The Sopranos Season 5

[mexicanbullfrog]

I don't think Bob will be living much longer. He knowingly had sex with a mobster's wife. You're safer dating a mobster's daughter than even thinking of a wife in a sexual manner. He is dead.

As for the current generation of Italian mobsters go, I think it's an unfair representation to consider clowns like Christopher and AJ as the typical dumbass in the mafia today. The mafia is involved in several high-tech scams and businesses in addition to the backing of there leadership with violence.

Never under-estimate the cunning of criminals. They are ahead of the curve in crime because they are constantly looking at ways to beat the system, and disguising themselves as decent and legal enterprises.

 

[Kathy P]

What's wrong with seeing Carmela naked? She looks great this season. You can tell from her entire body that she has done some major working out. She looks a lot tighter all over - behind, neck, face, arms. That's the sign of really working out - your entire body changes. Good for her. She looks fantastic, I think.

As for the principal not surviving, I think that the news won't come out if Carmela can help it because she would be roasted for "cheating" (in Tony's eyes even though they're separated and he's a serial philanderer) because she's the woman. Some double standards never die.

 

[luckyjackson]

Does anyone else here suspect that Tony was responsible for that bag of cash tossed out of the car?

 

[Kathy P]

I never thought of that, but that's a good point. I read an article today in the Globe and Mail on conspiracy theories. This is another good one!

 

[mexicanbullfrog]

Does anyone else here suspect that Tony was responsible for that bag of cash tossed out of the car?

A friend of mine suggested that hypothesis. Normally she's pretty dense on obvious comedy, and straight-forward themes and discussions, but throw in a touch of the obscure, and she connects all the dots.

 

[GlavaMan]

There's no way Tony throws away 12 grand. I can't see it.
If we have to see Camela naked then we should get to see Adrianna naked also!

 

[rembrandt100]

I don't think that Tony sees it as throwing away 12 grand. More like an investment. Last week someone got to remember the old days. Easy money, nice clothes and all the trimmings instead of driving a laundry truck and ruining your new shoes. If I remember right, the last talk that he had with his lady friend he was quite rude to her. Pretty sure he has no job to go to and lost his massage biz partner when he kicked the crap out of him. If it was me I would have stayed long enough to get a chance at the daughter.

By the end of tomarrow's show he will be back in.

I will totally go off side tho if he even refers to the line "everytime I try to get out they pull me back in". The dude in the Badda Bing has not done that stick for a while.

Dave

 

[Kev]

There's no way Tony throws away 12 grand. I can't see it.
If we have to see Camela naked then we should get to see Adrianna naked also!

Tony would throwaway 12 grand if he thought he could recoup it and then some.............it would be more on the "then some." that i'm thinking. --- Kev

 

[Kathy P]

He may yet get a chance at the daughter and then Kim will go wild out of revenge.

 

[GlavaMan]

Cousin Tony already asked to get back in (the airbag thing) at the end of the last show. But I still don't think Tony was responsible but it would be a good plotline.

 

[fernie]

The writers "borrow" ideas generated by real life quite often. Example: Tony B.'s smuggled sperm from jail by Tony Soprano mirrored real life. Apparently there's a precedent for the "found money" story line: a wiseguy named Joey Coyle in Philadelphia found over $1 million in cash in some bags that fell off a payroll truck. The "find" literally ruined the guy's life—he got into drugs and eventually committed suicide.

Fernie

 

[Kev]

"In Camelot"

In enjoyed the scenes in this weeks episode between Chris and his AA buddy.(name escapes me) On one hand Chris is all in favour of helping out his buddy, but on the other hand hes sees his AA buddy as nothing more than another mark. (Someone who he can profit from.)

Did Chris really think his buddy had, or would have, the capability of paying him back the $60,000 plus the interest oweing? He must have loan sharks don't loan money out unless they are confident they'll get it back. But still this AA buddy had enough problems (drugs, gambling) never mind having a heavy financial debt added to it. Friends are suppose to give you breaks, not create more misery. --- Kev

 

[Kathy P]

There is a school of thought that thinks that those who gamble create their own misery. Perhaps Chris-tu-fer thought that if his friend was up for playing at high stakes he was up for the responsibility of a loss that goes with it. Remember that friend of Tony's who lost his sporting goods store for the same reason? Regardless of who he is, AA friend notwithstanding, he got himself in debt with these guys and business is, of course, always business.

I thought the more interesting/compelling story line was with Fran. Tony is thrilled to be around her and then suddenly hates her when she conjures bad memories about his childhood. At one point, when she was doing her Marilyn Monroe rendition I thought he was going to hit her. What a psychotic he is.

 

[Kathy P]

And what the hell is wrong with Junior? Tough guy suddenly suicidal because he feels he's wasted his life. Is the next funeral he gets a pass for going to be his own?

 

[The Shake]

There is a school of thought that thinks that those who gamble create their own misery. Perhaps Chris-tu-fer thought that if his friend was up for playing at high stakes he was up for the responsibility of a loss that goes with it. Remember that friend of Tony's who lost his sporting goods store for the same reason? Regardless of who he is, AA friend notwithstanding, he got himself in debt with these guys and business is, of course, always business.

I think the point was to show the parallels between Tony & Chris. The plot was almost identical to one from season two (although that one spanned a few episodes) in which Tony busted out a childhood friend (also the father of one of Meadow's friends) who was a degenerate gambler. In both cases, friendship and common bonds meant nothing to the almost viper like reaction of Tony & Chris.

 

[plymaker]

k guys i know eveeryone here loves the show but were is all the action gone

 

[Fortunato]

I think the point was to show the parallels between Tony & Chris...

Curious. I thought it was doing quite the opposite.

Chris and the events with ex-Wings boy show how, in his mind, he has completely separated "business" and "personal". He beats the guy silly for not paying him on time, yet he can't understand why the guy does not call him before he uses... and he genuinely wants the guy to go back into rehab to get better. Has the two completely divided in his mind - you can love someone, but still hurt them if it is business.

Tony, on the other hand, is being portrayed as more and more "unstable"... reactionary, emotional, "clouded", with very poor judgement. Most important, perhaps, is the importance he places on "love" within the family (with Junior, Christopher, etc.). But lately they have been going out of their way to introduce conflict between him and the rest of the crew (the Adriana thing, Pauly, even Silvio getting "knocked down" with the "I ain't running a popularity contest" stuff), and building conflict with other families.

Most importantly, they've introduced cousin Tony... a character foil. They've made sure he's come in with some "rank" (at least he feels he is Tony's equal), and he shows characteristics that are very different from TS. He doesn't "love" the business, and treats it with caution. He isn't as reactive or emotional as Tony. He is shown as more "level headed" and rational than Tony (like when HE is the one who saves Chris from TS).

I don't think this is coincidence. I would highly suspect that the story line will divert to a power struggle of some sorts in short order, which would be very interesting to see (a contrast of love vs. logic in the minds of gansters... LOL!).


Best regards,

F.

 

[ocean976124]

Re: "In Camelot"

In enjoyed the scenes in this weeks episode between Chris and his AA buddy.(name escapes me) On one hand Chris is all in favour of helping out his buddy, but on the other hand hes sees his AA buddy as nothing more than another mark. (Someone who he can profit from.)

Did Chris really think his buddy had, or would have, the capability of paying him back the $60,000 plus the interest oweing? He must have loan sharks don't loan money out unless they are confident they'll get it back. But still this AA buddy had enough problems (drugs, gambling) never mind having a heavy financial debt added to it. Friends are suppose to give you breaks, not create more misery. --- Kev

Chris didn't want his friend in debt that badly. If I remember correctly Chris tried to tried to take his friend with him when he left but the friend refused to go. Chris seemed genuinely upset that his friend owed that much money. He didn't even have to front him the money, he could have let someone else go after him. Chris also didn't have to suspend payments while his friend was in rehab.
Chris isn't about to fuck up business but that doesn't mean he isn't concerned about the guy...

 

[The Shake]

Curious. I thought it was doing quite the opposite.

I should have been clearer (not enough coffee today). The parallel is with what Tony used to be and drawing it as such really demonstrates how far downwards Tony has spiraled (as far as separating business from personal) since the first two seasons.

The storylines were almost identical.

Tony & Davey Scatino had a relationship outside of the business and a common bond (kids in high school).

Chris & J.T. Dolan had a relationship outside of the business and a common bond (addiction).

Scatino/Dolan both get into high roller games.

Tony/Chris make a point of warning their "friends" and make (arguably weak) attempts to stop them from "getting in too deep".

The warnings are futile and Tony/Chris wind up fronting significant cash to cover the gambling debts.

Scatino/Dolan quickly wind up behind in their debts, and are shocked when their "friends" quickly resort to violence.

The debt is partially resolved when Scatino gives Tony his Jeep (which he gives to Meadow) and Dolan gives Chris his Porsche (how much do you want to bet that it goes to Adriana?).

More to the point, Scatino/Dolan can't understand why Tony/Chris treats them like any other degenerate gambler, and Tony/Chris can't understand why their "friends" would expect them to behave any differently.

Great writing, IMHO.

 

[GlavaMan]

Shake,

I think Dolan's car was a BMW Z3 not a Porsche?