Is there really not a Sopranos season 6 thread?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Starts tomorrow, March 12th. I'm so giddy, I honestly can't wait, it's like TV Christmas. Woo!

― Jouster (Jouster), Sunday, 12 March 2006 04:04 (twenty years ago)

I'm looking forward to it, too, but I don't have HBO so I have to wait until Monday. :(

I just watched seasons 1-5 (had never seen 5 until this last week) thanks to Netflix, and I really liked season 5. I'm on pins and needles.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Sunday, 12 March 2006 06:20 (twenty years ago)

I'm pretty psyched. I'm probably going to end up watching it around 2 or 3 am Monday morning, but oh man. So so psyched. My roommate and I have been watching all the old episodes as HBO's been rerunning them on a daily basis over the past couple months.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Sunday, 12 March 2006 06:35 (twenty years ago)

Im so glad someone FINALLY started this thread. Yeah, im fucking psyched. ive watched season 5 on demand this past week, and i have to say that it was a brilliant set up to whats about to come (i think)

my work started a sopranos death pool (pick a character, pick when said character will be dead by.) ive got bobby bacala in 6 episodes. just a hunch (no one could be married to janis that long and live...)

― JD from CDepot, Sunday, 12 March 2006 07:29 (twenty years ago)

we're already trying to figure out what will cause our cable to go out halfway through. always happens with lost and the sopranos.

they've been running the entire series over the past few months on our cable and we've watched the whole thing, picked up a few things i never really caught before (like patsy parisi's twin brother) and i am freaking out in anticipation of season 6 and then season 6.5.

― baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Sunday, 12 March 2006 10:29 (twenty years ago)

T-MINUS 2 hours here on the west coast. SO EXCITED. HOPE IT DOESN'T SUCK.

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 13 March 2006 00:02 (twenty years ago)

I don't know how much stock you put in critics, but the things I've read about the new season are overwhelmingly positive.

Bring it on!

― Jouster (Jouster), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:10 (twenty years ago)

Shit, I bet we've got ages to wait till it's aired over here.

― chap who would dare to be completely sober on the internet (chap), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:33 (twenty years ago)

Can we see it over youtube? I can't afford HBO right now.

― Big Loud Mountain Ape (Big Loud Mountain Ape), Monday, 13 March 2006 00:45 (twenty years ago)

HOW FUCKING GOOD WAS THAT?!?

the next 19 episodes might be the best shows ever on television. (i might regret this)

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 13 March 2006 03:05 (twenty years ago)

pretty darn good!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 04:58 (twenty years ago)

big love = not so much.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 05:12 (twenty years ago)

Ok, but you gotta hand it to the theme song. An excellent purchase.

HOW FUCKING GOOD WAS THAT?!?

That was fucking good. Glad it was Tivo'd, too, since it was so fast. They packed a whole lot into the... I figure with the intro and previouslies maybe 45 minutes. But the ending left no doubt at all that I will watch next week. None.

Poor Uncle Junior. He's regressing into a baby. A very violent baby.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 06:17 (twenty years ago)

"I grabbed a pillow just to keep my hands occupied."

"Finally. I started to grow mushroom out my ass."
"There's an image."

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 07:25 (twenty years ago)

yeah i was spoiled so i was watching the entire episode supertense as hell, my sis kept looking at me going wondering what was what and all i could murmur is 'something's coming'. stoked for this season.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 13 March 2006 07:39 (twenty years ago)

yeah, i think its gonna be amazing, if tonight's episode was any indication

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 13 March 2006 09:35 (twenty years ago)

Funny how the Sopranos seasons never end with a cliffhanger, but this season opens with one.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 13 March 2006 10:33 (twenty years ago)

aww, something else i'm gonna have to download...

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Monday, 13 March 2006 10:34 (twenty years ago)

i thought the burroughs thing at the beginning didn't work at all

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 15:45 (twenty years ago)

it's funny, when dude hung himself i was like 'is THAT the big shocking thing that happens this episode! cheap!'

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 15:46 (twenty years ago)

A theory about where things go next.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 13 March 2006 15:51 (twenty years ago)

do i wanna read that?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 15:58 (twenty years ago)

It's fan speculation based on the episode last night, so it's up to you!

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:02 (twenty years ago)

how come everybody isn't talking about this? or big love?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:27 (twenty years ago)

Because we only talk about the Internet now. What is this 'TV' you speak of?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:30 (twenty years ago)

it's this thing we used to have before youtube.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:31 (twenty years ago)

Who's everybody? Everybody here? On this board? The big topic these days is intraboard kvetching- or haven't you heard, s1ocki?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:33 (twenty years ago)

What did Uncle Junior say right before he... you know? Some bad-ass sounding Sicilian shit.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

wasn't it something like "take that, milanga?"

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:00 (twenty years ago)

as a friend pointed out, pussy milanga was the guy junior wanted to kill way back at the beginning of season one.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:00 (twenty years ago)

A theory about where things go next.

I suppose it's possible. It took some serious balls to end the first ep that way, so who knows how much balls we're talking about? Still, though, I kinda doubt this theory. Too much future plot was set up for things not to go forward. The "where's Ade" question could be particularly fruitful.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:27 (twenty years ago)

that speculation's off. i can say no more.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:35 (twenty years ago)

that theory sounds like hogwash to me... i know time has passed but narrative-wise this season pretty much picked up where the last left off.

also that particular gimmick is lame and over-used.

(xp)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:35 (twenty years ago)

blount, who's your source? GIVE UP YOUR SOURCE.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:37 (twenty years ago)

also that particular gimmick is lame and over-used.

Lame, yes. but overused by who?

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:42 (twenty years ago)

I believe that theory posted above is incorrect. A New Yorker article about the upcoming Sopranos season, from sometime late 2005, talked about getting the right makeup for Tony's gunshot scar.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:44 (twenty years ago)

i like how they were setting up atkins guy and florida guy as the co-conspirators and then, er, pulled the chair out from under that scenario

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:46 (twenty years ago)

the one thing that was confused me was the first informant who died, the older guy who kicked off in the agent's car. i'd always assumed that HE was the source who ratted out jonny sack, the one who was "like an uncle to him." but i guess it was... some other guy?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 17:57 (twenty years ago)

Interesting that Finn is at the center of the promo photos for the new season - I wonder what's going to happen with him and Vito.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 13 March 2006 18:04 (twenty years ago)

I didn't think there was any doubt about that. But I don't think Tony knows it.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:49 (twenty years ago)

i thought they made it clear that he was a DIFFERENT rat!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:50 (twenty years ago)

I just walked around Tribeca/Soho in search of some inside dope, but no cast members were to be found, not even Johnny V. Maybe it was too early in the day.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 13 March 2006 19:53 (twenty years ago)

If we're lucky, Australian fans will get to see this series about, ooh, May 2007? I am so jealous of you people. And of course we'll all know the outcome before we get to see it. Living under a rock is not an option.

― stu (stu), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:02 (twenty years ago)

Great, great episode (@Stu: I live in teh Netherlands, where it also isn't aired yet, but Bittorrent is everybody's friend, no matter where you live!).

I do however think the theory posted above is bogus. For an extensive recap of what happened all year, shouldn't this episode have been *very* surprising to us viewers? I mean, shouldn't major events have taken place we can't grasp yet? It didn't. Surely, things happened: Junior's dementia is in an even worse (final?) phase, Chris is a captain now, Janice & Bobby's baby, but all of that isn't really *that* surprising is it?

Anyway, great episode, and I'm very anxious about next week!

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:39 (twenty years ago)

yeah, exactly. i think i already know how janice and bobby got that baby.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 20:41 (twenty years ago)

i thought they made it clear that he was a DIFFERENT rat!

Did they? As per usual, I missed a critical detail. And I watched the episode twice!

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Monday, 13 March 2006 21:28 (twenty years ago)

now i'm beginning to doubt myself!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 13 March 2006 21:33 (twenty years ago)

haha an episode devoted to how janice and bobby got that baby followed by an episode of autopsy would be like the best crash diet ever

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 13 March 2006 23:52 (twenty years ago)

i thought they made it clear that he was a DIFFERENT rat!

johnny sack's rat was jimmy petrille (a new york guy who i don't think has appeared on the show), raymond curto (heart attack guy) was one of tony's capos.

― baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 01:10 (twenty years ago)

yeah. there you go. they certainly suggested that petrille was curto in the last season though!

ok here's my half-baked theory on what the shooting aftermath won't be: it definitely won't be a flashback seaz, we've established that. but what i think MIGHT happen is that tony will more or less have to kill junior; alzheimer's or not you don't take a shot at a boss, at the boss, and tony will realize that he has to "retaliate" or look weak. which would mean killing his doddering old uncle. at leas that's how it may play out...

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 02:56 (twenty years ago)

Interesting that Finn is at the center of the promo photos for the new season
Pretty sure that's AJ, at least in this one:
http://i23.ebayimg.com/03/i/06/7a/e6/32_1_b.JPG

― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:25 (twenty years ago)

http://www.heretodaygonetohell.com/images/axl_nypost_060312.jpg

― Mike Dixn (Mike Dixon), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:28 (twenty years ago)

OTM S1ocki. i think that this, the last season, will see the massive decline of almost everyone. Only Meadow will make it out realitively unscathed.

I loved seeing Carmella visit johnny sacks wife. you can tell that Carmella is finally starting to realize how this lifestyle ends...

― JD from CDepot, Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:33 (twenty years ago)

My prediction for the big suprise of this season: when Titus Pullo appears out of nowhere to save somebody from getting whacked.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:36 (twenty years ago)

(And it turns out he is really the father of Janice and Bobby's baby.)

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 03:40 (twenty years ago)

Where does D'Angelo Barksdale's ghost fit into this?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 04:29 (twenty years ago)

I loved seeing Carmella visit johnny sacks wife. you can tell that Carmella is finally starting to realize how this lifestyle ends...

not to mention "let's go the spa to take your mind of the asset seizures...oh yeah, that is my new porshe"-- was there bad blood betw them & carm did that on purpose, or was that a look of "oops" on her face when ginny complemented the wheels?

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:08 (twenty years ago)

there were a few scenes of her showing off the porsche

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:42 (twenty years ago)

yeah. i just thought she would be sensitive/aware enough not to flaunt it around ginny sack, considering.

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 05:54 (twenty years ago)

you should write a letter!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:32 (twenty years ago)

i'm confident the show's fans and advertisers will punish mr. chase sufficiently for his lack of insight into human psychology

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:49 (twenty years ago)

it's true though, i wonder if this means carmela's gettin' corrupted!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:50 (twenty years ago)

I thought the whole point of the spa visit/etc., was to show off the Porsche. Like, "Oh, that? Yeah, Tony gave it to me. NO BIGGY."

Made the part where she got upstaged at the end that much more poignant. Vettes are pretty cool, and they're cooler still when you PAY FOR THEM YOURSELF.

God I've missed this show.

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 15:54 (twenty years ago)

I think it was showing off unintentionally, seeing as how Sack's wife had to tell her husband in jail that they're losing their car (did I get that rite?).
On Carmella getting corrupted, I can see that. Allthough I think 'hedonistic' is more appropriate. After all those catholic-guilt-ridden years, the escapism-gone-bad (Furio) and the Tony-screwing-around suffering, I could understand her saying finally: fuck it, I'm gonna enjoy everything that could be mine, developpe my own hobby(real-estate/stocks) and just live it out. Fear went out the window, yo!

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 18:18 (twenty years ago)

Random theory for the rest of the season. If something hapens again with Vito and Finn (Of course assuming the narrative is going to move forward, a Meadow/Finn wedding shouldn't be out of the question.) and Vito decides to silence him Meadow knows enough about the situation from the night of the sootcase to be very suspicious about such an event. Especially as Finn isn't involved in the business and it's happened to her before. I'd expect Meadow to have a word with her father about Vito, captain or no captain.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 18:37 (twenty years ago)

Carmella's been corrupted since at least the day she decided to get married.

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 20:11 (twenty years ago)

MitchellStirling, my impression of events was that Finn proposed partially (or even mostly) for immunity. No one would dare kill off the husband (or fiancee) of the Boss's daughter, at least not without the Boss's approval. It was a way for Finn to stay with Meadow, which I do think he wanted, without having to worry too much about the Vito situation. Just my take.

― Jouster (Jouster), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 20:37 (twenty years ago)

I think Jouster's right.

Although, Finn isn't made, so he doesn't have immunity per se. Just that extra layer of protection. And besides, Vito will have to contrive a reason to whack him, since he can't say "dude caught me sucking cock."

I'd more interested to see how the families would deal with an outed Vito. Whackable "offense?" I mean, it's totally against all the mob's macho values, but would they turn and kill him?

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 20:42 (twenty years ago)

I agree it's not without it's holes. It's cetainly not clear cut that if Vito was outed as a "naked hot dog eater" (yes DC, I saw that in opener)it would immeaditdly recult in a wacking. I also agree that a part of the proposal Finn was saving his own skin.

However we all saw how easily the Tony B thing could have come back into play this week,(Tony would do anything for the old Jew wouldn't he.) If something flared up between Vito and Finn then it would be the easiest way to suck Meadow into Tony's world. She's more intellegent than her mother and much better suited to it than her brother.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 14 March 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

good god, the look on vito's face when he picked up the sausage and started eating it (at the badabing)... that is acting!

― baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 01:11 (twenty years ago)

Carmella's been corrupted since at least the day she decided to get married.

We were just talking about this today. For all that the major shocking events of the Sopranos reflect badly on Tony, they reflect even worse on Carmella. At least he accepts responsibility for what he is, while she in some way likes to think of herself as a good person.

I think that the showing off of the Porsche (which presumably he bought (at least in part) with his cut of thingy's inheritance) was meant as a counterpoint to the grim suicide scene.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 15 March 2006 12:02 (twenty years ago)

x-post to gbx

In early 1992, after some high-level discussions, the DeCavalcante family sent out a hit team to whack acting boss John (Johnny Boy) D'Amato (left) for committing an unconscionable and most dishonorable crime: Being gay.
(this is one of the real life families that David Chase has used for source material on the show. they are set in Elizabeth NJ

― JD from CDepot, Wednesday, 15 March 2006 18:42 (twenty years ago)

What happened between Vito and Finn in the previous season? I completely forgot what their beef was.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Friday, 17 March 2006 12:14 (twenty years ago)

Finn saw Vito sucking construction worker cock.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 17 March 2006 12:28 (twenty years ago)

Then stood him up at a Yankees game!

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 17 March 2006 12:28 (twenty years ago)

Oh yeah! Now I totally remember that :)

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Friday, 17 March 2006 12:32 (twenty years ago)

"He Marvin Gaye'd his own nephew, the boss of this family!"

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 20 March 2006 02:41 (twenty years ago)

Diarrheastan

― Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 20 March 2006 03:02 (twenty years ago)

amazing episode.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 04:56 (twenty years ago)

I'm not reading this thread, since I'm watching right now. So this may have been covered already. Nonetheless:

EDIE FUCKING FALCO

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, 20 March 2006 05:39 (twenty years ago)

this season is going to be relentless. jesus. I was sure tony would be ok until i saw this episode, now im thinking "would they?"

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 20 March 2006 05:50 (twenty years ago)

wtf that ending!?

― chaki (chaki), Monday, 20 March 2006 05:55 (twenty years ago)

great episode except for AJ .... damn, that dude can't act

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:15 (twenty years ago)

you crazy

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:17 (twenty years ago)

actually, AJ seems exactly like a lot of teenagers I know--bad actors, all.

the best rumor I heard is that the first episode this season (last week, for those of you playing at home) is actually the second to the last episode of the series and that Tony will die on the last episode. In the intermittent 18 episodes (eps 2-19), we will fill in the blanks of the past two years and finish the series off with his death in #20.

Needless to say, last night's episode makes that theory a little shaky BUT the premise of not necessarily going a long ways forward in the timeline seems very possible.

― don weiner (don weiner), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:19 (twenty years ago)

we already talked about that story. it is a bad theory.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:21 (twenty years ago)

i mean, we already talked about that theory, and it is a bad theory.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:21 (twenty years ago)

Anyway, great episode, and I'm very anxious about next week!

-- Gerard (dronkenschi...), March 13th, 2006 3:39 PM. (Gerard)
------------------------------------------------------------------------

yeah, exactly. i think i already know how janice and bobby got that baby.

-- s1ocki (slytus...), March 13th, 2006 3:41 PM. (slutsky)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:22 (twenty years ago)

My theory is that those boys who are at the bing will be mistaken for suicide commandos but while they are getting whacked by Paulie and Chrissie the real commandos will be executing their mission.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:23 (twenty years ago)

AND THE WHOLE SEASON IS A BUILD-UP TO 9/11... HINT: YOU NEVER HEAR WHAT YEAR IT IS.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:24 (twenty years ago)

r u srsly?

― Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:29 (twenty years ago)

surely 9/11 has already been mentioned on the sopranos

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 20 March 2006 21:59 (twenty years ago)

It has

― Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 20 March 2006 22:00 (twenty years ago)

FORESHADOWING.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 22:09 (twenty years ago)

HINT: YOU NEVER HEAR WHAT YEAR IT IS

No Porsche Cayenne in 2001.

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, 20 March 2006 22:47 (twenty years ago)

Season 4 opened with a few references to 9/11 and how everything is different, etc. And season 5 had Carmine Jr. say that his family would be greeted with flowers in the Bronx and Brooklyn...

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 20 March 2006 22:56 (twenty years ago)

IT'S SUPPOSED TO TAKE PLACE BETWEEN SEASONS 3 AND FOUR.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 20 March 2006 23:01 (twenty years ago)

"Quasimoto predicted this."

― Chris L, Monday, 20 March 2006 23:01 (twenty years ago)

don't be too quick to dismiss s1ocki's spec. i can say no more.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 20 March 2006 23:03 (twenty years ago)

i don't understand, they made 9/11 references in the last episode!

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 20 March 2006 23:30 (twenty years ago)

AND WHAT OF KEVIN FINNERTY?

― cutty (mcutt), Monday, 20 March 2006 23:31 (twenty years ago)

Wow... amazing episode again. It'll be really interesting to watch how they play out this brilliant parallel line of Kevin Finnerty. I think Tony will stay in his coma for a couple of episodes though, they'll deliver this one nice and slowww. The capo's will be fighting over who's in charge, which won't do business any good. It wouldn't suprise me if there's actually some truth to AJ's threat to shoot 'mummyface'. He's close to losing it, one way or another.

(Googling Kevin Finnerty shows up an attorney and a *funeral director* by the same name, OMGWTF I figured out teh world!)

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 20 March 2006 23:54 (twenty years ago)

"Hey, Van Helsing"

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 02:13 (twenty years ago)

> It wouldn't suprise me if there's actually some truth to AJ's threat to shoot 'mummyface'. He's close to losing it, one way or another.

AJ is no Ziggy Sobatka.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 05:14 (twenty years ago)

I thought the AJ guy did really well at acting in this ep. I liked how when Meadow walked in, he went back into bored disaffected mode. I hope he's up to it, because I think he's going to play a huge part in this season. I'm almost kind of sorry to see Junior like this. He has been one of my favorite characters throughout the series.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 06:05 (twenty years ago)

AJ's acting > Meadow's acting

i'm excited with where AJ's role is going. can't wait for the ep when he sheds his locks.

so i'm watching this off a bittorrented rip and my copy ends with a real sudden break-- tony/finnerty's sitting on hotel bed, looking out window, nice music playing then CUT instantly to credits-- is that how it really ends, or do i have a bad rip that cuts off early?

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 06:57 (twenty years ago)

Carm to AJ: "Go have breakfast." what a great line

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 06:58 (twenty years ago)

he best rumor I heard is that the first episode this season (last week, for those of you playing at home) is actually the second to the last episode of the series and that Tony will die on the last episode. In the intermittent 18 episodes (eps 2-19), we will fill in the blanks of the past two years and finish the series off with his death in #20.

there are many reasons why this doesn't seem likely, and one more small one is that the sopranos has always taken place in extremely contemporary america, as up-to-date as possible, considering. witness the shots of bush in ep 1 in bullshit katrina photo-op (as wsb drones on about "treacherous ba"). witness the MIL OPS SPEC 2006 placard in the lobby early in this ep. chase would never devote a whole season to events that transpired two years ago.

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 07:05 (twenty years ago)

Yeah it ends that way. They've always been good at dream sequences, but this coma stuff is top notch. For some reason it hits me in a really eerie way... it's so mundane. There has to be a point to it. Notice that he was a guy who sold patio furniture? A motif that pops up fairly often with him. I have to think he's going to come out of this coma and have some sort of revelation that deeply changes his character. Maybe in his first session with Melfie after he awakens. Bedside?

And seriously... Edie Falco is an amazing actor.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 07:58 (twenty years ago)

ok, thanks.
i guess the "next week on the sopranos" trailers are done for. another contribution to the anything-can-happen vibe so far this season.

religion was also a motif this ep: cross on TV screen in bar, the monks ("lose your arrogance" was it?), carmela's recanting her damnation.

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 08:37 (twenty years ago)

i'm hoping that tony wakes up as finnerty! hijinks ensue!

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 12:18 (twenty years ago)

The William S. Burroughs prologue to Ep. 1 is starting to make more sense as you match it up to the images being shown against it. Watch it again.

― Secret Handshake, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 12:48 (twenty years ago)

Notice that he was a guy who sold patio furniture?

he wasn't!! he dealt in precision optics

(unless patio furniture is much more advanced these days and involves precision optics)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 14:30 (twenty years ago)

he gave up one for the other.

maybe this is post-9/11 and there will be another attack

it has always been about edie falco

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 15:16 (twenty years ago)

if aj were jewish or irish (and a hell of a lot smarter), he totally could have gone to my high school. to the extent that he's good, i think it's because iler sort of is that kid. you can see the place he got arrested (a corner home to a restaurant that Gotti used to frequent) outside my parents' apartment window.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 15:19 (twenty years ago)

he gave up one for the other.

why did he need security clearance for a patio furniture convention? why were military officers speaking at it?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 15:52 (twenty years ago)

In the scene where they are all sitting at the table, the woman says he went from selling patio furniture to precision optics.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 16:45 (twenty years ago)

oh haha right.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 16:47 (twenty years ago)

"i guess the "next week on the sopranos" trailers are done for."

no they're not, they showed one after this last episode. next week seems to be about the capos fighting for control of the family in tony's absence, and a possible downturn in tony's condition. (I really think this whole "going into the past" storyline that is floating around the web is complete bullshit, but I guess I could be wrong.)

and yes, edie falco is amazing. and AJ is good so far this season, he's really grown up.

― JD from CDepot, Tuesday, 21 March 2006 16:57 (twenty years ago)

damn my illegally downloaded rip and its shoddiness!! this time i really must write a letter

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:16 (twenty years ago)

Hey... was the voice of Tony's wife in his coma Annabella Sciorra, or was that my imagination?

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:42 (twenty years ago)

we were trying to figure that out

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:43 (twenty years ago)

I thought it might have been Charmagne, but it's anyone's guess.

― Joe Polniaczek (kenan), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 18:59 (twenty years ago)

That actually makes a lot more sense somehow, considering the rest of it seems like a fantasy of what it would life could have been like.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 19:36 (twenty years ago)

amateur psych: precision optics --> helping you "see things clearly"

my guess of who was on the phone was Charmagne also (since Tony had had a fling with her way back) but it could have been the BMW dealer

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 21 March 2006 20:33 (twenty years ago)

I think the wife-voice changed on the phone. I also think that maybe Melfi's voice was dubbed in for some lines by the dream-girl that Finnartony made out with.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 22 March 2006 00:33 (twenty years ago)

The voice was just someone who wasn't Carmela, I thought it sounded like Charmange at first. Great episode though.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Thursday, 23 March 2006 12:30 (twenty years ago)

Was anybody else worried about a potential plotline of Vito doing something creepy to A.J. when he offered him a ride home?

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Thursday, 23 March 2006 16:12 (twenty years ago)

no.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 23 March 2006 16:34 (twenty years ago)

ditto slocko

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 24 March 2006 00:51 (twenty years ago)

It's Saw crossed with Godfather II

― Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 27 March 2006 02:03 (twenty years ago)

is the supporting cast of guys getting too campy? vito being an idiot re: "i'll take care of this, hon" about carm's coffee and about "i'm young and healthy now that ive dropped the weight"; christopher going back to movie hijinks and pauly clipping coupons?...i chuckle, but c'mon now.

― Jimmy_tango, Monday, 27 March 2006 02:12 (twenty years ago)

i wouldn't call it campy, i think these guys have always been ridiculous. I mean, on one hand they are men who can kill without batting an eye, but when it comes to other aspects of life, they are essentially children.

im amazed they let the old man out of the coma so early. i figured it would last at least a few more episodes. and how creepy was buscemi? (and, on a deeper level, did Tony choose to go in? I know he came out of the coma, but the episode was deliciously unclear on what path he chose. Add to that, his comment to Carmela "I'm dead right?" Did he choose death and recieve life for his choice? am I reading too much into this?? or am I just an english major?)

― JD from CDepot, Monday, 27 March 2006 02:23 (twenty years ago)

So glad Tony's (headed) back. Carmella gets on my nerves, especially the last couple of episodes. But maybe if she starts to have more personality, starts to rat out the disloyal guys, etc. she'll become more interesting.

― Erick Dampier is better than Shaq (miloaukerman), Monday, 27 March 2006 05:00 (twenty years ago)

I'm kind of bummed they brought him out so soon, it seemed a little sudden, and I liked the Kevin Finnerty story, and want to know what happens with the monks.

Also, I didn't realize Doogie Howser's buddy was Sil's son. Have they shown him before?

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:11 (twenty years ago)

I don't think they're done with the Finnerty subplot just yet. Tony's still a vegetable.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:20 (twenty years ago)

I guess you didn't see the trailers for next week

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:41 (twenty years ago)

No, I skipped 'em.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:42 (twenty years ago)

I guess I gave it away then

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:43 (twenty years ago)

what did carmella see when Paulie got into the elevator after he gave her the money? What was that look she shot him?

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:44 (twenty years ago)

Paulie and Vito gave her money, and acted like they gave a shit. Then, seeing them in the elevator, she realized that they didn't.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 27 March 2006 18:54 (twenty years ago)

a missed a bunch of last season. what's up with meadow's boyfriend and what's-his-name?

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:01 (twenty years ago)

meadow's boyfriend saw Vito giving (getting? can't remember) a blowjob in a car by a construction site (where meandow's boyfriend was working); Vito knows that he knows this happened and is trying to intimidate him into not saying anything, because Vito is afraid they'll cap him if it gets out.

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:02 (twenty years ago)

still not gay; scared, still gay; closeted

― Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:02 (twenty years ago)

Finn said last season that he wasn't sure whether Vito wanted to fuck him or kill him, and that's still the case.

I was surprised to see the guy in the glasses again - I thought he was the informant who keeled over in episode 1.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:04 (twenty years ago)

it's his twin brother

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:05 (twenty years ago)

oh wait no it wasn't.

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:05 (twenty years ago)

he does have a twin brother though, but neither of them were the informant (who was someone else)

I have a horrible time keeping non major characters on this show straight

I'd also totally forgotten (or not really realized?) that Tony had ANOTHER sister (not janice).

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:07 (twenty years ago)

tony got finn a job at the same construction site the no-show jobs are at, finn ended up shooting the shit from time to time about baseball, boxing, etc. after they realized who he was dating and 'invited' him to sit, hang out, eat donuts. one morning finn came in early and caught vito blowing the security dude. vito later creepily approached finn at a port-a-potty and 'invited' him to go the yanks game that night with him. finn stands him up, packs his bags, falls asleep in the middle of a huge meadow tantrum and ends up proposing marriage to protect himself from vito/shut meadow up.

xpost - barbara, the soprano who got out

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 27 March 2006 19:10 (twenty years ago)

Was this some brilliant televison or what? That constant beacon shimmering over the city view, Steve Buscemi as some sort of reversed grim reaper (in the end-titles simply but brilliantly credited as 'The Man') telling Tony to 'let go' of his briefcase, his work, his life, Pauli 'inducing' a tachycardia, Chris' plot of making a slashermovie... Wow. Simply wow.

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 27 March 2006 21:10 (twenty years ago)

And to think we owe it all to Naive Teen Idol.

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 27 March 2006 21:41 (twenty years ago)

"That constant beacon shimmering over the city view"

Yeah, what's that supposed to mean? I love it...

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Monday, 27 March 2006 22:27 (twenty years ago)

it was the flashlight they shine in his eyes/the "light"

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 27 March 2006 22:36 (twenty years ago)

I took it that the light was drawing "Kevin" back to his old life as Tony Soprano which he eventually chose despite knowing full well that he has Alzhimers (which from e2 I took to be the surpressed responsibily he has for the bad things he has done in his life)as he was too scared to be ushered into the house where his mother was. Also he wasn't prepared to "let go" of his baggage and the callings of his guardian angel (Meadow, as shown is the Seven Souls opening) saved his life when he was on the brink of giving up.

Who else thought that Meadow looked like Connie Corelone when she was telling Paulie to stay postive?

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 01:57 (twenty years ago)

"Uncle Paulie" to stay positive

― josh w (jbweb), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 04:21 (twenty years ago)

"Jesus Christ! he looks TERRIBLE!"

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 04:56 (twenty years ago)

MOST
LIKELY
TO
BOGART

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 05:42 (twenty years ago)

What do you guys think of A.J. trying to buy a gun? Out of everything going on, that subplot doesn't sit real well with me for some reason. Just seems out of character for him, I think. He always seemed like a laid back stoner dude that liked to throw parties. Now suddenly he's all ready to clip his great uncle.

I like how everyone in the show seems to have some kind of vendetta against someone else right now. I really liked the scene with Carm seeing Paulie and Vito's sad-sack faces in the elevator. If there was any better reason to doubt Tony's insistence that she'll be "taken care of" if he dies, that's it.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 07:00 (twenty years ago)

It's a long shot, but after seeing Meadow's PDA with Finn, I wondered if AJ might have to take care of Vito if he acts out of aggressive passion of jealousy toward Finn or Meadow.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 07:17 (twenty years ago)

Who else thought that Meadow looked like Connie Corleone when she was telling Paulie to stay postive?

Oh man YES, good call! As if she reached a new stage of adulthood in one episode too. That scene was so great.

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 09:01 (twenty years ago)

Not sure about AJ trying to buy a gun. He has never followed through anything he's ever done in his life to the end and the long season trailer see's him running through what looks like a mental ward. He's not going to be able to get a piece from anyone who knows who is and i'm sure he wouldn't dare if his father was able to find out.

Also noticed that AJ says "Difficult, not impossible" to Chris and Baccala a là Godfather, Part II. Exactly like Jackie Jr. (when he sits with head on his hands like Michael.) getting his info from mob movies.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 13:26 (twenty years ago)

AJ's had a bunch of fits over the years that demonstrate his inner tonyness. Tony and Carm's whole approach to parenting him has the subtext (and sometimes not so sub) of not letting him slip into Tony's thing. He definitely has the potential to go that way and I'd be shocked if he didn't by the end of the show. I always figured it was his character's destiny.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 13:32 (twenty years ago)

AJ is more like Janice, Junior and Livia then his father.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 14:24 (twenty years ago)

i wouldn't be surprised if this whole season tracks AJ's tailspin into mobsterism.

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

yeah, aj is clearly bottling up a lot... he is no way a laid-back stoner dude

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:14 (twenty years ago)

i'm not THRILLED about the movie stuff coming back but it was pretty funny.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:14 (twenty years ago)

i expect it will be used to create conflict between tony and chrissy maybe? like, chrissy actually wants into the movie biz more than he wants to be a wiseguy

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:20 (twenty years ago)

zzzzzz

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:31 (twenty years ago)

yeah, not a grebt development, but whatever. i trust 'em.

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:34 (twenty years ago)

yeah me too.. i don't think that's where this is going.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 16:36 (twenty years ago)

i wouldn't be surprised if this whole season tracks AJ's tailspin into mobsterism.

I figured that AJ was going to be one of the season's main plot lines if only because he was on screen for the "Ka" part of the Burroughs monologue at the beginning of episode 1.

"Number five is Ka, the double, most closely associated with the subject. The Ka, which usually reaches adolescence at the time of bodily death, is the only reliable guide through the Land of the Dead to the Western Lands."

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 17:04 (twenty years ago)

I'm officially nerding out over that Burroughs poem. I wonder just how much foreshadowing of Tony's eventual downfall is in there:

"Top soul and the first to leave at the moment of death is Ren, the Secret Name. This corresponds to my Director. He directs the film of your life from conception to death. The Secret Name is the title of your film. When you die, that's where Ren comes in."

"Second soul, and second one off the sinking ship, is Sekem: Energy, Power, Light. The Director gives the orders, Sekem presses the right buttons."

So judging by who was onscreen during these passages, I guess Bobby is Sekem and either Vito or Janice is the Director?

Also, you never know but since Adrianna was in this montage and Carmella is still thinking about her I'd say there's big fallout from her death yet to come.

― Chris L, Tuesday, 28 March 2006 17:29 (twenty years ago)

at some point carmella is going to have to face the facts of what her husband's work entails, which she has not done. some part of her must know they killed adrianna.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 17:32 (twenty years ago)

when i heard saw meets godfather i was thinking - that would actually sell. then when they presented their outline, not so much.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:13 (twenty years ago)

well they're still developing the idea.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:16 (twenty years ago)

It sounded better than SAW, except for the cleaver-arm. Totally unnecessary.

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:24 (twenty years ago)

didn't see saw but the new breed of horror moves tend to have of a more psychological bent than the old slasher flicks, no?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:28 (twenty years ago)

get rid of the knife-arm and instead of slashing them he tricks them into killing each other or something.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:29 (twenty years ago)

From what I've seen, no. They just tend to be either more disgusting (Saw, Hostel) or more boring (Saw, Hostel, again, and that craptastic Australian one).

And fewer boobs.

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:30 (twenty years ago)

in part 2 he goes after the fbi

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:31 (twenty years ago)

what about the ring and that one with buffy in japan. those are the ones i saw.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:31 (twenty years ago)

Neither of those is really a horror movie (or in the line of low-budget slasher flicks), though I did hear one the Ring mentioned at the pitch meeting.

Of course, in both of those the psychological reasons given make absolutely no sense at all ('she's, uh, evil because uh... FUCK we've got to have this scene written by tomorrow morning'), so I dunno.

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

er, they're horror movies, just not like what he's talking about I mean

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:34 (twenty years ago)

hostel is great

i like saw too
and saw two

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 18:40 (twenty years ago)

pauly clipping coupons?

Dude, the entire point of Paulie Walnuts has been that he's been in the mob since he was young and has never advanced beyond middle class the way that people like Tony, Ralphie, Johnny Sac and Vito have.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:32 (twenty years ago)

You really man the barricades when you like a show, eh?

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:36 (twenty years ago)

maybe this is a dumb question, but how come, in big crime scenes, no-one ever seems to care about leaving their prints all over everything? paulie knifed that guy in the chest, other dude opened the refrigerator...

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:37 (twenty years ago)

because there's no csi new jersey yet

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:39 (twenty years ago)

OTOH, the hitman in Ep1 wore gloves and dropped the dirty gun immediately. Maybe they just figure the cops aren't going to pay much attention to dead Colombian coke dealers?

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 19:40 (twenty years ago)

they may have wiped the scene down before they left - the last shot was of them discovering the money in the dishwasher. they didn't wear gloves cause they didn't think they'd be killing anyone. vito said the place was empty that time of day.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 20:21 (twenty years ago)

i disagree with the notion that AJ isn't much like his father. Tony himself was lazy when he chose the mob as a profession (of sorts). Im reminded of the long dream episode last season, where he was talking to his coach who scolded him for wasting his talents for leading men. The difference is, of couse, that AJ is spoiled and Tony wasn't.

But, apart from the Kevin Finnerty storyline, I think AJ is the most interesting development of the season. You see that, despite all the shit his father gave him, he idolizes the man.

― JD from CDepot, Tuesday, 28 March 2006 22:37 (twenty years ago)

AJ's interesting, but I'd rather have more screen time for Meadow.

― Big Willy and the Twins (miloaukerman), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 23:41 (twenty years ago)

The most interesting thing about AJ is that Tony obviously wants out of the life (at the very least we've seen evidence of that this season and in The Test Dream) and AJ getting pinched for something not connected to LCN would give Tony a real reason to flip.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 01:00 (twenty years ago)

One of the things I keep in mind when trying to get over some of the really easy-to-solve crime scenes on the Sopranos is that they almost certainly have deals with most of the precincts in New Jersey.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 14:52 (twenty years ago)

more thoughts on AJ

both him and his father are people of dreams and (impossible?) ideals. Whatever happened to Cary Grant? is a good example.

It just so happens that Medow inherited most, if not all, of Tony's talents, along with a strong pragmatic streak that isn't seen anywhere else in the family (except, perhaps, Barbra, the sister who got away)

I mean, has anyone else noticed that AJ's non-chalant, strong silent type routine is the precise echo of Tony's ideal of masculine behaviour? AJ only lets his guard down to Tony in the coma, revealing his noble (and childish) alliegence to the man he loves and idolizes.

Carmella's reaction to the children now is little more than projection. They both gained virtually nothing from her, and neither child seems to have the denial that Carmella has always subconciously clung to. In meadow's case, she is bitter and jealous that her daughter is much smarter and driven then she was at that age (Carmella is proud, too, and her strict parenting certainly helped to make Meadow what she is, but without the instincts she inhereted from Tony, Meadow would never have been this successful.) As for AJ, Carmella sees in him every trait that she despises in Tony. I seem to remember a conversation between Meadow and Carmella in an art gallery, where Carmella begins to cry at a painting of the virgin Mary, and whispers something to the effect of "all men are children" (I think it was season three, but I could be wrong). AJ represents Tony's childish side, with all of its petulance, self pity, and tantrums. I think Carmella will be vastly different by the end of this season, perhaps through the loss or imprisonment of AJ, but who really knows...

― JD from CDepot, Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:40 (twenty years ago)

Cary Grant? You mean Gary Cooper?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Wednesday, 29 March 2006 19:42 (twenty years ago)

right right, Gary Cooper, d'oh

― JD from CDepot, Wednesday, 29 March 2006 21:50 (twenty years ago)

JD from CDepot OTM. All those things tiw back to Seven Souls as well. (The episode in the art gallery was s3e12 "Amour Fou")

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Thursday, 30 March 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Paulie's dead.

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 3 April 2006 01:02 (twenty years ago)

christopher's take on creationism was amazing.

― lauren (laurenp), Monday, 3 April 2006 01:11 (twenty years ago)

Seems like Paulie's just the first of the group not to put up with the new compromising Tony.

I didn't realize 'til the credits that the old guy was Hal Holbrook. That was his voice-over in episode one, wasn't it?

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 3 April 2006 02:38 (twenty years ago)

I didn't realize 'til the credits that the old guy was Hal Holbrook. That was his voice-over in episode one, wasn't it?

That was deep throat, yes, and I still can't believe no one instantly recognizes the voice of Bill Burroughs when they hear it. No offense, I just wouldn't have guessed it would be such a mystery.

― Gilbert O'Sullivan (kenan), Monday, 3 April 2006 02:43 (twenty years ago)

this week's episode definitely better than last but i hope this season didn't peak with episode 2

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 3 April 2006 02:52 (twenty years ago)

Paulie's dead.

Nah. Seems like the idea was that Paulie is now the guy who's crazy enough to get the mob version of the job done. Tony may not even find out about this little incident, so frightening was Paulie.

― Gilbert O'Sullivan (kenan), Monday, 3 April 2006 03:17 (twenty years ago)

I've been really happy with these last three episodes - I'm hoping that this season follows the pattern of season 3, where the first episode is duddish and occasionally wanky, but then it's pretty much awesome nonstop from there on out.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 3 April 2006 13:37 (twenty years ago)

well, too late for that

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:22 (twenty years ago)

seems we have this year's theme: mutiny.

paulie and vito are both out of pocket, bacala is being his usual wimpy self, christopher is distracted by the movies again, junior is crazy and in custody, sil clearly isn't cut out for civil war, and new york is taking advantage; all while tony is physically weak and having an existential crisis.

does he recover in time to stem the flood?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:48 (twenty years ago)

I thought this week's episode was vying with Christopher Columbus Parade for worst ever

"Bobby shoots a rapper" subplot was stupid .... the whole first half-hour was tedious ... argh.

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:53 (twenty years ago)

but yeah "Tony's gone soft" seems to be the theme going forward

be interesting to see if he finds out about Paulie's beatdown on that guy ... breaking Tony's word to the kid's mom seems a pretty huge transgression ...

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

it was not a great episode.

still, last week's with the (admittedly kinda funny) movie stuff and christopher's terrible speech to tony ("you owe me this") was worse.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:58 (twenty years ago)

but it's all intrigue and violence from here on out, no?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 3 April 2006 15:59 (twenty years ago)

least entertaining paulie subplot ever!

last week had some weakness for sure but i really enjoyed the tony coma stuff. i'd be curious to see who wrote this week cuz it felt very off somehow, lots of weak gags (the 'gangsters meet gangstas' stuff was sooo much weaker that season one or two whenever that hesh plot happened). tony redeemed it pretty much on his own (i laffed pretty hard at the 'and listen up cuz this concerns you too' to carmela during the viagra talk), and was glad to see carmela let him know whats up with vito. liked the 'they think they can fuck with me just cuz i'm in prison/the hospital?' back and forth between tony and sack, was kinda amazed tony would just give up the routes like that. it'll be interesting to see how they treat this first part of the season, if they treat it as it's own season basically and setting up something big for the last part (gangwar, whatever). i know whatever isn't the original plan cuz apparently tony blundetto was supposed to be a two season arc and then they wrote themselves into a corner when they had him off phil leotardo's brother.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 3 April 2006 16:44 (twenty years ago)

that hesh rapper subplot was really one of the sopranos' lowest lows--that and the favreau insy movie industry stuff

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 3 April 2006 16:49 (twenty years ago)

ohhh man the viagra stuff, the evangelical dinosaurs, what was all of that??

plz show the ojibwe saying once more plz, I don't quite have it memorized yet

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 16:55 (twenty years ago)

i laffed pretty hard at the favreau ep (it had aj's existential delimma in it too right? god i miss livia). christophuh in acting class was pretty awesome imho too but they really don't need to go back there. literally every element of the rap plot this week except when they're watching the fight and deep throat's dropping science made me wince. it amuses me too (in a 'duh, of course, what was i thinking') that tony's reaction to uncle jun shooting him wasn't 'jesus he's far gone, he needs professional care' but instead of course 'fuck him'. he never had the makings of a varsity athlete.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 3 April 2006 16:58 (twenty years ago)

sometimes i complain about talky sopranos episodes
all the while they're setting up a sweet gang war

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 3 April 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

hahaha

I don't mind talky if it's inter-family stuff (either family) or real character interaction, only when it's dumb commentary on pseudo real world "issues"

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:04 (twenty years ago)

haha i don't minde talky commentary on real world issues when it's adriana talking about how this drug dealer's a great guy really he sends all his money home to a religious school in pakistan.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:07 (twenty years ago)

I really do miss her.

― Gilbert O'Sullivan (kenan), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:08 (twenty years ago)

blount otm, FUNNY commentary on real world issues is allowed

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:10 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, they've certainly brandished that subplot. I wonder if it will come to fruition this season or next?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:14 (twenty years ago)

Next?

― Gilbert O'Sullivan (kenan), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:15 (twenty years ago)

it's 12 eps then 8 right?

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:15 (twenty years ago)

that hesh rapper subplot was really one of the sopranos' lowest lows--that and the favreau insy movie industry stuff

OTM, plus the "Sopranos family go to Italy!" episode.

xpost - Yes, 12 episodes in this season, 8 in the next. Technically, it's one season, but fuck that, there's an eight month gap or so between the two runs.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:18 (twenty years ago)

http://www.digi-help.com/prav/sopranos-new-season.asp

"...Questions that David Chase, the creator of this series, promises will be answered in the next 12 episodes, eight of which will premier this year staring tonight and the rest next year."

"...Though the original blueprint for the series had only five seasons in the making, Chase felt that it probably needed extra 12 episodes to let the story reach its fullest capacity. And that is definitely the end."

― Gilbert O'Sullivan (kenan), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:20 (twenty years ago)

how can you not like Paulie going around aimlessly yelling "Commendatore!"

xpost

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 17:22 (twenty years ago)

Great use of "One Of These Days" for the closing credits.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Monday, 3 April 2006 18:19 (twenty years ago)

And in a minor New Jersey note, some background information on Bell Labs (where the Hal Holbroook character worked) had several major facilities over NJ.

― The Equator Lounge (Chris Barrus), Monday, 3 April 2006 18:22 (twenty years ago)

I thought this week's episode was vying with Christopher Columbus Parade for worst ever
"Bobby shoots a rapper" subplot was stupid .... the whole first half-hour was tedious ... argh.

-- Renard (drenard...), April 4th, 2006.

Yup, that parade ep was just unbelievably rotten, couldn't believe what I was seeing .

― dr lulu (dr lulu), Monday, 3 April 2006 20:45 (twenty years ago)

B-b-but wait! Bobby's subplot was plain stupid, agreed. But come on, there was so much to enjoy in this episode!
The 'Terri Schiavo, You Go Girl'-shirt? Classic!
The 'wallet biopsy'? Classic!
Reginald G.? Classic!
"Oh my god... I just found Jimmy Hoffa!"? Classic!

That aside, the mutiny-theme wore off pretty quick compared to last week. Chaos: yes, but it will be controlled. Pauli, although not 'dead' I think, is nowhere near taking over. And we didn't even see Vito speak one sentence all episode (although Carm did warn Tony about him). I just can't believe Tony will go soft for long. Either he'll be talked some sense into, or he'll come to his own 'senses' and continue his struggle of badlife/goodlife (perfectly represented by the reverend and the scientist in this episode, i thought).

But aside from teh puns and the excellent music, most brilliant thing about this episode was the sound of the wind, blowing through the trees... My that was wonderful...

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 3 April 2006 21:24 (twenty years ago)

The 'Terri Schiavo, You Go Girl'-shirt? Classic!

I'll give you that one, that was pretty hilarious

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 3 April 2006 21:31 (twenty years ago)

Another solid episode, I really like the way this season is heading. I'm sure we do get to see guns and shit later if you all think that's all the show is about. I, for one, can't wait for Tony's first session with Melfi.

Of course the 'wallet biopsy' manifested itself in Tony's coma.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 02:12 (twenty years ago)

i'm not going by the episode, myself, i'm going by the arc. so i hope it's there.

― baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 02:42 (twenty years ago)

It's about a lot of things. The guns just make it all consequential.

Since the first episode there's been some mild political positioning and a lot of drift. We want consequences!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 12:51 (twenty years ago)

i still think Paulie's going off the reservation, and that it's going to have consequences. Not only has he gone against Tony's word (though, mind, he was out in the hallway crying when T gave it), but he's asking for a ton of action and explicitly cutting Tony out of the deal. You can't go around collecting 4,000/week (!!!) and not give the Boss a slice. Once Tony finds out about Barone's injuries (he will), he'll also find out about Paulie's side action. He's not going to be happy.

― gbx (skowly), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 13:23 (twenty years ago)

Paulie and Tony are two parts of the same wind. They are blowing in opposite directions now though.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 13:25 (twenty years ago)

paulie was obviously motivated by his fucked up mother situation - like oh your mother loves you fine then pay for my fake mother's nursing home fees!

when tony finds out, will he be soft and understanding or will he act like the boss?

this will provide an opportunity for vito and new york to judge tony's vulnerability.

that is the set up.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 13:39 (twenty years ago)

also, i believe it was $4000 a month - aka the cost of paulie's fake mom's nursing home.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 13:42 (twenty years ago)

Also Jason was wearing the same shoes that Paulie's real mother was wearing when he went to see her.

Tony seemed like he was searching for something and didn't quite find it anywhere. It could go either way once he regains his health, a considerate mob boss will not please his crew. He's already set himself up for more pressure from NY.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

I don't even see how Paulie will be able to collect since didn't tony agree to let them sell the place? Paulie doesn't even know that.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 14:53 (twenty years ago)

Paulie is fucked, I think. I'm thinking Tony will blame Phil for Jason's injuries at first. I'm wondering if the whole plot with Paulie talking with Johnny Sack in season 4 are going to come to the surface because of this. I think the new Tony is going to overreact about Jason getting fucked up after he promised the mother it wouldn't happen.

I'm still happy with where the season is going. I agree that the subplot with the rappers was pretty weak, but I also laughed really hard at the scene when Treach got shot in the ass.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 15:18 (twenty years ago)

The show was lacking in humor for the first few episodes. I complained to a friend last week that they need to turn the melodrama down a few notches and get back to what the show is all about. I feel like they did that with last night's episode.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 4 April 2006 15:20 (twenty years ago)

I thought this was a terrific episode, too.

Coming in late I have little to add here, except that the shot of the river being apparently cut in two by Barrone's boat, then the boat passing and showing itself to be ne big body of water again was my favorite (if a bit heavy handed) cinematographic flourish in the episode. The later shot when the canoe appears to penetrate the wind-blown trees right before Paulie jumps Barrone was sweet, too. I don't know if I really need to mention that Paulie's storyline about his mother being his aunt and his aunt being his mother is also a facet of the 'seperation is an illusion' theme. And what this theme might say about the Kevin Finnerty segments. Or how it backs up the notion put forth by the Bill Burroughs montage that evreything we see on the show is some aspect of Tony.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Friday, 7 April 2006 01:48 (twenty years ago)

I'm going to give what I call a 'complement sandwich'

1) I think that was a grebt turning point episode esp. wrt Vito with some good comedy moments i.e. Johnny Sacks' anorexic daughter

2) certain elements were a little heavy handed, specif. wrt AJ's fattay date smoking and talking abt fish toxins and the extended "should I or shouldn't I whup he ass" moment as the end (basically the same acting moment that Pacino had in Godfather I before he offed the cop and sollozzo). And sometimes I question buschemi as a director in general...

3) but it was the right episode for buschemi to direct and you can see some of his choen bros. influence.

There's something else I wanted to add at the end there, but I forgot.

Also, who is seeing the muslim drug duders offing Frankie Valli?

― Jimmy Mod: My theme is DEATH (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:14 (twenty years ago)

i think this was a terrific episode. i really really liked it.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:26 (twenty years ago)

the johnny sac stuff was great, so perfectly played.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:26 (twenty years ago)

and vito. that scene where calls silvio to see if the news is out and he should off himself... man.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:33 (twenty years ago)

google image search for "harsh tokes" is really disappointing :(

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:33 (twenty years ago)

Someone in the Slate dialogues once pointed out that Paulie's storylines are the farcical version of Tony's - the tensions with the mother, the tensions on the job, etc.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 10 April 2006 01:41 (twenty years ago)

Jimmy Mod, I think they are indicating that Tony is planning to go the Neopolitan route to solve the Rusty problem. Plus, haven't you been reading blount's posts on this thread?

― The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (Ken L), Monday, 10 April 2006 02:31 (twenty years ago)

after being so harsh on last week's I thought this one was excellent

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 10 April 2006 03:15 (twenty years ago)

Another good episode, lots of stuff brought up that needs to be dealt with. We see from the episode synopsis that Tony gives a high earner a second chance next week. Now this could be Paulie from the Jason Barone situation but more likely Vito. I'm sure that if this is the case then Phill, despite being his wife's cousin, will be annoyed that Tony is letting a homosexual off the hook (esp considering his reaction to seeing Johnny S cry, "Even Cinderalla didn't cry."

Best line though was
-"Any chance of a mercy fuck?"

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Monday, 10 April 2006 15:54 (twenty years ago)

despite being his wife's cousin

more like ESPECIALLY SINCE Vito is married to his cousin .... that would make Phil even madder, Vito "shaming" the wife w/ his gay cheating

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:25 (twenty years ago)

the only thing that confused me about this ep. is why Tony is even considering whacking Rusty, it seems like an unreasonable request (as Christopher, and Tony initially, seemed to think)

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:28 (twenty years ago)

Is that really so confusing? I thought it was obvious it was his 'soft-side' speaking, just like the encounter with Phil in last weeks episode (where he caved and agreed to cut some of his share). At the end he finally admitted to himself he had a soft-side, which led to an overreaction, messing up Mr. Muscle.

Great episode in general. Anyone else notice when Vito was in his hotelroom, the same music was played when Canoeboy got whacked by Pauli last week? (lyrics are something about a Jimmy: "Jimmy & his wife", I'd like to know what it is).
I do think however Vito is dead. If he didn't shoot himself after all, and still breathes today, it won't be for long. Also, Chris' surprise reaction on the Arab's request for Tek-9's... I wonder what those fellers are up to.

Oh, good lines (besides the mercy fuck)
- "Don Squirrel-leone" (newspaper headline on Junior)
- "Blockbuster, first stop on the shit-bird express"

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:39 (twenty years ago)

It's probably just one in a long series of bad business decisions that will be made throughout the season. Tony is going through the motions of his mob boss role, but his heart isn't really in it anymore. See also: the attempt to reassert himself as alpha male at the end of the episode and the facial expressions of the other fellas immediately thereafter.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:42 (twenty years ago)

x-post, obvs.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:43 (twenty years ago)

Re; ESPECIALLY SINCE

Despite wasn't really the right word. I meant that Phil is so old school that the marriage to a blood relative wouldn't come into it when the question of homosexuality comes up Phill we want him dead simply because of that, I don't think would be as much of a concern for Phil (although it will make him madder no doubt.)

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Monday, 10 April 2006 16:45 (twenty years ago)

The song is The Browns - The Three Bells

http://s27.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=39WMLG93M302Q3I0MUDW8FBVHT

― charles, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 12:39 (twenty years ago)

btw, Bobby Bacala got some UP'S, dude. that slow-mo dunk made my year.

― charles, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 12:55 (twenty years ago)

who is rusty?

― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 13:02 (twenty years ago)

Frankie Valli.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 13:05 (twenty years ago)

What other movie was that song in?

― Jimmy Mod: My theme is DEATH (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

can't vito just kill the guys who saw him gaying it up?

low rim.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 14:31 (twenty years ago)

Charles I kiss thee, thanks so much!

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 14:32 (twenty years ago)

LOW RIM!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 14:49 (twenty years ago)

If Vito thinks he's a dead man if this comes out he will probably go after those two guys who are both NY, again won't go down well with Phill. Secondly if he goes to kill them what's stopping him clearing up the other loose ends (Finn AND Meadow.)

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 15:17 (twenty years ago)

who is rusty?

back in the episodes after Carmine died, he was backing Little Carmine to lead NY instead of Johnny Sac

and yeah it's Frankie Valli, he was shown briefly in the background at the wedding while ppl were talking about him

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 11 April 2006 15:39 (twenty years ago)

i heard bobby snatched a quarter from the top of a backboard once in a jv game in rahway.

― charles, Tuesday, 11 April 2006 18:14 (twenty years ago)

This is good shit

― Jimmy Mod: My theme is DEATH (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 17 April 2006 01:40 (twenty years ago)

Vito in Paradise.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 17 April 2006 01:52 (twenty years ago)

maybe he'll turn state's evidence and go into witness relocation?

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 17 April 2006 02:30 (twenty years ago)

"him and his girl have some kind of dog, like a springer spaniel!"

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 17 April 2006 04:44 (twenty years ago)

Meadow, baring her teeth to defend la famiglia

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 17 April 2006 04:44 (twenty years ago)

Who else loves Tony and his classic rock? "Sitting on a PARK BENCH!"

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 17 April 2006 05:46 (twenty years ago)

RUN, VITO! GO!

the springer spaniel line is one of the best of christafa's lines ever.

― baby, disco is fuck (yournullfame), Monday, 17 April 2006 06:18 (twenty years ago)

Gawd...this Kinder, Gentler Tony is gonna get raked over the coals something awful, isn't he? I have to wonder what unpopular decision will be the one to break the camel's back.

Also: Meadow's blowjob revelation? Very, very cringeworthy. She pretty much singlehandedly consigned Vito to whatever fate is to befall him and she couldn't be more nonchalant about the fact. Picking up some of Tony's slack in the "evil fuck-ery" department, it would seem.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 17 April 2006 11:23 (twenty years ago)

P.S. I so so so want Vito to remain untouched in his little hidey-hole, but I so so so know that totally isn't in the cards. Despite the fact that Tony gave him a pass, he's on a slab before season's end. Most likely by the hand of Paulie All-Nuts (who will quite possibly have a slab of his own if he's not careful).

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 17 April 2006 11:27 (twenty years ago)

vito stumbles upon the gayest little town in all of new hampshire. he is seen cradling an antique vase, dreaming at the possibilities.

with vito not menacing him anymore, fin seems ready to walk. where were fin and meadow getting high? popcorn machine?

meadow, combining the ruthlessness of her upbringing with the entitlement of her ivy league education, will make the perfect corporate pit bull. and she has her liberal politics to keep her feeling good. she's definitely shopping for a replacement fin - twice in the last three episodes she's made eyes at some sweet young push-over. not to mention her unwillingness to discuss the wedding.

christopher apparently can successfully parse arabs in to terrorist and civilian groupings.

the overarching theme of wimpy tony continues. the old tony would've fed vito to the wolves even if he didn't want to. he's also lost his appetite for dealmaking with carmela and is ignoring her building project.

melfi is loving the new tony and senses that she can actually affect his actions now. this makes her smile.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:05 (twenty years ago)

where were fin and meadow getting high? popcorn machine?

In the home theater

― Jimmy Mod: My theme is DEATH (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:08 (twenty years ago)

In the home theater

that place in in disarray. i mean, there's a bed in there now? what if tony wants to watch a movie?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:36 (twenty years ago)

meadow ... will make the perfect corporate pit bull

this morning I was kinda thinking mob lawyer might be her new career track. if she realizes that at every job she takes, people will be whispering behind her back "that's Tony Soprano's kid" ... plus "poor Johnny Sac look at the way they treat him so unfairly" ....

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:46 (twenty years ago)

ooh - i like that scenario.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 17 April 2006 13:49 (twenty years ago)

i like this mob lawyer theory

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:32 (twenty years ago)

there's a bed in there now?

I guess that's either a holdover from when Tony was living out there, or they've made it into kind of a guest room for Fin

I didn't know where the hell they were supposed to be in that scene either

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 17 April 2006 15:42 (twenty years ago)

I didn't know where the hell they were supposed to be in that scene either

OTM, looked like a shabby hotelroom to me.

Interesting, and first really slow-paced episode this season. As I said above, Vito's food for the fishes, that's for sure, only question is when.
Although it wasn't as obvious as in previous episodes, Tony's 'wimpyness' does still carry on. His 'defense' of homosexuality doesn't seem to hold up against what the other mobsters think. But for the first time this season I don't quite know what to expect of the next episode, which is a good thing.

Oh, and since this is turning into some sort of chronicle, some memorable lines:

- "The lesbian thing, with Jennifer Beals... not bad"
- "Greasing the union"
- The dentist joke when Fin was brought in had me in silly roffles.

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 17 April 2006 21:33 (twenty years ago)

"SENATOR SANATORIUM" HAHAHAHAHA lame.

― Jimmy Mod: My theme is DEATH (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 17 April 2006 21:49 (twenty years ago)

I thought it was a really good episode. This guy Tim Goodman breaks each episode down for sfgate.com. After reading it, I saw I missed a few things. I liked the fact that they all lost it when they realized that Vito had been "catching" with the security guard. When I saw the scene, I think I was just as shocked that he was blowing some lowly construction site security guard as I was that he was gay.

Goodman seems to think they are setting things up for Carmella to take over the family or something. That seems really outrageous to me, but it's an interesting idea. I am enjoying what they are doing with Angie Bonpensiero's character, too. All in all, I thought the episode was classic Sopranos. It was good to finally see Artie, too. Is this the first time we've seen him this season? I can't remember.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 16:32 (twenty years ago)

Didn't Artie also drop by at the hospital with some food when Tony was still there?

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 19:46 (twenty years ago)

In the home theater

that place in in disarray. i mean, there's a bed in there now? what if tony wants to watch a movie?

Well, presumably Tony put a bed in when he was in bed shape?

I had no idea where they were either.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 20:52 (twenty years ago)

When Tony tells Melfi that guys who are locked up "get a pass", there were a few pauses where I thought he was going to confess something himself.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 21:08 (twenty years ago)

the fact that he didn't go apeshit simply at Melfi's line of reasoning but actually considered it on the merits was a key indicator of New Tony, I thought

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 21:32 (twenty years ago)

has there been any reference at all so far in this series to Ralphie?

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Tuesday, 18 April 2006 23:07 (twenty years ago)

I don't recall any direct references to Ralph since a stray line in the previous season, Konal. Definitely nothing in this season thus far.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 12:11 (twenty years ago)

For ages I was expecting things to blow up over Ralphie but perhaps I should give up - bigger fish to fry now I suppose. Likewise Ade, people will just 'forget'...will be interesting to see how and where they figure in what seems increasingly more like an Apocalypse forthcoming. Maybe nowhere, maybe pivotal.

― Konal Doddz (blueski), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 12:21 (twenty years ago)

seeing christopher's gleeful bloodthirstiness in re: vito this week, i started to wonder if the show's final big conflict will pit him against tony

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 19 April 2006 14:12 (twenty years ago)

"Who else loves Tony and his classic rock? "Sitting on a PARK BENCH!"

-- Rickey Wright (rrricke...), April 17th, 2006.

and let's not forget those blood, sweat & tears tickets vito will sadly never claim.

the spats between finn & meadow are some of the best writing on this show.

― charles, Friday, 21 April 2006 12:44 (twenty years ago)

I nearly choked on the line "he's gonna get sumthin' else up his ass! And it won't be no cock!"

Poor Vito. Poor, poor Vito. The life he could have had, if hadn't been in the life.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Friday, 21 April 2006 14:27 (twenty years ago)

You know...if things do eventually boil down to Tony vs Christopher in some respect, I can totally see Ralpie's murder popping up as a weapon against Tony. One too many bad decisions on Tony's part and Christopher nonchalantly lets slip what he knows in casual conversation...it could be the tipping point for Tony's plummet from the throne.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Friday, 21 April 2006 17:17 (twenty years ago)

has Christopher always had this wraparound Jeff Gordon look or am I just noticing it now?

all this speculation about The Fall of Carmela - is the culmination here her killing someone?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Saturday, 22 April 2006 02:17 (twenty years ago)

Finn is half-gay, in that "metrosexual" way, as ALL of Meadow's guys have been.

eventually she will realize that she's a bulldyke.

― Roberto Pazzalaqua, Saturday, 22 April 2006 06:53 (twenty years ago)

roffles at Lauren Bacall cursing

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 24 April 2006 01:28 (twenty years ago)

roffles at lauren bacall getting punched in the face, but what a weak episode

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:20 (twenty years ago)

i mean if you're going to do an artie agonistes episode like that, now, it's gotta end with him dying, not re-discovering the joy of cooking

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:22 (twenty years ago)

yeah i liked the season one shoutouts and bacall and spotting david chase's cameo at the end was nice but a pretty perfunctory ep overall no doubt. artie bucco season one works well as a counterpoint but since then he's been used primarily as almost slapstick or pure nuisance. nice to see friction growing still with phil.

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 24 April 2006 02:55 (twenty years ago)

artie episodes always make me sad

― gbx (skowly), Monday, 24 April 2006 03:00 (twenty years ago)

was anyone else thinking about this:

http://www.sweatpantserection.com/stories/img/82/doogie-howser-vinnie.jpg

when tony mentioned benny going to the er?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 24 April 2006 03:29 (twenty years ago)

i think of nothing but doogie when benny's remotely in the vicinity

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 24 April 2006 03:32 (twenty years ago)

Jimmy OTM. Perfect.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 24 April 2006 07:33 (twenty years ago)

i was not thinking about a sweatpants erection, no.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Monday, 24 April 2006 08:03 (twenty years ago)

http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000A3DGEO.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.jpg

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 24 April 2006 12:49 (twenty years ago)

i loved how artie's rediscovery of the joy of cooking played out like an olive garden commerical, replete with the same music.

― charles, Monday, 24 April 2006 13:11 (twenty years ago)

max casella also voices daxter. just something to think about when benny fazio is beating the shit out of somebody.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Monday, 24 April 2006 13:22 (twenty years ago)

getting beat up by artie must be incredibly embarrassing.

even though tony told benny not to retaliate, there was clearly some wiggle room - which he used to burn artie's hand.

if you punch lauren bacall in the face and steal her gift bag, do you brag about it, or just keep it under your hat?

looks like vito is back in the picture next week. i'm wondering why no one used the likelihood of him going to the feds as a justification for going after him. what happens after he blows all his money on antiques and jonnycakes? either he sets up shop or flips, right?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 24 April 2006 13:24 (twenty years ago)

they were using some sort of bootleg swipers to capture the card numbers. seems like the arabs are paying way too much. and if they're using the numbers on the internet, does swiping capture the three digit security code? i was under the impression that it did not.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 24 April 2006 13:31 (twenty years ago)

Prev. episode said xtopher had a way of getting the 3 digit codes.

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 24 April 2006 14:51 (twenty years ago)

So, is it going to be important that the arabs' stolen credit card numbers come from a jew?

― Gukbe (lokar), Monday, 24 April 2006 16:48 (twenty years ago)

I think it was just a little ironic joke, but with this show you never know

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 24 April 2006 17:09 (twenty years ago)

I had the idea it was the same Hasid-run hotel that we saw Tony take a piece of in the first episode of the series waaaay back in 1999, and was going to be another example of Fazio shitting where Tony eats.

The Hollywood stuff pretty much sucked, didn't it? Not that I don't like seeing Lauren Bacall take a belt to the grill as much as the next guy, but did it exist at all except to be a big "fuck you" to the complaints that the Sopranos spends too much time sucking up to advertisers and glorifies the conspicuous consumption of its characters?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 April 2006 20:31 (twenty years ago)

they should just stay away from the hollywood stuff period. who the fuck needs that on the sopranos, that's what every other hbo show is for.

what a disappointment that ben kingsley was playing himself :(

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 24 April 2006 20:36 (twenty years ago)

it was the same Hasid-run hotel

well yeah it was definitely the same hotel. but I think Tony already knows about the credit-card shit in general, just not that they were pulling it on Artie. maybe I'm wrong.

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 24 April 2006 20:50 (twenty years ago)

I'm pretty sure you're right that Tony knew about the cc# scam already (didn't he accept his taste of it in the episode, and use it to pay his Vesuvio bill?) I'm just surprised he'd (knowingly) do something like that at one of his legit operations. Remember a couple weeks ago when he was in an uproar over his W-2? And a couple seasons ago when he cracked some heads for stealing from his construction site?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 24 April 2006 20:58 (twenty years ago)

corky has this world-weary look makes me think he'll play a part in something, plus, where'd you learn to talk like that = ??

artie should have died on top of his rabbit :(

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 05:22 (twenty years ago)

i don't mind the hollywood stuff, it happens, what, every other season or something? it's kind of a funny diversion when it comes up.

I felt like this was a breather episode before more serious shit starts happening. but I often feel that way with this show; I can only think of about eight really "big deal' events in the entire series.

― kyle (akmonday), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 06:11 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, but this season has been all about setting up dominoes on an increasingly shaky table. I just hope that all of the "big deals" aren't shunted off to the mini season.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 08:03 (twenty years ago)

I like it when Christopher gets overwhelmed by worlds he's not accustomed to...then pulls stupid hood stuff like punching Lauren Bacall and stealing her swag. It always amuses me.

I thought that the credit card scam at Vesuvio's was fairly recent, and was just Bennie trying to do a bit more on top of getting the stuff from the hotel.

― Gukbe (lokar), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 12:05 (twenty years ago)

I think that was Christopher's last flirtation with life outside The Life. It did go on slightly to long though. Loved Kingsley's "Faaaawk" on the plane. The thing with the Artie story is that could be it with him, he's found his focus again (much like Christiopher and Benny, all three with help from Tony) but if his buisness continues to struggle I still feel he could be a candiate for getting Tony out as suggested in "The Test Dream". Meadow as mob lawyer is also something I've thought about. Similarly the Arabs as feds (they aren't terrorists are they, Tony and Chris discussed it) and what ever Tony may say Paulie would kill Vito if he saw him and so would Phill.

Phill also has Rusty out of the picture and he still holds a nuclear grudge about his brother and his buisness head is probably telling him he has a good chance of taking over the Lupertazzi Family and ignoring JS.

― MitchellStirling (MitchellStirling), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 14:13 (twenty years ago)

so what was Phill saying to Tony at the dinner at Don Giovanni? that Phill felt offended that Tony said no to the hit when Phill asked him, but said yes when Johnny Sac asked directly? I didn't quite get that part.

Artie ... found his focus again (much like Christiopher and Benny, all three with help from Tony)

and yet all three now have simmering grudges against Tony that don't seem like they'll completely go away .... "how many times are you going to play the Adriana card" was pretty harsh, and they didnt show Chris's reaction to it ....

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 16:18 (twenty years ago)

tony played dumb about killing rusty. phill said "some people" might take offense at tony's implication (that someone's listening, ie, phill's wearing a wire) so phill opens his jacket to show he's uh wireless

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 16:46 (twenty years ago)

ahhhh the wire / jacket thing is what I missed. thnx.

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 17:45 (twenty years ago)

what i can't quite remember is did tony ever tell phill he was actually going to take care of rusty? or did he only tell johnny sac at the wedding, in which case, is tony's feigned ignorance not really about a wire but about keeping phill out of the loop to bolster johnny's position? i may be just blanking out about tony and phill's conversations...

― W i l l (common_person), Tuesday, 25 April 2006 17:49 (twenty years ago)

aw. teh gays made up!

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 1 May 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

Again, Vito in Paradise.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 1 May 2006 04:31 (twenty years ago)

is aj gonna start doing brutish things to support his cristal habit - starting with collecting from that guy's landlord?

why has there been no speculation about the possibility of vito or junior flipping? this is starting to drive me bonkers.

and how many times can phil leotardo bitch to tony about vito and his dead brother. do something phil, god.

when will we see the showdown between the new tony and the old tony already?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 10:52 (twenty years ago)

what the fuck was up with AJ's hair length discrepancy during that scene on stugats II? a weird continuity lapse for a show usually on the ball abot it.

― charles, Monday, 1 May 2006 16:04 (twenty years ago)

jhoshea:

1) AJ will probably start doing brutish things in general. I would like to see him escape his "genetic" destiny, but this show does not like for people to escape.

2) There's been no speculation (here, anyway) about Vito or Junior flipping because neither one of them is going to flip. They're either going to be killed or remain unmolested. Junior's senile and Vito just wants to live in peace. I don't see either of them going to the Feds.

3) Nine. Nine times.

4) Tony will be travelling back in time to fight Golden Age Tony in episode 10.

Or rather: Old Tony is gone. I feel pretty secure in that fact. New Tony may occasionally go through the motions of Old Tony (see: beating up his driver to establish his position), but one of this season's primary narrative drives is the ascension of New Tony, the extent to which he simply does not work in the context of Mob life, and the subsequent decension of New Tony in light of his incompatibility.

He's going to have to do some more stuff that he doesn't want to do, but the fact that he doesn't want to do it is what's important.

charles:

I think AJ's just doing some weird comb-over thing with his hair and it was blowing free on the Stugots.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 16:52 (twenty years ago)

4) Tony will be travelling back in time to fight Golden Age Tony in episode 10.

MIRROR MATCH!!!

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 1 May 2006 16:59 (twenty years ago)

There's been no speculation (here, anyway) about Vito or Junior flipping because neither one of them is going to flip. They're either going to be killed or remain unmolested. Junior's senile and Vito just wants to live in peace. I don't see either of them going to the Feds.

easy for you to say from the couch, tough guy. but for our friends inside the tv it's life and death every day - shouldn't they at least be worried about the possibility? what sort of options do you have once you've been abandoned by your family?

one of this season's primary narrative drives is the ascension of New Tony, the extent to which he simply does not work in the context of Mob life, and the subsequent decension of New Tony in light of his incompatibility.

when new tony is on the verge of losing the station that old tony fought for, old tony will attempt a coup. they will fight. new tony may win. but they will have at it.

as a desperate response to the utter suckiniess of this season, i have developed a theory that explains it all away and allows me to continue feeling good about the show: as others have postulated, this season is tediously setting the stage for next season's bloody shit storm of a finale. to this i would like to ad that the inanely boring and unsatisfying quality of this season is intentional, so as to make next season's bloody shit storm seem crazily bracing in comparison.

a brilliant return to form! we'll all say. in retrospect the 6th season actually works quite well as part of the continuum! kudos! huzzah!

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:48 (twenty years ago)

i've only seen about half, but this season is great

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:52 (twenty years ago)

i watched all the episodes of this season, thanks to hbo on demand, and it's great. i don't understand the complaints.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:53 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, until the last couple of eps, I thought they'd been outdoing themselves this year. And this week is still definitely a step up from Chrissie Goes to Hollywood, maybe almost as good as the first four.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:55 (twenty years ago)

Jhoshea, the show is fine this season. You just have terrible taste.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:56 (twenty years ago)

i think that everyone expected this season to be a flawless masterpiece but it just turned out to be another good sopranos season with amazing episodes and meh episodes.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:59 (twenty years ago)

this season is tediously setting the stage for next season's bloody shit storm of a finale.

I'm actually beginning to really doubt that's where the show is going. I mean, sure there will be death, etc, inevitably, but the writers are far more interested in resolving its narrative themes rather than just bust up all its toys before throwing them away.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 1 May 2006 17:59 (twenty years ago)

Jhoshea, the show is fine this season. You just have terrible taste.

oh so that's it.

as i mentioned up. thread this season has been all sparring with no consequences. everything's in a holding pattern. the looming mutiny during tony's convalesce has been put in the warming oven. there's been more redundancies than the rest the seasons combined: tony's changed, new york is freaking out, aj's fucked, vito's in gay heaven - over and over. do something with it already. all that plus the added insults of the kev infinity endless dream sequence and an artie episode. ugh.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:08 (twenty years ago)

yes, this show (any show, really) is all about action and plot, rather than character and ideas

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:10 (twenty years ago)

i'm not suggesting a final shoot out with every major character left bloody and gasping. but the fact that tony's main obstacle is now internal, points to some sort of major correction in the future.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:12 (twenty years ago)

i mean, it's not good unless someone's getting shot (or almost shot) behind a black car in a parking lot in the rain, or Carmela is having a non-affair with a guy with a ridiculous name and ponytail

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:13 (twenty years ago)

gabbneb what is your point.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:14 (twenty years ago)

i.e., it's not law and order

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:14 (twenty years ago)

the interesting thing about the show (for me at least) has always been the moral(/psychological) issues of T&C, and the way they reflect yr average contemporary upper-middle suburbanites. not how convoluted or internally consistent the plot is.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:17 (twenty years ago)

well i'd say the thing that makes the show so fun, is the nuanced character development and general metaness in the compressed context of the violently political plot. when the plot gets too spacious the show tends to morph into the soap opera malaise of six feet under. which, understandably, a lot of people love. just not so much me.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:24 (twenty years ago)

i'm kinda with jhoshea--when the show really shines it's equally about family and Family

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:26 (twenty years ago)

the violently political plot

political in what sense? If there's something interesting there, it's either not for me (I hate the Godfathers too) or I'm missing it.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:28 (twenty years ago)

how can you miss the "politics" in this show??

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:29 (twenty years ago)

The show has been lousy with nuanced character development this season. So what's the complaint? Just the relative lack of violence? By "soap opera malaise" do you mean "too much like real life, i.e. not enough gangland executions"?

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:31 (twenty years ago)

OTM

how can you miss the "politics" in this show??

I dunno, maybe I'm not missing it, but I'm not sure what "politics" refers to.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

s1ocki: This season is totally balancing the dual family theme. It's right up front. Again, is it just the lack of garotting and evisceration that's disappointing people, or what?

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:35 (twenty years ago)

I hate the Godfathers too

stammer stutter cold sweats horror confusion denial error

― Tiki Theater Xymposium (Bent Over at the Arclight), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:37 (twenty years ago)

Best line - 'What Jews?'

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:50 (twenty years ago)

s1ocki: This season is totally balancing the dual family theme. It's right up front. Again, is it just the lack of garotting and evisceration that's disappointing people, or what?

i'm not saying it isn't!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:51 (twenty years ago)

there's been more redundancies than the rest the seasons combined: tony's changed, new york is freaking out, aj's fucked, vito's in gay heaven - over and over.

I don't think the season has been bad overall but I do sort of agree with this. I don't get the sense of "we have sooo much to say that we need a bonus season to finish it" ....

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:54 (twenty years ago)

Ah. Never mind, then. It was the agreeing w/jhoshea part that tripped me.

x-post

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:54 (twenty years ago)

The show has been lousy with nuanced character development this season. So what's the complaint? Just the relative lack of violence? By "soap opera malaise" do you mean "too much like real life, i.e. not enough gangland executions"?

yeah. as i've mentioned a couple times, i feel like the show derives its shine from the real life + extreme consequences formula. it doesn't even have to be bloody or final. a lot of times there's just tense escalation - which this season has some of, just not nearly enough.

also i've always hated the dream sequences - so the season kind of got off on the wrong foot with me.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 18:56 (twenty years ago)

also i've always hated the dream sequences

ok now THAT is nuts

the Test Dream and the Big Pussy dreams especially = genius

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:02 (twenty years ago)

totally

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:03 (twenty years ago)

Every episode since Tony regained consciousness has had at least one instance where he's done something to undermine his position. I'll agree that there isn't as much of an ever-looming sense of doom as there was last season, but this season has been all about Tony chipping away at the pillar underneath him. It's a slow burn, but there are certainly going to be some extreme consequences. Even if they don't all involve on-screen brain matter and dismemberment.

Also, yes: the dream sequences are aces.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:03 (twenty years ago)

always found them kinda ham-fisted. too much tell. not enough show.

also artie. artie is a major downer.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:04 (twenty years ago)

the dreams that is

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:04 (twenty years ago)

Correction: Artie is a major douchebag. Although I'd wager that his arc is more or less over as of last week's episode, so you probably won't have to worry about him so much anymore.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:08 (twenty years ago)

Deric, I actually think that Artie's going to sink a little lower before it's over! But yeah, the whole thing with him is that he's just as bad as his criminal friends, and the only thing that keeps him from being just like them is his cowardice. It's most certainly not his ethics or the goodness of his soul.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:42 (twenty years ago)

that and charmaine's nagging.

both of them - blah.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:47 (twenty years ago)

i'd bury my cock in those tits

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 1 May 2006 19:49 (twenty years ago)

That's fairly charming.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 1 May 2006 21:26 (twenty years ago)

Major firsts last night - Tony actually restraining his sexual impulses (he started restraining his violent ones a while ago); AJ having a panic attack.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 1 May 2006 21:35 (twenty years ago)

That's fairly charming.

just quotin' the show, champ.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 1 May 2006 21:44 (twenty years ago)

"AJ having a panic attack."

Nope. He had his first quite a while ago - season three or four, I think. Anyway, it was at a football practice. I believe he had another when he was about to be sent off to military school, which is the only reason Tony and Carm relented about that.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Monday, 1 May 2006 21:48 (twenty years ago)

there's been more redundancies than the rest the seasons combined: tony's changed, new york is freaking out, aj's fucked, vito's in gay heaven - over and over. do something with it already. a

You can call all of that 'redundancies', but in my view it's the nuance you - upthread - claim to like so much about the show. This season - apart from one, maybe one-and-a-half episode - is much more focused and crystalized then all the other seasons. It's the patience in I was waiting for to have with this show, the patience which brings The Sopranos in bloom.

Most brilliant thing in this episode: The burping on the Stugots II, Anthony trying hard to equal his dad with a burp. The constant bickering on how his dad is so important, such a string-puller, in the club. And seeing that storyline evolve into an attempted murder on June, obviously not well-thought over, but as a sincere burst of unexpected, heartfelt outrage nontheless. Marvell.

Meanwhile, continuing on great lines:
"It's like a bad smell in the house, it's always hanging there" (Tony on AJ)

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 1 May 2006 22:28 (twenty years ago)

that was a good ep. AJ dry-heaving had me roffling, boy can't do ANYTHING.

this season has me thinking of the wire season 2.

― W i l l (common_person), Monday, 1 May 2006 23:49 (twenty years ago)

How so? That's my favorite season of The Wire, and this is shaping up to be my fave Sopranos season, but I don't really see the other similarities. Well, maybe AJ is turning into Ziggy.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 00:22 (twenty years ago)

Which I guess makes his knife-fighting buddy the boozy duck.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 00:23 (twenty years ago)

Oh my god, does this mean AJ is going to start whipping his cock out?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 01:06 (twenty years ago)

Speaking of "The Wire" - I rewatched season 3 recently, and I wonder if anyone knows the origin of calling guns 'whistles.'

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 01:15 (twenty years ago)

So, speaking as an Irish person, what does "they'll let you carry the note at 7.5% mean"?

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 05:31 (twenty years ago)

the origin of calling guns 'whistles.'

my guess is both are made of metal + the sound a whizzing bullet makes

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 16:09 (twenty years ago)

C'mon, Artie...

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 21:11 (twenty years ago)

There has been a lot of vomit this season.

― cws (cws), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 21:34 (twenty years ago)

Life Imitates Artie

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 2 May 2006 21:59 (twenty years ago)

There has been a lot of vomiting, but Adrianna produced more vomit in one go than in all of the collective instances of vomiting this season.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 01:24 (twenty years ago)

Best vomiting so far this season has to go to Huff though. So real, we speculated on whether or not Hank Azaria had actually taken an emetic.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 07:51 (twenty years ago)

So no-one knows the answer to my real estate question, then?

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 07:51 (twenty years ago)

it's a real estate question. i start getting drowsy just thinking about it.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 08:18 (twenty years ago)

I know, but I'm fascinated by how incredibly illegal it sounds.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 08:45 (twenty years ago)

what does "they'll let you carry the note at 7.5% mean"?

it just means that he owns jamba jucie's mortgage on the building he's selling them instead of the bank. there by earning him an additional %7.5 a year. although you'd think that someone in his line of work could make that money work a little harder.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 11:16 (twenty years ago)

I liked the stuff in this last episode (and perhaps this season, if not the entire show in general) about the changing environment for the mob. Trying to shake down chain stores who have no local control, for example. I've read stuff about how mob life is harder than it used to be with legal cash advance type places and credit cards making loansharking less common, and gambling being much more common than it used to be. Seeing the crusty old street-level guys complaining about what the world is coming to when they can't extort money the way that they used to is funny.

And somebody in Tony's line of work probably could make the money work harder, but the mortgage deal is legit, something that the new, reformed Tony seems to appreciate more.

― joygoat (joygoat), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 12:11 (twenty years ago)

Thanks.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Wednesday, 3 May 2006 12:17 (twenty years ago)

"Fuck the hat."

― rogermexico (rogermexico), Monday, 8 May 2006 00:32 (twenty years ago)

CHRISTOPUH KNEW

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 8 May 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

Wait; why did I think that was the big revalation?

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 8 May 2006 01:17 (twenty years ago)

what?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 8 May 2006 01:20 (twenty years ago)

For some fucking reason I had forgotten that Xtopuh knew abt Aide being an informer. Perhaps I was swept away by the capital A-acting

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 8 May 2006 01:22 (twenty years ago)

YOU'RE DOING A HECKUVA JOB BROWNIE

― j blount (papa la bas), Monday, 8 May 2006 02:00 (twenty years ago)

Ha, that was a great line!

Very odd pacing in this episode, it felt like they condensed a couple episodes into one. Lots of impending doom - it felt more like something from the previous season. It's getting kinda late though, and they really need to have something big happen or this season is going to seem very uneventful aside from the opening arc. Surely Paulie or Vito are going to get the ax before the end of episode 12, right?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 8 May 2006 02:55 (twenty years ago)

there was so much great stuff in this episode.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 8 May 2006 03:54 (twenty years ago)

woohoo fred neil!

i actually felt like a lot of the second half - the bobby vs. paulie stuff particularly - felt really weird and badly done. just off, after a pretty great first half.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Monday, 8 May 2006 05:25 (twenty years ago)

fred neil seconded!

when chistopher looked at the sky all high, great representation - the sky framed for his enjoyment.

loved the contemplative feel of the whole episode and christopher and tony taking refuge from their horrible lives in sensuality and nostalgia. there was something very removed and neutral about the way everything was presented - a welcome change from the overly literal ho hum most of the rest of the season.

first chistopher and tony reminiscing about offing adriana. then tony getting a laugh out of cutting johnny sack out of the vitamin heist. they're really enjoying being horrible bastards - all while trying desperately to escape.

carmela running into adriana's mom could be huge. not sure she's gonna be able to let this one go.

paulie deteriorating further and further. things not looking so good for him.

in the scenes from the final three episodes meadow's in weeping. that's probably the fin break up, no?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 8 May 2006 12:52 (twenty years ago)

the bit where tony was playing with his niece had me about to vomit with anxiousness, they wouldn't have introduced that little girl if something HORRIBLE wasn't going to happen to her.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 8 May 2006 13:01 (twenty years ago)

Something horrible's already happened to her. Janice is her mother.

― Chris L (Chris L), Monday, 8 May 2006 13:17 (twenty years ago)

that part was incredibly anxious, but i'd doubt that anything happens to the girl. felt like it was just demonstrating what a black cloud is hanging over the family. of course they have no idea cause they're so used to it.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 8 May 2006 13:38 (twenty years ago)

Tony holding the girl in his hands, and feeling enormously happy while watching her laugh... I figured this was the "solution" to the whole "Every day is a gift but I'm bored" theme that was running throughout the episode.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 8 May 2006 15:43 (twenty years ago)

heart attack - he ate badly that whole episode. i thought it might happen while spinning the girl.

― SQUARECOATS (plsmith), Monday, 8 May 2006 15:49 (twenty years ago)

yeah, wasn't there some sort of moment before he dropped the wine?

(and did xophuh kill that dude?)

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 8 May 2006 15:51 (twenty years ago)

"stately wayne manor!"

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 8 May 2006 15:52 (twenty years ago)

Magnificent episode. The episodes this season seem even more to be evolving around one character in particular. We've had 'a Vito'-episode, Artie, Paulie etc., this being the Christopher one. And my what a good one. I couldn't stop myself thinking about Michael Imperioli feeling good about himself and his future after The Sopranos, 'cause he's a mighty actor. The scene where Chris and Tony stole the wine was heartbreakingly unsentimental, Tony swirling the little girl was an anxiety-attack, and Paulie... poor Paulie.
And again, the last scene of the episode was Paulie looking and listening to the mighty wind rustling through the trees. There's *a lot* of wind in trees at introspective moments this season.

Also, the tin teardrops:
- Free's 'Allright now' playing while busting the wine-guys
- The scene after that, when they get drunk, and the flashback to Adriana's death-signing (Sopranos don't usually do flashbacks)
- Pauli: "Yeah? Well it seems to me the church has plenty of money for paedophilia lawsuits.
- Chris: "We'll take it."
Kelly: "Shouldn't we see the inside first sweety?"
Chris: "If there is an inside, we'll take it."

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 21:56 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I thought the relatively weak Hollywood episode was the designated Chrissie zone this season. But whoops! Here's the real thing.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 22:00 (twenty years ago)

Also, anyone else flash on Grosse Point Blank in the big baby-holding scene?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Tuesday, 9 May 2006 22:49 (twenty years ago)

Nah, I didn't think of Grosse Point Blank during that scene. I did, however, find it *extremely* reminiscent of Marlon Brando's death scene in The Godfather! Anyone else think of that? I thought for sure Tony was gonna collapse and die right there (or have a heart attack, at least). Anxious moments, indeed. I was actually shaking my head and saying "no, no, no" out loud while he was spinning that baby girl around. Phew! lol

― Mama Roux (Mama Roux), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 14:10 (twenty years ago)

One other thing - did it seem like Chris ditched his wine super cheaply? I mean, less than $100 a case seems ridiculously cheap, even considering it's stolen. He was really terrified of having that stuff around wasn't he?

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking that as well. maybe he meant 300K ?

― Brad Laner (Brad Laner), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:32 (twenty years ago)

I thought the same thing. Six cases for $300 is a pretty good deal.

xp- Now that price seems a little too much. $50K a case?

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:42 (twenty years ago)

i'm thinking the cheapness was a combination of the fact that is was stolen and that it wasn't actually that good. they were just enjoying it because they loved stealing it so much. this may have been alluded to when tony was drinking it later.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:43 (twenty years ago)

you probably want to pay %20 of what you normally would for stolen goods so $50 x 5 x 2 (wholesale to retail) = $500 a case retail. $40 a bottle. sounds about right for mediocre 25 year-old wine.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:48 (twenty years ago)

I was thinking about it at lunch, and thought maybe Chris meant $300 a bottle, which would mean 18k for five cases, which I can believe for a fine 20 year old wine.

Although it should be noted I don't know from wine and don't remember what brand they said it was and even if I did I wouldn't know if it was a good one or a good year (I think maybe I remember hearing '86 was an exceptional year for wine.)

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:50 (twenty years ago)

if he was getting $300 a bottle for it stolen it would have to be really really really good wine. i thought they said 82 not 86. also i do think they said something about it not actually being that good at some point.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:54 (twenty years ago)

Tony said it was "losing it's allure" or something similar. But Meadow seemed to like it.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 15:56 (twenty years ago)

not meadow, mrs. moltisanti. another strike against it.

― W i l l (common_person), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:02 (twenty years ago)

He said $300 for a case.

― Eazy (Eazy), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:04 (twenty years ago)

I couldn't see what the wine was, but it was clearly Bordeaux. $300/case for '86 bottles is a very good price, considering that they had to be stored somewhere for 20 years.

― Eazy (Eazy), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:06 (twenty years ago)

(or a bad price for Christopher)

― Eazy (Eazy), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:06 (twenty years ago)

I just remembered I'm going to a dinner party tonight that has a wine expert in attendance. I'll try and get the details of the vintage right and then ask him about it.

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:11 (twenty years ago)

http://www.professorbainbridgeonwine.com/2006/05/hbo_sopranos_an.html

― Paul Eater (eater), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:13 (twenty years ago)

using my stolen wine price generator we get $250 a bottle retail.

i'm willing to accept that.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:14 (twenty years ago)

Finally, when Chris said he sold 5 cases for $300, I really wanted to be his fence. At WineBid, the online wine auction site, the starting price for a single bottle of 1986 Lalande is $160.

ok maybe my formula needs a little tweaking.

of course they did get this part wrong:

Chugging one of these wines from the bottle, as Tony did, is asking for a mouthful of mud. You simply can't drink these wines without prior decanting.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Wednesday, 10 May 2006 16:17 (twenty years ago)

Straight lifr too much for Gay Vito. Geddit?

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 15 May 2006 01:03 (twenty years ago)

i predict this episode is called "playing house"

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 15 May 2006 01:35 (twenty years ago)

Nope, it is titled "Moe N Joe."

Not a bad episode but there's only two left in this season and now I am just thinking that they are deliberately trying to disappoint most of the audience or something.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 15 May 2006 03:04 (twenty years ago)

this episode was kind of a snooze

pretty foul of Tony to take away Ginny's house!

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 15 May 2006 03:40 (twenty years ago)

vito and jonnycakes were so sweet, it was heartbreaking.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 15 May 2006 09:03 (twenty years ago)

yeah well just in case you were starting to feel sympathetic toward vito, it was good to show what a fuck he still is like everyone else on the show. that was messed up.

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 15 May 2006 12:05 (twenty years ago)

model train penetrating model tunnel as vito takes one for the team in his fake life. excellent revival of an old cliche. of course vito couldn't deal and is last seen fleeing towards the arms his killers. oh johnny cakes, you don't know how fortunate you are.

i thought bobby was a captain. wasn't there something last season with tony bumping him up and bobby says something like to be honest t it's been a little overdue?

tony and carmela seemed to have finally settled into their old groove: politics and recrimination. that sandwich from itallianissimo really sent t over the edge.

meadow and fin predictably falling apart - almost over now.

paulie disintegrating - there is no way that compressed puck of neurosis can beat cancer.

with johnny sack gone for good phil will start to assert himself. killing vito may avert catastrophe for tony.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 15 May 2006 12:06 (twenty years ago)

oh and janet, janet no one knows what goes on inside my thoughts. it's true but we can guess. is it something psycho?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 15 May 2006 12:12 (twenty years ago)

she's happy!

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 15 May 2006 13:44 (twenty years ago)

i thought bobby was a captain. wasn't there something last season with tony bumping him up and bobby says something like to be honest t it's been a little overdue?

Bobby's promotion was just to get him out of Uncle Junior's house as caretaker and back on the streets.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 15 May 2006 15:34 (twenty years ago)

ah aaron would have loved that ep. TtR was like 2 and the transitions, oh the transitions

― W i l l (common_person), Wednesday, 17 May 2006 03:34 (twenty years ago)

There's nothing gay about hell

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 22 May 2006 01:17 (twenty years ago)

well, we knew how that would end, right?

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Monday, 22 May 2006 01:57 (twenty years ago)

Furtado coming out of the closet in the motel room, OH THAT VITO WAS A COME FROM BEHIND KINDA GUY.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 22 May 2006 02:33 (twenty years ago)

Phil coming out of the closet was MEGA ROFFLES

― Jimmy Mod is a super idol of The MARS SPIRIT (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 22 May 2006 02:34 (twenty years ago)

except now i'm nailing my closet shut just in case he's in there.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Monday, 22 May 2006 07:01 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, seriously, Phil emerging from the closet was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen on the show. Was he trying to do some kind of metaphor, or was it just dramatic flair?

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 22 May 2006 11:36 (twenty years ago)

Maybe Phil's an R Kelly fan...

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 22 May 2006 11:36 (twenty years ago)

OH NOES, TONY's HAVING ANOTHER PANIC ATTACK BEHIND THE WHEEL -- er, wait.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Monday, 22 May 2006 15:36 (twenty years ago)

that was a good fake-out for sure.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 22 May 2006 16:04 (twenty years ago)

best episode of the season so far also AWESOME USE OF EARLY GIORGIO MORODER SONG IN THE BADA BING! THIS season has had the best music!!

― chaki (chaki), Monday, 22 May 2006 17:28 (twenty years ago)

Ro, sincerely surprised:
"He lives in Belleville. They've got a Belleville in France!"

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 22 May 2006 20:54 (twenty years ago)

i love ro

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 22 May 2006 21:07 (twenty years ago)

It wasn't bad, but this didn't feel like a "Seriously, guys. We need to quit fucking around and have something happen before the season's over." episode to anyone else? This season has been all kinds of lurchy. Long stretches of nothing but exposition about people doing their taxes and cleaning the pool and then an episode loaded to the rafters with bodies (I exaggerate somewhat, for effect).

Also: how long d'ya figure Carm thought seriously about staying in Paris? And given some of the shit that's sure to go down (over the course of the seasonlette I suppose, at this point), who could possibly argue that it would be a bad idea?

And: I've read assertions elsewhere that Tony was pulling A.J. into the family business. Tell me I'm not crazy for thinking that that's not the case at all. He just hooked him up with a construction job, yeah? Nothing necessarily Mob-related.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 22 May 2006 22:02 (twenty years ago)

HE HATES AJ TOO MUCH

― chaki (chaki), Monday, 22 May 2006 22:05 (twenty years ago)

Thinking back on it now, a lot of the weaker episodes in the past few weeks have seemed more like (very good) spec scripts thrown in to extend the season a bit. "The Ride" is probably an exception, but until now, the season really felt like it was in a holding pattern after "Mr. and Mrs. John Sacromoni Request." This week's episode felt and looked more like it came from the same season as "Join The Club," which is most certainly the best episode of this season.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Monday, 22 May 2006 22:55 (twenty years ago)

Why was Carmela so fascinated by Paris? I mean, it seemed to be more than just the usual American tourist who adores Old Europe and the "culture", or was there nothing more to it than that?

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Monday, 22 May 2006 23:35 (twenty years ago)

I think it's a little of that, but also that thing she was talking about at dinner with Ro - that it was a world where no one knew who she was, and she was entirely cut off from everything she hates about her life. It was a feeling of freedom she could never know at home.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 01:10 (twenty years ago)

I agree with Matt. I think she's a hair's breadth from leaving him for real. This might be enough to set him off killing AJ. Or bringing AJ fully into the other family. Either of which spells doom for him with the troops.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 23 May 2006 01:12 (twenty years ago)

Carm will probably say she's going to help Meadow get settled in California, then dissappear out west, ala Kevin Finnerty. Possibly she'll talk Meadow into disappearing with her.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 23 May 2006 01:20 (twenty years ago)

Also: how long d'ya figure Carm thought seriously about staying in Paris?

i was just expecting furio to show up. seriously.

― GOD PUNCH TO HAWKWIND (yournullfame), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 02:29 (twenty years ago)

I'm with Matthew also. The religious imagery obviously had a profoundly effect on her, she 'saw' Adriana in her dream - Carm's still suspicious about her death: could Tony really have given orders to kill her? - she enjoyed being a stranger among people.
But... this is what happens to a lot of people when captivated by culture, beauty, art and religion in a foreign country. I can't believe Carm will pack her bags and leave, not after Tony's coma and all. However, with the spec-house gone wrong, the worrying about her children and the suspicions she holds against Tony, Carmella may well be up against a dramatic climax.

― Gerard (Gerard), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 06:28 (twenty years ago)

Well remember this:

C: "I don't tell you I love you enough"

T: "Well, nothing's stopping you."

[silence from both.]

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 23 May 2006 10:05 (twenty years ago)

Carmella is not going anywhere! She's not running off. She's complicit in everything Tony does, and there's no way David Chase is letting her off easy.

― Matthew C Perpetua (inca), Tuesday, 23 May 2006 11:22 (twenty years ago)

Adriana's murder was probably the ugliest thing Tony has done in this show, and I think it will be his undoing. Carmella has pretty much accepted that Ade is dead. How will she react if she finds out that Tony ordered it? Meadow is going off to California. A.J. is going to die - I think maybe next episode (will it be a random event, or will it be part of a war with NY?)

What is left in New Jersey for Carmella if her daughter is gone, son is dead, and husband is more despicable that she imagined? The ducks leave the swimming pool.

Is there going to be a rat? I kind of hope not. I'm kind of tired of the rat thing, but it's a fact of life for the mob, and a running theme on the show. Wasn't it the first session with Melfi where Tony talks about how much things have changed? Candidates for rats? Paulie, Christopher, or the most likely: Bobby Baccala. The thing about the rat theory is that it could unearth a ton of secrets, such as Jackie Jr and Adriana's hits, and the show could end with Carmella saying good-bye forever to Tony in an orange jumpsuit, through a thick glass window.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:20 (twenty years ago)

why do you think AJ is going to die?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:41 (twenty years ago)

I think the Paris thing is relatively straightforward. It's not simply a foreign country, or culture, religion, freedom, etc., though all of these are big factors. It's about a (temporary, at least) new identify for her - she's stepped out of her role in life briefly, and it's granted her some perspective on it and the ability to view alternative possibilities. And she's realizing that what she thinks is important - the various projects and status symbols she seeks out to give her life meaning - really doesn't seem that important in the cosmic scheme of things, and that what she has in life - waning roles as wife and mother, which she was never able to fully exercise in their traditional formulation because his identity inherently ruled out the possibility that she could exercise moral authority - is insufficient to satisfy her needs. It's entirely possible or even likely that this could lead her to conclude that she has to make a clean break to start a new life, but it's also entirely possible that for multiple reasons (she's tragically dependent on him, among them?) she has to push over a line of no return in trying to persuade him to join her in this new life, something he is probably (but not certainly) constitutionally incapable of doing. Ideally for me, the drama is going to be in how and how far she pushes, and how able he is to respond. I generally ignore the kids, but this process might be their chance to play dramatically interesting roles.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 25 May 2006 18:54 (twenty years ago)

tho his neg on the spec house came after she returned, tho, right? hmm.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 25 May 2006 19:08 (twenty years ago)

maybe the only way she's going to find meaning and stick with him is to really join him. maybe the kids leave them?

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 25 May 2006 19:25 (twenty years ago)

everything comes back to Bush, of course

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Thursday, 25 May 2006 20:22 (twenty years ago)

Anyone think Melfi's gonna push it too far and end up dead? By switching from the question-asking therapist to the answer-giving therapist, she's risking saying something that REALLY sets Tony off.

― schwantz (schwantz), Thursday, 25 May 2006 20:47 (twenty years ago)

why do you think AJ is going to die?

I wrote a big response to this earlier today and got the poxy fule SQL error. :(

Basically, I think Tony's failures in both families are going to lead to a few huge events in the final nine episodes and either kill him, imprison him, or change him so profoundly that he finds a way out of the life. Just by the process of elimination, I think AJ is the best candidate for it. It could be a lengthy prison sentence as well, which would at least leave things open for a potential movie down the road (please, God, no!). Another thing that strikes me about AJ is that even though I think he's one of the most interesting characters, it's not his actual personality that interests me. He's like some sort of vessel that contains Tony's worst qualities and failures as a parent. But we've been watching him grow up since he was a funny fat kid in the first season, and still have some amount of sympathy for him. If they took him out of the show in some dramatic way, it would be a huge deal for Sopranos fans.

Another thing that I think is going to be Tony's undoing, is Adriana. It was the ugliest thing he's done on the show. It was unforgiveable, and if Carmella ever got wind of it... yikes.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Thursday, 25 May 2006 23:30 (twenty years ago)

Eh, I've had so many different conversations about this show today that I ended up repeating myself.

I liked that Bush Jr = AJ post, but he took it a bit far. Uncle Junior = Saddam makes me laugh for some reason. I loved Uncle June in seasons 1-3. His story arc is one of the saddest in the show to me. In retrospect, that episode where he puts the pie in his girl's face was basically him throwing away the last chance at happiness on any level he had.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Thursday, 25 May 2006 23:38 (twenty years ago)

i was just expecting furio to show up. seriously.

yeah furio was haunting that episode. something about carmela realizing that her life might have possibilities outside that claustrophobic hell hole.

anyone see new york decimating jersey? tony's always talking business when avoiding war but really he's just scared.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Friday, 26 May 2006 00:41 (twenty years ago)

New York would decimate Jersey. Didn't Tony even say so a few episodes back? And then there's the old mob thing about killing each other's family members to really make it hurt.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Friday, 26 May 2006 16:05 (twenty years ago)

I've had this same feeling, with most of the episodes being satisfying but mostly self-contained instead of moving forward. In the fourth season, think of the difference between the ethnic-pride-protests episodes and the Pie-O-My episodes. On the other hand, some of the series' best have been self-contained - Pine Barrens and The Ride, both of which mostly took place in a single location.

Watching some of this season with friends who dip in for an episode or two has left me impressed with how clear each episode is on its own as far as stakes/exposition/etc.

― Eazy (Eazy), Friday, 26 May 2006 16:47 (twenty years ago)

At least she's catholic

― Jimmy Mod: NOIZE BOARD GRIL COMPARISON ANALYST (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 5 June 2006 01:05 (twenty years ago)

I got the 50 Cent movie in my trunk. They were giving it away at the carwash.

― Marmotdeth (marmotwolof), Monday, 5 June 2006 01:16 (twenty years ago)

Episode Subtitled: Everyone Gets Laid

― Jimmy Mod: NOIZE BOARD GRIL COMPARISON ANALYST (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 5 June 2006 02:16 (twenty years ago)

In retrospect, the Vita storyline was too much like the Blundetto storyline.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 5 June 2006 02:19 (twenty years ago)

was this the season closer? unsatisfying!!! Juliana Margules is hot though

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 5 June 2006 04:01 (twenty years ago)

At this point, I really wish Chase hadn't gotten his "plus eight". Way too much of this season was just fucking around with the knowledge that there was another mini-season on the horizon to do the proper wrap-up. Everything started out really strong (really strong, with some of my favorite episodes yet), but this was definitely the weakest season of The Sopranos.

I'm having a hard time putting my finger on what's disappointing me so much at the moment, but I'm definitely disappointed.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Monday, 5 June 2006 06:34 (twenty years ago)

"Oh, I am sleepin' under strange, strange skies . . . "

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Monday, 5 June 2006 07:26 (twenty years ago)

agreed, this season = total holding pattern.

but i have liked the last few episodes. they've been excellently ominous and well paced. just watching christopher walk around last night was making me cringe. only problem - nothing has really happened.

generally we learn about the characters through their actions in the pressurized power struggle. this season they seem to want to do some old fashioned character development in preparation for whatever is going down next season.

they've gone out of their way to radically change the standing of nearly every major guy - tony has a conscience; christopher has gone from hothead to contemplative, conflicted junkie; carmela is starting to really look at what tony's about through the lens of adriana's death; aj's is suddenly an adult; meadow has finally fled the whole horrible scene (it's implied that fin gave her an ultimatum about staying very far away from her family, no?); new york is ready to really bring the hammer down on jersey; and tony's other family seems to have lost faith in him.

it has lead the show to a compelling place - but the writers' new habit of taking the characters out of their environment to mull them over was kind of a dud. too many pointless digressions, too many redundancies.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 5 June 2006 10:40 (twenty years ago)

man moonlight mile is a great song though.

― teeny (teeny), Monday, 5 June 2006 11:48 (twenty years ago)

i love the high, indecisive christopher at the diner. great example of how he uses drugs to inject space into his horrible claustrophobic life.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 5 June 2006 12:27 (twenty years ago)

what conclusion did christopher and Julianna come to at the dinner? I remember them talking about a AA meeting at some other town. Did they break-up?

― wwweb (jbweb), Monday, 5 June 2006 12:47 (twenty years ago)

this was fantastic

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 5 June 2006 13:19 (twenty years ago)

decent episode, good even, especially if it had been at the season's midpoint... but overall sopranos v6 = huge dissapointment

― s1ocki (slutsky), Monday, 5 June 2006 14:18 (twenty years ago)

they decided to take separate cars to the meeting - you got the idea that christopher might flake.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 5 June 2006 14:46 (twenty years ago)

no, going with her would have been the way to flake

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Monday, 5 June 2006 15:42 (twenty years ago)

I was waiting for xtopuh to get axed walking out of diners

― Jimmy Mod: NOIZE BOARD GRIL COMPARISON ANALYST (The Famous Jimmy Mod), Monday, 5 June 2006 15:44 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, me too, especially when they took separate cars.

― Eazy (Eazy), Monday, 5 June 2006 15:48 (twenty years ago)

this entire series has been "waiting for someone to get axed" but you know the sopranos has hardly ever been action-packed. how many important people have really been killed that way? four?

still, I would have liked...something. the end of the season seems to have strayed very far from where it started.

― kyle (akmonday), Monday, 5 June 2006 15:49 (twenty years ago)

Stop breaking my balls about clams, I don't feel good.

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 5 June 2006 16:19 (twenty years ago)

Five words:
"Luther Vandross, the box set"

― Gerard (Gerard), Monday, 5 June 2006 22:09 (twenty years ago)

how many important people have really been killed that way? four?

and it usually is in the penultimate episodes and not the finales, but jeez, Vito didn't feel like much of a season-ending payoff since it was so crushingly obvious that he was a goner for weeks .... the twist would have been if he didn't die. not to mention that they took him from being a bit player to a "real character" and then offed him (so we're back at square one).

― Renard (Renard), Monday, 5 June 2006 22:20 (twenty years ago)

Great all-purpose line for any situation:

"Maybe I wasn't acting alone."

― Maltodextrin (Maltodextrin), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 00:05 (twenty years ago)

im sorry for asking this but i missed it. did we actually see ade die?

― chaki (chaki), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 00:07 (twenty years ago)

sil shot her in the back in the woods.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 00:32 (twenty years ago)

I've liked this season a lot - it may be my favorite, although I have to acknowledge that could just be the excitement of the latest and shiniest speaking. The lack of a major obvious new enemy to be defeated at the end (the formula arc for seasons before this) was abandoned, and so yes, it may seem 'uneventful' in terms of power struggles and the violence that follows, but I don't care about that. Plot is only a means to an end for me, and the end is exploratation of character and theme, and I dare say more of that happened this go-round than ever previously, especially within the Soprano family itself. Not just Tony's struggle for a change of heart (and who did put that ojibwe proverb on his wall anyway?) but Anthony's late teen identity crisis, Meadow's apparently successful escape (okay that one was kinda dull), and most of all Carmela's dawning realization about what kind of man she married. It's been great stuff, and the horifying sense of dread over that ostensibly idyllic Christmas party was a killer cliffhanger.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 6 June 2006 00:45 (twenty years ago)

THIS is your favourite? this nothing season?

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 13:55 (twenty years ago)

Maybe. I haven't watched the others in ages. Anyway, it's hardly a nothing season. Don't you remember the first half of it at all? Even the most die hard blood and gutsians have to love that shit.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 6 June 2006 13:59 (twenty years ago)

yeah, there was some good stuff, but what's really changed? what actually happened?? we're pretty much exactly where we left off last season! ok i guess aj got a girlfriend

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:14 (twenty years ago)

What actually happened? Enough for me. Like I said, plot isn't so important to me on a show like this as character and theme. I think plenty happened in that regard.

― Keywords: revenge, knife, granddaughter, demonic-possession, rock-star, eel (Aus, Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:18 (twenty years ago)

What happened, from above:
they've gone out of their way to radically change the standing of nearly every major guy - tony has a conscience; christopher has gone from hothead to contemplative, conflicted junkie; carmela is starting to really look at what tony's about through the lens of adriana's death; aj's is suddenly an adult; meadow has finally fled the whole horrible scene (it's implied that fin gave her an ultimatum about staying very far away from her family, no?); new york is ready to really bring the hammer down on jersey; and tony's other family seems to have lost faith in him.

The final 8 shows in January are part of this same 'season' - so we're probably just halfway through some larger storylines.

― Eazy (Eazy), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:25 (twenty years ago)

ehhhh

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:29 (twenty years ago)

tony's conscience is more or less what it always was, christopher is a junkie like he's always been, carmela's been conflicted about tony for as long as i can remember, new york is mad at nj like it was in season 5, meadow moved away i guess, and aj has a girlfriend.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 14:31 (twenty years ago)

I agree, with the exception that Tony really has changed post-gunshot (if in sometimes subtle ways). Otherwise, not much of note has happened. I'm not even asking for huge plot twists or anything. Just something to justify most of this past season.

Writers of television series opt, nine times out of ten, to not write scenes where the characters do nothing but sleep, bathe, eat, etc. Because we don't watch these shows to see the boring tedium of everyday life. This season (with exceptions, granted) has been something like the equivalent of watching Tony take a year-long dump. Most of it was unnecessary and the status quo isn't really that much different than it was at the end of last season.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 15:13 (twenty years ago)

that's all i'm saying

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 15:15 (twenty years ago)

I'm just starting to question whether there will be any payoff at all, or will the whole thing just end with a "horifying sense of dread over that ostensibly idyllic Fourth of July BBQ," curtain comes down, the end. for good measure throw in one last teaser shot of the Arabs hanging out at the Bing for the 15th time.

and no, PAYOFF does not nec. mean body count, just something interesting happening

― Renard (Renard), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 16:48 (twenty years ago)

Ha. It's just occurred to me that, with the exception of the few scenes that actually advanced the plot, most of this season could be watched completely out of order and remain totally coherent. Arabs make an appearance, Carmella mentions her spec house, Vito lives it up in New England, etc. Even things like Christopher's return to drug use aren't particularly built up to all that much. His relapse was prompted by an enabler, and could have happened at any point.

Please outline the ways (aside from Tony's post-coma reawakening) that the writers have not been spinning their wheels for a season.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:01 (twenty years ago)

who are you arguing with? cuz i'm there bro

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:03 (twenty years ago)

*bangs head on the table*

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:06 (twenty years ago)

the only thing I didn't like about this episode was that there were a few moments when it seemed roughly edited or at least abrupt. For example, it was a really fast transition into addiction for Chris and metaphorical direction aside, that's not typical for the way the series is either written or directed. Wait, I didn't much like the Christmas dinner scene at the end either.

Also, BLANCA IS HOTTTTTTTT.

― don weiner (don weiner), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

this season is easily one of my favorites.

― don weiner (don weiner), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:33 (twenty years ago)

Not arguing, s1ocki. Just saying: let's make a list of things this season that actually helped the plot to progress. Plot-wise, character-wise, etc. I didn't hate this season, but I'm trying to figure out a way of looking at it that doesn't make it seem mostly arbitrary.

You can feel free to kick things off, gabbneb.

Also: Don mostly OTM. This last episode wasn't bad (aside from the fact that it's left us in a really unsatisfying place for six months), but it definitely had "editor's apprentice" etched across it in several places. And that's not the first time that's happened this season.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:36 (twenty years ago)

DERIC HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY I AGREE WITH YOU

― s1ocki (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 18:50 (twenty years ago)

Ha ha ha S1OCKI I KNOW

Again, not trying to argue. Just trying to salvage this season in my mind.

― Deric W. Haircare (Deric W. Haircare), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 19:21 (twenty years ago)

http://pspmedia.ign.com/psp/image/article/656/656785/grand-theft-auto-liberty-city-stories-20051007051321301.jpg http://i-cias.com/e.o/ill/pahlavi2.jpg

― literalisp (literalisp), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 19:53 (twenty years ago)

did you know frank vincent got his start in a "martin & lewis"-style comedy duo with joe pesci??

― now go get your shinebox (slutsky), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 19:55 (twenty years ago)

"Let me understand this cause, I don't know maybe it's me, I'm a little fucked up maybe, but I'm nutty how? I mean, nutty like I'm a professor, I amuse you? I make you laugh... I'm here to fuckin' amuse you?"

― literalisp (literalisp), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 20:36 (twenty years ago)

I was really hoping they would at least conlude some of the smaller distracting storylines by this episode, prepping us for a focused hard-hitting final 8 episodes. Junior continues to flounder in the funny farm, the Arabs still hang out at the Bing, and a few others that I can't really recall. I was hoping this would be more than a run-of-the-mill mid-season episode, but it wasn't.

The pacing and editing of this episode was really bad a few times. I found the flashback with Chris and Julianna to be really jarring. I wasn't even sure it was the same person. That scene should have been in last week's episode. The passage of time seems really weird right now, too. Julianna was sick as hell one minute, well and chasing the dragon the next. But the time didn't seem to pass the same way for the other characters.

I'm still liking this season, but my expectations have lowered significantly since the first two or three episodes. There are so many characters I don't give a shit about (I'm talking about you, Julianna), and they seem to be pursuing so many storylines that I was hoping would be minor.

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Thursday, 8 June 2006 17:38 (twenty years ago)

how the hell are we to believe that aj could get a girl like that?

*jealous*

(I like the new aj though)

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Thursday, 8 June 2006 18:14 (twenty years ago)

Now I ain't sayin she a gold digger, but...

She knew AJ was a Soprano, she is obviously looking for money and security and "you have a really lovely home," etc. You know, someone to beat up and/or bribe the neighbor kids.

― Scott CE (Scott CE), Thursday, 8 June 2006 18:43 (twenty years ago)

Point taken.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Thursday, 8 June 2006 19:06 (twenty years ago)

ok my gut reaction is that it's really unfair to see her as a gold digger but maybe you have a point--I tend to underthink that kind of thing. But is it really that easy for a single mom to land a long-term relationship like that? Surely AJ could have his pick of gold-diggers with higher social status and no kids if all he was looking for was an easy lay? Also projecting way too much of my personal life onto this situation, there are a couple of wayward young men in my family who looked to be heading to nogoodsville until they got involved with single moms, and the responsibility really matured them and kinda turned them around. I dunno.

― teeny (teeny), Thursday, 8 June 2006 21:55 (twenty years ago)

man what a pussy aj is. you know carm is guna notice that bike gone.

― chaki (chaki), Thursday, 8 June 2006 21:59 (twenty years ago)

Whenever I see this thread, I wonder why it's taken everyone nearly 400 posts to ascertain whether there really isn't a Sopranos season 6 thread.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 8 June 2006 22:02 (twenty years ago)

nabisco notm

― account (account), Thursday, 8 June 2006 22:03 (twenty years ago)

When AJ is staring at her, the foreman dude calls over, "Soprano!" Cha-ching!

― josh in sf (stfu kthx), Friday, 9 June 2006 15:46 (twenty years ago)

re: the arabs -- is anyone else really dreading some awful terrorist-y plot foiled by Tony finding out and diming to the Fed dude? or i guess maybe handling it himself but I can't imagine it coming off good in any way and I so pray to god i'm wrong...

― Jimmy_tango (Jimmy_tango), Friday, 9 June 2006 22:56 (twenty years ago)

I think the Arabs are a joke on anyone who thinks they're going to tie into a terrorism plotline, perhaps characters included.

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 9 June 2006 22:58 (twenty years ago)

I agree with gabbneb. I also like the characthers and I would like to see a few more scenes with them.

― Lovelace (Lovelace), Friday, 9 June 2006 23:05 (twenty years ago)

My theory is that those boys who are at the bing will be mistaken for suicide commandos but while they are getting whacked by Paulie and Chrissie the real commandos will be executing their mission.

-- The Day The World Turned Dayglo Redd (louder...), March 20th, 2006 4:23 PM. (Ken L)

AND THE WHOLE SEASON IS A BUILD-UP TO 9/11... HINT: YOU NEVER HEAR WHAT YEAR IT IS.

-- s1ocki (slytus...), March 20th, 2006 4:24 PM. (slutsky)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Friday, 9 June 2006 23:39 (twenty years ago)

we've had lots of references to 9/11 and post-9/11 events already

― gabbneb (gabbneb), Friday, 9 June 2006 23:42 (twenty years ago)

AND THE WHOLE SEASON IS A BUILD-UP TO 9/11... HINT: YOU NEVER HEAR WHAT YEAR IT IS.

-- s1ocki (slytus...), March 20th, 2006 4:24 PM. (slutsky) (link)

r u srsly?

-- Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (fuckyouandyouremai...), March 20th, 2006 4:29 PM. (The Famous Jimmy Mod) (link)

surely 9/11 has already been mentioned on the sopranos

-- kyle (akmonda...), March 20th, 2006 4:59 PM. (akmonday) (link)

It has

-- Jimmy Mod: GRILL ENSPEKTOR (fuckyouandyouremai...), March 20th, 2006 5:00 PM. (The Famous Jimmy Mod) (link)

― Sons Of The Redd Desert (Ken L), Friday, 9 June 2006 23:46 (twenty years ago)

HINT: YOU NEVER HEAR WHAT YEAR IT IS.

There was no 50 Cent movie pre-9/11. 50 Cent movie being available on DVD means it's 2006.

― Marmot 4-Tay (marmotwolof), Friday, 9 June 2006 23:51 (twenty years ago)

FORESHADOWING.

-- s1ocki (slytus...), March 20th, 2006 5:09 PM. (slutsky)

― s1ocki (slutsky), Saturday, 10 June 2006 00:13 (twenty years ago)

When AJ is staring at her, the foreman dude calls over, "Soprano!"

so obv tony told the foreman no special treatment for AJ. but that scene: hardly seems like AJ's taken more than a few measly seconds to gaze at blanca in (was it slow-motion??) retarded puppy-love awe before he gets yelled at. more poor editing, perhaps.

― W i l l (common_person), Saturday, 10 June 2006 00:52 (twenty years ago)

(Thread should have been locked with s1ocki's last post)

― Sons Of The Redd Desert (Ken L), Saturday, 10 June 2006 02:23 (twenty years ago)

I think the Arabs are a joke on anyone who thinks they're going to tie into a terrorism plotline

I have come to agree with this conclusion but it annoys the fuck out of me

― Renard (Renard), Saturday, 10 June 2006 03:20 (twenty years ago)

But, when we first brought this up, didn't papa cinnablount say he had some inside dope on this that he unfortunately couldn't reveal to us?

― Sons Of The Redd Desert (Ken L), Saturday, 10 June 2006 03:26 (twenty years ago)

So the black bear symbolized Tony?

― 100% CHAMPS with a Yes! Attitude. (Austin, Still), Saturday, 10 June 2006 23:55 (twenty years ago)

Not to jump too rabidly to the show's defense, but does your boss watch you slack off for a while before deciding to yell at you? Because mine would look over, see me standing around doing nothing, and give me something to do.

― Jouster (Jouster), Sunday, 11 June 2006 09:16 (twenty years ago)

fair enough, and it's a minor point to be sure. just for some reason got me thinking about what tony might have said to the foreman, and what might be going through the foreman's head, knowing he's got the scion of a mob boss working for him but having (possibly) been instructed to ride his ass: my instinct would be not to be overly aggressive, and yet maybe this is his way of finally getting back at years of no-shows and skimming, etc.

― W i l l (common_person), Sunday, 11 June 2006 16:58 (twenty years ago)

There was no 50 Cent movie pre-9/11. 50 Cent movie being available on DVD means it's 2006.
-- Marmot 4-Tay (marmotwolo...) (webmail), June 10th, 2006 12:51 AM. (marmotwolof) (later) (link)
FORESHADOWING.

-- s1ocki (slytus...),

I guess the only thing that was forshadowing was Christopher mentioning the 50 Cent movie being in his trunk in the last episode.

― kyle (akmonday), Sunday, 11 June 2006 21:55 (twenty years ago)

a lot did happen this season - just in an unsatisfying unsopranos way.

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 12 June 2006 03:00 (twenty years ago)

ny is more mad at nj than ever - mainly because phil is fully in charge now and he's a complete psycho and tony has repeatedly disrespected him. that and tony's loss of authority within his own family seem to be the main threads leading into he final season.

like, will he be able to hold the family together during a war with ny?

― jhoshea (scoopsnoodle), Monday, 12 June 2006 03:06 (twenty years ago)

four months pass...

YOU'RE DOING A HECKUVA JOB BROWNIE
-- j blount (jamesbloun...), May 8th, 2006.

this was fkn excellent.

― benrique (Enrique), Thursday, 26 October 2006 21:19 (nineteen years ago)

three weeks pass...

They finally showed the last episode over here last night, and it was a bit of an odd season, one that will likely be completely defined by the finally eight eps. After the rush of the opening episodes, it was generally so static and circular (like, how many times did Chrissy relapse?), with the majority of the narrative momentum happening at an almost subliminal level. Also arguably the most stylistically cinematic season yet, what with the far more frequent than usual use of montage and incidental music .

Anyway, I'm as up for the nuanced character stuff as anyone else, but I'm not ashamed to say I'm quite hoping for a big old bloodbath in the final chunk.

― chap who would dare to welcome our new stingray masters (chap), Saturday, 18 November 2006 03:18 (nineteen years ago)

four months pass...

bump!

S6 resumes tonight with "Soprano Home Movies":

Tony and Carmela travel to the Adirondacks with Bobby and Janice for a wild 47th birthday bash for Tony.

― marmotwolof, Sunday, 8 April 2007 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

lol "bash"

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 9 April 2007 02:17 (nineteen years ago)

As I said elsewhere, Janice and Carmela on the lake, amirite?

― Oilyrags, Monday, 9 April 2007 02:17 (nineteen years ago)

TONIGHT IS GOING TO BE AWESOME

― chaki, Monday, 9 April 2007 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

haha drunk karaoke & monopoly and then hilarity ensues

― marmotwolof, Monday, 9 April 2007 02:19 (nineteen years ago)

i liked this episode a lot.

― s1ocki, Monday, 9 April 2007 03:27 (nineteen years ago)

Yes.

― Eazy, Monday, 9 April 2007 03:34 (nineteen years ago)

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Fucking Bobby, tho - you were talking about DNA evidence the day before, and you jet w/ the dude holding part of your t-shirt? And you drop the gun? STEP UP, DUDE.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Drunk Monopoly is like drunk driving but more dangerous.

― David R., Monday, 9 April 2007 05:46 (nineteen years ago)

They always drop the gun. Shoulda grabbed that piece of shirt back though, definitely.

― marmotwolof, Monday, 9 April 2007 06:17 (nineteen years ago)

Having made the same mistake with Frankie Valli myself, other parties pointed out that the show made clear at some point that the heavies use some kind of untraceable firepower. The shirt, though, slightly more portentious.

But shit: they should've just renamed the show Portent a season and a half ago.

My guesstimation of where season 6 is and has been going: Tony wants out, Tony can't get out, so Tony is going to self-destruct by proxy. Although it probably isn't a fully conscious decision on his part.

― Deric W. Haircare, Monday, 9 April 2007 06:21 (nineteen years ago)

tony totally acting out his mother's fucked up habits in that one. three year old near the water? "tell janice that story about the three year old that drowned!"

it was really good.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 9 April 2007 07:25 (nineteen years ago)

I also thought it was a very good episode. One that will piss off a certain contingent of the fanbase, but no matter. Kudos especially to Steve Schirripa, who I thought was wonderful in this episode (obviously Gandolfini, Falco, etc were wonderful but that goes without saying).

― Jouster, Monday, 9 April 2007 08:16 (nineteen years ago)

Mister Monkey: Ha ha, this is like Christmas at your family's... oh wait, not any more.

― accentmonkey, Monday, 9 April 2007 12:19 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I've seen a lot of "nothing happens!" comments elsewhere w/r/t this episode. I would like a sample of whatever substance those people are ingesting.

Bobby may as well have been wearing a Janice mask throughout the second half of the episode.

― Deric W. Haircare, Monday, 9 April 2007 13:27 (nineteen years ago)

nothing EVER happens on the sopranos. maybe twice a season something "happens". I'm not sure what people want from this show. it's not like it's ever been about whacking people every week.

― akm, Monday, 9 April 2007 13:58 (nineteen years ago)

That fight wasn't nothin!

― David R., Monday, 9 April 2007 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

it's not like it's ever been about whacking people every week.

ha yeah and it's not like somebody DIDN'T get whacked this episode! or tony didn't get arrested! etc etc

i thought this was a great way to start the season.

― s1ocki, Monday, 9 April 2007 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

I'm still kinda irked that Vito screwed the pooch, tho - he had a beau, he was in a nice town, he was away from all the BS that was messing him up, and then the jackass goes back & gets a bat up his ass. ;_;

― David R., Monday, 9 April 2007 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

His boyfriend was quite hot, and usually I hate Wild Bill mustaches.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Monday, 9 April 2007 15:17 (nineteen years ago)

it was a pool cue

― cutty, Monday, 9 April 2007 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

i'm just sayin

― cutty, Monday, 9 April 2007 15:23 (nineteen years ago)

Hop-Along Cassidich ;_;

― David R., Monday, 9 April 2007 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

this episode was really shot beautifully.

― chaki, Monday, 9 April 2007 17:32 (nineteen years ago)

Yes, yes it was.

I enjoyed the uncountable half-a-second moments of suspense, shots that made me think: remember this. The rocking boat, the trees when Bobby and Tony drove to the café, and the Polanski-like waterscenes.
There was so much suspense in this episode, it thoroughly filled my appetite for a new Sopranos-fix.

One thng: this medicine business. Is it a decoy for us viewers, or is it showing Tony's slow derailment from his 'core-business', slipping away?

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 9 April 2007 23:21 (nineteen years ago)

And you drop the gun? STEP UP, DUDE.

GODFATHER PART ONE DUDE

― Edward III, Thursday, 12 April 2007 17:46 (nineteen years ago)

glad to see the contemplative style continued from the first half of the season becoming even more pronounced. here's hoping the last episode features a tarkovskyesque 20 minute tony-digs-a-ditch scene.

not sure if it was her idea or not, but my sis-in-law came up with a great final season shockah - the return of adriana!

― Edward III, Thursday, 12 April 2007 17:58 (nineteen years ago)

my friend & i were joking that on the last episode tony does one last big job and retires to open a bar in a beach somewhere in the caribbean and who is the surprise waitress but ade

― s1ocki, Thursday, 12 April 2007 23:51 (nineteen years ago)

adriana is dead dead dead. just like bobby will be by the end. but not tony.

― W i l l, Friday, 13 April 2007 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

that dna line felt portentous to me; i have a sneaking feeling they're setting things up for bobby to flip. it seems perfectly reasonable to me that the show should end with tony's downfall being brought on by a family member.

― ^@^, Sunday, 15 April 2007 10:27 (nineteen years ago)

adriana is dead dead dead.

I doubt she's still around, but keep in mind that her death is never shown on-screen. that might have been done on purpose to leave the possibility of her coming back open.

― Edward III, Sunday, 15 April 2007 17:41 (nineteen years ago)

dude... there's no fucking way they'd pull a shit move like that.

― s1ocki, Sunday, 15 April 2007 18:36 (nineteen years ago)

in that same episode: anthony's dog makes a triumphant return from under the couch cushions

― ^@^, Sunday, 15 April 2007 18:41 (nineteen years ago)

i think the realtor/chris's new girlfriend is a fed

― cutty, Sunday, 15 April 2007 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

that's how their going down

― cutty, Sunday, 15 April 2007 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

Results 1 - 10 of about 382,000 for st elsewhere retarded kid. (0.28 seconds)

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Sunday, 15 April 2007 18:59 (nineteen years ago)

chris's dog! dammit.

― ^@^, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

i think the realtor/chris's new girlfriend is a fed

but... heroin?

― ^@^, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, i dunno. what's the point of her character then?

she tried to get in with tony under the guise of selling him real estate, now she tries to get in with christopher under the guise of heroin.

― cutty, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:13 (nineteen years ago)

what about the scene where she tells her friend she's banging dudes from the mafia?

― ^@^, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:16 (nineteen years ago)

* Group hug in the Bada Bing office, right before everyone leaves for prison. They all have to shuffle over to the pool table to get tissue box.

-- In jail, Paulie asks Silvia just what purpose does that top button serve exactly?

* After getting hit in the head by a golf ball, Tony wakes up and discovers that he's still just a bodyguard for his boss, Christopher Walken.

* Hiding in the woods, Tony makes Bobby kill a duck because it won't stop quacking. Turns out, the duck's really Bobby's three-year old daughter.

― Pleasant Plains, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:17 (nineteen years ago)

hahaha

― s1ocki, Sunday, 15 April 2007 19:48 (nineteen years ago)

I really liked the little scene last Sunday of Tony in the holding pen. So much potential there for a full episode in itself, but the single shot of him standing in the middle of the cell, with the guy getting ready to sit on the doorless toilet behind him, distilled it all nicely.

One thng: this medicine business. Is it a decoy for us viewers, or is it showing Tony's slow derailment from his 'core-business', slipping away?

I think this just gave Tony a reason to do business with the Quebecois. Would've liked to have seen Bobby get his gun past customs, or pick it up up there.

― Eazy, Sunday, 15 April 2007 21:07 (nineteen years ago)

woah, pretty great episode -- looks like the next one will be as well.

as soon as that scene from christopher's awful-excellent film was shown, i wondered how long it would take for tony to get pissed off...

decent musical selections, from the total wtf of paulie's "ride a painted pony watch the spinning wheel fly" to that usage of john cooper clarke at the end, too.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 16 April 2007 02:03 (nineteen years ago)

it was ok. strangely despite everything that happened last week's was way more dramatic to me.

the less of the movie shit the better. i hate that subplot so much.

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 03:11 (nineteen years ago)

what/who is john cooper clarke? was that the last track (over the christening, credits etc)? me & friends were intrigued by it.

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 03:13 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, very strange choice of song there.

― cutty, Monday, 16 April 2007 03:20 (nineteen years ago)

Crazy -- 90 minutes after the show airs, it's already on wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Cooper_Clarke

― Eazy, Monday, 16 April 2007 03:29 (nineteen years ago)

well we're already talking about it here!

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 03:30 (nineteen years ago)

So I really think this show has basically moved into territory that is darker than it has maybe ever been in the past. Perhaps other than Ralphie's beating to death of that poor Bada Bing girl in season 3 or 4.

Also, "Human-itis".

― Clay, Monday, 16 April 2007 07:02 (nineteen years ago)

Wikipedia was altered literally seven minutes after the show ended. I can only assume JCC has a hardcore fan out there somewhere to put that up as soon as they heard it.

This episode was fantastic. They're two for two on this last batch of episodes, imo, and here's hoping they keep it up.

― Jouster, Monday, 16 April 2007 08:31 (nineteen years ago)

it was really good, again. i'm sort of wondering who is going to sort of 'betray' tony in the next one, after the fight with bobby and t's realization that the boss in the movie is pretty much him.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 16 April 2007 09:00 (nineteen years ago)

also: human-itis, yeah, and wings-dude getting clouted with the award... awesome.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 16 April 2007 09:01 (nineteen years ago)

Great episode. The whole 'old boys scene' is falling apart, with Johnny Sack dead and Phil Leotardo promising us he won't play nice no more. Suddenly, the 'bullet' that's gonna cause the downfall of Anthony Soprano can come from several directions.

Extremely stupid question: Why have Finn and Meadow broken up? I simply can't remember (which bugs me a great deal).

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:32 (nineteen years ago)

Also, Pauli in the restaurant, just before the hit, about the phenomenom we call 'metaphore':

"Just say it then! Walt fucking Whitman over here..."

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:33 (nineteen years ago)

1. that slo-mo murder scene in the restaurant was AMAZING
2. the final scene with tony and christopher at the christening gave me goosebumps, mostly cause i was completely convinced it would end with c getting whacked
3. these first two episodes back have been better than i ever would have imagined -- these next two months are going to be phenomenal

― ^@^, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:49 (nineteen years ago)

yes to 1!!!

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

that was their most godfatherish episode yet

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

1. was honestly some all-time favorite scenes type shit

― ^@^, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

seriously. i was getting up to pour myself a coke and i got stopped in my tracks

― s1ocki, Monday, 16 April 2007 22:52 (nineteen years ago)

Very observant! The sacred and the propane.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 16 April 2007 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

1. that slo-mo murder scene in the restaurant was AMAZING

That scene got a lot of Tivo rewinding. Stunning episode.

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 16 April 2007 23:36 (nineteen years ago)

Paraphrasing: "Who knows where ideas come from? Some asshole hits Isaac Newton in the head with an apple and he invents gravity."

MOST BEST.

― Deric W. Haircare, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 01:18 (nineteen years ago)

Extremely stupid question: Why have Finn and Meadow broken up? I simply can't remember (which bugs me a great deal).

No explanation given. At the end of the last episode of Season 6 pt. 1, she had moved to California with him. It seemed weird at the time that there were no long farewells or goodbyes shown -- just all of a sudden she had left. Now's she's in pre-med, so the possibility of her turning into a d.a. or something is going away.

― Eazy, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 14:54 (nineteen years ago)

Anyone see THE MAKING OF CLEAVER?

― David R., Tuesday, 17 April 2007 14:58 (nineteen years ago)

johnny sack is the most depressing character in the entire run of the show

― rps, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:27 (nineteen years ago)

Appropos of nothing, John Cooper Clarke is great and worth seeking out.

― admrl, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

isn't it apropos of "evidently chickentown" being in the running for best use of music in sopranos?

― Edward III, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:32 (nineteen years ago)

― admrl, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:34 (nineteen years ago)

then I salute your ability to randomly open a thread and inadvertently make a relevant post

― Edward III, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

― admrl, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:50 (nineteen years ago)

The song is here. Perfect for the show.

― Eazy, Tuesday, 17 April 2007 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know why but I can't rememeber why there's such a dislike between chris and tony. what happened?

― Lovelace, Thursday, 19 April 2007 14:50 (nineteen years ago)

the way JCC song starts on phil leotardo sitting there... so evil

― cutty, Thursday, 19 April 2007 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

btw leotardo's speech about the tu-tu/leotard/ellis island was fucking ammazing

― cutty, Thursday, 19 April 2007 14:52 (nineteen years ago)

guys this show is so awesome

― ^@^, Thursday, 19 April 2007 15:11 (nineteen years ago)

too early for crazy asians on tv

― cutty, Monday, 23 April 2007 01:45 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, I was wondering about that, and how heavy handed was the symbolism in that pet-therapy day shot?

"Dear Vice-President Cheney..." just about made my day there.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 23 April 2007 02:12 (nineteen years ago)

Felt a little like a stopgap episode, the way episode 3 or 4 did at the start of season 6. Fulfilling, but in-between. Who were the NY guys near the end?

― Eazy, Monday, 23 April 2007 03:39 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, who the fuck is pulling these hits?

― akm, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:18 (nineteen years ago)

That would be Phil. He didn't like bro eating off his plate so much... geddit?

Also how tense was the boat sequence!

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:23 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, the "previouslies" concluded with Phil getting ready to go all out.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:25 (nineteen years ago)

This guy writes a pretty good Monday morning quarterback-type column about each episode.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 23 April 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

Couple of months ago they probably thought it'd be something unique and different to have the troubled, angry, university student who befriends Junior be an asian guy. Oops.

They never explicitly said why he was locked up, just heavily implied it. I wonder if they actually clipped a line or two of dialog post Virginia Tech.

― joygoat, Monday, 23 April 2007 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

i thought he'd killed his father but wasn't sure.

― akm, Monday, 23 April 2007 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

thats what i thought too. i dont really understand what the wall street journal had to do with it.

― sunny successor, Monday, 23 April 2007 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

I assumed he killed his father, based on the outburst and only his mother visiting him. I'm just wondering if it was originally more explicitly stated and maybe a line or two was cut before airing.

― joygoat, Monday, 23 April 2007 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

crazy asian make me nervous

― cutty, Monday, 23 April 2007 19:18 (nineteen years ago)

you must hate john woo movies.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 23 April 2007 19:24 (nineteen years ago)

thats what i thought too. i dont really understand what the wall street journal had to do with it.

His father was big shot at a Wall Street-noted company, he said to his mother in their short meeting.

That boat scene... that was incredible stuff. I can't even think along the lines of 'stopgap' or what not. I may be critiqueless at this stage, but the ongoing tension - both the red thread and single sequences in the episodes - is, without a doubt, marvellous.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:39 (nineteen years ago)

In any case, it's the autumnal atmosphere which gets to me, seriously. The last couple of episodes have this intruiging stench of death and decay, and characteristical depth. Can't wait till next week.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:43 (nineteen years ago)

> That boat scene... that was incredible stuff.

Nah. It could have been a lot better if not for the "Sopranos for Retards" flashbacks, though.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:09 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, who can remember everything about a show that has been going on for eight years- lots of us are retards.

That Monday Morning Quarterback guy demonstrates an amazing knowledge of minor Sopranos characters.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:46 (nineteen years ago)

Well, the murder of the rat Big Pussy is only maybe the most memorable moment in the series.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:48 (nineteen years ago)

And how exactly are we supposed to know that Paulie and Tony are thinking about it if they don't put it on the screen?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:53 (nineteen years ago)

ARE YOU SERIOUS?

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:56 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't want to be the one to say it...

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 01:57 (nineteen years ago)

Of course, as is well known from your clever screennames, you guys are television geniuses. But how will the general public know that Salvatore Bonpensiero is a real full-blown ghost- and not some costumed Scooby Doo professor/carnival operator spook- capable of haunting the conscience of his killers until their dying days, and how will Vincent Pastore take his curtain call, unless they give him some screen time?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 02:06 (nineteen years ago)

Please tell me folks (or folk) are actually bitching because the makers of this show that OMG some folks might just be getting up to speed with RIGHT NOW deigned to actually show a flashback to a previous season from 4-5 years back that puts not one but TWO scenes from the current episode in the proper context.

I love when Paulie hits the weights.

― David R., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 03:55 (nineteen years ago)

How about I tell you instead that if you come into a story right at the end and demand that everything be spelled out for you letter by letter you are not actually 'getting up to speed'?

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 04:01 (nineteen years ago)

i still don't understand why he was thinking of killing pauly--

was it because he's the one that told johnny sack the ralphie's joke or was it because he talks too much?

― cutty, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 04:20 (nineteen years ago)

He was worried that Paulie's motormouth tendencies would end up bring down the heat, even if he didn't mean to (he's boasting about murders to hoo-ahs he's just MET for fuck's sake!)

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 04:24 (nineteen years ago)

There was a great moment when Tony was in bed and the hooker was asking questions, and the whole thing suddenly felt like a set-up. And then somehow it was clear that it wasn't, but I felt Tony's paranoia in that moment.

― Eazy, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 05:20 (nineteen years ago)

pauly is really a great character. tragic, funny and fucking annoying. what do you guys think his dream meant (i r dumb please help me)? when they pulled out that old pic of him i got depressed. has the wheel chair guy been on the show before? do you guys think uncle jr is going to get revenge on asian guy? " 'remember when' is the lowest form of conversation."

― chaki, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 07:53 (nineteen years ago)

always love the paulie subplots - the painting, the cancer, his adopted mother. the boat scene seemed a little cheap though. the big pussy flashback, while arguably necessary, wasn't handled gracefully. they should've just flashed WE KILLED BIG PUSSY ON A BOAT REMEMBER? and the is-it-a-knife-or-a-bottle-of-stewart's, also cheap.

but it wasn't a total wash. when tony asked paulie if he thought he had tourette's = classic tony needling, handed down from his mother.

what do you guys think his dream meant

iirc he asked big pussy "when my time comes, will I be a stand-up guy?" guess he's concerned about staying true to the code and not turning state's evidence. not dying a rat. I'm getting the feeling they're setting up paulie to get nicked and to rat out tony. the conversation about paulie not being able to earn legit, has he ever been tested, etc.

― Edward III, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:47 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the line was "when my time comes will I stand up" which i took literally as 'will i stand up and stare down my fate, whatever it is.' Pussy took his bullets on his feet and 'not in the face' unlike BK mob boss in the eye and so many others who took it in the back of the head etc.

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

oh shit has the final series started? i didn't realise!

― blueski, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the line was "when my time comes will I stand up" which i took literally as 'will i stand up and stare down my fate, whatever it is.'

that makes sense, though I can't help but think there's some intentional overlap with the awkward "stand-up guy" moment with the guy in the wheelchair during dinner, and tony's questions about paulie's character.

― Edward III, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

that whole episode i was wondering if paulie was already a snitch... kept asking questions about the body the feds were looking for. "remember (blah blah blah), ton'?" hmm.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

How about I tell you instead that if you come into a story right at the end and demand that everything be spelled out for you letter by letter you are not actually 'getting up to speed'?

Well, maybe they (whoever they are) should improve their vetting process so noobs like me aren't allowed to get HBO!

Granted, it would've worked fine if they just included it in the "previously on" segment (w/ Paulie blabbing to Johnny Sac &c.) &, yeah, it's not like not knowing Pussy's body got thrown off a boat would've changed the tension of the boat scene.

― David R., Tuesday, 24 April 2007 14:08 (nineteen years ago)

[i]has the wheel chair guy been on the show before? do you guys think uncle jr is going to get revenge on asian guy?/i]

The guy in the wheelchair was the guy who Richie Aprille ran over in the alley about four or five seasons ago. I can't remember how he went from diner-owning toady to Miami dignitary, but it's the same guy.

As stated in that link above, I wouldn't be surprised if that scene of Uncle Junior holding the kitty is the last shot of Cerrado Soparano that we see in the series.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 16:31 (nineteen years ago)

Corrado

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 17:38 (nineteen years ago)

Pedant

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 19:58 (nineteen years ago)

;]

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 19:59 (nineteen years ago)

I just wanted people to know he wasn't Spanish ;-)

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

Funny that, after watching this week's episode, I got to watch it in Spanish on HBOLW. Paulie started making sense to me that way.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 20:49 (nineteen years ago)

Years ago in Madrid I forgot to check for the version original and ended up seeing What's Eating Gilbert Grape? dubbed in Spanish- the kid doing the voiceover for Leonardo DiCaprio was amazing.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

that episode kind of sucked, no?

― ^@^, Thursday, 26 April 2007 11:36 (nineteen years ago)

sucked is a little strong. just felt like "WE NEED ANOTHER EPISODE GUYS, WE GOTTA DO 8" writing. (or 9, was it?)

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Thursday, 26 April 2007 11:50 (nineteen years ago)

all the corrado/crasian dude stuff sucked, anyway.

― ^@^, Thursday, 26 April 2007 12:13 (nineteen years ago)

― akm, Thursday, 26 April 2007 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

I am not really enjoying these last episodes, but I watch out of a sense of duty and curiousity.

― admrl, Thursday, 26 April 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

no BEARTRAP

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Friday, 27 April 2007 05:13 (nineteen years ago)

I did love the details of that hotel in Virginia, and how sterile it was compared to the cathouse they were expecting.

― Eazy, Friday, 27 April 2007 06:30 (nineteen years ago)

So, since when does Tony have a gambling problem?

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 11:57 (nineteen years ago)

yeah that was out of left field

― cutty, Monday, 30 April 2007 12:01 (nineteen years ago)

didnt he mention he was having a bad run in a previous episode? i thought the gambling was more about trying to reverse the stream of bad luck than gambling itself. i think carmela questioned whether it was about the money at some point.

― sunny successor, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:04 (nineteen years ago)

anyway, poop in the shower = gold.

― sunny successor, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:05 (nineteen years ago)

Some writer's been looking to old GG Allin videos for inspiration, apparently.

― mike a, Monday, 30 April 2007 13:41 (nineteen years ago)

If this is all just build-up to the conclusion of the series, that better be a fucking rock-on final episode. I never thought that I'd see the day that a fat kid pooping in the locker room shower would be the best part of a "Sopranos" episode.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:36 (nineteen years ago)

Oh come on, what about the spat between Tony and Carm? That was pretty choice, too.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 16:45 (nineteen years ago)

You're right. Tony and Carmella's arguments always scare the hell out of me.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:12 (nineteen years ago)

I think those dudes who used to hang at the bing are going to rock your world pretty soon, Tre.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

I think there's also an argument to be made that a fat kid pooping in a locker room shower would be the best part of any episode of any show. It sure would improve any "Friends" I've ever watched.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

Wasn't there a bunch of Friends episodes where Chandler was pooping in everything for some reason?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, fuck, it was a monkey.

Anyways, my point remains.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:31 (nineteen years ago)

"Hey, isn't that one of those Mideastern guys that used to hang out at the Bing?"
"Yeah, it sure looks like it!"
"Wonder what he's up to?"

STOP IT.

Last night's show seemed like a very dramatic episode of "The Honeymooners".

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 30 April 2007 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

The trouble with Tony's sudden compulsive gambling is that he has had many opportunities to show this side in the past (the gambling trips to Connecticut, the poker games in season five, the track in season four), but has always shown restraint or at least no compulsion to return to the track, the poker game, Foxwoods. To suddenly have this be part of his character without showing the moment when he first caught the sports-betting bug is hard to believe.

On the other hand, one of the best episodes -- "Irregular Around The Margins" -- involves both an out-of-nowhere medical condition and an out-of-nowhere cocaine habit, and in the end it hurt the episode itself.

― Eazy, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:48 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry, in the end it didn't hurt the episode or the series.

― Eazy, Monday, 30 April 2007 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

Also, Tony's lifestyle continues to reflect the nation's economy: dot-com boom, post-9/11 bust, now accumulating debt and doubling down.

― Eazy, Monday, 30 April 2007 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

The gambling thing was a bit forced, but it was mentioned briefly in the Miami episode.

Also, I thought the reason the gambling habit has happened is because of whatever psychological problems have stemmed from his getting shot in the gut.

― Gukbe, Monday, 30 April 2007 23:26 (nineteen years ago)

i saw the sopranos for the first time today

― 600, Monday, 30 April 2007 23:29 (nineteen years ago)

wtf, tony's always been a gambler. the point is he's in a hole now. this did not come out of nowhere peeps.

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

very different DPing in this episode.

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 04:05 (nineteen years ago)

Tony's lifestyle continues to reflect the nation's economy: dot-com boom, post-9/11 bust, now accumulating debt and doubling down.

interesting point. but the episode would've been more interesting if they had focused on the money issues rather than the gambling issues, which is something odd to be focusing on this late in the game.

has anyone noticed tony is being systematically alienated from his closest allies? chris, paulie, hesch, dr. melfi, carmella, they're all fed up with him. granted, he's been at odds with each of them at one time or another, but it seems he's getting very isolated. who's next, sil?

― Edward III, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 13:27 (nineteen years ago)

i've noticed. i'd say he's always been somewhat alienated from sil, but sil's a strange guy.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 13:30 (nineteen years ago)

Southside Johnny was listed in the credits of this episode as playing himself. Did anyone see him? I didn't.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 22:15 (nineteen years ago)

in nancy sinatra's band?

― akm, Tuesday, 1 May 2007 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

oh man, i forgot about nancy. that was weird.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 04:35 (nineteen years ago)

― W i l l, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:28 (nineteen years ago)

bleh

"tragedy. like a pebble in a lake, even the fish feel it."

― W i l l, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:28 (nineteen years ago)

Come on. That's like the bad poetry of a character in an Ellen Gilchrist novel, not to be taken at face value.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:45 (nineteen years ago)

The Nancy thing was funny. Frank Jr. playing poker in an earlier season was one thing, but . . . wow.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:47 (nineteen years ago)

i take everything chrissy says at face value

― W i l l, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 06:58 (nineteen years ago)

tragedy. like a pebble in a lake, even the fish feel it."

i saw this and thought i was on the police squad thread until i realised that was the other tab

― 600, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 08:00 (nineteen years ago)

im a last season apologist. i think all these episodes rule. im retarded.

― chaki, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 08:08 (nineteen years ago)

that's two shitty episodes in a row now. i figured after going away for a year and with only nine episodes left, they'd do away with the meaningless expository/sideplotty stuff and just focus in on the main characters, but it seems like they're flailing a little bit. only four episodes left though, it's bound to pick up soon.

― ^@^, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 09:34 (nineteen years ago)

They better not try to digitally insert Nancy Marchand back in there somewhere.

― Pleasant Plains, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 16:42 (nineteen years ago)

m@p - there are FIVE left, from what the teaser said!

I am in awe of Frank's hair.

― David R., Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:03 (nineteen years ago)

argh! that means this week's might suck as well.

― ^@^, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:10 (nineteen years ago)

<i>very different DPing in this episode.</i>

yeah all the documentary-style handheld camera, tho they used it in conjuntion with the classic carm/tony medium-distance shot (is that right? i dont really know film terminology)

-- W i l l, Wednesday, May 2, 2007 2:28 AM (10 hours ago)

not so much that as the way moodier lighting... longer lenses i think too

― s1ocki, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 17:16 (nineteen years ago)

what effect do longer lenses have?

― W i l l, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 20:30 (nineteen years ago)

bragging rights

― Edward III, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 20:33 (nineteen years ago)

longer lenses=shallow focus, right?

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 20:39 (nineteen years ago)

what effect do longer lenses have?

Longer lenses have the tendency to compress/flatten an image (cf. the overhead shot of Vincent Gallo crossing the street in Buffal 66) and yes, the longer lenses make it 'easier' to achieve a shallow depth of field.

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Wednesday, 2 May 2007 22:30 (nineteen years ago)

I was thinking yesterday about the difference between watching Sopranos episodes as they're airing versus watching them again knowing the arc of the entire season, and how the ones that seem like lagging are actually fully satisfying when you're not just waiting for the big plot twists. I mean, you can watch several episodes of Ralph or Tony B. and not worry anymore about when something major will happen with them.

tragedy. like a pebble in a lake, even the fish feel it.

It's a haiku.

― Eazy, Thursday, 3 May 2007 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

HO

LEE

SHIT

― Oilyrags, Monday, 7 May 2007 02:41 (nineteen years ago)

lol wings bro be dyan

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 7 May 2007 02:41 (nineteen years ago)

First I thought "well, that's one Law and Order script that won't get made" and then I thought "who am I kidding? That's a Law and Order script waiting to get written, right there."

― Oilyrags, Monday, 7 May 2007 02:46 (nineteen years ago)

you're really on to something

― cutty, Monday, 7 May 2007 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

thrulookingglass.jpg

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 7 May 2007 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

Dude has a Grey's Anatomy spin-off to star in - Chris was doing him a favor.

― David R., Monday, 7 May 2007 03:28 (nineteen years ago)

how close are we to the final ep. anyway

― am0n, Monday, 7 May 2007 04:39 (nineteen years ago)

i dug this episode while watching it but thinking on it now it seems kinda wack. why would paulie forgive chris that easily over throwing dude out the window? and tearing up his lawn is like something out of high school.

― am0n, Monday, 7 May 2007 04:48 (nineteen years ago)

At the end they said 4 more episodes, so I'm going by that.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 7 May 2007 04:57 (nineteen years ago)

why would paulie forgive chris that easily over throwing dude out the window? and tearing up his lawn is like something out of high school.

because that's what they do. and that's where paulie is, developmentally speaking.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 7 May 2007 05:45 (nineteen years ago)

The two-second shot of angry Paulie driving over to Chris' place was the pinnacle of the episode.

― joygoat, Monday, 7 May 2007 05:49 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe I'm remembering wrong since I was getting ready to fall asleep, but that wasn't really a trombone shot on AJ while he was watching the guys pour sulphuric acid on the dude's foot, was it?

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 7 May 2007 15:24 (nineteen years ago)

Because four more episodes of trombone shots on the characters as they undergo their final personality changes would completely rock.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 7 May 2007 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

SILVIA: Huh. Fixing these fucking lamps ain't so bad. I could maybe open a shop...

[trombone shot]

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 7 May 2007 15:26 (nineteen years ago)

Gah... fucking brilliant. Best of the last nu-episodes fo show. And what a great actor Christopher is... I was in awe of his display every second.

Chris telling Tony his dad, Tony's hero was just a junky... There are no more heroes. That's the apocalypse in the machismo mob-culture innit? And Tony knows. Key scene with Melfi there, Tony saying his son must live with all his own mistakes (which was perfectly followeb up by the acid-mutilation of that one guy, AJ's face mirrored all his anger when holding him down). I found it to be a very catholic moment in the show. Sin passed on.
No more heroes...

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 7 May 2007 23:52 (nineteen years ago)

> There are no more heroes. That's the apocalypse in the machismo mob-culture innit? And Tony knows.

Do you really want to hear another Gary Cooper rant?

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 00:39 (nineteen years ago)

Do you really want to hear another Gary Cooper rant?

I don't follow.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 00:42 (nineteen years ago)

In the early seasons - maybe just the first - Gary Cooper was repeatedly cited by Tony as the ideal of masculinity.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 00:46 (nineteen years ago)

Well, I haven't got not even a vaguely remote memory of Tony pulling a Cooper-rant. So, no, I guess.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 00:52 (nineteen years ago)

I remember the Gary Cooper stuff.

Fucking brilliant episode.

"You're handsome, you're smart, and, let's be honest, white. That's a huge plus nowadays."

"Rachel Ray was on Leno and we got hungry."

― Gukbe, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 02:38 (nineteen years ago)

> You're handsome, you're smart, and, let's be honest, white.

That cracked me up.

Handsome: I'm not really in any position to judge, but hey, compared to some of the other specimens on this show, sure.

White: I guess some people figure italians are white. (JOEK PEOPLE, NO FLAME PLz)

Smart: uh....no comment.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 02:45 (nineteen years ago)

Maybe I'm remembering wrong since I was getting ready to fall asleep, but that wasn't really a trombone shot on AJ while he was watching the guys pour sulphuric acid on the dude's foot, was it?

-- Pleasant Plains, Monday, May 7, 2007 11:24 AM (11 hours ago)

haha i thought you were talking about a sound effect at first, but yes there was a zoom-in on AJ's face in that scene if that's what you mean by "trombone"

― am0n, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 03:12 (nineteen years ago)

I didn't get the sense that AJ was especially getting off on the violence. I think it was the first time he's ever been in that kind of situation -- accompanied by the realization that it isn't just the mob that's this way but the whole world. I mean, AJ was never around to witness a mob beating, right?

― Eazy, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 03:28 (nineteen years ago)

Wow, what a great episode. I'd always wondered who'd actually read that kind of horseshit book about GW....

Never been to a meeting in Jersey and I never want to after seeing such crazy-ass cross-talk shit in a meeting -- in meetings I've been to all over the country/ hell all over the world, you let people finish before talking yourself. That shit is cardinal. Or maybe this is just more a case of misrepresentations of the program in the media?

Well, I guess it's not so much about "representing the program," in that Chris has never been capable of working it just b/c of his situation, as the 'Wings' guy so succinctly said before getting capped. That was quite a way to end (or start) a relapse! Also, while Chris was talking to that guy in the stairwell, I thought, 'Watch out, he could be a plant by the feds'!

It seems now so obvious that Christopher is going to be the one to flip, and that AJ seems more poised than ever to maybe fill his dad's shoes. It's so obvious that I'm guessing maybe it won't work out that way, that Christopher's implosions might be leading towards him being dead? I don't know, obviously, but all this end game stuff has me nervous as fuck and thinking about last night's episode all day today.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 03:51 (nineteen years ago)

http://nondo.net/images/sa/pauliegualtieri_sm.gif

― am0n, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 04:39 (nineteen years ago)

haha i thought you were talking about a sound effect at first, but yes there was a zoom-in on AJ's face in that scene if that's what you mean by "trombone"

-- am0n, Monday, May 7, 2007 10:12 PM (1 hour ago)

There should've been a zoom-in on A.J. accompanied by the sound of Charlie Brown's teacher asking a spelling bee question.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 04:53 (nineteen years ago)

wow
i coudl watch this all night

xpost - not even taking my eyes off to post there!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

I for some reason knew (or at least secretly hoped) that Paulie clip would appear in animated gif format. The internet never fails.

― joygoat, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 07:44 (nineteen years ago)

Fucking Paulie. :D

― David R., Tuesday, 8 May 2007 13:31 (nineteen years ago)

There needs to be a GIF / YouTube montage comprised of the following:

- Paulie wiping his mouth after drinking
- Paulie lifting weights
- Paulie driving
- Paulie saying "YO" or variations of "YO"

― David R., Tuesday, 8 May 2007 13:37 (nineteen years ago)

also paulie fixing his hair

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

and punctuating a sentence by pointing his finger

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

basically, hand stuff.

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:06 (nineteen years ago)

Montage of him saying "T"

― Eazy, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 14:42 (nineteen years ago)

I have this terrible feeling AJ is going to kill himself. Even after he seems to be less depressed.

― molly mummenschanz, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

Montage of him saying "T"

-- Eazy, Tuesday, May 8, 2007 10:42 AM (57 minutes ago)

and "skip"

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:40 (nineteen years ago)

And "eyeh"

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 15:48 (nineteen years ago)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e88/rwhite757/paulie.gif

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 16:59 (nineteen years ago)

blocked @ work ;_;

― David R., Tuesday, 8 May 2007 17:00 (nineteen years ago)

Man, there was a great "Ay!" "Yo!" "Look who it is!" montage on youtube a couple of weeks ago, but it's been taken down now.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

...because that's totally taking value away from the show.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Tuesday, 8 May 2007 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

really good stuff. tension and release. i kiss whoever added "the valley" at the end - christofuh as working stiff, making his way into a new land.

i liked the moment in the previous episode about tony being way up after getting shot, and carmela's clearly thinking that means something different. tony as GWB (paulie vs. chris = rummy v. colin?)

and in this one, the meeting with the feds was interesting. his info was worthless, amirite?

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 03:43 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.wga.org/writtenby/writtenbysub.aspx?id=2354

David Chase and Tom Fontana chew the fat.

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

some other guy makes the Tony-GWB connection. but for true surreality, look http://www.slate.com/id/2163797/entry/2165727/.

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 04:07 (nineteen years ago)

er, there

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 04:08 (nineteen years ago)

If that means I get to watch Wolfie get shot in the head with a 12-gauge, I vote YES!

― Oilyrags, Wednesday, 9 May 2007 04:15 (nineteen years ago)

"it's the same principal as the solar system"

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 14 May 2007 01:53 (nineteen years ago)

errr principle

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 14 May 2007 01:54 (nineteen years ago)

WOW

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 14 May 2007 01:58 (nineteen years ago)

RIP

― marmotwolof, Monday, 14 May 2007 02:01 (nineteen years ago)

gr8 episode

― am0n, Monday, 14 May 2007 02:11 (nineteen years ago)

The bike messenger, the (dreamed) confession to Melfi...

god motherfucking DAMN!

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 03:10 (nineteen years ago)

I'm completely stunned. I had to immediately watch the episode again

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 14 May 2007 03:49 (nineteen years ago)

I liked how liminal reality of Las Vegas felt so much like one of the extended dream sequences.

The bike messenger scene was hard to watch.

― Eazy, Monday, 14 May 2007 05:50 (nineteen years ago)

In retrospect, this is a classic revealing-nothing preview of this episode:

This week, an asbestos-disposal impasse raises tensions between Jersey and New York. Meanwhile, Tony has a revelation while Paulie gets upstaged in Episode 83: "Kennedy and Heidi" this Sunday at 9PM.

― Eazy, Monday, 14 May 2007 05:53 (nineteen years ago)

That was all really something. Wow.

― Clay, Monday, 14 May 2007 06:30 (nineteen years ago)

I guess that whole thing where we as the audience kind of root for Tony and try to love him despite knowing what a prick he is is kind of over at this point. I mean that episode, well maybe the effect of the last few, has really, really taken Tony to a bad place. I no longer wish the best for him, and that's a weird feeling.

― Clay, Monday, 14 May 2007 06:32 (nineteen years ago)

yeah i agree that empathising w/ tony's near impossible now that his truly sociopathic side is so out in the open.

i have to say too that i love this ep's title, partiularly the way it had me expecting soemthing totally different... and i didn't even "get it" until it was all over. awesome.

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 14 May 2007 06:39 (nineteen years ago)

one of the best episodes of the entire series. though I don't remember that girl from LV; had they shown her before

― akm, Monday, 14 May 2007 13:44 (nineteen years ago)

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

I felt like a dummy when I needed Tone to explain the significance of all those shots of the baby seat in the wreckage (w/ Christopher saying "call me a cab, I can't pass a drug test," jesus).

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 13:48 (nineteen years ago)

well ive been complaining for years that nothing ever happens and then tony kills christopher and takes peyote in vegas w/a hooker. ok.

i gotta think that showing tony for the monster that he is is setting us up for something. either him getting killed or further monstrous behavior leaving the show ending w/a downer this is just going to go on forever vibe.

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:43 (nineteen years ago)

It seems like the theme of this season is that Tony is constantly getting away with things and dodging every threat and comeuppance, but it only makes him more miserable. I strongly doubt that he's going to be punished or killed off at this point.

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

tony must die

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:18 (nineteen years ago)

Seems more likely that he'll just gorge on a big meal.

― Eazy, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:31 (nineteen years ago)

Wait, what's so monstrous about what Tony did? Had to be done.

― adam, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:36 (nineteen years ago)

when the SPOILER *peyote* SPOILER was introduced i was like, OH NOES

really amazing episode--and that peyote woman was fucking beautiful!

― cutty, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

Sepinwall seems to think he's in Hell already. But I think he means figuratively, not literally.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:37 (nineteen years ago)

and that peyote woman was fucking beautiful

YES SHE WAS - I was hoping she'd avoid Tony's smarmy charms, but, nope, she's riding him within 5 minutes. She was great @ the roulette table, too.

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

uh, she's a whore

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:48 (nineteen years ago)

You're only saying that because she has sex for money!

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

whores can be beautiful too

― akm, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

I will not have you talk about whats-her-face like that!

[xpost!]

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 15:58 (nineteen years ago)

not saying she wasnt beautiful, rather that whether or not she could resist tonys charms is besides the point because he paid her

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 15:59 (nineteen years ago)

Money really is the root of all evil!

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

no, tony is the root of all evil. he must die - i demand satisfaction!

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

Rub & tug?

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

(not from me, obv)

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

(Speaking of which, clever how both Sops and Entourage ended with the same image. Free Chris Albrecht.)

― Eazy, Monday, 14 May 2007 16:06 (nineteen years ago)

i just want a happy ending is all

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:07 (nineteen years ago)

t seems like the theme of this season is that Tony is constantly getting away with things and dodging every threat and comeuppance, but it only makes him more miserable. I strongly doubt that he's going to be punished or killed off at this point.

He's been punished all season long. Tony has been kinda soft ever since he was shot and his reward for trying to do the right thing was bad luck at gambling, friction among the crew, and that disrespectful portrayal of him in Cleaver. Attempts to show some authority backfires and mushrooms into spectacular out-of-control aggression (the Hesh and Bobby episodes, trashing the office).

After what transpired in the accident (and some peyote and "paranoid free weed" augmentation), Tony notices that his gambling is paying off, hence the "I get it!" shout. I suspect that this realization + increased demands from Leotardo = ultra violent last three episodes.

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

yeah the theme of this 2-part final season seems to be tony losing authority and consequently the intimacy and support he needs. he had to make concessions to get carm back, his chosen successor xtopher basically fled, bobby fought him, even paulie's gotten kinda wtf from time to time, and of course phil and the rest of ny have been totally out of control for a while.

I suspect that this realization + increased demands from Leotardo = ultra violent last three episodes.

so i'd say that's pretty much 8080

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:32 (nineteen years ago)

I took the roulette wins as his view of his luck having changed and that he was somehow being burdened/cursed by chrissy's lack of full commitment to the fam.

so is there no new episode 2 wks from now for memorial day?

― johnny crunch, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:38 (nineteen years ago)

did he yell "i get it" or "I did it"? I thought it was the latter, and hence, a confession.

― akm, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:42 (nineteen years ago)

No, it was the former.

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 17:48 (nineteen years ago)

peyote will make you get things - its good like that

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

It's like staying at a Holiday Inn, but in pill form.

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 17:49 (nineteen years ago)

he's saying i get it in ref. to the dream sequence with the light house. the sun flickered for a second before he said it

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

I thought the same thing when I saw the sun flicker and the "I get it".

― Eutychus, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

i do not recall the dream of the lighthouse

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:04 (nineteen years ago)

After T was shot, when he was Kev Infinity, he kept seeing a distant flash of light.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:25 (nineteen years ago)

oh riiiight

so he's been chewing on that this whole time

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:29 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, we had callbacks to the ducks from the first episode this time! There's no such thing as too small or long-gone to matter in this show.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 18:45 (nineteen years ago)

well, the ducks...

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

ok also how tony was all well this would be a great time to off crissy. who the fuck thinks like that in that sort situation. rotten to the core! must die!

― jhøshea, Monday, 14 May 2007 19:25 (nineteen years ago)

I was fond of the mid-smother move where Tony moved his hand to let Chris cough up some more blood.

― David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 19:27 (nineteen years ago)

Dumping of asbestos and ducks?

Did anyone see drug paraphenalia or wires in the baby seat? I'm going to watch it again tonight, but that has been mentioned elsewhere.

I thought: Chrissy's gonna die anyway, so why not "kill two birds with one stone". I saw it more as that he was spitting up blood, blood coming out of his ear, and that the accident was a convenient way for Tony to "clean house". I saw it as ambiguous - like I can help him and help myself. I didn't see it as just cold-blooded.

It was definitely a surprise, for me, from the writers. It was a very gracious whacking.
I think this means a bloodbath is going to ensue.

― aimurchie, Monday, 14 May 2007 19:35 (nineteen years ago)

<quote>drug paraphenalia or wires in the baby seat?<</quote>
<url=http://mattzollerseitz.blogspot.com/2007/05/sopranos-mondays-season-six-ep-18-heidi.html>Chris is not a hat man</a>

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 20:01 (nineteen years ago)

drug paraphenalia or wires in the baby seat?

Chris is not a hat man

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 20:01 (nineteen years ago)

He was wearing a hat the first time we ever saw him in the pilot. Closure!

― Chris L, Monday, 14 May 2007 20:12 (nineteen years ago)

that speculation on that blog about whether or not chris flipped seems weird and out of the blue. i saw no indication he might have and if they insinuated that he did later on I'd be surprised.

― akm, Monday, 14 May 2007 20:48 (nineteen years ago)

How is it weird and out of the blue when last week he was drunkenly ranting about how easily he could take down Tony by talking to the FBI?

― Oilyrags, Monday, 14 May 2007 21:15 (nineteen years ago)

"that speculation on that blog about whether or not chris flipped seems weird and out of the blue. "

when chris is first revealed to be a junkie tony explains to him how back in the old days an intervention came in the form of a bullet between the eyes because no one wanted a junkie to flip over a fix

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 14 May 2007 21:33 (nineteen years ago)

Clay said: I guess that whole thing where we as the audience kind of root for Tony and try to love him despite knowing what a prick he is is kind of over at this point. I mean that episode, well maybe the effect of the last few, has really, really taken Tony to a bad place. I no longer wish the best for him, and that's a weird feeling.

OTM. I had the exact feeling, and to my surprise it was a bigger blow then I imagined it to be. Although I can't quite say I don't 'root' for him any longer, for the viewer it's surely the most definite, rigorous tug away from 'sympathising with Tony despite everything'.
I'm still shellshocked, but this is played out brilliantly.

did he yell "i get it" or "I did it"? I thought it was the latter, and hence, a confession.

-- akm, Monday, 14 May 2007 17:42 (4 hours ago)
No, it was the former.

-- David R., Monday, 14 May 2007 17:48 (4 hours ago)

True, but just before that... didn't he mutter "He's dead...", and then said "I get it!"?

ps. AJ saying "Why can't we all just get along?" = worst line ever in Sopranos history. Made me laugh of stupidity when laughing was totally inapropriate in the scene.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:50 (nineteen years ago)

Oh, and "Comfortably Numb"... Unbelievably OTM.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 14 May 2007 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

The "Why can't we . . . " was obviously meant as a dark-humored little tweak in addition to a true cry from the heart.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:19 (nineteen years ago)

Carm: "It's hard not to think of Chris as a child."

Pink Floyd: "The child is grown, the dream is gone."

― chaki, Monday, 14 May 2007 23:22 (nineteen years ago)

:O (this episode)

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 03:50 (nineteen years ago)

http://imstars.aufeminin.com/stars/fan/D20061101/2616_922584175_sarah19zv_H202828_L.jpg

― am0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

(Speaking of which, clever how both Sops and Entourage ended with the same image. Free Chris Albrecht.)

-- Eazy, Monday, May 14, 2007 12:06 PM (Yesterday)

so weird!!

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:42 (nineteen years ago)

Also, both shows started this season with an episode focusing on the main character's birthday party. Somewhere I read (maybe Albrecht said it somewhere) that HBO thinks of Sopranos as the meal and Entourage as the dessert.

― Eazy, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 04:51 (nineteen years ago)

AJ saying "Why can't we all just get along?" = worst line ever in Sopranos history. Made me laugh of stupidity when laughing was totally inapropriate in the scene.

It made OK by me. AJ is definitely ineloquent, but he's trying, God bless him.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 08:00 (nineteen years ago)

Also, both shows started this season with an episode focusing on the main character's birthday party. Somewhere I read (maybe Albrecht said it somewhere) that HBO thinks of Sopranos as the meal and Entourage as the dessert.

I'd say it was intentional, but I seriously doubt the two shows have any contact with each other, aside from the occasional HBO party. And if Sopranos is a nice steak dinner, Entourage is cotton candy.

(my post above was supposed to say "It was OK by me," for the record.

― Jouster, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 08:03 (nineteen years ago)

man, this show is not getting any less stressful as time goes on.

also: adrianna + tony car accident (which i remember as the part where chris started regarding tony as something other than a perfect gentleman)/chris + tony accident (the conclusion).

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 09:20 (nineteen years ago)

the best and most shocking thing about tony killing chris, i think, was the fact that it happened at the beginning of the episode. you don't expect HUGE shit like that to happen in the first 5 minutes.

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 13:51 (nineteen years ago)

That sound Christopher was making... yeesh.

Fortunately, I've never been involved in a fatal car accident, but my goodness. Is that the tact used by E/R staff to tell someone their friend died?

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:22 (nineteen years ago)

I wondered about that, too, and have decided to justify their bedside manner by believing they recognized Tony as an infamous crime lord.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:28 (nineteen years ago)

NURSE: "I mean, c'mon. You're an infamous crime lord. You probably killed him yourself, didn't you?"

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

omg u guys such worse behavior than that goes down all the time in hospitals

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:51 (nineteen years ago)

scott seward to thread

AJ saying "Why can't we all just get along?" = worst line ever in Sopranos history. Made me laugh of stupidity when laughing was totally inapropriate in the scene.

C'mon, the show's stock-in-trade is inappropriate humor (e.g. "I was freakin' prostate with grief", or Tony's James Brown comment at the funeral). Especially if it reveals a character's blissful ignorance of their own foibles.

I'm one of the few who didn't connect with the last episode. Which is a shame because usually I'm the Sopranos apologist. It was rich with layers of meaning, but the execution didn't sell it to me. The writers seem to be struggling to strike a balance between making events unpredictable, meaningful, and plausible.

Tony dropping out and turning on in Las Vegas made sense symbolically (the hellish circle of isolation, selfishness, and materiality closing around him, a reality mirror of his coma-dream) but not practically. It seemed as forced and random as his sudden gambling problem. His actions aren't evolving out of his character, but rather out of the writer's desire to make overarching statements, or to score symbolism points. Those aren't mutually exclusive goals but the seams have been showing during the last few episodes.

― Edward III, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

Tony's James Brown comment at the funeral

that was the best! fucking james brown, i cant take it anymore. dont worry were all here for you tone. lolz

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:43 (nineteen years ago)

omg u guys such worse behavior than that goes down all the time in hospitals

NOTE TO SELF:
In case of accident, don't ever ask emergency attendant about the status of other passengers.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

yeah those emergency room dudes are nuts - i have a friend who's an er doctor and at his hospital they haze the newbie doctors by telling them they killed a patient by gross misdiagnosis. then they all laugh and go drink.

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:52 (nineteen years ago)

I think i'd rather have the blunt, honest answer. i'll have to remember this my next accident.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:06 (nineteen years ago)

THERMO: Hey, can you tell me if my -
NURSE: SHE'S DEAD!

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

"HOLY SHIT - I THOUGHT SHE WAS A DUDE!"

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:32 (nineteen years ago)

THERMO: Hey, can you tell me if my -
NURSE: SHE'S DEAD!
THERMO: - wallet was found in the wreckage?

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

I had a conversation a couple weeks ago with a doctor about how life-and-death occupations breed particularly wicked brands of black humor.

― Edward III, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

yeah seems pretty necessary

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

ed3 otm

― gabbneb, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

THERMO: Hey, can you tell me if my -
NURSE: SHE'S DEAD!
THERMO: - wallet was found in the wreckage?
NURSE: SHE'S DEAD! YOUR DIGITAL PET IS DEAD!

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:13 (nineteen years ago)

Dude, too far too soon.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

RIP

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 20:34 (nineteen years ago)

Tony dropping out and turning on in Las Vegas made sense symbolically (the hellish circle of isolation, selfishness, and materiality closing around him, a reality mirror of his coma-dream) but not practically. It seemed as forced and random as his sudden gambling problem. His actions aren't evolving out of his character, but rather out of the writer's desire to make overarching statements, or to score symbolism points. Those aren't mutually exclusive goals but the seams have been showing during the last few episodes.

i sorta agree with this but one thing that helped sell vegas trip was tony's glances toward kelly: the way the camera lingered on her a heartbeat too long, the at least somebody feels like eating shot. given tony's character and layers of anger/guilt over chrissy i was ready to believe he wanted to fuck her but not that he would actually make a move, this isn't days of our lives. solution: use chrissy's extemporaneous vegas hottie as kelly stand-in so as to build another layer of deep tony psychological shit in addition to all the other work she's obviously doing.

― W i l l, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 03:53 (nineteen years ago)

THERMO: Hey, can you tell me if my -
NURSE: U DIED!
THERMO: *flatlines*

― am0n, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 04:07 (nineteen years ago)

I really liked that single shot of Tony, dining alone, really savoring that wine.

― Eazy, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 04:21 (nineteen years ago)

Not only Kelly; Julianna Skiff at the funeral too (who'd chosen Chris over Tony). And the whole Adriana thing. Very much in (fucked-up) character for Tony to go to Vegas specifically to fuck one of Chris's brunettes. (Cf. how he got all touchy and competitive in bed re being compared to Chris.) What a way to celebrate Chris's death (and explicitly act out yet more of the Cleaver scenario).

― sydz, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 05:45 (nineteen years ago)

the makeout -> vomit peyote scene was like woa

loving all the tiny kinetic camera moves/edits this series

― ^@^, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 09:25 (nineteen years ago)

i sorta agree with this but one thing that helped sell vegas trip was tony's glances toward kelly: the way the camera lingered on her a heartbeat too long, the at least somebody feels like eating shot. given tony's character and layers of anger/guilt over chrissy i was ready to believe he wanted to fuck her but not that he would actually make a move, this isn't days of our lives.

of course he was checking out kelly, that was evident. but if they wanted to demonstrate that tony is out of control, that he's casting his sense of restraint aside, it would've made *more* sense for him to pursue kelly. there's a bigger payoff there - imagine if carm found out? YIKES. instead of ratcheting up the tension, the trip to las vegas dispersed it. painting a character into a corner and then sending him off for a vacation seems like the easy way out, dramatically speaking.

explicitly act out yet more of the Cleaver scenario

maybe chris will make a deus ex machina zombie cameo

― Edward III, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 16:09 (nineteen years ago)

explicitly act out yet more of the Cleaver scenario

maybe chris will make a deus ex machina zombie cameo

Chris coming back from the dead to get Tony? Don't get these people started on the "wire-in-the-hat" theory again.

― Pleasant Plains, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 16:20 (nineteen years ago)

IT WAS ALL JUST A DREAM

― Edward III, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

I quite liked that episode. Sarah Shahi was great - she usually plays Carmen on The L Word, by the way. No other L Word fans here?

― admrl, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 16:57 (nineteen years ago)

SPINOFF TIME -- Tony goes to Vegas, GoodFellas turns into Casino.

― Eazy, Wednesday, 16 May 2007 17:20 (nineteen years ago)

Tony Soprano's Comedy Gambling Trip

― David R., Wednesday, 16 May 2007 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

Having just watched it again, I wanted to bring up another light that I don't believe I've seen mentioned before, to go with the flashing sunrise and the headlights pasing by over Chris' murder: the buzzing flourescent fixture in the bathroom after Tony pukes from the mesc buttons. Also, the first time I didn't catch that Sonya tells him to "press it all" at the roulette table immediately afterwards.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:24 (nineteen years ago)

I quite liked that episode. Sarah Shahi was great - she usually plays Carmen on The L Word, by the way. No other L Word fans here?

-- admrl, Wednesday, May 16, 2007 12:57 PM (9 hours ago)

i am now

― s1ocki, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:26 (nineteen years ago)

so was it i get it or i did it?

nj paper says the former, la times says the latter.

― chaki, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:41 (nineteen years ago)

"I get it," according to both the closed-captioning and my ears.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:43 (nineteen years ago)

i get it

― s1ocki, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

Anybody with the DVDs go back and check Chrissie's description of his vision off Hell from when HE was in HIS post gunshot coma back in season two or whenever? I have the idea it would be fairly significant in shedding light on recent developments.

― Oilyrags, Thursday, 17 May 2007 02:51 (nineteen years ago)

curb mouthed!!

― chaki, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:29 (nineteen years ago)

tooth in pants!!

― lucas pine, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:30 (nineteen years ago)

As a guy on another forum said: Tony's really stepped in it now - OH HO HO!

― Oilyrags, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:31 (nineteen years ago)

More seriously, what with all the flashing lights last week and AJ/mother issues this week I've been wondering if I should start looking at all that sun/son stuff a little more closely.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:32 (nineteen years ago)

'how to clean anything'?

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:49 (nineteen years ago)

Anybody got some sambuca?

― Oilyrags, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:50 (nineteen years ago)

anyone know what the song at the end was?

― chaki, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:52 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/music/episode84.shtml

Not up yet, but a couple days at most will reveal all.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:55 (nineteen years ago)

sounded like a rembetika track to me?

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 21 May 2007 02:58 (nineteen years ago)

That last half was hard to watch, both the return to the cafe and the AJ story.

― Eazy, Monday, 21 May 2007 14:42 (nineteen years ago)

I want a flashback of Paulie on Acid

― jbsquared, Monday, 21 May 2007 15:35 (nineteen years ago)

Somebody could probably recreate it by photoshopping flashing colors onto the angry_paulie_driving.jpg loop.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 21 May 2007 15:51 (nineteen years ago)

sounded like a rembetika track to me?

i thought so, too. it now says "ninna ninna" by unknown artist, maybe it's the track on this:

http://www.venerablemusic.com/catalog/TitleDetails.asp?TitleID=1947

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 21 May 2007 16:10 (nineteen years ago)

Somebody could probably recreate it by photoshopping flashing colors onto the angry_paulie_driving.jpg loop.

MY KINGDOM, ETC

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 21 May 2007 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

that was really one of the great end of scene lines

― s1ocki, Monday, 21 May 2007 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

dudes when you see this episode again watch meadow's face while aj is being admitted. its fucking heartbreaking.

― chaki, Monday, 21 May 2007 18:06 (nineteen years ago)

Also heartbreaking: when Tony says, "my baby" to AJ after he pulls him out of the pool.

― molly mummenschanz, Monday, 21 May 2007 18:08 (nineteen years ago)

maybe it's because I have a kid but this was an especially harsh and disturbing episode. also, weird to swing back to making tony almost sympathetic. they're really complicating things here.

― akm, Monday, 21 May 2007 18:11 (nineteen years ago)

There are only two episodes left, right?

I have absolutely no idea how shit is going to go down. Far too many hints dropped (the shrink's shrink talking about criminals in talk therapy, "How To clean Anything", etc.).

― molly mummenschanz, Monday, 21 May 2007 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

what deos "How To clean Anything" point to?

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 21 May 2007 20:12 (nineteen years ago)

A great big mess to clean up.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 21 May 2007 20:19 (nineteen years ago)

I have no idea what it points to right now, if anything. My brain is mystified. There was that reference to Hunter S. Thompson / peyote, which may have lefy my head searching for more clues. I'm pretty confused as to how anything could turn out.

― molly mummenschanz, Monday, 21 May 2007 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

Heartbreakingly beautiful episode. Tooth in pants = classic. The turns this show is taking keep amazing me though. The demise of Tony's leadership - which has been in full effect the last couple of episodes - was now (momentarily?) eroded by the love for his family. Although I did think Tony telling his mates about his peyote-experience demeaned his leadership even further. Not a clever move. "And then... the sun came up..."
I thought Carm was particularly nasty 'blaming' Tony for AJ's suicide attempt. An attempted suicide filmed brilliantly, I must say: the torture-in-Iraq-like image of AJ sitting on the diving board with a sack over his head... Heavy stuff.

If anything there will surely be some sort of showdown between Phil and Tony, right?

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 21 May 2007 22:51 (nineteen years ago)

but we all hope it's a showdown between tony and carm and tony loses and tony is dead, right?

like she finds out about all this aide and xtopher action and just kills the shit out of him!!!!

(i may have already said these things upthread, not sure - i'm pretty psyched)

― jhøshea, Monday, 21 May 2007 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

use of music on the show is so great. someone was comparing it favorably to music in scorsese. i happen to hate the latter intensely, but i realize i'm in the minority there.

― gabbneb, Monday, 21 May 2007 23:09 (nineteen years ago)

two great touches:

1. that aj's suicide attempt happened in the pool (remember the ducklings!)

2. that rather than untying the cinder block from aj's leg, tony just picked it up instead

― ^@^, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 09:29 (nineteen years ago)

yeah it really demonstrated aj's relative helplessness

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 13:34 (nineteen years ago)

i think i hate aj. i was sorta hoping he'd manage to do this one thing right.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 17:05 (nineteen years ago)

hey whaddya know so does tony

― chaki, Tuesday, 22 May 2007 17:23 (nineteen years ago)

i don't think tony hates aj anymore.

peyote = Paris

he's all growed up now. if anyone turns a lot of people in, it's gonna be him. but i think something more tragic is likely.

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

Heartbreakingly beautiful episode

OTM. a little neorealism there at the end?

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 02:57 (nineteen years ago)

as much as we've wavered on being sympathetic to tony, i think phil leotardo is fucking prick

― cutty, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 03:42 (nineteen years ago)

someone here notes that Carm saw some lights in Paris too. perhaps death is not the only thing at the end of a tunnel?

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 03:56 (nineteen years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_neorealism:

The children play a key role in this, and their presence at the end of the film is indicative of their role in neorealism as a whole: as observers of the difficulties of today who hold the key to the future.

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

also, lol at a peyote trip that produces "he's gone" and a literal roffle

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

"Nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile" indeed

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

obviously connected to the dream/coma thing, but teh funney of including 'honest abe' is preventing me from finding any particular significance there - anyone?

― gabbneb, Wednesday, 23 May 2007 04:34 (nineteen years ago)

"when you can't sleep"

at first i thought it was a new idea for AJ to off himself (which made watching tony sign in for a visit incredibly tense) though now i doubt that's what will happen. the reaction shot of AJ comes as abe and the beaver talk about how everyone has stress/problems, so maybe it's more of a moving-on moment for him.

― W i l l, Thursday, 24 May 2007 03:33 (nineteen years ago)

that was odd to see those commercials, hey british people, those are real commercials here for sleep medication

― cutty, Thursday, 24 May 2007 03:39 (nineteen years ago)

maybe not a moving-on moment. the HBO ep summary describes AJ in that scene as "heavily medicated." more like an acceptance moment, perhaps. also, strong echo of junior's (final?) scenes. good-bye AJ?

― W i l l, Thursday, 24 May 2007 04:02 (nineteen years ago)

I kinda read it as AJ watching a scene where a guy is being told by some crazy characters that he lives with that they miss him. Kinda like real life, huh.

― Pleasant Plains, Thursday, 24 May 2007 04:19 (nineteen years ago)

melfi seems like she needs some fucking lexapro this season eh

― jhøshea, Thursday, 24 May 2007 04:31 (nineteen years ago)

I hate that there's no episode this week.

― Jouster, Saturday, 26 May 2007 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

WAU

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 4 June 2007 01:55 (nineteen years ago)

look at the stems on blondie

― marmotwolof, Monday, 4 June 2007 01:56 (nineteen years ago)

let me tell you a couple a few things

― chaki, Monday, 4 June 2007 01:59 (nineteen years ago)

yay 1 week til tony dies!

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 02:37 (nineteen years ago)

Man, I wouldn't trust Paulie with the assignment of drowning himself in a swimming pool.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Monday, 4 June 2007 04:11 (nineteen years ago)

Leadbelly

― marmotwolof, Monday, 4 June 2007 04:33 (nineteen years ago)

HOLY SHIT

― sunny successor, Monday, 4 June 2007 04:51 (nineteen years ago)

Goodnight, Irene.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 4 June 2007 04:52 (nineteen years ago)

I was wondering if they were going to sneak Artie in for one last token scene this season.

― joygoat, Monday, 4 June 2007 04:58 (nineteen years ago)

A.J.'s XBOX got sonned.

― marmotwolof, Monday, 4 June 2007 05:36 (nineteen years ago)

So since Tony fell asleep at the end, the only thing I'll predict is an opening dream sequence next week.

― Chris L, Monday, 4 June 2007 05:59 (nineteen years ago)

I wouldn't trust Paulie to blow air into a toy balloon.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Monday, 4 June 2007 07:00 (nineteen years ago)

AJ in the closet was the best

― cutty, Monday, 4 June 2007 11:35 (nineteen years ago)

does anyone think there is a chance of tony winning this war, smiling, and driving away smoking a cigar in perpetuity?

― cutty, Monday, 4 June 2007 11:35 (nineteen years ago)

no, but he may live.

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 11:43 (nineteen years ago)

As for your husband, "Exile On Main Street"?

― Dom Passantino, Monday, 4 June 2007 13:54 (nineteen years ago)

lol at the Godfather "train noises" schtick with Bobby's death as well.

I'm kinda embarassed that I _do_ want Tony to finish the series as capo di tutti capi of the whole thing, having spent the previous six years hoping the show would end with Meadow killing him.

― Dom Passantino, Monday, 4 June 2007 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

i haven't watched this show for awhile but i caught last night's episode and... was it always this overwritten?? "we don't do traditional therapy PER SE..." aha! aj's recovery place is lame wishy-washy touchy feely crap - we get it, signor! or aj sayin "uncle joe's dead? this is really going to set me back, especially at such a fragile moment" aha! aj really is self-absorbed and narcisisstic - aye aye cap'n! anyway, thought the writing was really weak and the acting occasionally brilliant (my favorite moment - when carmela's like "i don't know how aj's going to leave this house, he can barely leave his room!" and the look on tony's face when he responds - oh, he'll leave all right)

i felt cheated by the uninspired wrap-up of therapist/tony (if it is a wrap-up); the bits of melfi around the dinner table with her hoity toity therapist friends and the bits of her reading WORDS printed on a PAGE that she CONNECTED with her OWN WORK with TONY while CHILLIN in the MELFI BED-STEAD was super-cheesy

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:03 (nineteen years ago)

maybe it wasn't a wrap-up?

― gabbneb, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:10 (nineteen years ago)

well they telegraphed as much by making it so unsatisfying and lame

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:13 (nineteen years ago)

im kinda w/you here tracer except that i found a lot of it to be v potent. diagnosis: uneven.

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:35 (nineteen years ago)

and he what abt mangini

http://deadspin.com/assets/resources/2007/06/manginisopranos.jpg

imna go over and say hi aka tony and mangini bro down

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:38 (nineteen years ago)

A.J.'s XBOX got sonned.

Wrapped around his foot like a cinder block!

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 4 June 2007 15:53 (nineteen years ago)

tony had been wanting to smash that thing for so long

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

You don't need a gynecologist to know which way the wind blows!

― B.L.A.M., Monday, 4 June 2007 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

who is mangini?

― sunny successor, Monday, 4 June 2007 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

(NY Jets coach)

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:01 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of satisfying individual scenes without the unity of theme/metaphor/incident that the best episodes have had. Still, I loved the therapy session, and the style of the WORDS on the PAGE was an efficient, Errol Morris-styled way to show the audience a long sentence -- they weren't just random words. Better than a 10-second still shot of the whole passage.

And I have to admit that I never considered Melfi herself terminating the therapy.

It'll be interesting to see what AJ's next stage is next week after getting his ass kicked.

― Eazy, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

wont somebody please think about the babies?!

― sunny successor, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

am I the only one who felt bad about Tony and Jennifuh breaking up?

― gabbneb, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:19 (nineteen years ago)

"we don't do traditional therapy PER SE..."

― gabbneb, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

who was the guy sil wacked in the opening scene?

― chaki, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:23 (nineteen years ago)

someone who tried to get sil to come over to phils side? i think?

am I the only one who felt bad about Tony and Jennifuh breaking up?

yeah i felt really bad about it

― sunny successor, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

someone who tried to get sil to come over to phils side? i think?

yeah but had he ever showed up before - i didnt recognize him

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:29 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, i dont know. i dont remember seeing him before

― sunny successor, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:34 (nineteen years ago)

It was Burt Gervasi, Carlo's cousin. The only other time I remember him on the show was when he was made back in the first half of season 6.

― Brent, Monday, 4 June 2007 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

or perhaps Melfi's breakup is just giving us a heads-up on that separation anxiety thing coming our way

― gabbneb, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

i've read that whole breakdown and all those cocksuckers like reading their own words.

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:15 (nineteen years ago)

Could someone please email me or upload that Tindersticks song that ended the episode? "Running Wild (extended instrumental)?" Seems to be from an out-of-print single (or maybe it was never in print here in America).

― Jouster, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:23 (nineteen years ago)

I was thinking that Rhiannon (the gal AJ runs into) was his old super-rich girlfriend, but reading the plot summary at HBO I guess I'm wrong.

― Eazy, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:36 (nineteen years ago)

No, she was the girlfriend of that kid Hernan that AJ was going to clubs with last year (but she caught him fingerbanging her cousin on a ski lift, or something like that).

― Jouster, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:47 (nineteen years ago)

but she caught him fingerbanging her cousin on a ski lift, or something like that

PERFECT

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:48 (nineteen years ago)

AJ's rich blonde exgirlfriend was named Devon if I recall.

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 4 June 2007 21:01 (nineteen years ago)

White shoes equal death unless you're Paulie the Cat

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 4 June 2007 21:35 (nineteen years ago)

five families then this pygmy thing in jersey

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 21:41 (nineteen years ago)

my street was on last night's episode.. so proud

― cutty, Monday, 4 June 2007 22:36 (nineteen years ago)

"Exile on Main Street"... That's one brilliant line.

This one caught me by surprise though, even with the ending being so near. I was expecting an episode full of tension, working towards a gigantic climax. But they broke it off with bullets. Great filming (esp. in the offing-Bobby scene, the toy-trainman covering his eyes...). Can't possibly tell what will happen next.

Wow.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 4 June 2007 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

filing was a little too coen-bros-wacky for me

the scene with tony and syl slow punching each other was hilar

― cutty, Monday, 4 June 2007 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

filming.

― cutty, Monday, 4 June 2007 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

Yah, that was a brilliant scene.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 4 June 2007 22:59 (nineteen years ago)

raging bull ref. same song and everything.

― chaki, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:02 (nineteen years ago)

it nicely highlighted how delusional they were

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:09 (nineteen years ago)

like wrong reaction guys this is not play fite

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:10 (nineteen years ago)

phil speech about taking them out actually made alot of sense.

― chaki, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:12 (nineteen years ago)

(Jouster, the song's on the way to you)

― Le Bateau Ivre, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

except that he's really doing it cause he's a pissy bitch

― jhøshea, Monday, 4 June 2007 23:14 (nineteen years ago)

filing was a little too coen-bros-wacky for me

the scene with tony and syl slow punching each other was hilar

-- cutty, Monday, June 4, 2007 10:57 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

otm / otm

― s1ocki, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 01:36 (nineteen years ago)

yr otm, boo

― cutty, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 01:48 (nineteen years ago)

the last episode is apparently called "made in america".

― ^@^, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 12:39 (nineteen years ago)

... and according to HBO lasts 61 minutes. Which is slighty dissapointing, since I was under the impression it was going to be twice the length.

― Le Bateau Ivre, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 12:43 (nineteen years ago)

only 61 more minutes!!!

― ^@^, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 14:39 (nineteen years ago)

Paulie ;_;

― David R., Tuesday, 5 June 2007 15:54 (nineteen years ago)

If my dvr quits with one minute left to go....

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 17:30 (nineteen years ago)

just program it to record the next show bro

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 17:32 (nineteen years ago)

Brian W leads with what I was most struck by: "That muzzle came awfully close to Tony's face."

― gabbneb, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 18:13 (nineteen years ago)

did anyone see phil drive by when the hit went wrong at the mistress' house?

― chaki, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 18:27 (nineteen years ago)

did that really happen? i thought he went underground long before the italians even got into town

― sunny successor, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 19:12 (nineteen years ago)

i duno im asking cuz my crazy coworker said she watched it twice and swears it happened.

― chaki, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 19:18 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, but shes crazy.

― sunny successor, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 19:28 (nineteen years ago)

I remember a car going by the house, but no indication who it was

― gabbneb, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 19:31 (nineteen years ago)

My aunt, a former psychiatric nurse, indicates that the sociopath-demonstrating-empathy bit is untrue; she says that love for animals and babies isn't possible for the true sociopath. I'd been wondering how much of the study at hand was presented as a red herring.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 20:06 (nineteen years ago)

Not to say that Tony's tolly a "good guy" and all, but it's funny -- he's more honest with Melfi than he is with anyone else, basically. For whatever you think that's worth.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 20:07 (nineteen years ago)

It was the old guy who got shot. He drove the car past the waiting Italians.

she says that love for animals and babies isn't possible for the true sociopath.

That's good to hear. I've been having to keep a close eye on my wife since I heard that.

― Pleasant Plains, Tuesday, 5 June 2007 20:23 (nineteen years ago)

-- If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Tuesday, June 5, 2007 3:06 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Link

right. the whole point of the sociopath is that they cant feel empathy or remorse so they have no sense of boundries when it comes to murdering and whatnot.

however, i thought melfi's study was saying that the sociopath used babies and animals to appear to have the capacity for empathy. that therapy was used as a way to study how to act like a normal person. i could be wrong.

― sunny successor, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 13:45 (nineteen years ago)

yeah tony's obv not a sociopath - just a really bad guy.

― jhøshea, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 13:50 (nineteen years ago)

Elliot used the term "sociopath" but the word shown on-screen was "criminal." I forget the actual name of the study.

― Chris L, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 13:53 (nineteen years ago)

yeah wtf sociopath is clearly off base and criminal is so meaninglessly general

― jhøshea, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 13:56 (nineteen years ago)

Tony's the kind of sociopath who can love a horse unconditionally.

― Eazy, Wednesday, 6 June 2007 14:45 (nineteen years ago)

hbo released press photos for the final episode. pauly with a tanning mirror = classic

predictions??

― chaki, Thursday, 7 June 2007 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

not working, chaki

― sunny successor, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:00 (nineteen years ago)

oy! they took em down! that sucks. there was this one of meadow looking insane.

― chaki, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:01 (nineteen years ago)

I don't know if this has been mentioned upthread, but my money is on a Terrorist Nuclear Showdown! When Tony was leaving AJ's room, he stopped and stared at the computer screen about global terrorist threats. Also, in the previews, AJ looks like he's watching something blow up. And, the FBI dude who's been reassinged full time to Homeland Security. /end speculation

― molly mummenschanz, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:03 (nineteen years ago)

tony was looking at aj's computer in disgust. like wtf does my kid care about this shit.

― chaki, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:05 (nineteen years ago)

But, all the references to the dudes Chris sold guns to (right? That's what happened, innit?), AJ being depressed about the state of world affairs, including terrorism, the extended show of his computer screen, the FBI agent, etc. Mind you, I could just be latching on to a red herring. I really have no idea how they can tie all of this up.

― molly mummenschanz, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:08 (nineteen years ago)

terr or ists blow up jersey and tony leaps onto schoolbus and gets away just in front of the explosion.

― Gukbe, Thursday, 7 June 2007 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

didn't blount hint on this thread or its predecessor that he had some inside info that there would be just such an ending?

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Thursday, 7 June 2007 19:17 (nineteen years ago)

if it isn't there as background/red herring, i think it will be an opportunity for deescalation and/or martyrdom. but will it be taken?

― gabbneb, Thursday, 7 June 2007 19:22 (nineteen years ago)

it is herring week

― gabbneb, Thursday, 7 June 2007 19:23 (nineteen years ago)

wtf gawker not a spoiler but an unsourced reference to a spoiler

http://gawker.com/news/the-worst-flack-in-the-world/sopranos-finale-ruined-for-us-by-evil-publicist-266858.php

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:24 (nineteen years ago)

tony singlehandedly saves tri state area from terrorist attack

― cutty, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:28 (nineteen years ago)

http://thesopranos.ytmnd.com

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:52 (nineteen years ago)

its pretty stupid fyi

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:52 (nineteen years ago)

The pictures are mirrored over here: http://s184.photobucket.com/albums/x14/sopranoscaps/Made%20In%20America/

― Elvis Telecom, Friday, 8 June 2007 00:58 (nineteen years ago)

thanks for the pictures -- so easy to over-analyze them though, trying to parse them for information they just don't have...

janice looks so pissed, it's easy to imagine her doing some damage to phil and/ or his crew, which i'd never thought of before.

ohh well, only three days until it's all over!

― Mike McGooney-gal, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:13 (nineteen years ago)

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x14/sopranoscaps/Made%20In%20America/ep86_09.jpg

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:15 (nineteen years ago)

http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x14/sopranoscaps/Made%20In%20America/ep86_01.jpg

hmm paulie doesnt look too worried

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:17 (nineteen years ago)

some people might not wana see the pics, dooders.

― chaki, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:28 (nineteen years ago)

sry but its not like i posted the one with carmela eating tony's brains out his severed head

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:31 (nineteen years ago)

i'm sure its all misdirection anyway a la scenes from next week

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:32 (nineteen years ago)

aj's got schmalz on his face

― chaki, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:34 (nineteen years ago)

and he's clearly launching a patented recrimination

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:35 (nineteen years ago)

god everything is so bad abt that guy the beard the beard fuck

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 01:36 (nineteen years ago)

I refuse to even watch the previews!

― Pleasant Plains, Friday, 8 June 2007 02:27 (nineteen years ago)

Now I know that Tony leaves the bedroom and doesn't just sit there like he's in a Samuel Beckett play.

― Pleasant Plains, Friday, 8 June 2007 02:28 (nineteen years ago)

not unless he's just using his imagination in those shots!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Friday, 8 June 2007 04:23 (nineteen years ago)

the actor who plays bobby is on conan tonight.

― hstencil, Friday, 8 June 2007 04:45 (nineteen years ago)

If it's like the past seasons' endings, all the big action was last week and this one will be cozy and domestic.

Poor guy who played Finn must've been surprised to find himself written out of the show without even an exit scene.

― Eazy, Friday, 8 June 2007 06:42 (nineteen years ago)

unless omg phil has tony pinned down and he's about to shoot him and tony closes his eyes and there's a shot and then tony opens his eyes and he's still alive and he looks up at phil who is all shocked and then after a beat slumps to the floor and it's finn! finn shot phil!

but then finn's like "i'm gonna take meadow away from all this" and he's about to shoot tony and then he gets shot too and it's uncle junior! and he goes "nobody shoots my nephew but me" and tony starts laughing and he starts laughing... ROLL CREDITS

― s1ocki, Friday, 8 June 2007 07:05 (nineteen years ago)

theres no need to even watch it now

― sunny successor, Friday, 8 June 2007 13:38 (nineteen years ago)

I so want to see AJ step up and do something, anything.

― bnw, Friday, 8 June 2007 13:53 (nineteen years ago)

he tried to kill himself. or do you want to do something and succeed - cause thats probably asking too much.

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 14:11 (nineteen years ago)

AJ trying to man up and then just getting shot nonchalantly by one of Leotardo's buttons would be great.

― Dom Passantino, Friday, 8 June 2007 14:14 (nineteen years ago)

If it's like the past seasons' endings, all the big action was last week and this one will be cozy and domestic.

both buscemi and big pussy died in season finales so... and if yr right i'm gonna be so mad - it'll be like ******** all over again.

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 14:14 (nineteen years ago)

see lookit me being all considerate redacting the name of a show maybe some of you havent watched to the end.

― jhøshea, Friday, 8 June 2007 14:15 (nineteen years ago)

how would Carm handle one of the kids taking someone out?

― gabbneb, Friday, 8 June 2007 14:59 (nineteen years ago)

for a nice dinner?

― s1ocki, Friday, 8 June 2007 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

tony was looking at aj's computer in disgust. like wtf does my kid care about this shit.

I took it as Tony just confirming in his mind, "Damn, son-of-a-bitch FBI agent was right."

― Pleasant Plains, Saturday, 9 June 2007 03:17 (nineteen years ago)

james wolcott and i are of like minds about the penultimate ep, especially about bobby's death:

Tony has some mystical solar revelation in Nevada a couple of episodes back and it's now instantly forgotten as the show resumes reinforcing its core conviction that life is an inequitable distribution of very degrees, shades, and consistencies of crap with death creeping into every cell. I thought last week's murder bouquet was a mixed bag, the hit on Bobby full of tense foreplay (intercutting the toy trains with the killers' brisk pacings) but overelaborately executed and showoffy, with a visual metaphor so blatantly telegraphed (the train plunging off the tracks, symbolizing Tony's entire setup going off the rails) that it almost seemed a parody. The hit on Silvio, by contrast, had no film flair or shock clarity whatsoever; it was haphazardly shot, like a bad Seventies rubout, and Silvio's fate, given his importance to the show, seemed relegated to an afterthought--he deserved a better sendoff. Clumsily staged and acted too was the dinner party scene with Dr. Melfi and her colleagues, unhelped by Peter Bogdonavich's limitations as a non-actor. I did think Melfi's showdown was a theatrical success, mixing snarling anger long-brewing with prissy locutions ("It's not the first time you've defaced my reading materials") and petty comebacks (Tony's shtick with the torn-out recipe page); it seemed very true to life in its mixture of roiling emotions and niggly point-scoring in the pursuit of huffy self-justification.

― Tracer Hand, Saturday, 9 June 2007 09:41 (nineteen years ago)

murder bouquet

― sunny successor, Sunday, 10 June 2007 05:06 (nineteen years ago)

predictions anyone? here's mine:

phil gets wiped out early in the episode. silvio makes a deathbed confession to carmella about his and tony's roles in adriana's death. carm, totally disillusioned with tony, leaves him for feurio. the gang war with nyc escalates and meadow and aj get whacked. tony is implicated in chris' dirty dealings with the arabs and is sent to prison for supporting terrorists. the only person who will visit him in jail is janice. tony hangs himself in his cell. meanwhile, uncle junior is still petting a cat. fin!

― Edward III, Sunday, 10 June 2007 05:47 (nineteen years ago)

mine is that some stuff happens and someone dies. and then HBO has a spin-off with the russian guy and fuerio living in a small apartment in newark.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Sunday, 10 June 2007 07:28 (nineteen years ago)

Tony is eating and watching the History Channel when his cell phone rings.

― Eazy, Sunday, 10 June 2007 14:34 (nineteen years ago)

aargh i just realized that my hotel doesn't get hbo

fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck

― ^@^, Sunday, 10 June 2007 14:47 (nineteen years ago)

Some 70s AOR is heard on a car radio at some point.

― Dom Passantino, Sunday, 10 June 2007 14:47 (nineteen years ago)

In all blah blah blah, it obviously ends with Tony "losing" one of his families and being forced to devote himself to the other one.

― Dom Passantino, Sunday, 10 June 2007 14:47 (nineteen years ago)

I like Edward III's prediction, heh heh. Good point about Adriana though - they've been building up to Carm finding out the truth for a while. I wonder how much they'll tie up?

― Stew, Sunday, 10 June 2007 15:02 (nineteen years ago)

i don't think the adrianna stuff will emerge at all, nor will terrorists play a big role (to some degree i think their only involvement in the show was so Tony could get tipped off by the FBI about the hit). i don't think Paulie will flip.

― sean gramophone, Sunday, 10 June 2007 15:29 (nineteen years ago)

Breathed's prediction:

http://images.salon.com/ent/feature/2007/06/08/sopranos/story.jpg

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Sunday, 10 June 2007 15:55 (nineteen years ago)

Tony Sirico only agreed to sign on for the show if it was guaranteed that his character Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri would not be a rat.

― Pleasant Plains, Sunday, 10 June 2007 15:57 (nineteen years ago)

i think tony will get protection in exchange for some info re: the terrorists, saving him from having to actually rat out the mob.

― akm, Sunday, 10 June 2007 16:41 (nineteen years ago)

what I like about tony going to jail for terrorist stuff is that there's no honor in it. if he goes to jail for his regular gangster activities, his profile on the streeet actually improves (remember phil and his cronies complaining about how he never did time?). but who in his circle will want to associate with a supporter of terrorism? and it would be a sideways comment on our, uh, execution of the war on terror.

frankly I agree that it's a little late in the game for them to drag in something like adriana, or any other situation that would need more than an hour to successfully resolve itself. but based on the last couple of episodes I'm not exactly anticipating a graceful dismount here.

― Edward III, Sunday, 10 June 2007 16:54 (nineteen years ago)

The big question for me is: WILL WE SEE THE DUCKS AGAIN?

― Le Bateau Ivre, Sunday, 10 June 2007 16:56 (nineteen years ago)

Ducks and/or bears will feature heavily.

― Dom Passantino, Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:09 (nineteen years ago)

also, an ocelot

― Edward III, Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:14 (nineteen years ago)

I have to think that only one story line is going to come to some end - there's just too much going on. Something like "Phil's dead." Bam - Tony's problems with NYC go away, but he's still left with a shattered family and a shattered family, and we don't see anything that follows. So, what could his options be?

- Phil gets him.
- Phil doesn't get him.
- Phil doesn't get him and gets got hisself.
- FBI gets him (because he really is insulated from the local cops at this point).

I really don't know. I just hope that something happens and its not a dream sequence episode.

Here's a question - if Tony gets caught by the FBI for something, how much danger would he be in if he went to jail from continued attempts on his life by Phil's crew? I know that NYC postures themselves like they're really, really big time, but are they?

I hope it ends well - that's all I'm going to say in the end. I have invested FAR too much time and energy watching this show. I mean, fuck - they should GIVE us a great ending for the repeated Chris-beats-the-shit-outta-Adriana scenes. Those were fucking BRUTAL.

― B.L.A.M., Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:21 (nineteen years ago)

I hope that first post makes sense - I haven't had any coffee this morning.

My point was supposed to be that, whatever tie-up of story lines actually occurs, it will be small scale and only one of the many, many others left in motion by Chase. We won't see the big, showy ending of a Godfather I or II.

There - off to get some quality burnt bean broth.

― B.L.A.M., Sunday, 10 June 2007 17:24 (nineteen years ago)

seriously what kind of manhattan hotel doesn't have hbo?! i'm 5 blocks away from the hbo building for christ's sake.

― ^@^, Sunday, 10 June 2007 22:57 (nineteen years ago)

i am so mad.

― ^@^, Sunday, 10 June 2007 23:47 (nineteen years ago)

T-minus 10...

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 00:51 (nineteen years ago)

in manhattan I'm sure there's some bar somewhere showing it.

I can commiserate; my wife and I have watched every episode together, but she's got a crazy busy school week. she's not around tonight and I have no idea the next chance we'll have to watch it. friday maybe.

so I could be watching it, but won't be. must... resist... opening... thread.

― Edward III, Monday, 11 June 2007 01:07 (nineteen years ago)

Whoa.

― Rock Hardy, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:04 (nineteen years ago)

wau

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:05 (nineteen years ago)

well.

― lauren, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:09 (nineteen years ago)

Oh man, that ending was a middle finger to everyone who wanted a clear resolution. I guess people asked David Chase "so, whatever happened to the Russian?" one too many times.

― Brent, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:10 (nineteen years ago)

no that was someone who knows his instrument, basically and exercising his ability to ratchet tension at will all the way to the last possible second

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:12 (nineteen years ago)

otm!

― lauren, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:13 (nineteen years ago)

i'm still nervous.

― lauren, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:14 (nineteen years ago)

Seriously. I was gnawing my nails up to the elbows. xxpost

― Rock Hardy, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:14 (nineteen years ago)

So that just happened.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:17 (nineteen years ago)

Unless you're having a dream sequence.

― Rock Hardy, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:18 (nineteen years ago)

I don't wanna stop believin :(

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:19 (nineteen years ago)

I guess Tony was basically killed. He was so fucked up with paranoia at the end, it was as if anybody in that dinner could've kill him. And that scene with Junior was just a pure illustration of, after everything, where the end of the line is.

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

Or he could become a cat, like Chris did.

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:20 (nineteen years ago)

I guess Tony was basically killed.

Or taken away due to what Carlo's been saying.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:22 (nineteen years ago)

Or, you know, nothing.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:22 (nineteen years ago)

Or he orders a big hamburger

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:23 (nineteen years ago)

I meant killed in the sense that, he wasn't alive anyway, he was just living in constant fear. It didn't matter if he was shot in the head or he was just sitting there thinking anybody at any time could shoot him in the head.

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:24 (nineteen years ago)

i missed the episodes w/ the russian so i don't know the backstory on that. from the way he kept looking over i gather he had "beef" to settle w/ tony?

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:37 (nineteen years ago)

waht

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:48 (nineteen years ago)

oh nm, the 'pine barrens' episode. it was so long ago that his face didn't register

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 02:59 (nineteen years ago)

there's no russian in the diner?

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:08 (nineteen years ago)

if you haven't already, check out the hbo forums on the ending. or just search "david chase" "cocksucker."

― fukasaku tollbooth, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:20 (nineteen years ago)

xp - i'll to rewatch it sober, don't mind me ;]

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:22 (nineteen years ago)

if you haven't already, check out the hbo forums on the ending. or just search "david chase" "cocksucker."

lol @ fans

― David R., Monday, 11 June 2007 03:23 (nineteen years ago)

horrifying beyond belief over there.

― fukasaku tollbooth, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:24 (nineteen years ago)

"Yeets"

What did A.J. call Nietzsche that one time? "Nitch"?

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:27 (nineteen years ago)

Well I know this is what David Lynch did it for, but my explanation and hence why the whole show was genius:

Anyone remember the flashback to Bobby and Tony on the boat? Bobby asks "Do you think you even feel anything" or something to that effect and Tony responds "Why don't you ask the deer on your wall?"

I really think Tony got shot and the less second when we saw Meadow walk through the door it was through Tony's eyes.

He died.

― MaGoGo, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:28 (nineteen years ago)

paulie's ringtone! ^.^

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

xpost David Chase.

― MaGoGo, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

I think that anyone who would have any major problems with the way the show ended (with regards to the final scene or the episode as a whole) had no idea what the hell they were watching for 86 episodes.

Paulie's ringtone made me LOL!

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

xxpost or the writers my bad

― MaGoGo, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:37 (nineteen years ago)

FBI dude talking to Tony on the phone while his piece of ass silently and furiously gets dressed would have been enough for me to be happy with the whole final season, regardless of what else had happened.

But not to worry, because the whole thing was just about perfect.

― Oilyrags, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:47 (nineteen years ago)

Seriously, I'm not sure I "got" the finale.

― Naive Teen Idol, Monday, 11 June 2007 03:51 (nineteen years ago)

BEST ONION RINGS IN THE STATE

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:03 (nineteen years ago)

SOME WILL WIN, SOME WILL LOSE.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:03 (nineteen years ago)

OH THE WHEEL IN THE SKY KEEPS ON TURNIN'.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

RAISED ON RADIO

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:04 (nineteen years ago)

IF HE EVER HURTS YOU, TRUE LOVE WON'T FORGET YOU

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:05 (nineteen years ago)

I HOPE YOU HAD THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:05 (nineteen years ago)

people in not getting nothing shokah

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:06 (nineteen years ago)

I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE BACK MY "I WANT YOU (SHE'S SO HEAVY)" VOTE FROM THE ABBEY ROAD THREAD.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:09 (nineteen years ago)

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/3921/s14517np5.jpg

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:14 (nineteen years ago)

Nilla please

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:16 (nineteen years ago)

Yeah, this is how I saw it too.

And I love how folks were saying after the Little Vito storyline a few weeks back how cheeky it was for Chase to concentrate on this, when even the final episode is introducing all sorts of new stuff.

It seemed clear to me that AJ wants to join the Taliban, no?

― Eazy, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:17 (nineteen years ago)

uh no.

― Jimmy The Mod Awaits The Return Of His Beloved, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:19 (nineteen years ago)

disappointed here. but about what I suspected.

― akm, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:39 (nineteen years ago)

damn.

I never cared much for the show until recently (last few eps so so so much better than the last two seasons when I tried to watch), but that was the perfect finale.

kids puking at the sight of Phil's head go poof >>> angry booty call

― milo z, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:40 (nineteen years ago)

yeah Phil's head going poof for the win

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:42 (nineteen years ago)

actually the whole episode is pretty hilarious the second time through

Paulie and the broom with the cat
The ketchup bottle
A.J. in general

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 04:49 (nineteen years ago)

If that guy in the diner were gonna whack Tony, he wouldn't have kept looking over. He would have done it without all that.

On the other hand, dude walking into the bathroom could've been a Godfather reference.

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Monday, 11 June 2007 05:35 (nineteen years ago)

I really think Tony got shot and the less second when we saw Meadow walk through the door it was through Tony's eyes.

It doesn't end through Tony's eyes though, it ends on a close up of Tony.

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 05:38 (nineteen years ago)

The guy going into the bathroom had to be a Godfather reference. Also, Tony was eating an orange earlier which is always bad news.

I liked it. Tony won, he got everything he wanted, basically. Phil's dead. He made a deal with NY. Paulie showed that he wasn't going to threaten the established order. Junior's out of the picture.

But he could still get killed or arrested at any time, by anyone. Or he ends up in a coma. Or at the end of it all he's senile forgotten about his money and power, and nothing mattered anyway.

I also liked how after blurring the lines for a bit, they reestablished that Meadow is smart and knows exactly what she's doing, while AJ is dumb and easily distracted by shiny things and base urges.

― joygoat, Monday, 11 June 2007 06:16 (nineteen years ago)

loved the ending!

― latebloomer, Monday, 11 June 2007 06:46 (nineteen years ago)

Yah and the HBO board people being "outraged" makes it even better

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 06:49 (nineteen years ago)

guess next season is going to be all about the trial? that should be interesting

― s1ocki, Monday, 11 June 2007 06:54 (nineteen years ago)

What?

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:01 (nineteen years ago)

well now that they've done the "serious finale" everyone's been talking about, i'm curious how they handle the trial stuff

― s1ocki, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:05 (nineteen years ago)

i liked it. the more i think about the ending the more interpretations i think are possible. when the screen went blank i swear i heard people yelling up and down the block.

(also, chase's daughter returned. another part of the weird circular bits referring to the first episode, like paulie with the tanning reflector thing.)

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:15 (nineteen years ago)

Where would they handle the trial stuff? The shows over.

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:18 (nineteen years ago)

Different endings!?

"In the east coast HBO feed, ... In the west coast HBO feed, ..."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sopranos#Plot_synopsis_and_episode_list (final paragraph)

― StanM, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:20 (nineteen years ago)

i'm on the east coast and i swear the last shot was meadow pushing open the door to the restaurant.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:24 (nineteen years ago)

What does this mean? HBO On Demand isn't the same thing as HBO East Coast? Or it IS the same thing? (anyway, it doesn't matter all that much, I guess)

― StanM, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:35 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm, I watched both feeds and thought they were the same, but the one thing I thought was weird was I had thought I remembered the first time Meadow coming through the door from Tony's POV and then it ends on the Tony close up, but the second time I saw that they show Meadow going to the door from the outside and cut straight to the Tony close up with the sound effect (the little bell) of Meadow opening the door...

― marmotwolof, Monday, 11 June 2007 07:45 (nineteen years ago)

"Where would they handle the trial stuff? The shows over."

it was so obvious that Tony's death or alive thing will be open to interpretation, i mean, you goota leave an open story for the option for another bonus episode in the future...

― Zeno, Monday, 11 June 2007 08:25 (nineteen years ago)

so FANFIC is what you're saying?

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 11 June 2007 08:41 (nineteen years ago)

Cool background story on the Members Only jacket guy in the diner.

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 11 June 2007 09:44 (nineteen years ago)

I think it's simpler than all that. The show's called "the Sopranos". The Sopranos are a family. So the show is about the Soprano family. That's why it ended the way it did.

David Chase should be sainted.

― Rich Smörgasbord, Monday, 11 June 2007 09:59 (nineteen years ago)

You mean that wasn't a nuclear bomb going off?

― Eazy, Monday, 11 June 2007 10:16 (nineteen years ago)

But not to worry, because the whole thing was just about perfect.

You understand. Perfect.

― Rich Smörgasbord, Monday, 11 June 2007 10:17 (nineteen years ago)

street lights
people
woah

― Mike McGooney-gal, Monday, 11 June 2007 11:45 (nineteen years ago)

the onion rings as communion thing was kind of genius

also, i assumed that angry diner dude was an fbi guy -- is there evidence to prove otherwise?

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:55 (nineteen years ago)

Colandrea, who earned more than $3,000 (before taxes) for his role, also saw Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Meadow) on the set but didn't talk to her.

“She's so gorgeous,” he said. “She has bodyguards with her, but I don't blame her.”

― s1ocki, Monday, 11 June 2007 12:58 (nineteen years ago)

there was an awesome pre-game wrapup in the sunday times yesterday where they interviewed the ten main cast members. i'm gonna try and find a link.

any theories on what the whole parallel parking thing was about? were they just ratcheting up the tension?

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:07 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/10/arts/television/10cart.html?em&ex=1181707200&en=12ef6294b0696b47&ei=5087%0A

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:07 (nineteen years ago)

holy shit! is this true?

http://poor-zaku.livejournal.com/58379.html

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:13 (nineteen years ago)

i liked the focus on the fbi guy "we're winning!"

― cutty, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:13 (nineteen years ago)

Michael Kelly (the FBI guy's silent partner) needs more work.

― David R., Monday, 11 June 2007 13:17 (nineteen years ago)

i am kind of enjoying the harebrained theory that the cat was adrianna reincarnated

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:23 (nineteen years ago)

Well I know this is what David Lynch did it for, but my explanation and hence why the whole show was genius:

Anyone remember the flashback to Bobby and Tony on the boat? Bobby asks "Do you think you even feel anything" or something to that effect and Tony responds "Why don't you ask the deer on your wall?"

I really think Tony got shot and the less second when we saw Meadow walk through the door it was through Tony's eyes.

He died.

-- MaGoGo, Sunday, June 10, 2007 10:28 PM (9 hours ago) Bookmark Link

this is exactly what i thought happened with the bobby talk connection. im pretty sure the last shot was of meadow, not tony.
anyway, still leaves it open for a movie, i guess.

the pine barrens ep was on A&E just last week. I still didnt make the connection.

phil's squished head and the kids' reaction (even the babies non-reaction) was gold.

― sunny successor, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:34 (nineteen years ago)

i am kind of enjoying the harebrained theory that the cat was adrianna reincarnated

that was my guess, only because I think the cat came from the same area they dumped her body, right?

― akm, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:42 (nineteen years ago)

I've only seen the first episode of the first season (I grew up in North Jersey and really couldn't get motivated for more fiction about Those People), but I think the general MSM hue-and-cry over an open-ended conclusion shows why trying to make ambitious popular art for 21st-century America isn't worth it: It's a nation of motherfucking morons.

― Dr Morbius, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:45 (nineteen years ago)

thanks morbs

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:47 (nineteen years ago)

I really think Tony got shot and the less second when we saw Meadow walk through the door it was through Tony's eyes.

Bobby Bacclieri: "You probably don't even hear it when it happens."

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:52 (nineteen years ago)

Morbius OTM, though I think in some way that's more of a reason to do stuff like this. Those idiots need to get slapped around a bit.

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 11 June 2007 13:55 (nineteen years ago)

You know, it's kinda amazing how differently that final scene plays when you're watching it the second time through -- if you're not expecting anything, it's kinda mellow and sweet but still a bit nervous.

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:05 (nineteen years ago)

i just watched it again as well, and two things jumped out:

1. the weird jump cut that happens after tony enters the diner, where he goes from surveying the tables to sitting at one. dunno why, but it's got a weird dreamlike quality to it.

2. edie falco clearly out of character for the onion ring bit. you can tell she knows its her last scene.

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:11 (nineteen years ago)

1. is otm. i thought tony was seeing his doppelganger or something.

― GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:51 (nineteen years ago)

i also like the parallel between tony reminding junior that he used to run new jersey ("we did?") and aj reminding tony that he once said to focus on the good times ("i did?").

someone else say something, i feel like bimble over here.

xpost thanks

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 14:53 (nineteen years ago)

that diner scene is rife for over-interpretation. the first lyric you hear when tony enters is feat little singing "all that you dream". tony's wearing the same shirt he wore when he got shot. you could make the case that the surrounding characters at the other table all represent tony's different roles in life. the meadow/birth control thing is interesting too -- maybe its some sort of nod to the line of batshit insane soprano women finally coming to an end.

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:01 (nineteen years ago)

I don't understand the confusion. Chase laid it all out for us nice and neatly in the previous episodes.

Basically, for our sake (and yet as our punishment), we didn't see Tony get shot only because we've been with him for the last 10 years and know him so well, I suppose.

When AJ entered, a figure entered in front of him, eyed the family thoroughly and ducked into the bathroom. When he did so, Tony noticed some gangster-type thugs. Either/or put a bullet through Tony's head just as his daughter entered the door in the nick of time to see her dad get shot. Tony was shot in front of the whole family.

And, as explained in the previous episode, "they don't touch the family, you know that," Tony said to his hysterical wife as they rushed into hiding. When Phil got shot at the gas station, notice the wife and kids were not shot. They don't touch the family.

His daughter got disillusioned ("why do they pick on Italian Americans, dad? Oh, it's because you ARE a mob boss!" she realizes when he is shot right in front of her face). Also, AJ we can now be assured is a complete mess and his wife, too.

The point of the whole series was that, after this constant struggle and misery caused by sociopath behavior, it all turns to shit in the end. He and everyone he ever got involved with had their lives ruined, including the FBI agent and his psychiatrist.

Tony got shot. There's no mystery about it to me. I believe the point was that Tony himself did not get the privalege of knowing who finally put an end to his mysterious, miserable existence and neither did we. That is the fate we suffer for having lived vicariously through this evil prick's murderous antics for the last decade.

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:04 (nineteen years ago)

to take a break from the last scene analysis... i really liked tony's uncomfortable one-word reaction to meadow's impassioned, muddle-headed speech about the rights of italian-americans being trampled upon by the government. even though he made of show of keeping the kids out of it, he seemed a bit stunned that she was so deeply in denial about his occupation.

― lauren, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:09 (nineteen years ago)

i'm going to have journey in my head all day.

― Gukbe, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:14 (nineteen years ago)

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on and on and on and on

― Scott CE, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:21 (nineteen years ago)

"woke up this morning, got yourself a gun" = the first thing tony does in this ep

― ^@^, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:25 (nineteen years ago)

That was a damned artistic ending, says this hillbilly. I suppose it is somewhat possible, though not likely very arguable, the entire last season was just Tony's dying brain attempting to make sense of his death and make peace with it all... it seems very plausible to me, actually. I love the peyote scene: "... and the sun... it came up!"

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:28 (nineteen years ago)

"Tony got shot. There's no mystery about it to me"

if that was true, we could see or at least here the shot.the mystery is hakf the point.

― Zeno, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:42 (nineteen years ago)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Stop_Believin%27

"When Don't Stop Believing appeared on MTV's Laguna Beach and Fox's Family Guy in the same week, it jumped to the top 10 most songs sold on iTunes."

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:43 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry, but:
IM IN UR STRIP CLUB
STARIN AT CRISTOPHUH

― Chris L, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:43 (nineteen years ago)

i've been waiting for somebody to get a screencap to lolcat that. it's sad that that's what i was thinking during that scene.

― Gukbe, Monday, 11 June 2007 15:45 (nineteen years ago)

"if that was true, we could see or at least here the shot.the mystery is hakf the point."

Not based on the reasons I suggested for such a treatment. BLAM. Before he (or we) knew what hit him.

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:02 (nineteen years ago)

wow, the general population hated the ending. :( wtf did they want, a 10 minute death-scene shootout where Tony gets killed and then AJ grabs his piece and says "you're terminated" or some shit.

― bnw, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:23 (nineteen years ago)

TS: Complaining about the Soprano's finale vs. Complaining about people complaining about the Soprano's finale.

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

Why did I put apostrophes in the word Sopranos?

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:31 (nineteen years ago)

karma was making you look dumb because you were being mean.

― sunny successor, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not trying to be mean. I'll try to make my point a little less caustically:

Personally, I think it's a bad attitude to have to complain about people wanting something a little more action packed. It's not one of the most popular shows in the world because it exclusively appeals to people who've taken film classes.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the ending was "My mom is gonna be pissed." Not because my mom is "stupid" (like many of the xxxxxxxxx-posts, imply), but because she hates open-ended shit and inference. She likes a good story. I can understand why some people would find this ending to be a bit of a "fuck you"

― Whiney G. Weingarten, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

"That's the question I get asked more than any other. It drives people crazy: 'Where's the Russian? What happened to the Russian?' We could say, 'Well, he got out and there's a big mob war with the Russians,' or 'He crawled off and died.' But we wanted to keep it ambiguous. You know, not everything gets answered in life. They shot a guy. Who knows where he went? Who cares about some Russian? This is what Hollywood has done to America. Do you have to have closure on every little thing? Isn't there any mystery in the world? It's a murky world out there. It's a murky life these guys lead. And by the way, I do know where the Russian is. But I'll never say because so many people got so pissy about it."

― Dom Passantino, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

I don't think everybody equates "middlebrow" with stupid. This reminds me of when the TV-watching middbrows bailed on Twin Peaks, cuz it wasn't clear to them that it was arty until it started to withhold narrative beats, closure, satisfaction etc.

― Dr Morbius, Monday, 11 June 2007 16:44 (nineteen years ago)

between the cat and the ringtone and Paulie's hair, it was a gr8 episode. i prefer the open-ended thing. it's harder to pull off but i think chase did it really well.

― am0n, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:19 (nineteen years ago)

1. is otm. i thought tony was seeing his doppelganger or something.

Yeah, that was very weird. I thought we were heading for Lynch territory for about 20 seconds.

I suspect dean ge's interpretation is "right," but bless Chase for not showing it.

― Rock Hardy, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:31 (nineteen years ago)

"if that was true, we could see or at least here the shot.the mystery is hakf the point.

In addition to my previous response/reasons why Tony got shot in front of his whole family, remember the flashback...
Bobby: "they say you don't hear it when it happens"...
I thought the deafening silence was more powerful than if you heard a shot. It gave you a minute to put it all together and, for me, the imagined horror of the family was worse than seeing it on my tv.

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:32 (nineteen years ago)

I suspect dean ge's interpretation is "right," but bless Chase for not showing it

RIGHT! I think he knew that we didn't even those of us who wanted to see him die didn't really want to see him die. And there were definitely those who didn't want him to die at all. All those mafia-loving types. He really treated it well, imo. I didn't realize I felt that way until afterward, talking it over with my mate. Suddenly, I pictured T shot between the eyes and blurted out, "I guess I'm glad they didn't show it." Very weird. Great writing on that show!

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:36 (nineteen years ago)

1. the weird jump cut that happens after tony enters the diner, where he goes from surveying the tables to sitting at one. dunno why, but it's got a weird dreamlike quality to it.

I noticed this last night as well and was wondering when the big black monolith was going to appear.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:37 (nineteen years ago)

my complaint w/sopranos has always been the stasis - like 85 hours of carm bitching at tony is a bit much. of course it redeems itself by being so so good. which is exactly what last nite was like.

yeah i wanted tony dead, but i also laughed so hard at the crissy obsessed cat.

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:39 (nineteen years ago)

I just got a little creped out at lunch when the restaurant iPod started playing Donovan's "Atlantis" and I thought about when Phil Leotardo got whacked by Joe Pesci in his earlier incarnation as Billy Bats in Goodfellas.

Seriously, I'm not sure I "got" the finale.
-- Naive Teen Idol
So I guess the guy in the credits with your name is not you after all. Another illusion shattered.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:40 (nineteen years ago)

dean ge is the gabbneb who convinces

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:42 (nineteen years ago)

Sorry, Billy Batts

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

AND GUYS IT WAS PURPOSELY AMBIGUOUS TONY DIDNT DIE THE SHOW ENDED DUH

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:45 (nineteen years ago)

(I'm still trying to figure out the end of "The Break-Up," though... I think it is open to the audience based on how they would approach the situation. Some people do get back together and I just can't tell if Jen and Vince will or would based on their interaction in the final scene. Perhaps it was a prediction come true which will play out in real life... Although, Us magazine tells me Jen's got a new man.)

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

Various Holsten's observations.

― Ned Raggett, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:00 (nineteen years ago)

The more I think about it the more I realize how important the scene where Tony visits AJ's therapist is. In David Chase's interview with Fresh Air he talked about how at some point during therapy one must get passed analyzing parental issues and take responsibility for one's own problems. Tony's therapist realized herself that Tony was not getting to the root of his issues or changing, he was just becoming a better manipulater. When Tony talked to AJ's therapist, he reverted right back to where he was 7 years ago, a big baby whining about his mother, as if he hadn't changed a bit. And to a certain extent the last scene with his family illustrated how little any of the family had really grown or changed, as they all enabled each other not to. AJ who was on the verge of leaving his family's values behind was once again spoiled by his parents and basically forgot everything he had been doing in the past few months. Even Meadow who is the most intelligent and reasonable of the group harbored her own delusions when she talked about how she was going into law because of the prejudices her family received as Italian Americans from the legal system, when she knows damn well why her father was really in and out of jail growing up. Carmella was worried but not enough to stop anything. Tony's sister was already talking about finding a new husband for fucks sake!

― filthy dylan, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:12 (nineteen years ago)

The sudden silence was absolutely terrifying for me, and way more satisfying than any gang war, whacking or Witness Protection Program existence. But then, sudden silence always creeps me out. Radio and TV signoffs, the endings of The Wall and Abbey Road, the closing credits of Talk Radio (half of which rolled sans music)...it's the easiest way for me to get the creeps.

― mike a, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:16 (nineteen years ago)

The sudden silence made me burst into laughter knowing that so many people would be yelling and calling HBO and posting missives on websites.

The episode was outstanding, a perfect ending.

― Dandy Don Weiner, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:28 (nineteen years ago)

Movies with relatively inexplicable endings

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:30 (nineteen years ago)

I just hate getting played. Meadow trying to parallel park, long shot of different song titles on the juke box, suspicious looking men going to the restroom... Like all those pathetic horror movies where you think the killer's about to strike and oh, it's just a kitty.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:31 (nineteen years ago)

Did AJ ever have a single moment of dignity on the show?

― milo z, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:33 (nineteen years ago)

I'm surprised how many people were thrown by the silence - it seemed obviously (if suddenly) part of the broadcast to me.

― mike a, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:37 (nineteen years ago)

haha PP i thought about reviving that thread myself.

i loved it. i thought the ending was perfect, even lyrical, and sort of summed up what was at the heart of the show really well.

― ryan, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:38 (nineteen years ago)

'm surprised how many people were thrown by the silence - it seemed obviously (if suddenly) part of the broadcast to me.
Really? For a few seconds this morning when I read that East Coast/West Coast feed thing I had myself convinced that they had actually filmed something and then manually blacked it out.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

Why do you feel like you got played PP?

― Dandy Don Weiner, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:44 (nineteen years ago)

cause of manipulation ok
-pp

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:49 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig4/vonnegut.jpg

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

Last season's finale felt far more manipulative - think of when AJ seemed to be opening his trunk to get a gun to avenge Blanca, when he was actually bribing the thugs with a bicycle.

― mike a, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:52 (nineteen years ago)

Ha - I've been having intermittent issues w/ my DirecTV & my TV sound, so when the silence happened, I first thought "oh, WTF got screwed up now?"

― David R., Monday, 11 June 2007 18:58 (nineteen years ago)

TS: Complaining about the Soprano's finale vs. Complaining about people complaining about the Soprano's finale.

vs. Complaining about people complaining about people complaining about the Soprano's finale?

― bnw, Monday, 11 June 2007 18:59 (nineteen years ago)

this is cocaine speaking. i like the way the last episode brought up a few different new plot developments, amassed some tension and ended in the middle of some lyric "don't stop..." ; nothing happens after they call it a stop, show's over

― Cocaine, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:00 (nineteen years ago)

I also loved the ending, and thought it was perfect. Tony doesn't get a minute's peace...even going out to dinner with his family he's worried that he could get killed any minute. And on top of that, he's got a pretty decent chance of going to jail for a long time.

To me, the manipulation of the last two minutes was designed to put you in Tony's mind. That's how he always feels, wondering if any random stranger could be the guy who takes him out.

― kornrulez6969, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:03 (nineteen years ago)

Did AJ ever have a single moment of dignity on the show?

I thought they threw him a little something in the end, his being "free" when the SUV burned and his little "remember the good stuff" bit.

Still if David Chase has a son, I feel bad for the kid.

― bnw, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:05 (nineteen years ago)

The thing that confuses me about people's reaction to the black screen is that it's no more than 30 seconds or so. Did people launch into long-ass screaming fits or something and miss the credits? Jeez. It was pretty obvious to me that it was intentional when I saw it! I mean, it ends on "stop" for God's sake.

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:10 (nineteen years ago)

Still if David Chase has a son, I feel bad for the kid.

I don't know if he has a son, but he has a daughter, and I got a nice laugh out of her popping up as Hunter again. Certainly not a flattering role for one's own daughter!

― Mr. Perpetua, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:11 (nineteen years ago)

To me, the manipulation of the last two minutes was designed to put you in Tony's mind. That's how he always feels, wondering if any random stranger could be the guy who takes him out.

-- kornrulez6969, Monday, June 11, 2007 7:03 PM (29 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

kind of a good point

― s1ocki, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:39 (nineteen years ago)

The ending was brilliant IMO, and the theory that he was killed is very compelling (I hadn't seen that earlier episode). The editor should certainly get an Emmy.

― Mark Rich@rdson, Monday, 11 June 2007 19:41 (nineteen years ago)

loved the toxic avenger ref!!@1

― W i l l, Monday, 11 June 2007 20:43 (nineteen years ago)

Many xposts:

My mom likes a good story, too, but I woke up today to a three-word e-mail from her: "What a hoot."

― If Timi Yuro would be still alive, most other singers could shut up, Monday, 11 June 2007 20:58 (nineteen years ago)

POOR TONY. ALWASY THINKIN' 'BOUT PARALLEL PARKING.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:00 (nineteen years ago)

http://img9.imagepile.net/img9/819ParallelParkingAnimation.gif http://img9.imagepile.net/img9/819ParallelParkingAnimation.gif http://img9.imagepile.net/img9/819ParallelParkingAnimation.gif

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:00 (nineteen years ago)

Not sure if it's a rumor or not, but apparently the guy credited at the bar in the last scene (who ducks into the bathroom) is credited as "Nikki Leotardo," which I think I just read was Phil's nephew. So, Tony was shot from behind and was looking up at his daughter. He never saw the one that got him and no more music for him. Lights out. He didn't even hear it, as predicted. I'm glad I found this info out (if it's true, I must check the credits) because it kind of bugged me that I didn't know who killed him.

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:34 (nineteen years ago)

Apparently each of the people shown walking in suspiciously would have had a reason to kill Tony - one was the brother of a trucker Chris killed(?), the two black men had shot at Tony, Phil's nephew, etc..

Quit looking for closure.

― milo z, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:37 (nineteen years ago)

didn't we already establish that those rumours weren't true up above? or, someone established them somewhere.

I like that the final scene just as easily could have been the final scene of the last episode of the OC, right down to the Journey song.

― akm, Monday, 11 June 2007 21:40 (nineteen years ago)

To me, the manipulation of the last two minutes was designed to put you in Tony's mind. That's how he always feels, wondering if any random stranger could be the guy who takes him out.

Mild side-note here, but this sense is far less due to anything engaging happening in the scene, and far more due to the overwhelming awareness on the audience's part that they're watching the series finale and the hour is almost over. (There's a kind of opposite incoherence in using the dramatic rising movement of "Don't Stop Believing" and tense cutaway shots of Meadow frantically, umm PARKING to create further tension -- oh, it "comes out of nowhere," except that it comes at the tense climactic point of a celebrated series and we're doing all sorts of O.C. / horror-movie stuff to telegraph that it ... "comes out of nowhere.")

I dunno, one of the reasons I lost interest in this, many seasons back -- apart from not having cable and the fact that they never made any episodes -- is that they seemed to figure out that if they underplayed 95% of everything and dramatically overplayed the other 5%, the audience would continue to extend incredible amounts of credit, attention, and work in ferreting out meaning and subtext: in a lot of ways it was kinda great to see TV that could operate on a level of trusting people to be good active viewers, but it also meant that they could rest on subtlety and ambiguity when they just didn't have a good development to deploy, or had a dramatic development they wanted to deploy even though it was dramatically incoherent. This ending was fine, I suppose -- and who am I to talk, it's the only thing I've seen of this in years and years -- but it seems / sounds like it was falling back on that a little, using a kind of cloak of depth and complexity and realism ("that's just how it is, man, one day someone could just pop you, no drama") to jump around the fact that they have no grand narrative or thematic wrap to go with.

― nabisco, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:06 (nineteen years ago)

Quit looking for closure.

Try and stop—

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:13 (nineteen years ago)

I'd say they DID have a grand narrative/thematic wrap up. A lot of people don't like what that was, and they put their own expectations and hopes in what wasn't there.

― Dandy Don Weiner, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:16 (nineteen years ago)

Looks like Snopes will have material for a new page this week.

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:17 (nineteen years ago)

I hadn't seen any of this season's thematic lead-up, so I wouldn't have detected it, but ... what would you say the grand narrative/thematic wrap up was? The best I can get is a Yeats "things fall apart" thread -- it all comes to nothing, "we used to run North Jersey? that's nice," take care of the children, eat your onion rings and remember the good times -- which is less "grand" and more either (a) a very professionally organized shrug, (b) the kind of deeply felt old-man truism that's accompanied by a shrug but feels deep anyway, or (c) a refusal to admit that the show might have any wrap point smaller or more specific than a vast general shruggy thing about life.

― nabisco, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:22 (nineteen years ago)

haha, my memory plays tricks on me:

FINAL SCENE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bphuuLi17SU

I guess I just expected him to die so I projected that. Upon further analysis, it looks like he goes on living for however long it lasts. That's kind of interesting, too. I still like the end alright.

― dean ge, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:26 (nineteen years ago)

if you do a visual spectral analysis of the silence, it actually reveals the text MOMENTS LATER, TONY CHOKED TO DEATH ON AN ONION RING

― nabisco, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:34 (nineteen years ago)

EVEN BETTER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTStSZsaX5s

― Pleasant Plains, Monday, 11 June 2007 22:56 (nineteen years ago)

Where are all the people who were supposedly outraged by this ending? I've only seen a couple grousers, who were mostly just getting over their suprise. I'm beginning to think that everybody's just assuming that these people exist. Can anybody show me a link to some real, concerted outrage?

― Rich Smörgasbord, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:13 (nineteen years ago)

Was anyone else out there reminded of the ending to John Sayles' Limbo? If so, speak up damnit!

― Elvis Telecom, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:34 (nineteen years ago)

i was! but after thinking about i decided they are way different...

― ryan, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:38 (nineteen years ago)

One interesting thing i noticed about AJ was that he and his model friend towards the end were watching clips of Bush on tv and laughing. for once not taking things overly serious. before dude couldn't even watch Aqua teen Hunger force without scowling!

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:41 (nineteen years ago)

Where are all the people who were supposedly outraged by this ending? I've only seen a couple grousers, who were mostly just getting over their suprise. I'm beginning to think that everybody's just assuming that these people exist. Can anybody show me a link to some real, concerted outrage?

The HBO thread was mentioned above. Here is more: http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showtopic=3154768

― Gukbe, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:42 (nineteen years ago)

Not "clips of Bush," though -- it was a montage that went from "MC Rove" to "Bush Dances with Africans" = comedy central (pun intended)

― nabisco, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:46 (nineteen years ago)

Thx for the link. Yeah, that Sayles movie... I saw it in the theatre, and when it went dark a guy behind me groaned "OOHHH NOOOO..."

― Rich Smörgasbord, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:49 (nineteen years ago)

mc rove makes me feel like swimming pool aj

― jhøshea, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:50 (nineteen years ago)

ok - not just bush, but you get the point.

― The Cursed Return of the Dastardly Thermo Thinwall, Monday, 11 June 2007 23:54 (nineteen years ago)

i was! but after thinking about i decided they are way different...

They are, but I was thinking of the bait and switch ending. Both are really about relationships and once those relationships are resolved (Tony emotionally devolving at A.J.'s therapist, Tony attempting to make contact with Junior and Silvio) there's no more story. Roll credits.

― Elvis Telecom, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:04 (nineteen years ago)

roffle @ fat kid shower shit ending

x-posts
yeah Rich, on the HBO boards last night there were people not only using the word "outrage" but saying they were canceling HBO forever, never watching another HBO series again, boycotting HBO DVDs, etc.

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:06 (nineteen years ago)

"Following the guidelines above will make every post worth reading" - TWOP might be overstating things a bit.

― milo z, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:23 (nineteen years ago)

I looked at that HBO thread. There were pages and pages of comments like that and the post-times were still just ten minutes after the show ended. I put a lot of it down to plain shock. I kind of doubt that that guy, for instance, will follow through on canceling his HBO. He's chewing the scenery. Some of those are as funny as the "sux" pans in the IMDB user comments.

Somebody upthread said that the fact that people were offended was evidence that they needed the shock. Hmmmmmm. And David Chase said the constant questions about the Russian came from Hollywood convention. (Loose ends are tied up).

― Rich Smörgasbord, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:29 (nineteen years ago)

put remote in docking station

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:31 (nineteen years ago)

i watched that ep at my friend's house and he had that remote and it doesnt have a docking station

― jhøshea, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:32 (nineteen years ago)

couple of interesting posts on the HBO thread just recently:

Kaosinla:
Frank Vincent was interviewed this morning on Opie & Anthony radio show. He said that Tony does NOT get whacked at the diner and he and his family live on with all the same problems he has had for the last several years. He said the talk of a movie has centered around a possible prequel story. He said that the bit with Meadow parking the car was suppose to be a joke because she was driving a car with those new fangled systems that can park it for you all by itself.
newsgrrl12:
I don't know if this makes anyone feel any better, but it's from New York magazine today:
There was another ending, Matt "We're going to win this thing" Servitto told reporters. The last he knew, the scene in Holsten's diner — which was shot in the real life Holsten’s out in Bloomfield, New Jersey — went on a little longer and featured one of the menacing figures in the diner dominating the camera. "The scene cut as the guy was advancing towards him, as if he was about to shoot Tony. It was, I think, less ambiguous that Tony was going to get shot."

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:51 (nineteen years ago)

The Sopranos prequel movie, full of Johnny Boy Soprano beating up butchers and Dickie Moltesanti shooting up, should be awesome.

― Dom Passantino, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:53 (nineteen years ago)

Who could they possibly cast as Livia, though? Who would dare take that role?

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:57 (nineteen years ago)

A year or two ago, Chase said in a few interviews that he had an idea for a Sopranos movie that would take place over the course of a day during that year or two that gets covered by montage at the start of season 6.

― Eazy, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 00:59 (nineteen years ago)

LINDSAY LOHAN
x-post

― marmotwolof, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 01:01 (nineteen years ago)

I am not ready for a Livia Soprano car washing montage set to a Devo 2.0 song.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 01:02 (nineteen years ago)

...unless of course, it features the decaying corpse-puppet of Nancy Marchand.

― Oilyrags, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 01:04 (nineteen years ago)

Ha, so, what, they've coordinated their press action to create further ambiguity?

He said that the bit with Meadow parking the car was suppose to be a joke because she was driving a car with those new fangled systems that can park it for you all by itself.

"So what do you think for the crucial last minute of our intensely celebrated series?"
"Well so I just drove over here with Larry David, and the funniest thing happened..."

― nabisco, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 01:09 (nineteen years ago)

So, to summarize, it seems the "Tony is dead" theory proposes that the other diners at the diner comprised a Never Forget Wall of Shame of People Who Wanted Tony Dead. Apparently in the final cut they edited out the Tony-hating shirtless Jay Blancmange and the hip-diseased cortisone-pickled Floyd Landis.

― James Redd and the Blecchs, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 02:21 (nineteen years ago)

He said that the bit with Meadow parking the car was suppose to be a joke because she was driving a car with those new fangled systems that can park it for you all by itself.

Except she wasn't. Plus even if she was the problem would be: not actually funny. It was shot for tension.

― rogermexico., Tuesday, 12 June 2007 04:36 (nineteen years ago)

the bit with meadow parking the car is DUH EVER POPPED A TIRE?

― hstencil, Tuesday, 12 June 2007 04:40 (nineteen years ago)