"The Sopranos" Down Neck (1999)

Director:

Lorraine Senna

Writers:

David Chase (creator)
Mitchell Burgess (written by) ...

TV Series:

"The Sopranos" (1999)

Original Air Date:

21 February 1999 (Season 1, Episode 7)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Anthony has disciplinary problems at school, prompting Tony to recount memories of his childhood with Dr. Melfi.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Reference To The Madonna | Psychiatrist | Mafia | New Jersey

US TV Schedule:

Fri. Jan. 8	8:00 AM	AETV	Down Neck	#1.7
Fri. Jan. 8	2:00 PM	AETV	Down Neck	#1.7

Cast

James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti
Dominic Chianese	...	Junior Soprano
Vincent Pastore	...	Salvatore 'Big Pussy' Bonpensiero
Steve Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante (as Steven Van Zandt)
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri (credit only)
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano
Nancy Marchand	...	Livia Soprano
Joseph Siravo	...	Johnny Boy Soprano
Laila Robins	...	Young Livia Soprano
Rocco Sisto	...	Young Junior Soprano
David Beach	...	Dr. Peter Galani

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Newark, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Brad Grey Television

Trivia:

The title refers to a Newark, New Jersey neighborhood known as The Ironbound. It is also referred to as "Down Neck" because of how the Passaic River curves around it looking somewhat like a neck.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the flashback to Tony's youth where he sees his father beat up a man, young Tony is carrying a black-and-white composition book with a UPC barcode on the front. The flashback is set in the mid-1960s, but UPC barcodes were not introduced until 1974.

Quotes:

Dr. Jennifer Melfi: That must have been devastating.
Tony Soprano: No, it turned out it was no big deal.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: To see your father handcuffed, being led away by the police.
Tony Soprano: At the time I thought my head was gonna explode. He looked... helpless. When I got home my mother had a different perspective, which made me feel better.
Dr. Jennifer Melfi: So in her pain she reached out to you.
Tony Soprano: That's one way to put it.
[cut to a scene of Tony's youth]
Young Livia Soprano: Your father may not be home for dinner tonight. Go wash up.
Young Tony Soprano: I know.
Young Livia Soprano: What do you know?
[...]

Movie Connections:

Features "Toast of the Town" (1948)

Soundtrack:

I've Been Lonely Too Long

Painful memories

"As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.". It's hard not to think of that classic line from Goodfellas when Tony Soprano starts recounting childhood memories to Dr. Melfi: unlike Herny Hill, the New Jersey boss's ambitions were entirely different, but fate decided to intervene.

The source of this reminiscing is a family problem: after being caught drunk in class (he and his friends stole some church wine), A.J. faces expulsion from school, and is punished by his parents by being forced to spend time with his grandmother every afternoon. While discussing the matter with his therapist, Tony recalls his own upbringing: Livia being a huger pain in the ass then than she is now, his dad and Uncle Junior going out regularly to collect money from people, and the old man getting arrested one nice day while having fun at a carnival.

Aside from exposing the parallels between father and son, Down Neck serves another important purpose: to show Livia's firm and authoritarian personality, which will reemerge in later episodes to shocking effect. But this story is also riveting for how it deals with an old stereotype (you join the mafia 'cause you were born into it) without pandering to conventions: Tony may have had it in his DNA (though he concedes in another episode that perhaps he was too lazy to seek a different occupation), but the look on his face when he sees who his father really is indicates everything but happiness or pride. Then again, he might have reconsidered when he learned how much you can earn...

Exceptional