Right, well I've covered my top 10 favourite episodes of The Sopranos, so this time I figured I'd do a post on my top 10 favourite moments from the show. This could be either full scenes or indeed just smaller moments within the show itself and let's face it the show its share, so it will be tough to narrow done but I'll give it a go.
And just as a warning there will be some....
PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
And also some strong language!
Right anyway so let's start!
10. Episode - Where's Johnny?
Scene - Junior upsets Tony at dinner - "Your father never had the makings of a Varsity athlete!"
This hilarious scene is from the 3rd episode of the 5th season, "Where's Johnny?" which deals with Junior's dementia as it is steadily becoming more apparent as he is seen wandering the streets aimlessly as the episode progresses. However before this, Junior unwittingly offends Tony (Soprano) during a Sunday dinner at Tony's sister's house (Janice) by saying to A.J. (Tony's son) "Your father never had the makings of a Varsity athlete!".
And in the scene, Tony angrily says to Junior "What the...?! What the hell's with you?! Its not true. I lettered in football" and Junio looks at Tony and says "You never played college ball" which prompts Tony to say "College?! Those guys from Seton Hall were seven foot tall some of them!". And Tony then asks Junior "What is it your obssession with this Varsity crap?! The other day you said it. When I was a kid you told the girl cousins the same thing, it was very hurtful!". Janice then tries to appease Tony by saying "Tony, relax, its not a big deal" but Tony angrily says "Its undermining! And its the kinda thing I'm teaching my kids not to do. So, I don't wanna hear it again! End of subject!".
So an awkward silence falls on the table and not long after, Tony's other sister, Barbara arrives with her husband and children for dinner also. However as they start talking about football again, this prompts Junior again to say of Tony "All I know is he never had the makings of a Varsity athlete" which enrages Tony, who throws down his cutlery and shout "SON OF A BITCH!! DID I JUST TELL YOU NOT TO SAY THAT?!!". However, Junior unfazed says "If you don't like the way I talk, get outta my house!" so Tony get's up and tells A.J. to get ready to leave and as Barbara asks "What's going on?" Tony says "Its my last Sunday dinner here, that's what's goin on!!".
Its another great example of Tony's outbursts but its also one of the funniest moments in the show, too as Junior's dementia provides moments of comedy gold, so I decided its worth a spot on the list.
9. Episode - For All Debts Public and Private
Scene - Tony berates his crew - "Where's the fuckin money??!!"
At No.9 is a more dramatic scene from the 4th season opener "For All Debts Public and Private" where Tony angrily confronts his caporegimes about the poor income they are making for the New Jersey family.
So Tony storms into the meeting and angrily says to the men "I wanna know why there's zero growth in this family's receipts?! Where the's fuckin money??!! You're supposed to be earners. That's why you got the top tier positions. So everyone, go out to your people on the streets, crack some fuckin heads and CREATE SOME FUCKIN EARNERS OUT THERE!!!".
And the capos awkwardly sit in silence with only Carlo offering a humble "We hear you, Tone" and Tony continues "My uncle, the boss of this family is on trial for his life and what you people are kicking up to him is a fucking disgrace! I should not have to be coming here hat in my hand reminding about your duty to that man!".
Then just as one of the other capos, Raymond Curto (who was actually an FBI informant, who at the time of meeting was wearing a wire!) is about to speak about the recession of the times, Tony yells at him "AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ABOUT THE FUCKIN ECONOMY EITHER!!". So, Tony turns to Sil and says "Sil, break it down for them. What businesses have been recession proof since time immemorial?" and Sil says "Certain aspects of showbiz and our thing" and this prompts Tony to finish by saying "Now, that's it! That's all I've got to say. Frankly, I'm depressed and ashamed!".
Its a great scene from James Gandolfini as Tony and its one of the scenes that stands out and also is indeed a reflection of the real life times of the economic crisis of the period. So for me it deserves its place here at No.9.
8. Episode - The Knight in Satin White Armor
Scene - Richie get's more than he bargains for from Janice - "You gonna cry now?"
Next up is this scene from the penultimate episode of the 2nd season, "The Knight in Satin White Armor" where the volatile New Jersey capo, Richie Aprile is ready to make a move on Tony but at the same time he is also engaged to Tony's sister, Janice. However as the scene unfolds things take a rather drastic turn as Richie get's more from Janice than what he bargained for.
So the scene starts with Janice trying run by some wedding arragements with Richie as they are about to get ready to eat but then Janice asks if Richie's son is coming to the wedding. And Janice asks "Little Ricky is still coming to the wedding right?" but this irritates Richie, who snaps at her "Rick. Rick! Richard! How many fuckin times have I gotta tell you?! It was "Ricky" when he was 12 years old!". And Janice says "Jesus! Alright! He's still coming, right?" and Richie tells her "He wouldn't miss an opportunity to foxtrot and tango infront of everybody!".
And Janice tries to defend Richie's choice of career as a ballroom dancer "Ballroom dancing is a legitmate art form" but Richie is far from impressed with his son and says "He carries my name, Richard. Fuckin disgraziata! My nephew Jackie, why couldn't I have a son like that?!". However Janice by this time has become annoyed with Richie's moaning and tells him "You know you came home with a fucking attitude today! You know I've been in this house, cooking your fucking dinner and looking after that black hole (meaning Livia, Tony and Janice's mother) all day!". But Richie says to her quietly "Keep your fuckin voice down. She hears everything" and Janice tells him "Not tonight. I gave her two nembutols, I thought maybe we'd like to have sex? But not likely!". Then this pisses off Richie who tells Janice "Put my fucking dinner on the table and keep your mouth shut!" but Janice spits back "No, YOU shut up!".
Then Janice says to Richie of his son "Just because your son was a ballroom dancer you think that makes him gay? What if he was gay? What difference does it make?!" however this suddenly prompts Richie to punch Janice in the mouth, who reels back stunned, while Richie calmly goes and get's his plate of food and he sits down to eat. And Richie then looks up at a shocked Janice, who holds her hand to her mouth, which is bleeding and Richie says to her "What are you looking at? You gonna cry now?" and we see Janice walk away for a moment, however she soon comes back with a gun in her hands as she approaches Richie.
And Richie looks at her incredulously and says "Get the fuck out of here, I'm in no mood for your drama...." but then Janice in a fit of rage suddenly shoots Richie twice in the chest as he goes down dead. This leaves Janice no other choice but to call up Tony, so he can take "care" of Richie's body.......
Well this seen certainly is one of the best from the show as it comes right out of the blue and you never expect it and we get to see more evidence of the famous Soprano family temper only this time from Janice rather than Tony. And its really bizarre how in a life of crime that a mob guy can suddenly go from being alive one minute, getting ready to eat and the next being a corpse that is getting sliced up in a meat factory!
Anyway its a great scene and as such easily warrants its spot at No.8.
7. Episode - To save us all from Satan's power
Scene - Tony gives Jackie Jr a telling off - "You bottomed out!"
Next up is this scene from the 10th episode of the third sesaon "To save us all from Satan's power" where Jackie Jr (who is the son of a deceased and much respected former Jersey mob boss, Jackie Aprile) is spotted in a strip bar by Tony. However by this time, Jackie Jr has been dating Tony's daughter, Meadow, so Tony is understandably miffed when he sees Jackie Jr getting a rowdy lapdance from a stripper, and Tony decides to gatecrash it and have words with the young Jackie.
So in the scene, Tony approaches Jackie just as the topless dancer rides in Jackie's lap but Jackie shows instant fear when he sees Tony and he says "Tony!" and Tony feigns a smile and says "Hey, what's goin on? You gettin a little lovin?" and Jackie Jr says "Its not what you think" and the stripper scarpers. So, Tony ushers for Jackie Jr to get up and he says "C'mon" but he sees how scared Jackie Jr looks, so Tony tries to reassure him "Its OK, I just wanna talk to you" so Jackie Jr get's up and Tony puts his arm around him and leads him toward the bathroom while Jackie makes his excuse "Its a bachelor party, my frat brothers".
However in the next moment we see Jackie being violently pushed into the men's toilets by Tony, who grabs Jackie and hurls him against the wall and the punches him in the face. And Tony then furiously puts his hands up as if ready to fight and he yells at Jackie "PUT YOUR HANDS UP! PUT YOUR HANDS UP!!" but Jackie Jr tearfully says "No, please...". Then Tony hits Jackie Jr again and shouts "COME ON, YOU FUCK!!" and he grabs Jackie and slams him against the wall again and shouts "You fucking pussy piece of shit!! All I ever did was tell your old man what a good kid you are, and you all do is fuckin hurt me!".
Tony then grabs Jackie Jr and slams him against the wall on the right side and Jackie Jr tearfully says "I'm sorry!" but Tony then feels something inside Jackie Jr's jacket and he reaches inside and takes out Jackie's gun (given to him by one of Tony's capos, Ralph Cifaretto). And Tony looks at it and says "What's this? Nice!" and Jackie Jr can only say "I'm sorry. I'm sorry!" and Tony looks at Jackie Jr and tells him "You bottomed out". However Jackie Jr looks puzzled and asks "What do you mean?" and Tony takes a moment then knees Jackie in the groin and leaves him in a crumpled heap on the floor and tells him again "You bottomed out!" and he then exits the bathroom to end the scene.
Its another great albeit short scene that shows the intensity of Tony's temper once again but there are times where it is justified and this is one of them when Tony feels betrayed by Jackie Jr's insistance to walk on the wild side aswell as cheat on Meadow. So its a great moment to see someone as arrogant and foolish as Jackie Jr get his comeuppance from Tony and it takes 7th place.
6. Episode - Irregular around the margins
Scene - Christopher's life hangs in the balance - "You pushed me to this!!"
So to finish off the first part of this list is this scene from "Irregular around the margins" which is the 5th episode from the 5th season of the show, which is one of my favourite episodes.
And the scene in question comes just after Christopher arrives at the Bing, drunk and furious after he hears of the rumours of Tony and Adrianna being together in Tony's car one night while Christopher was away on business and it was rumoured that Adrianne gave Tony head, although nothing happened but they were involved in a car accident. So, suffice to say Christopher doesn't take it too well and he unloads his gun into Tony's SUV before storming into the club yelling at Tony "WHERE ARE YA, YA FUCK??!!" and Tony and his crew then drive Christopher out into the sticks where Tony decides his nephew's fate.
So the scene starts with Tony and his crew driving out into the sticks and they drag Christopher out and put him on his knees and Tony angrily walks up to him and says "You draw upon the boss of a family???!" and he kicks Christopher to the ground. And Christopher shouts "You lied to me!! You were scoring coke with her! She even admitted it!!" andTony yells back "SO WHAT?!! I CAN'T RELIEVE STRESS EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE??!! I DON'T GOT ENOUGH FUCKIN PROBLEMS???!!".
And Christopher disgusted yells back "You sent me out to North Carolina so you could fuck my girlfriend!" and Tony shocked says to Chris "What kind of fucking animal you think I am, huh? THE THOUGHT NEVER EVEN ENTERED MY HEAD!!!". And Christopher yells "You're a man! You're alone with her in the car!" and Tony exasperated grabs Christopher by the throat and shouts "YOU FUCKING PUSHED ME TO THIS! YOU PUSHED ME TO THIS!!!". And Tony then holds Christopher and says "Either you tell me right now that you can take it into your heart that I did not do this shit or this is as far as we go!". And Christopher says nothing and stares defiantly at Tony, who suddenly takes out his gun and presses it against Chris's cheek and he shouts "Motherfucker!!".
However at this point, Tony Blundetto (Tony's cousin) steps in and "Tony, come on! Listen to somebody else for a change!" but Tony is in no mood and says "Fuck him!" but Tony B pleads with Tony "Tony, try it my way! Listen to me!". And after a tense pause, Tony puts his gun down and in the next scene they go to the hospital where Tony and Adrianna were treated and Tony then summons the doctor that treated him and Ade that night to try and convince Christopher nothing was going on in the car.
So, its a great dramatic scene that nearly saw the end of Christopher but in the end its Tony B that steps in and saves the day and as such it deserves it place at No.6.
Right, so that's it for now and I will be back soon with the 2nd part of this list.
So till then its bye for now!
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