Episode 7. Watching Too Much Television
Season: 4
Episode in season: 7
Overall episode: 46
Original title: Watching Too Much Television
Directed by: John Patterson
Written by: Story by: David Chase, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess and Terence Winter; Teleplay: Terence Winter and Nick Santora
Original air date: October 27, 2002
Running time: 54 minutes
Production code: 407
U.S. viewers: 9.72 million
Navigation: ← Everybody Hurts | Mergers and Acquisitions →
Cast and characters
• James Gandolfini — Tony Soprano
• Lorraine Bracco — Jennifer Melfi
• Edie Falco — Carmela Soprano
• Michael Imperioli — Christopher Moltisanti
• Steven Van Zandt — Silvio Dante
• Tony Sirico — Paulie Gualtieri
• Robert Iler — Anthony Soprano, Jr.
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler — Meadow Soprano
• Drea de Matteo — Adriana La Cerva
• Vincent Curatola — Johnny Sacrimoni
• Sharon Angela — Rosalie Aprile
• Matt Servitto — Dwight Harris
• Aida Turturro — Janice Soprano
• Steve Schirripa — Bobby Baccalieri
• Federico Castelluccio — Furio Giunta
• Dan Grimaldi — Patsy Parisi
• Joseph R. Gannascoli — Vito Spatafore
• Maureen Van Zandt — Gabriella Dante
• Joe Pantoliano — Ralph Cifaretto
• Robert Funaro — Eugene Pontecorvo
• Max Casella — Benny Fazio
• Carl Capotorto — Paulie Germani
Paulie Walnuts gets out of jail and is thrown a huge party at the Bada Bing! The next day, Tony and Ralphie get an idea from Brian Cammarata to defraud the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fund through fictitious transactions. Tony enlists Senator Zellman and his friend, Maurice Tiffen, formerly the idealistic head of a nonprofit low-income housing program, to put the plan into action. They also recruit Dr. Ira Freed as a straw buyer to initially purchase an abandoned property in a poor neighborhood. After one of his secret business meetings in the sauna, Zellman privately admits to Tony that he has met and was dating Tony's ex-girlfriend, Irina, and asks Tony for approval. Tony seems understanding and states that he is happy that Irina is no longer his problem. Later, during an unannounced visit to Zellman's house, Tony discovers Irina preparing dinner for him and learns that Zellman is paying for her English classes.
Adriana's furtive meetings with the FBI continue. After watching a television drama on TV, she gets the idea that a spouse cannot be forced to testify against their partner. Believing that the FBI will stop harassing her if they can't use her testimony, she asks Christopher to finally set a date for their wedding. But when he mentions having children, she also tearfully reveals to him that she may have been sterile, which makes her fiancé very angry and causes her to leave in a fit of rage. Christopher gets high on heroin and seeks advice from his crime family members, who (except Paulie) are persuaded to marry Adrian regardless, when Tony believes that modern medicine can help with infertility and Silvio humorously warns him that he could end up like Junior or Paulie if left alone. Christopher returns to his fiancée and agrees to marry her. Adriana reveals the news to her friends and family, and Carmela is the first to hear about the marriage plans. However, later, during a casual conversation with a friend, while trying on a wedding dress, she learns that marital privileges may not apply to her at all. She secretly goes to see a lawyer, who tells her that spousal privileges will only apply to conversations that occur after the wedding, not in the presence of third parties, and will not promote any criminal activity. No matter how incriminating she may have had with Christopher, who fits all these criteria, marriage will not solve her problems with the law. She is supported by FBI agents who discuss the possibility of their marriage, and do not voice any serious objections.
Tony takes Anthony Jr. for a walk, describing to him his family's proud history of dedication to work, showing him the church in Newark that his mason grandfather helped build, and teaching him a business lesson for buying real estate, taking him to show the rundown houses he bought thanks to a HUD scam. For Anthony Jr., however, his interest in the old days goes back so far that he's surprised at how cheap hotel room service is. Anthony Jr. becomes infatuated with his father when he bullies and insults a drug dealer and his crack-addicted sister. Tony vents about his dissatisfaction with his son to Dr. Melfi, but she shifts her focus to warning Tony to control his inappropriate outbursts against her during their therapy sessions.
Before selling the acquired property to the federal government, Tony tells Zellman that the drug addicts need to get out of there, especially since there are about $7,000 in copper pipes where they live, and threatens him with less payment if the problem is not solved. Since using white bandits in the ghetto would raise suspicion and believing that the police would only resolve the situation temporarily, Maurice Tiffen is visited by Zellman and, with the same threats of earning less from the deal, told to take care of it by sending some bandits. Four young armed teenagers show up on the property. They shoot into the air and hit the squatters with baseball bats, including the family previously seen by Tony and Anthony Jr., while a small child watches. During the raid, a man of the family catches a ricochet bullet and is wounded in his genitals. Later, a team led by Vito Spatafore can be seen ripping open houses for copper and "covering parts". Dr. Freed sells the land to Tiffen's organization for three times the price of his purchase wall, as a result of fraudulent appraisals, and receives his sale price from funds borrowed from HUD. Zellman and Tiffen are paid at Bing. They discuss the deal and free themselves from outdated moral scruples. Tony is awarded a Patek Philippe watch worth $15,000.
Elsewhere, Camrela and Furio Giunta's tentative flirtation continues when he calls her on the pretext of looking for his lost sunglasses. Later, when Furio goes to pick up Tony in the morning, he refuses Carmela's offer to stop by for coffee, claiming that he has to sit in the car because she has engine trouble.
Meanwhile, Paulie gives more information in his meetings with Johnny Sack. They meet at the River Cafe in Brooklyn and he reveals the HUD scheme and gets assurances from Johnny that their discussions will be kept secret.
At the end of the episode, while driving, Tony listens to "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites on the radio and begins to cry. He stops at Irina's apartment and asks if she has anything to drink. He goes upstairs, he bumps into Zellman and hits him with his belt, making Zellman cry in front of Irina.
Adriana's furtive meetings with the FBI continue. After watching a television drama on TV, she gets the idea that a spouse cannot be forced to testify against their partner. Believing that the FBI will stop harassing her if they can't use her testimony, she asks Christopher to finally set a date for their wedding. But when he mentions having children, she also tearfully reveals to him that she may have been sterile, which makes her fiancé very angry and causes her to leave in a fit of rage. Christopher gets high on heroin and seeks advice from his crime family members, who (except Paulie) are persuaded to marry Adrian regardless, when Tony believes that modern medicine can help with infertility and Silvio humorously warns him that he could end up like Junior or Paulie if left alone. Christopher returns to his fiancée and agrees to marry her. Adriana reveals the news to her friends and family, and Carmela is the first to hear about the marriage plans. However, later, during a casual conversation with a friend, while trying on a wedding dress, she learns that marital privileges may not apply to her at all. She secretly goes to see a lawyer, who tells her that spousal privileges will only apply to conversations that occur after the wedding, not in the presence of third parties, and will not promote any criminal activity. No matter how incriminating she may have had with Christopher, who fits all these criteria, marriage will not solve her problems with the law. She is supported by FBI agents who discuss the possibility of their marriage, and do not voice any serious objections.
Tony takes Anthony Jr. for a walk, describing to him his family's proud history of dedication to work, showing him the church in Newark that his mason grandfather helped build, and teaching him a business lesson for buying real estate, taking him to show the rundown houses he bought thanks to a HUD scam. For Anthony Jr., however, his interest in the old days goes back so far that he's surprised at how cheap hotel room service is. Anthony Jr. becomes infatuated with his father when he bullies and insults a drug dealer and his crack-addicted sister. Tony vents about his dissatisfaction with his son to Dr. Melfi, but she shifts her focus to warning Tony to control his inappropriate outbursts against her during their therapy sessions.
Before selling the acquired property to the federal government, Tony tells Zellman that the drug addicts need to get out of there, especially since there are about $7,000 in copper pipes where they live, and threatens him with less payment if the problem is not solved. Since using white bandits in the ghetto would raise suspicion and believing that the police would only resolve the situation temporarily, Maurice Tiffen is visited by Zellman and, with the same threats of earning less from the deal, told to take care of it by sending some bandits. Four young armed teenagers show up on the property. They shoot into the air and hit the squatters with baseball bats, including the family previously seen by Tony and Anthony Jr., while a small child watches. During the raid, a man of the family catches a ricochet bullet and is wounded in his genitals. Later, a team led by Vito Spatafore can be seen ripping open houses for copper and "covering parts". Dr. Freed sells the land to Tiffen's organization for three times the price of his purchase wall, as a result of fraudulent appraisals, and receives his sale price from funds borrowed from HUD. Zellman and Tiffen are paid at Bing. They discuss the deal and free themselves from outdated moral scruples. Tony is awarded a Patek Philippe watch worth $15,000.
Elsewhere, Camrela and Furio Giunta's tentative flirtation continues when he calls her on the pretext of looking for his lost sunglasses. Later, when Furio goes to pick up Tony in the morning, he refuses Carmela's offer to stop by for coffee, claiming that he has to sit in the car because she has engine trouble.
Meanwhile, Paulie gives more information in his meetings with Johnny Sack. They meet at the River Cafe in Brooklyn and he reveals the HUD scheme and gets assurances from Johnny that their discussions will be kept secret.
At the end of the episode, while driving, Tony listens to "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites on the radio and begins to cry. He stops at Irina's apartment and asks if she has anything to drink. He goes upstairs, he bumps into Zellman and hits him with his belt, making Zellman cry in front of Irina.
Последнее редактирование: