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Where's Johnny?

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"Where's Johnny?"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.Season 5
Episode 3
Directed byJohn Patterson
Written byMichael Caleo
Cinematography byPhil Abraham
Production code503
Original air dateMarch 21, 2004 (2004-03-21)
Running time54 minutes
Episode chronology
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"Rat Pack" 		Next →
"All Happy Families..."
The Sopranos season 5
List of episodes

"Where's Johnny?" is the 55th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the third of the show's fifth season. Written by Michael Caleo and directed by John Patterson, it originally aired on March 21, 2004. It is the only episode of the entire series in which Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) does not appear.

This episode was the most watched program on U.S. cable television on its original airing.

Starring

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* = credit only

Guest starring

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Synopsis

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Sal Vitro, a gardener who has been working in a particular neighborhood for decades, is told by Feech that the neighborhood now belongs to his nephew, Gary La Manna. When Sal rebuffs him, Feech viciously breaks his right arm before Tony B intervenes, reminding him that he is on parole. Paulie learns about the assault and tells Sal that, for a few percentage points, he can put things right.

Paulie visits Feech at his legitimate business, a bakery, but Feech angrily tells him to get out. Paulie then finds Gary and his brother at work, assaults them both, then empties Gary's wallet; he orders Gary to give him a cut of his profits and to pay Sal's medical bills. In a sit-down, Tony rules that the neighborhood should be divided equally between Gary and Sal. When Paulie informs Sal, he tries to hide his disappointment. Paulie adds that he will have to provide free services at the homes of "some friends of ours," including Tony and Johnny, whose lawn is huge.

Tensions rise in New York as loan shark Lorraine Calluzzo and her boyfriend, Jason Evanina, collect debts and pass payments up to Little Carmine. They are attacked by three of Johnny's men: Phil, his brother Billy, and Joey Peeps. Phil subjects Lorraine to a mock execution. She, Jason, and Angelo have a meeting with Tony and Junior. Tony recommends that the Lupertazzi family form a triumvirate composed of Johnny, Carmine, and Angelo. Angelo says he is semi-retired and just wants to spend time with his grandchildren.

Tony meets Johnny, telling him that Lorraine reached out to him. He raises the power-sharing idea from the previous meeting, framing it as Angelo’s idea. Johnny responds with contempt, accusing Tony of empowering Carmine during the dispute over the HUD scam. During a later sit-down with Johnny, Tony is accompanied by Christopher, who, despite Tony's instructions, intervenes. Johnny angrily shouts at them and the sit-down fails.

Tony mends fences with Artie Bucco, who is still holding a grudge over the loan incident. He offers Artie one of the bedrooms in his mother's house since Artie has run into problems with his living arrangements; after some hesitation, he accepts.

Junior's dementia is gradually worsening. One afternoon, he wanders out in a bathrobe and drives to Bloomfield Avenue where his brother, Johnny Boy, once had a family hangout. It is now a storefront church and he is kicked out. Befuddled, Junior forgets where his car is parked and walks aimlessly. After dark, two Newark policemen discover him and drive him home. Janice and Bobby discuss his condition with Tony, but this escalates into an argument between the two siblings over old wounds. Janice slaps Tony and he starts choking her. As Bobby and Artie try to break up the fight, Artie gets hit in the eye by Janice's elbow. Janice runs out of the house crying. Later, in a chance encounter, Junior's neurologist explains to Tony that Junior's behavior may have been due to his infarcts (mini-strokes). Tony visits Junior and asks him why he doesn't think about anything nice. "Don't you love me?" Tony asks. Junior doesn't answer, and they both quietly tear up.

First appearances

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  • Sal Vitro: a gardener helped by Paulie who becomes indebted to the DiMeo crime family.
  • Billy Leotardo: Soldier in the Lupertazzi crime family and Phil's younger brother. He was seen along with Joey "Peeps" and Phil during Lorraine Calluzzo's mock execution.

Title reference

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  • Junior wanders away from his home looking for his brother, Johnny Soprano, and utters the question in the episode.

References to previous episodes

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  • In the pilot episode, when Tony describes Uncle Junior to Dr. Melfi, he says his uncle embarrassed him by telling all his girl cousins he didn't have the makings of a varsity athlete. Junior greatly annoys Tony by repeating this once again to the Sunday dinner guests in this episode.
  • The audiobook that Paulie listens to in his car is The Art of War by Sun Tzu. Paulie's curiosity about Sun Tzu was brought up in the previous episode, "Rat Pack."

Cultural references

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  • Uncle Junior is seen watching the HBO television series Curb Your Enthusiasm (featuring a scene between Larry David and Jeff Garlin) and is confused because he thinks he's watching himself on TV.[1] The scene in question is from the season 2 episode "The Doll" (2001).
  • In another apparent reference to Curb Your Enthusiasm Bobby is wearing a shirt similar to one that features prominently in the season 3 episode "Chet's Shirt" (2002) when he visits Tony to ask for more responsibilities.
  • When Janice stops by her late mother's house to tell Tony about Uncle Junior, he's watching the 1940 movie His Girl Friday. The TV screen isn't seen, but a snippet of dialogue between Abner Biberman, who plays a small-time thug, and Rosalind Russell is heard: Hi, Hildy. / Oh, hello, Louie. How's the big slot-machine king? / Oh, I ain't doin' that no more; I'm retired.
  • When Tom and Barbara Giglione arrive late for Sunday dinner they state that they were stuck in traffic at the Tappan Zee Bridge because "they're checking the trucks again." This is in reference to the regular and later intermittent inspection of trucks crossing the bridges and tunnels between New York and New Jersey as a precautionary measure after the September 11 attacks.
  • Tony and Johnny meet in the Shea Stadium parking lot in Queens. The stadium was home to the New York Mets from 1964 to 2008, before it was demolished in 2009 and replaced with Citi Field.
  • When Adriana asks Agent Sanseverino how much longer she has to give her information, she mentions it took the RICO case of Joseph Massino seven years to build.

Music

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Reception

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"Where's Johnny?" had viewership of over 6.5 million, earning a 6.1 Nielsen rating that led all cable television programs for the week of March 15 to 21, 2004.[2]

Television Without Pity graded the episode with an A.[3] For TV Guide, Matt Roush praised the episode as "exceptional", for subplots like Junior Soprano's dementia and the lawn mower conflict.[4] Alessandra Stanley commented that the scene where Junior claims to have seen himself on Curb Your Enthusiasm was an example how The Sopranos "laughs at itself before anyone can take it too seriously".[1]

References

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  1. ^ a b Stanley, Alessandra (March 5, 2004). "Bullies, Bears and Bullets: It's Round 5". The New York Times. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  2. ^ "Top 15 Cable Programs - Total Households: Week of 03/15/04 - 03/21/04". Zap2It. Archived from the original on April 4, 2004. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  3. ^ Aaron (March 27, 2004). "Where's Johnny?". Television Without Pity. Archived from the original on August 15, 2004. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  4. ^ Roush, Matt (March 29, 2004). "Ask Matt". TV Guide. Archived from the original on April 1, 2004. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
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