The Test Dream

"The Test Dream"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 5 Episode 11
Directed by	Allen Coulter
Written by	David Chase Matthew Weiner
Cinematography by	Phil Abraham
Production code	511
Original air date	May 16, 2004 (2004-05-16)
Running time	50 minutes
Episode chronology
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The Sopranos season 5
List of episodes

"The Test Dream" is the 63rd episode of the

on May 16, 2004. This episode is unique in that it features an elaborate 20-minute dream sequence, alluded to in the title, featuring many actors from past seasons briefly reprising their roles.

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 DiScala as Meadow Soprano
• Drea de Matteo as Adriana La Cerva *
• Janice Soprano Baccalieri
  *
• Steven R. Schirripa as Bobby Baccalieri
• Artie Bucco
• Charmaine Bucco
• and
  Tony Blundetto

* = credit only

Guest starring

Synopsis

Cooking for

. Tony B says he has to leave soon with his sons, so Tony himself leaves.

Tony checks into a luxury suite at the

, telling everyone to let Tony B know he is looking for him. The prostitute arrives and, at some point, Tony falls asleep and has a long and vivid dream.

Tony first encounters the deceased

Ralphie Cifaretto

, turns around and says, "We're driving you to the job."

Tony then wakes up at his house and prepares to go to dinner with

Gigi Cestone

.

Tony then has wild sex with Charmaine, while her husband Artie coaches him. Suddenly Tony is sitting on Pie-O-My in his living room, with Carmela allowing him to return home on the condition that he does not bring his horse (whores) there. Finally, Tony is confronted by Mr. Molinaro, his high school football coach, who criticizes his lifestyle and points out that he didn't have to be a criminal and live with all the stress that comes with being one. When Tony tries to shoot Molinaro, his gun malfunctions and the bullets melt in his hands; the coach continues to taunt him about not being prepared.

Tony awakens with a start. Shortly afterward, he receives a visit from Christopher, who tells him that Tony B has killed Billy and wounded Phil. Tony goes to bed and, though it is not dawn yet, calls Carmela. He says, "I had one of my Coach Molinaro dreams." She is half asleep and they have a gentle, slow conversation.

Deceased

• Angelo Garepe
  : murdered by Phil and Billy Leotardo.
• Billy Leotardo
  : murdered offscreen by Tony Blundetto to avenge the death of Angelo Garepe.

Title reference

• David Chase explained that the title refers to the dreams where an individual turns up late for a test in school and is wearing no clothing, meaning that the person is unprepared for a test or another task they have to face. Tony is unprepared to murder his coach in his dream. He is also unprepared for the dilemma caused by Tony B's action.^[1][2]

Production

• The voice on the other end of the phone in the dream sequence is that of David Chase.^[1]
• A photo of a deleted scene on the official series website shows that, in the restaurant, Meadow was replaced for a moment by
  Tracee
  , the murdered Bada Bing stripper just as Finn was replaced by A.J.

References to past episodes

• Tony previously dreamed about being in his father's Cadillac (including the blurry background) in the Season 4 episode, "
  Calling All Cars
  ."
• When Tony is having sex with Charmaine, she mentions it being better than the sex they had in high school. In the Season 1 episode, "Denial, Anger, Acceptance," Charmaine reveals to Carmela that she had sex with Tony.
• When Tony wakes up in bed next to Carmine and the phone rings, Carmine says to Tony, "answer the fucking thing," which is what Carmine said to Johnny Sack in the episode "
  Fortunate Son
  " when Johnny's cell phone was ringing.
• The dream-sequence conversation between Tony and Gloria Trillo (who appeared in "
  Amour Fou," "Everybody Hurts," and "Calling All Cars
  ") referred to events that were revealed in earlier episodes: Tony once hit and choked Gloria, Gloria died without having had children, and Tony's mother once threatened to poke out her son's eye with a fork.
• The chase scene, in which some men are wearing lederhosen, evokes the angry mob scene in the 1931 James Whale film Frankenstein in which a few men are similarly dressed, and recalls The Sopranos episode "Denial, Anger, Acceptance" in which Shlomo Teittleman likened Tony to a golem or a Frankenstein; in that same episode Tony tells Dr. Melfi that the analogy bothered him.

Other cultural references

• Valentina planned on visiting Sandals in Antigua with Tony.
• The episode makes multiple references to the film The Godfather. Annette Bening speaks the line, "I don't want my husband coming out of there with just his cock in his hand," referring to an almost-identical line spoken by Sonny Corleone. Afterwards, Tony's reaching behind the toilet tank for the non-existent gun is a reference to a similar scene with Michael Corleone. When Tony Blundetto shoots Phil Leotardo in Tony Soprano's dream, he exits the same make and brand car (Lincoln Continental) in a similar fashion to Sonny Corleone, during the famous toll-booth shooting scene.
• The book that Tony finds in the men's bathroom during his dream is
  Joe Valachi, the first member of the Mafia to turn state's evidence and who confirmed the existence of the American Mafia
  . It is seen again when Tony states he's done his homework.
• When Tony calls Aunt Quin from his hotel room, an advertisement for Anne Murray is on the TV.
• Lee Harvey Oswald shoots at Tony from an apartment building window, when Tony is running from the angry mob. This is in keeping with his Kennedy interest.
• Annette Bening also says about Tony, "There's something Bugsy about him." This is a reference to Bugsy Siegel, who was portrayed by Bening's husband Warren Beatty in the film Bugsy; she co-starred in the film as Bugsy's lover.
• Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) shoots Angelo Garepe in the trunk of his car, which is a bit of an in-joke to his own demise as Billy Batts in Goodfellas.
• Tony B compares architectural salvage to Sanford and Son.
• A scene from the movie Chinatown is shown on the television in the kitchen when Carmela tells Tony they are late to meet Finn's parents. It is then replaced with the ending of the film Scrooge. In Scrooge, the various Ghosts of Christmas Past, Future, etc all wordlessly point things out to Ebenezer Scrooge with an outheld finger; Carmela, Gloria Trillo, and Coach Molinaro all point things out to Tony in a similar way.
• As Tony and Carmela enter Nuovo Vesuvio to meet "Finn's parents" in Tony's dream, the climactic scene of
  Christopher," and "The Strong, Silent Type") because Tony believes Cooper's strong, silent type demeanor is a trait lacking in today's psychotherapy
  -driven society.
• The episode also makes a series of references to Jackie Gleason, both as a musician and as Ralph Kramden in the 1950s sitcom, The Honeymooners. When Tony and Gloria are talking in Dr. Melfi's office, they jokingly repeat Gleason's catchphrase from the show: 'One of these days, Alice! Pow! Right in the kisser.' The line adroitly references Tony's own physical violence towards Trillo and perhaps suggestively indicates Trillo's own ambivalent attitude towards it, as she too repeats Gleason's phrase. This could also be a glimpse into the meaning of the dream (coming to terms with his cousin's actions) as Tony B frequently quotes Gleason.

Music

• The song played over the end credits is "Three Times a Lady" by Commodores. The same song was sung earlier, a cappella, by Vin, during the dinner portion of Tony's dream.
• The song that Angelo is listening to on his car radio before he is murdered is "Peanuts" by Frank Valli and the Four Seasons. Frankie Valli's character
  Rusty Millio
  is the one that got Angelo involved in the feud with Johnny Sack that led him to be killed.
• The piece heard when Tony first walks into the hotel is "
  Clair De Lune" (which means "moonlight" in French) by French composer Claude Debussy
  .
• The music playing when Tony is in Artie's car is "Kulun Mankwalesh" by Mahmoud Ahmed.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} NJ.com: The stuff that Tony's dreams are made of
2. ISBN 978-1-933821-18-4
   .

External links

• "The Test Dream" Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
• "The Test Dream" at
  IMDb