April 4, 2004, and what an episode that was! Whoo! And so, it now comes time for the thankless task of putting in my two cents, hoping like hell that this time, someone else will have something to contribute, rather than just letting this thread get shuffled down to the bottom again, as a consistent slap-in-the-face to one of the greatest TV dramas ever.
I was soooo sure tonight that [SPOILER - highlight to read]: somebody was going to die, either Christopher, Adrianna or even Tony. It was strange that they all suffered from maladies as well, especially since we had never heard anything about them before (Tony's mole, Ade's bowels and Chrissy's tooth); I get the feeling that their medical issues will pop up again.
It's great to see [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Steve Buscemi start to drift back into the game, including what we saw of next week's episode. Looks like he's going to be dragged in, but at least we might get to see him start kicking asses.
Anyone else remember Frank Vincent from "Goodfellas" and "Casino"? I'd sure like to see more of him in future episodes, just because of the authenticity of his presence. I also wouldn't mind seeing more of Max Casella (remember...from "Doogie Howser"?).
__________________ Evelle: "Balloons! Hey, these blow up into funny shapes 'n' all?"
Grocer: "Well, no...unless round is funny."
i'm watching it right now.I started watching earlier tonight and a friend called so I missed the end...and it was funny cause I got a call through and it was another fan saying holy shit did you see tonights show...so now I'm gonna watch what I missed.
Woo Hoo! Soprano's fans!! Annyway...My bet would be if they are going to kill off a major charactar this season it would be Adrianna...considering that she's going to be on a new show(that Friend's spinoff) and her character has been talking to the feds..so eventually SOMEONE is gonna find out about that. But I've been wrong before & I probably will be many, many more times. You had to figure they weren't gonna kill Christopher in the last episode...way too obvious. Buscemi's character is developing a little slowly, but hopefully it will be worth waiting for.
__________________
"Are you gonna bark all day little doggy, or are you gonna bite?"
So far each episode has been really good imo. Since Feech was sent back to the can, you have to wonder where Tony's big rival will be for the rest of the season. For awhile it looked like Cousin Tony, now it feels like he may be slipping back into the life on Tony's side.
Adrianna seems too obvious to be the next hit victim. I believe they'll just spring the big hit on you al la Ralph.
I look forward to the return of Richie Aprile and Big Pussy.
I am happy with this season so far..last season I only really liked 2 episodes..the one with the death of ralphie and when carm told tony she was in love with furio (great acting on her part)
the main character death I guessing might actually be paulie...remember the Russian? they did mention it in the first episode this season..they have to tie that up.
Frank Vincent played Billy Bats in "Goodfellas"; the one Tommy (Joe Pesci) and Jimmy (Robert DeNiro) beat to death in the diner (well, technically, he was killed by the knife and gun in the trunk of Henry's car an hour or so later).
That's what was ironic about him being the source of Nicky's demise in "Casino". Also, Michael Imperioli (Christopher) was shot in the foot by Tommy in "GF", and he shot a guy in the foot in "The Sopranos".
Another interesting bit of Michael Imperioli trivia, from the IMDb:
During filming of the scene in which his character is killed by Joe Pesci, Michael Imperioli broke a glass in his hand and had to be rushed to the emergency room. When doctors saw what appeared to be a gunshot wound in his chest, they tried to treat it. When Imperioli told them what was really up, he was made to wait for three hours. Director Martin Scorsese told Imperioli that someday he'd be telling that story on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno". The prediction came true in March 2000.
Okay, I watched episode six last night (4/11/04), and I must say I'm shocked that [SPOILER - highlight to read]: they would trick us into thinking Tony B. was going to bludgeon somebody to death when all he did was beat him up. Also, anybody getting a "Godfather III" vibe from the [SPOILER - highlight to read]: analogy between Carmella's affair and the story of Abelard and Heloise? Methinks Carm will wind up pregnant from the affair (hence the stomach pains). Whether the teacher winds up confronting Tony about it is another kettle of fish; my guess is, he'll just wind up getting clipped.
__________________ Evelle: "Balloons! Hey, these blow up into funny shapes 'n' all?"
Grocer: "Well, no...unless round is funny."
I'm hoping Tony has Carm clipped. She has to be my guess now for the next main character to be killed. She looks bloody horrible. Sure she's lost some weight and had some boob work done, but good lord her face is a mess.
The scene where she was sitting in the car with AJ's councilor, she was just a mass of leathery wrinkled skin. The new hairdo looked like they designed it to draw you to looking at that lopsided part instead of her face. I always thought she was an important part of the show in context to the premise of the story, however this whole Carm's Big Sexual Adventure side story just isn't going anywhere... at least anywhere that has something to do with people getting whacked and beaten down.
Tony seems like he's heading toward a fall from grace. Having his own wife whacked would just push the show to the next level. Imagine going back and watching the previous seasons knowing Tony was just going to end up killing her. It puts the show and the lifestyles the main characters have in a very different light.
Anyways, what I just said is highly unlikely. I'm just tired of the whole AJ's grades and Carm side story. Do we really care if AJ makes it into Arizona U? (Well other than getting his whiny butt off the show)
The last episode was great. The writers really showed how hard it is for someone to give up the life. Shop owners don't go out gambling every night with movie and rock stars. Nor do you find many walking into casinos wearing thousand dollar shoes.
Well, we didn't get more Tony B. in episode 7 (4/18/04), but we sure saw plenty of [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Tony S. flirting with that old hag. Yechh!
I really liked the side story of [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Christopher's AA buddy getting caught up in "the business" and the incredulous look on his face when Christopher acted like they were still the best of buddies because of their common struggle against addiction.
What I could have done without, of course, was [SPOILER - highlight to read]: yet another glimpse into Junior's sad existence. It was at least refreshing to see him start to realize what a miserable prick he is, though
Next week's show looks promising. Looks like [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Tony B. is finally going to clip someone. The question is...are they going to ask him to whack Tony S. in retribution for what he did to Phil Leotardo???
__________________ Evelle: "Balloons! Hey, these blow up into funny shapes 'n' all?"
Grocer: "Well, no...unless round is funny."
I watched the previews and thought [SPOILER - highlight to read]: they were wanting Cousin Tony to clip Johnny Sacks not Tony.
This week's episode to me was all about perceptions and reality. The conversation between Junior and Tony about his father's mistress was the setup. Junior believed that he had this girl in the palm of his hand and lost her because he hesitated. He did not want to bring a woman into the type of life they lead. In reality, she thought Junior was some sort of weirdo stalker who skulked outside her building in the middle of the night.
Tony believed he found the woman who his father turned to because his mother drove him away. First we find out that Tony's childhood pet who he believed was taken to a farm was believed to of been put to sleep by his sister was in reality given to the son of Johnny's mistress.
Then Tony finally sees the woman for what she really is. She was a hedonistic plaything his father chose over his family. She was temptation. Tony held his father in such high esteem for years, that he faulted his mother for any problems his father had. Tony's perceptions of his father changed once he realized that he(Tony's Dad) chose to spend the whole night with his mistress rather than stand by his own wife during the death of what should of been another son or daughter. He realized that maybe his mother had reasons for being the way she was, predicated by Junior's previous insight on bringing women into the mafia lifestyle. We often see Tony sitting by himself and/or smoking a cigar when he has the brief moments of "reality."
Junior's broken perception was believing he was getting moments of freedom by attending these funerals, when in fact it made him realize just what a prisoner he was.
Christopher's rehab buddy believed that Christopher was his friend. We all saw how that was broken(literally). There always seems to be an amusing subplot to a lot of the Soprano episodes. I thought this one was pretty humorous. Christopher was talking like they were best buddies again after busting the guy's face, breaking a picture of his head, forcing the guy to pawn everything he owned, then topped it off by taking the guy's beloved car... not to mention telling him that they would work out the rest of the payments and interest when the poor bastard got out of rehab.
Okay, 8 episodes down, and [SPOILER - highlight to read]: looks like Tony B. is back in business, baby! Except for the unfortunate foot incident, of course. Too bad that stripper had to die, too.
I noticed that [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Michael Imperioli (Christopher) wrote the episode. He's either being really clever or really stupid, because the close-up shots of [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Hugo with the rifle, then Tony's belly could be a big hint for what the future holds.
I'm convinced now that [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Carm is/will be pregnant, and she won't know right away whether it's Tony's baby or the English teacher's. Maybe she'll be standing over his dying body in the final episode saying, "It's not your baby, Tony".
__________________ Evelle: "Balloons! Hey, these blow up into funny shapes 'n' all?"
Grocer: "Well, no...unless round is funny."
Episode 9...the tension builder (5/2/04)! Great episode, I thought!
[SPOILER - highlight to read]: Will Johnny believe Tony? Will Tony reconcile his guilt about leaving his cousin in the lurch? Is the bear on the porch a little too much in the way of symbolism, especially when it shows up RIGHT WHEN Carmella finds out Tony has ruined her chances with every good divorce lawyer in NJ?
And how about the preview for next week's ep? Looks like [SPOILER - highlight to read]: the Christopher versus Tony B. angle will be played up, though I can't imagine what Ade told her FBI friend this week. Also, where was Junior? Couldn't take any more funerals?
VERY interesting story about [SPOILER - highlight to read]: Meadow and Finn. It looks like Vito will wind up getting killed, since they're unlikely to kill off Meadow's fiance'.
I have to wonder [SPOILER - highlight to read]: what Janice will do to get arrested (probably something stupid like pot possession), but I don't see it as much more than just another irritation to Tony's life.
__________________ Evelle: "Balloons! Hey, these blow up into funny shapes 'n' all?"
Grocer: "Well, no...unless round is funny."
Anybody knows which episode paulie went to see a shrink or a medium, spirits of people he whacked were talking to the medium and he got really mad, that was funny as hell, please remind me the episode? Thanks in advance fellas
Season Two: From Where to Eternity. That's the episode Christopher in a morphine haze tells Paulie and Tony "3 o'clock!" and Paulie goes to a mystic who sees the ghosts of all the people Paulie has killed.
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A marked improvement from last week's episode. Now we know why Tony has a soft spot for his cousin. Several shock moments in this one.
-Tony B suddenly becoming the big man with the big gig. Tony even trying to have Tony B "made." A lot of jealousy from that move. Next week someone gets clipped and Christopher is seen crying.
-Adriana calling her FBI friend to more than likely rat out Tony B like she did the girlfriend who was coming onto Christopher.
-Tony's panic attacks and real reason behind his guilt.
-Johnny Sacks obviously showing that he's unreasonable to work with, which means he'll be dead soon.
-Vito in the truck. Good lord I could of lived my whole life without that mental image.
Paulie is such a kissass. The look on his face when he was told that the kid he just told to wash the dog shit off his tires was Meadow's boyfriend had me laughing out loud. It makes me wish Tony Sirico did more movies. He'd a perfect for any mob comedy with the way he can ape for the camera.
So... wonder who the body getting chucked off the bridge is? It was too small for Vito or Tony. Looked sort of skinny to me. Tony B? Adriana? Fin?
Only four more episodes, the last three are when it really starts getting crazy.
one of the best ones was when christopher made paulie pickup the check so chirstopher had to pick up the next check and paulie kept runnin up the bill and he sent drinks to the table with like 4 old hags and christopher goes "get some ****in glasses"
omg,did anyone watch last night episode?I missed half of it but I caught them [SPOILER - highlight to read]: killing Adriana I hope to catch the replay!