Two Tonys
| "Two Tonys" | |
|---|---|
| The Sopranos episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 5 Episode 1 |
| Directed by | Tim Van Patten |
| Written by | David Chase Terence Winter |
| Cinematography by | Phil Abraham |
| Production code | 501 |
| Original air date | March 7, 2004 |
| Running time | 54 minutes |
"Two Tonys" is the 53rd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the first of the show's fifth season. Written by David Chase and Terence Winter, it was directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on March 7, 2004.
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
- Johnny Sack
- Tony Blundetto**
** = photo only
Guest starring
- Feech La Manna
- Dr. Elliot Kupferberg
- Carmine Lupertazzi, Jr.
- Angelo Garepe
- Valentina La Paz
- Little Paulie Germani
- Robert John Burke as Officer Zmuda
- Phil Leotardo**
- Vito Spatafore
- Patsy Parisi
- Benny Fazio
- Raymond Curto
- Carlo Gervasi
- Carmine Lupertazzi
- Omar Chagall as Raoul
- John Elsen as Officer Yorn
- Sukanya Krishnan as Reporter
- Matthew Weiner as Manny Safier
- Sophia Baccalieri
- Ginny Sacrimoni
- Allison Dunbar as Nicole Lupertazzi
- Jeffrey R. Marchetti as Petey
- Maria Baan as Fran
- Lisa Regina as Kim
- Barbara Christabella as Patti
- Anna Maniscalco as Bernice
- Bill Quigleyas Waiter
- Laurie Rosenwald as Woman
- Ginger Kearns as Pierced Girl
- Jason Ongoco as Delivery Guy
** = photo only
Synopsis
Bobby Baccalieri and Janice are now married. One year after his separation, Tony is living in his mother's former home.
One evening, a large
Little Paulie
to guard his backyard, and Carmela reluctantly supplies them with a rifle.
After watching own psychiatrist, Melfi admits her initial attraction to Tony. Tony makes a third attempt to court her by offering cruise tickets, but she declines again. At his request, she tells him the aspects of his character she could not accept; but there are things he cannot bear to hear, and he storms out. He returns home, in a sense, and takes over guard duty from Benny.
Four mobsters imprisoned in the 1980s are released on
Uncle Junior
permit so long as he does not compete with other operators. Tony is excited about Tony B's release because they used to be close friends, and plans a lavish welcome party.
Johnny Sack
at a country club, ending up in the hospital. There, Johnny tells Tony that he is still angry that he backed out of their agreement to kill Carmine the previous year.
Atlantic City, Paulie contrives to inflate their dinner bill to nearly $1,200. As they argue in the parking lot, their waiter confronts Christopher about his poor tip, and when they dismiss him, he insults them. An enraged Christopher throws a brick at his head. The waiter collapses and has a seizure
, causing a panicked Paulie to shoot him dead. Paulie takes the $1,200 as he and Christopher speed off in their cars. The next day, they make amends and split the original tab.
First appearances
- Michele "Feech" La Manna: former capo of the now-defunct La Manna crew who was incarcerated during the 1980s
- Angelo Garepe: longtime Lupertazzi family Consigliere
- Phil Leotardo: (image only) Capo of the Lupertazzi family who was sent to prison in the early 1980s
- Tony Blundetto: (image only) Tony's cousin and DiMeo/Soprano crime family member who was sent to jail in 1986 for hijacking a truck
Deceased
- Raoul: an Atlantic Citywaiter who complained to Paulie and Christopher about a poor tip. Christopher hit him in the head with a brick, causing him to have a seizure. Paulie then shot Raoul dead.
Title reference
- Tony attempts to demonstrate to Dr. Melfi that there are two Tony Sopranos, one of whom she has never seen before and he wants to show her.
- The title is also a reference to DiMeo/Soprano crime family member and Tony Soprano's namesake Tony Blundetto newly released from prison
Production
- The new addition to the series writing staff beginning with Season 5, Matthew Weiner, plays the Mafia expert on the news broadcast who introduces the new gangster characters. Previously, series writers Terence Winter and David Chase also made cameo appearances on the show, as Dr. Melfi's patient and a man in Italy, respectively.[1][2]
- Tony Blundetto and is now billed in the opening credits, although he does not appear in this episode other than in the form of photographs during the "Class of '04" news report. Buscemi previously directed two Sopranos episodes, "Pine Barrens" (Season 3) and "Everybody Hurts" (Season 4), and he continued to direct for the show, as well as act.
- Jamie-Lynn Sigler is billed by her married name as "Jamie-Lynn DiScala" during this season.[3]
- Vince Curatola is now exclusively billed in an individual credit from this point onwards. During Season 4 he had often been billed in a pairing with another actor. He is still only billed for the episodes in which he appears, however.
- The character Sophia Baccalieriis now played by Miryam Coppersmith, who replaced Lexie Sperduto from Season 4.
- Tony's famous red 1999 Chevrolet Suburban is swapped for a 2003 Cadillac Escalade ESV.
- Angie Bonpensieroin the series, becomes a story editor for the show starting with this episode.
- This episode is the first season opener wherein Tony is not featured picking up The Star-Ledger at the foot of his driveway. Instead, Meadow runs over the newspaper with her car.
- This is the first episode to mention that the Sopranos live in North Caldwell, which is where the filming house is also located.
- The preface to an April 10, 2002 Star-Ledger article titled, "Jersey mob soon to get infusion of old blood: Lawmen are wary as jail terms end" reads: Sopranos creator David Chase revealed that the story arc of Season 5 was inspired by a Star-Ledger article on the RICO trials of the '80s.[4]
Connections to prior episodes
- At the Patsy Parisi the story of his and Paulie's mishaps in the "Pine Barrens" with the Russianmobster.
- When trying to convince Carmella to take AJ to a hotel after multiple bear sightings in their backyard Tony jokingly mentions that AJ likes room service, which is a reference to AJ's comment about room service when Tony was trying to tell him about the family's proud history of dedication to work in "Watching Too Much Television".
Music
- The song played in the opening scenes, then playing on Carmela's radio, and then over the end credits is "Heaven Only Knows" by Emmylou Harris.
- The song blaring from Meadow's car when she comes to pick up A.J. is "Bichu Rap" by Titi Robin and Gulabo Sapera.
- The song playing at the restaurant where the guys eat dinner with their goomahs is "Mia Serenata" by Jimmy Fontana.
- At the start of the scene where Tony's crew were having dinner at the Atlantic City restaurant, "Band of Gold" by Freda Payne is played, as is "Let's Get It On" by Marvin Gaye.
References
- ^ "Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office...", The Sopranos, originally aired January 16, 2000 on HBO
- ^ "Commendatori", The Sopranos, originally aired February 6, 2000 on HBO
- ^ "Jamie-Lynn DiScala, Husband Split Up". People. September 25, 2005. Retrieved January 29, 2013.
- ^ Rudolph Robert; Sterling, Guy (April 10, 2002). "Jersey mob soon to get infusion of old blood". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved May 8, 2012.
External links
- "Two Tonys" Archived 2016-08-18 at the Wayback Machine at HBO
- "Two Tonys" at IMDb
