"The Sopranos" Fortunate Son (2001)

Director:

Henry Bronchtein

Writers:

David Chase (creator)
Todd A. Kessler (written by)

TV Series:

"The Sopranos" (1999)

Original Air Date:

11 March 2001 (Season 3, Episode 3)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Chris becomes a made man, while Tony experiences another panic attack. Meadow continues to seethe over Tony's treatment of her boyfriend.

Plot Keywords:

Father Dislikes Daughter's Boyfriend | Gangster | Mafia | Psychiatrist | New Jersey

Cast

James Gandolfini	...	Tony Soprano
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Jennifer Melfi
Edie Falco	...	Carmela Soprano
Michael Imperioli	...	Christopher Moltisanti
Dominic Chianese	...	Junior Soprano
Steve Van Zandt	...	Silvio Dante (as Steven Van Zandt)
Tony Sirico	...	Paulie 'Walnuts' Gualtieri
Robert Iler	...	A.J. Soprano
Jamie-Lynn Sigler	...	Meadow Soprano
Drea de Matteo	...	Adriana La Cerva
Aida Turturro	...	Janice Soprano
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco
Steve Schirripa	...	Bobby 'Bacala' Baccalieri (as Steven R. Schirripa)
Federico Castelluccio	...	Furio Giunta
Robert Funaro	...	Eugene Pontecorvo

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Paramus, New Jersey, USA

Company:

Brad Grey Television

Quotes:

Tony Soprano: [to Christopher and Eugene] Once you're into this family, there's no getting out.

Movie Connections:

References Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966)

Soundtrack:

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Sopranos On Race

I love the SOPRANOS, and I think this episode is one of the better ones. I like how all these men see themselves as heroic, even though they do criminal things and betray each other every week. Like when Chris has trouble keeping up with his payments and Paulie Walnuts says, "Welcome to the NFL, rookie!" The only thing I was disappointed with in this series was when Meadow has a "black" boyfriend and Tony doesn't approve. It seems that race is the one issue in American life where the SOPRANOS writers play it safe.

First of all, the young lover Meadow chooses is hardly "black" at all, being a hothouse flower from a wealthy Jewish home who is at least as white as black. Take points off for flinching right away. The writers deliberately make him tall, skinny, geeky, and non-threatening, as if afraid a more physical presence would make Tony and the boys look bad.

Second of all, the show pulls punches in a very unusual way in that Tony doesn't sink to physical violence. In real life he wouldn't have just warned the young man -- he would have murdered him, with the full support of his crew. Moreover, a flashback would have been in order, showing the young Tony and Arty Bucco and their other friends hunting blacks for sport during the race riots of the Sixties. In real life the first person Tony ever killed would have been black, and his reaction to Meadow's boyfriend would have been much more violent and much more cowardly, like in Bensonhurst where it takes fifty Italians to murder one black boy with baseball bats.

All this urban history is well known to the writers at the SOPRANOS, but they pull punches by 1.) making the boy a weakling 2.) covering up Tony's past 3.) not telling the truth about race in America.

My preference -- have someone like Ken Norton or Joe Frazier go up against Tony, beat hell out of him in a fair fight, then force him to watch while he does a willing and enthusiastic Meadow like in A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. ("Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well.") But I guess there are some rules not even THE SOPRANOS can break.