Season 1, Episode 1
Aired January 10, 1999
Written & Directed by David Chase
Synopsis: Tony Soprano, a “waste management consultant” in New Jersey, is sitting inside a psychiatrist’s waiting room. He’s soon introduced to Dr. Jennifer Melfi, who welcomes him into her office. Tony has been sent to see Dr. Melfi after passing out from a panic attack, but he’s not comfortable with opening up to a therapist, but she insists. He starts by recounting the day of the attack, which starts with Tony finding ducks in his swimming pool, fascinated by their presence. His wife, Carmela, sixteen-year-old daughter Meadow, and her friend Hunter are watching him interact with the ducks. Meadow and Hunter are talking about their trip to Aspen, while Carmela is planning for her newly-thirteen-year-old son, Anthony Jr.*’s birthday. The story continues with Tony training his nephew Christopher on the job as they run into a “friend”, Alex Mahaffey, who owes Tony some money. It’s here that Dr. Melfi stops Tony and tells her while they have doctor-patient confidentiality, if he’s to report any sort of life-threatening crime, she has the obligation to report it, but he insists that the two just had coffee.
So yeah, already Dr. Melfi seems to know who she’s dealing with, and we see that by “coffee”, Tony and Chris knock the coffee out of Alex’s hands while they chase him in Chris’ new Lexus, resulting in Tony running Alex over and the two kicking him on the ground, furious that he hasn’t returned the gambling money he’s borrowed. With that out of the way, Tony and Chris are next due for a breakfast meeting with their crew, Paulie Gualtieri (aka “Paulie Walnuts”), Silvio Dante and Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero. While the gang meet up, it’s revealed that Tony’s Uncle Junior, who he inherited the business from, has plans to kill a rival at Tony’s childhood friend Artie Bucco’s restaurant, which he’s not happy with. When trying to reason with his uncle comes up as a dead end, Tony decides to meet up with his widowed mother, Livia, and tries to convince her to speak to his uncle, but she remains as cold and disinterested as he’s always known her to be. This raises Tony’s anxiety, but he shoulders on back home to work the grill for his son’s birthday dinner. It’s here that Tony starts having a spasm and passes out on the ground. From his description, it sounds like stress from Tony’s relationship with his mother and a suspect relationship that Carmela shares with Father Intintola may have caused his panic attack. Tony doesn’t open up, but Dr. Melfi is able to get Tony to admit that he has depression. Does he feel good about that? Not really, as he storms out.
The next day, Tony, Meadow and the kids take Livia to look at a retirement community, which she objects to when she sees the nursery, and her loud objections send Tony into another panic attack. He returns to Dr. Melfi’s office, who prescribes him Prozac, and that seems to help Tony out. Enough so that he skips their next scheduled appointment, but when Tony runs into the doctor and her date at a packed restaurant he regularly visits, he’s able to get them a table immediately. As all of this is happening, we see a rival sanitation company try to ease into Tony’s front, which Christopher decides to one-up by killing the young heir of the company. While he intended to dump his body on the front of the family’s business, Big Pussy urges Chris to bury the body, which has a greater chance of taking the heat off of him and sends a message, which lands. Additionally, Tony gets advice on clearing Artie’s restaurant from the incident, by gifting him and his family a vacation that will force Junior to send his hit elsewhere. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work out, as Artie’s wife refuses the offer, not wanting their family to interact with him anymore. Instead, Tony advises Silvio to set up a bomb at his restaurant, which not only keeps the place out of Junior’s wrath, but allows Artie to cash in on insurance money to move his next place to a better location.
We’ll see Tony have another appointment with Dr. Melfi, where he thanks her for the Prozac, but she calls this premature, considering that it takes weeks for the effects to kick in. The doctor thinks that talking has helped Tony, and while he initially isn’t sure, he later confides a dream he had where a bird bit off his penis. Dr. Melfi suggests that between this and the constant talk about the ducks from the pool, Tony is projecting the love he has for his family onto the ducks, which sends him to tears. She may be right.
It may seem almost like a surprise now, but the big hook behind The Sopranos wasn’t necessarily that it was a gangster show, but that it was about a mob boss who went to therapy. Ideally, the criminal side of Tony’s daily commute was meant to come second or third to his time with his family and Dr. Melfi, but I think most would argue that this is what people most wanted from the show.
If it’s okay for me to focus on acting first, it’s worth noting that you can tell how big of a part the sessions were supposed to be when you see who was casted as Melfi. While hiring Little Steven van Zandt to play Silvio was clearly a hook for many a fan of the E Street Band, Lorraine Bracco was arguably the biggest get for the series, after making a big splash as Henry Hill’s wife, Karen in Goodfellas (the sequence where she puts and pulls out the gun from her panties is nearly as iconic as anything else from the film), which is among the biggest points of reference for the series- it’s even namedropped in the pilot, twice! Bracco herself recognized this, as she was initially offered the role of Carmela, but took on Melfi, wanting the challenge instead.
And Bracco proves that this was a good call, as she’ll be excellent over the course of the series, the pilot included. Right away, she provides a professional distance, albeit with a touch of curiosity and even excitement at this mobster’s lifestyle, but right away, the two most recognized and iconic performances are present.
And I don’t think you’ll need me to tell you how good James Gandolfini and Edie Falco are as Tony and Carmela, so I’ll save that for later. Especially since, if we’re being honest, I’ll admit that I’m not sure if Gandolfini has his take on Tony perfected just yet. Right now, I see parts of it read like an intentional cliché of mob bosses, almost like a satire. The nuance will come later, but even right away, he’s incredibly commanding as the character. Gandolfini clearly recognizes that he’s an inimitable figure, and right away is using this to his advantage with impressive body language. Part of this also comes from impressive blocking, which I’ll get to in a bit.
Falco, meanwhile, already has an idea for Carmela’s character, recognizing her long-suffering nature and melds this into a combination of grief and personal failure. Like many of the best tragic figures in fiction, Carmela’s life is held back partially by the poor hand she’s been dealt, like an unfaithful spouse, who she chastises at as Tony gets his MRI scan, but just as much by problems she’s forced upon herself, such as her inability to meaningfully connect with her daughter. This will make Falco’s turn as Carmela worth following as the show goes on, especially with a detail that felt especially pronounced on a rewatch- for as much as she criticizes her mother-in-law, Carmela has more in common with Livia than she’d care to admit. Although I think this says more about Tony than it does her.
The rest of the cast doesn’t feel especially developed yet, but that’s fine, this is meant to be our introduction into Tony’s world. We get a feel for Christopher, the youngest member of his gang, as his immaturity is present from his very introduction. Tony’s nephew does seem to take the job seriously, but he still doesn’t quite understand the rules of the game he’s playing, which will take him some time to adapt to. You don’t go straight for the kill, Chris, that’s always the last-ditch resort. The rest of Tony’s crew- Paulie, Silvio, Pussy- aren’t very active, but they’ll have their moments. If anything, Tony’s relationship with Artie, one of his few connections to the outside world, is more meaningful here, but I feel like we should probably put a pin on this dynamic for now.
We do get to see a little more with the rest of the titular Sopranos. Anthony Junior doesn’t do too much just yet, aside from a memorable moment I’ll bring up down below, but a fairly active subplot focuses on Carmela and Meadow, as the eldest Soprano child is proving to be a troublemaker and isn’t connecting with her mother. It’s not the most interesting storyline, but it’s relatable and helps to keep this from being all about the boys, and as such I think it’s a welcome conflict. And this works just well enough to explain why Tony, for all of his faults, does genuinely love his family. Meadow is his little girl easing into adulthood, while A.J. is his big strong man, reluctant to escape boyhood. I have my own beliefs on how and why he connects to his kids, but I’ll keep things easy and say that he wants to savor every moment he can.
The episode, or at least Tony’s conversations with Dr. Melfi, is more interested in his mother and uncle. The latter is briefly explained, as Tony has inherited his position in the criminal world from his Uncle Junior, while he’s inherited his miserable nature from Livia. While Melfi initially is only interested in his immediate family (I’d argue that this is a short-sighted move on her end, clearly Tony’s uncle factors into his life more than the average extended family member), both of these figures will play major parts in exploring Tony’s psyche, alongside his late father. Nancy Marchand is another contender for best in show thus far, making her turn as Tony’s resentful mother feel as genuinely upsetting to the audience as it is to his character. Marchand’s slow prowess and unrelenting conviction allows what could have been a one-note performance to resonate as powerfully as any iconic stern matriarchal figure. I’m just as excited to return to her world as I am Gandolfini and Falco’s.
Chase, a revered television veteran who made a name for himself with his teleplays for Kolchak and The Rockford Files before helping to make I’ll Fly Away and Northern Exposure among the most acclaimed programs of the early 90s, instantly proves to be a wise investment with his work here, writing and directing an exceptionally-built pilot. While Chase is less known for his directorial work (he’ll only shoot one other episode- the finale), he starts off with an impressive-looking debut, utilizing virtually all of HBO’s resources to make something exceptional- literally, as Chase initially planned to expand the pilot into a feature if HBO or another network turned the series down. But right away, The Sopranos looks unlike most of TV at the time, using cinematic staging to its advantage, making Tony’s New Jersey feel just as real and lived in as it does otherworldly. But what really impresses me is the use of shadow throughout the episode. The darkness looks just as rich as the light, balancing Tony’s internal struggle to walk the line between the two.
And of course, Chase’s script is brilliant, matching Tony and co’s scripture (ie The Godfather) in balance between high art and entertainment. Right away, strong themes are being sown into the work’s fabric while remaining exciting and humorous without turning into cheap thrills or easy jokes to get a laugh. Chase will develop a strong relationship with his writer’s room, which we’ll see soon, but he gives them a lot to work with right from the word go.
One element that I keep coming back to, what I started my rambling with, is the idea of a mob boss going to a psychiatrist. Today’s culture appears to be in better touch with mental health, at least to the point that seeking therapy isn’t taboo, but something many openly talk about. For people of a certain age, psychiatry was often seen for nutjobs or, at the least offensive, for women. Tony brings up Gary Cooper as an example of someone who doesn’t need it, the “strong, silent type”. Now, you could argue that it makes him look like a fool, but I believe that some already felt the same way about him in 1999. Buzz words that appear to come from therapy talk like “toxic” keep infiltrating their way into the modern lexicon, but therapy isn’t right for everyone. It’s been proven that it doesn’t work for narcissists or sociopaths, both personality types that use the advice they receive to their advantage, often to other’s disadvantage. Look at Jonah Hill’s recent text leak for an example of this.
So I ask- is speaking with Dr. Melfi going to be beneficial for Tony, or will it allow him to become a better mob boss? We have 85 more episodes to discuss this topic, and all I’ll say is that this makes for great TV.
The pilot won David Chase a DGA Award, and also received an Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing, while also being nominated for Writing and Directing, and was additionally submitted by James Gandolfini and Nancy Marchand for their acting awards.
From Dr. Melfi’s Notepad:
*I don’t think he’s going to be regularly called AJ until a little later in the series, but I’ll refer to him as such from hereon out, since that’s easier to type.
I have a… weird copy of the first two seasons on DVD, which combines them together and is missing bonus features, so I’ll be missing out on the commentaries for the time being, unless I can find cheap copies of these sets.
Speaking of AJ, I have to share his quote of the week. You know, I’ve seen people claim that his instant response to his grandmother’s desperation being “I don’t get my ziti” being an example of his selfishness, but here’s a counterpoint- it’s already been well-established that Livia has severe mood swings, and he’s probably just as tired of her bullshit as everyone else. My favorite part is the collective “Hey!” from Tony, Carmela, and Father Phil, like they’re used to him swearing.
Speaking of Father Phil. he and Carmela can be seen watching Field of Dreams on Laserdisc. We’ll learn that the priest is quite the movie fan over time.
I like how Tony calls him Hannibal “Lecture”, almost as much as I like how Carmela’s instant reaction to hearing news from Tony is to grab wine to throw at him. But to be fair, we did see Tony with the first of his many mistresses.
Do you like the hostess that Christopher hooks up with? You better, that’s going to become Adriana!
Jukebox Hit of the Week: Let’s see if this will go the way of my attempt to cover every band who played at the Bronze, but I’d like to highlight one of the many song choices David Chase picks for the series each week. Right away, the pilot has a wide variety of selections, ranging from Italian tenor to Sting. Let’s go with the closing number, “The Beast in Me” by Nick Lowe. A little on the nose, but people like that with their soundtrack cuts, right?
Next Week: I‘m still debating if I’m going to do one or two a week, so let’s try a double for next week. First up, Tony is on a mission to find AJ’s teacher’s stolen car and have Christopher return a stolen truck, while the following episode deals with those conflict’s aftermath.
Spoiler Corner: I did this for Buffy, decided against it for West Wing, let’s do this for The Sopranos. Here, I’ll discuss elements from this week’s episode(s) that may come up or influence later moments. One thing that sticks out for me is in one of the show’s many references to The Godfather, Pussy corrects Christopher as to which character “sleeps with the fishes”. It’s notable because when Tony and the crew discover his deceit, he’ll join their same bedrest. Also worth noting is Carmela telling Tony that he’s going to Hell. This is something she’ll both admit to regret saying as well as double down on over the course of the series. So basically, they’re just like your average married couple.