Johnny Cakes (The Sopranos)
"Johnny Cakes" | |
---|---|
The Sopranos episode | |
Episode no. | Season 6 Episode 8 |
Directed by | Tim Van Patten |
Written by | Diane Frolov Andrew Schneider |
Cinematography by | Alik Sakharov |
Production code | 608 |
Original air date | April 30, 2006 |
Running time | 54 minutes |
"Johnny Cakes" is the 73rd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the eighth of the show's sixth season. Written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and directed by Tim Van Patten, it originally aired on April 30, 2006.
Starring
- James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
- Dr. Jennifer Melfi
- Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
- Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
- Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr.
- Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
- Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri *
- Anthony Soprano, Jr.
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano *
- Janice Soprano Baccalieri*
- Phil Leotardo
- Vito Spatafore
- Patsy Parisi
* = credit only
Guest starring
- Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
- Cameron Boyd as Matt Testa
- Marie Spatafore
- Johnny Cakes
- Joseph Leone as Vic Caputo
- Julianna Skiff
- Artie Pasquale as Burt Gervasi
- Hernan O'Brien
- Rhiannon
- Susan Blommaert as Betty Wolf
- Frank Borrelli as Vito Spatafore, Jr.
- Jayson Ward Williams as Coffeehouse Manager
- Sylvia Kauders as Mrs. Conte
- Nic Novicki as Little Person
- Christopher Carley as Drew
- Noah Keen as Otto
- Alexandra Daddario as a woman in the club.
- Nikki Dinki as Bibi
- Stink Fisher as Warren
- Jeff Keilholtz as Party Doctor
- Richard Zekaria as Farhad
- Piter Marek as Daryl
- Elizabeth Meadows Rouse as Mom
- Samuel Smith as Orderly
- Malachy Cleary as Thad McCone
- Daniel Ahearn as Elliot
- Jason Betts as Ron
- Susan Barnes Walker as Mrs. Kimball
- Antony Hagopian as Emmerich
- Chris McGarry as Pat
- Lindsey Kraft as Nadia
- Steve S. Stanulis as Desk Sergeant
- Chris McGinn as Waitress
- Rene Rosado as Hispanic Kid
Synopsis
One evening, after slumping at home all day, A.J. takes a knife and goes to see Junior in the mental hospital. When Junior sees him, he begs him to take him home. Unnerved, A.J. drops the knife before even attempting to use it against Junior, and is tackled by orderlies as he tries to flee. Using his influence with
Pretending to be a writer, Vito spends more time at Jim's diner. Jim is revealed to also be a father. One evening, Vito sees Jim, a volunteer firefighter, heroically rescuing a young child. He spends an evening with the firefighters at a local roadhouse; in the parking lot, Vito and Jim appear to kiss, but Vito then shoves him off. They throw punches and Jim leaves Vito beaten. Days later, Vito goes back to the diner. "Sometimes you tell a lie so long, you don't know when to stop," he says. They take a motorcycle ride together. In a field, under the falling leaves, they have sex.
Tony manages to have sex with Carmela for the first time since his injury, But he later finds himself attracted to another woman:
First appearances
- Julianna Skiff: a real estate agent with whom Tony almost has an affair.
- Rhiannon: an ex-girlfriend of Hernan O'Brien, hanging out with A.J. and others at the nightclub.
Title reference
- The episode's title refers to a johnnycake, a type of pancake that is a local specialty at a diner frequented by Vito.
- "Johnny Cakes" also becomes Vito's pet name for Jim.
Production
- The setting for the East Haledon Police Department was filmed at the police headquarters in West Orange, New Jersey. It was filmed in the back of the building to give the look of a more rural and suburban town in Northern New Jersey.
Other cultural references
- Jason Masucci thought he saw Vito in a Tampa.
- The neighborhood undergoes the effects of gentrification.
- Jim's diner patron asks Vito what the year was when Rocky Marciano fought Joe Louis. Jim correctly identifies the year as 1951. His death in the 1969 Newton Cessna 172 crash is mentiond. A patron mentions he saw Rocky Graziano fight Sugar Ray Robinson in Chicago in 1952.
- In a scene where Julianna Skiff enters the Bada Bing! to meet with Tony, a UFC event is playing on the TV.
- One of Jim's firefighter friends teases another about emitting an "Yma Sumac scream" when a roof fell in.
- Two people - Dr. Elliot Kupferberg and a girl A.J. meets at a club - erroneously refer to the omertà, the Mafia code of silence. The girl believes it instructs who exactly should carry out an act of revenge hit for an attacked Mafia member and Elliot thinks the omertà precludes mobsters from speaking out about their personal feelings.
- In a scene where A.J. spends the afternoon being lazy at home (despite asking his mother to wake him at 10 a.m.), he watches the Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode "Escape from Leprechaupolis" on the living room TV. A poster of American metal band Tool can be seen in A.J.'s room.
- When A.J. is detained for bringing a knife when he visited Junior, Tony is angry with him and tells him that what happened between Junior and him is not A.J.'s concern. A tearful A.J. mentions that every time they watch The Godfather where Michael Corleone kills the men who tried to kill his dad, Tony says it is his favorite scene of all time.
- Vito asks if the bike is a Harley-Davidson FXSTD Softail; it is actually a Harley-Davidson Fat Boy.
Music
- The song that plays outdoors, when Burt and Patsy first enter Caputo's Poultry, is a variation of "Tic, Tic Tac" by the Brazilian band Carrapicho
- The song playing when Vito is in the diner is "Shaun Colvin.
- The songs playing in the New York club are ".
- The song that is played at the Bada Bing! during Julianna and Tony's conversation is "Family Affair" by Mary J. Blige.
- The song played during the end credits is "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town" by Ray Charles.
External links
- "Johnny Cakes" Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
- "Johnny Cakes" at IMDb