Sopranos Episode 73 Johnny Cakes from Planck's Constant

The world is changing. Patsy Parisi and Burt Gervasi can't shake down StarBucks for protection money. "Every last fucking bean is in the computer" they're told by the manager. Patsy opines, "It's over for the little guy".

Vito is wowed by an act of heroism by Jim, our Johnny Cake Cook, saving a child's life during a fire. At the diner the next day, Jim pats Vito's hand and says, it must be lonely sometimes... being a writer" and they exchange knowing looks. That night Jim and Vito come out of a bar and kiss when Vito goes in closet mode and pushes him off, "what are you some kind of a fag?" They get into a rough and tumble and as I noted a few days ago, that's Vito's hand on the tire iron.

They make up a few days later, Vito: "Sometimes you tell lie so long, you don't know when to stop" and I suppose we'll see where that ends up.

Just a note on the earlier call by Phil to his wife using a cellphone he bogarted from a bed and breakfast roomer, there is easily the likelihood that the call can be traced to Thad McCone's cellphone.

AJ can't stop thinking about revenge against Uncle Junior. All his friends at the nightclub treat AJ as a hotshot because of his father's mob celebrity. This only infuriates AJ making him feel worthless because he can't get from under his father's shadow. He wants to run his own club, he wants to be somebody.

His "friends", of course, leave him to pick up an $1,890 tab (2 bottles of Cristal 625/btl, 1 bottle of Grey Goose 325/btl plus 20% tip of $315) because he's the big mob on campus. I haven't been in a nightclub since 1968, and at these prices I ain't going back. At $325 a bottle I expect a blowjob from the waitress. The 200 buck tip to the Little Person Nightclub Manager is most likely for ignoring the fact that he's underage and shouldn't be there drinking.

When he freezes and fails at trying to kill his uncle, he's saved from attempted murder charges by the intercession of Assemblyman Zellman who is probably happy that Tony is not beating the shit out of him.

When AJ realizes that he is a mobster manqué he gets himself into a panic attack. It obviously runs in the family.

By the way, using a cellphone at blockbuster and cursing while on the job is on my pet peeve list.

Tony is tempted by a real-estate offer (Julianne Margolies). Or is he thinking of getting onner?

Julianna Skiff informs Tony that Jamba Juice (here are some stores near Newark) wants to buy the building where Caputo Live Poultry is located. This is the first location with the 3 dozen eggs that Patsy Parisi and Burt Gervasi are collecting "North Ward Merchant Protective Cooperative" insurance. Tony keeps turning down the offer, $315,000, because he doesn't want to ruin the character of the neighborhood. Tony explains his family made the trek up guinea gulch - Bloomfield Avenue. When the offer hits $495.000 and Tony thinks he can get her to partake in a little extra curricular activity, he sells the Egg building.

When Burt and Patsy find out about the sale they look around the neighborhood and wonder "[what] the fuck is happening to this neighborhood?"

Interestingly, we see a new Tony who actually turns down a little trim from Ms Skiff when he sees her unbuttoning the very shirt Carmela lovingly buttoned only a few hours earlier. Tony sentimental? What indeed is the world coming to? That's a Canali shirt he's wearing by the way. Sort of ties in with the cannoli Tony offered Julianne when they first met. Well, she didn't wind up biting into either cannoli.

Tony blowing up at the end about the smoked turkey is really all about his discomfiture at having done the right thing with Julianne. But it would have been funnier if he said , "What no f*cken ziti?" But, I suppose that the writers thought they'd have fun with viewers concluding that Tony was looking for a piece of meat in the fridge because he turned down a piece of meat at the building closing.

Continuity issues. Tony picks up the pen to sign the contract then when we cut to the contract the pen is still on the papers.

AJ's haircut seems to be different from scene to scene.

And how come Tony didn't ask for an explanation from Chris when he said, "feds up my ass"? The line went by without comment. Where did that happen? The worst I saw was the feds asked him to keep an eye out. Not like he's under pressure or anything.

Notable lines:

Tony: (at the Bing) How'd you know to find me here? Julianna: I'm a real estate agent.
Tony: What am I supposed to do? Put out an APB 'cause a guy takes it up the ass?
Silvio: Jason Masucci was down in Tampa visiting his mother... thought he saw Vito in a Jenny Craig. Turned out to be some other fat piece of shit.
Vito: Sometimes you tell a lie for so long that you don't know when to stop.
Tony: My family made the trek up guinea gulch - Bloomfield Avenue
AJ: that ain't my knife!
Patsy: "[what] the fuck is happening to this neighborhood?"
Cafe manager: "Every last fucking bean is in the computer"
Patsy: "It's over for the little guy".
Tony: "I got a baguette in my pants 24/7"
Tony: "Bed, bath and whatever"
Young girl: When I take E my feet get cold. Does that ever happen to you?
AJ: No I wear special socks

Season 6 Episode Guide

Articles on season 6 and Sopranos related stuff:

Sopranos analyzes masculine insecurity
Queens' shooting Studio photo gallery
Tour Sopranos shooting locations

Caption 1: Just point out to me where this fag is hiding and I'll stick these two fingers up his..."
Caption 2: I used to have 5 fingers but then I stuck my middle two right up Vito's kazoo, and he never gave them back"
Caption 3: If I place my pinkie just right it should look just like it's sticking out of Vito's pants.

Writing credits:
Diane Frolov
Andrew Schneider

Cast Credits/ cast list for episode 73:

Frank Borrelli Vito Junior