"The Sopranos" Proshai, Livushka (2001)

Director:

Timothy Van Patten

Writers:

David Chase (creator)
David Chase (written by)

TV Series:

"The Sopranos" (1999)

Original Air Date:

4 March 2001 (Season 3, Episode 2)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Plot:

Livia dies of a stroke, bringing the family together one more time for the funeral where old tensions resurface.

Plot Keywords:

Gangster | Returning Character Killed Off | 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
Federico Castelluccio	...	Furio Giunta
John Ventimiglia	...	Artie Bucco
Kathrine Narducci	...	Charmaine Bucco (as Katherine Narducci)
Joe Pantoliano	...	Ralph Cifaretto

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Argentina:16 | Australia:MA

Filming Locations:

Silvercup Studios - 4222 22nd Street, Long Island City, Queens, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Brad Grey Television

Trivia:

A.J. Soprano is listening to "Eyeless" by Slipknot, which was written about Marlon Brando who starred in The Godfather (1972).

Goofs:

Continuity: During the first shot of Tony lying on the kitchen floor there are several blood stains on the floor and an opened package of cheese can be seen on the counter. During the rewind shot there are no blood stains anymore and the opened cheese package isn't on the counter.

Quotes:

Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: I brought you some books on tape since you say you can't concentrate to read.
Livia Soprano: I wish The Lord would take me now!
Anthony 'Tony' Soprano Sr.: Well... in the meantime.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Soundtrack:

If I Loved You

Goodbye, Nancy

Nancy Marchand certainly knew how to pick her TV roles: she won four Emmys for playing Mrs. Pynchon on Lou Grant, appeared on Cheers as Frasier Crane's mother and ended her career with the first two seasons of The Sopranos, for which she won a Golden Globe and received her last two Emmy nominations. Unfortunately, she passed away before production on the show's third season had begun, requiring David Chase to revise the whole outline for the series (originally Series 3 was centered around the possibility of Livia Soprano testifying against her son in court).

As such, the episode opens with one last scene between Tony and his mother (the sequence was achieved with CGI trickery), before cutting to the boss suffering another panic attack. The trigger of the event, however, is not Livia but Meadow's new boyfriend, whom Tony despises for being half African-American and half Jewish. He doesn't have much time to express his anger, though, as the family soon receives a call announcing Livia's death. New problems ensue at the funeral, as Janice (Aida Turturro) initially refuses to show up out of fear she might be arrested (she famously murdered her crazy lover Richie Aprile in Episode 25) and tensions manifest between Tony and one of his captains, the potentially dangerous Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano).

It is the latter character who somehow dominates the events of Season 3 (and 4, for that matter), spitting obscenities at whoever he pleases and caring absolutely nothing about the consequences of his actions. Pantoliano, no stranger to villainous roles (The Matrix and Memento above all), retrieves the cheekier side he showed in comedies like Risky Business and Midnight Run and merges it with a latent psychosis that helps craft an instantly compelling colorful persona.

At the end of it all, though, the episode is entirely in Marchand's hands, despite the fact she was already dead when it was filmed. Okay, so her "final scene" looks quite bad (you can tell it's a lookalike on whom a digital image of the actress has been superimposed), but the energy, wit and cruelty Marchand displayed in 26 episodes as the calculating Soprano matriarch more than make up for that one flaw, lending the central section of Proshai, Livushka ("Farewell, little Livia" in Russian) an almost solemn atmosphere. A fitting goodbye to an excellent actress.