream and rips out his breathing tube. Several doctors comment on the complications of Tony's gunshot wound, the most dangerous of which is blood poisoning, and although they encourage Carmela and others to talk to him and play him music in the hopes of a recovery, they also warn of an "obviously negative outcome."
    • A vigil of Tony's family members and business associates have assembled in the ICU. A distraught Carmela, Christopher, and Meadow sleep in the hospital.
    • Uncle Junior is being held in custody and is questioned about the shooting. He is confused about the situation and hostile towards his interrogator and doesn't remember that he has a new lawyer. He denies that he shot his nephew and insists that Tony's wound must have been self-inflicted, because he is "a depression case."
    • Christopher, Paulie, and Vito vie for small opportunities to assist Tony's family during the crisis, such as sending presents to Tony's room and bickering over who giving a ride home to AJ.
    • During the wake of the late soldier Eugene Pontecorvo, an impromptu meeting of associates is held, and Silvio assumes Tony's responsibilities as family boss. The meeting also reveals that, while the group is deeply loyal to the incapacitated Tony, some are unsympathetically furious at Junior, and others are suspicious of why Bobby Baccala - traditionally Junior's de facto caretaker - was not in the house that night. Also, Vito makes a bid to take over Eugene's sportsbook responsibilities.
    • Meanwhile, AJ acts curiously aloof, avoiding Tony's room, shirking his familial and school responsibilities. He talks to a reporter at the hospital, but curses the ones camped outside the Soprano home; he forgets to bring requested items to the hospital to assist in Tony's recovery, a questionable stomach flu (which may have been faked or psychosomatic) excuses him from a night shift at the hospital, and is flippantly preoccupied with hybrid cars. AJ's unforthcoming behavior to his father's condition worries Carmela, who voices her concerns to Rosalie Aprile. With the death of her own wayward son Jackie Aprile Jr. fresh in both their minds, Rosalie advises Carmela to engage in stricter parenting with AJ; in addition to the normal worries for her son, however, Carmela fears that AJ's deep esteem for his father is the source of his aloofness.
    • AJ admits to Meadow that he is embarrassed and angry by the actions of his family, especially Uncle Junior, who he calls a "mummy." AJ finally concedes to his family's wishes to talk to his comatose father. Once the two are alone (and after talking about hybrid cars), AJ vows to avenge what he believes to be his father's imminent death by killing Uncle Junior. Immediately afterwards, he admits to Carmela that he failed out of junior college.
    • Tony has a long dream while he is in a coma. He is a regular average precision optical salesman on a business trip, without his trademark "Jersey accent". The dream starts out with Tony at a bar one evening. The next morning he goes to what looks to be some type of convention, and as he is asked for ID to get in he realizes he does not have his wallet and briefcase...he's got someone else's. He thinks back and assumes he must've unintentionally swaped them with someone else's the previous evening at the bar. After speaking with his wife (who does not sound like Carmela, and his 2 kids are much too young to be Meadow and AJ) he realizes that he looks quite similar to "Kevin Finnity", the man who's wallet he now posseses. Because of this, Tony checks into a different hotel (his original one was booked). The next morning he goes out to take the elevator down, waits for a while, but decides to take the stairs. As he's going down the stairs very quickly he slips, and falls down half a flight of stairs. He is hospitalized and treated for. The doctor tells him that through the CT scan they did on his head, he found some dark spots on his brain, which indicate lack of oxygen. Tony asks what that means to him, and the doctor states that he has the early stages of Alzheimer's. When the doctor leaves him at his bed, Tony is seen saying "I'm lost" to himself. After he gets back to his hotel Tony picks up the phone to call his wife, but hangs up before even dialing.

Symbolism

Eggs

Eggs foreshadow something unfortunate will occur. For example, in season five, Adriana offers to make Christopher eggs after admitting she has been working with the FBI. She is killed in the next scene. In season four 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. In addition, Tony Soprano's comare, Valentina, has her kimono catch on fire from the stove while preparing egg substitutes for Tony. Finally, Tony Soprano steps in broken eggs just before resolving to murder his cousin, Tony Blundetto.

Types of murders

There are many references to different styles 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 himself was based on a real-life gangster, Bugsy Siegel. Bugsy himself was killed with a bullet clean 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 which include 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. 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.

The Godfather

Many of the characters are interested in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (the latter in which Dominic Chianese portrays Johnny Ola), and 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." Tony and his compatriots sometimes discuss favorite aspects of the films: e.g. Tony's favorite scene in the saga 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 the most, 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 season one, he drinks orange juice, a reference to Vito Corleone buying oranges before he is shot and playing with oranges with his grandchild before dying. 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 from 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 following the murder of his son, Santino.

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).

Criticism and praise

File:TVGuidesopranos.jpg
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."

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" which has occurred throughout its entire run lead 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. [3]

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 five 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, both from season three. David Chase has insisted that both storylines were self-contained episodes not meant to be long-running arcs [4]. 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 [5]. 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.

Trivia

File:Tony newspaper2.jpg
A traditional season opening scene with Tony getting the paper. From 4-1 For All Debts Public and Private
  • 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, 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).
  • 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".
  • 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 project, it was known as Made in Jersey. Other titles that were considered included 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.
  • James Gandolfini is the only actor to appear in every episode of the series.
File:Soprano liv cgi.jpg
A CGI-generated Livia in 3-2 Proshai, Livushka
File:Sopranohouse sunset.jpg
The Soprano home at sunset 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 has 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.
  • The series converted to HDTV (16:9 widescreen) during the fourth season (2002).
  • In episode 37 (3.11), "Pine Barrens", director Steve Buscemi has said that he was the one who threw the steak at Tony's head.
  • 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.[6]
File:Simpsopranos.jpg
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 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 a mob wife 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.
  • Steve Van Zandt (Silvio Dante) and David Proval (Richie Aprile) auditioned to play Tony Soprano.
  • 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.[7]
  • During the fourth season it is reaveled 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).

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] "Soprano Parade Plans Iced", E! Online, October 10, 2002
  4. ^ [4] "Jersey Cases Inspire New Season", Newark Star Ledger, January 9, 2004
  5. ^ [5] "Sopranos Invitation", DGA, March 11, 2004
  6. ^ [6] "'Sopranos' Creator Whacks Press", FoxNews.com, March 01, 2006
  7. ^ [7] "Tony Soprano Ready for His Close-Up?", E! Online, Feb. 27, 2006

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to The Sopranos.
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