Toodle-Fucking-Oo

Although the first film people usually come up with when discussing The Sopranos is Goodfellas, there are times when other gangster flicks are just as deserving to be mentioned. In the case of this episode and a few others from Season 2, for example, it is suitable to compare them to Mean Streets, the Martin Scorsese masterpiece that better than any other picture depicted street life and gave the world the first proof of Robert De Niro's talent.

The main link between Marty's film and David Chase's show is, once again, all in the casting: while several series regulars and guest stars appeared in Goodfellas as well, David Proval comes straight from Mean Streets. Proval, who played one of Harvey Keitel's associates in the film, joins the cast as Richie Aprile, older brother of the deceased Jackie, who has just been paroled after ten years in the joint. It doesn't take long before he starts to cause trouble, though: he sends a former client to the hospital, doesn't get along with Christopher (the latter slapped Adriana, who happens to be Richie's niece) and disagrees with most of Tony's decisions, finding a more sympathetic ally in Uncle Junior, who is old-school in everything except the language ("Federal marshals are so far up my ass I can taste Brylcreem" - a classic!). Meanwhile, Meadow gets in trouble for throwing a party in Livia's empty house, and Dr. Melfi freaks out because of the effect Tony has on her life.

Apart from the memorable line Junior delivers, Toodle-F**cking-Oo calls for plaudits for how it develops two established characters and introduces two new ones: in the first case, Meadow comes off as more "rebellious" than her attitude in Season 1 suggested, while Dr. Melfi, wonderfully incarnated by Lorraine Bracco, shows that psychiatrists might have as many problems as their patients (a concept that is used to terrific effect in Showtime's drama Huff); this situation leads to the screen debut of Melfi's own therapist, Elliot Kupferberg, a welcome return from oblivion for New Hollywood legend Peter Bogdanovich, who does however play second fiddle to Proval's gut-driven energy. Even though it's been 27 years since Mean Streets, Richie acts as if nothing had changed, right down to the way he casually commits acts of unspeakable violence. "I thought I told you to back off Beansie!" Tony yells. "I did, and then I hit Drive!" is the instantly cool answer. It is almost possible to hear "Jumping Jack Flash" all over again...

Richie Aprile, the late don's older brother, is back in town after 10 years in the can, and quickly moves to reassert himself. This includes ramming and then running over someone who supposedly is under Tony's protection. While Richie is a head shorter and much older than Tony, he is defiant almost to the point of physical confrontation with the new boss. He dead-stares Tony as Tony dresses him down, not once but twice. Richie also cozies up to the easily flattered Junior, pledging his undying loyalty to the old fart. Meanwhile, Meadow throws a wild party at Livia's house, and the cops get called in. Meadow deftly manipulates her father as he tries to discipline her. You have to catch her priceless facial expressions as she knows she has won. Dr. Melfi has a breakdown, thanks to Tony. Kudos to David Proval as Richie Aprile. This veteran character actor makes you truly believe Richie is a scary, dangerous man. A great episode.

Richie Aprile is released from prison and immediately causes problems.

This is a memorable episode for a number of incidents and strong character moments.

Aprile makes the biggest impact of the episode. From his first appearance and throughout you sense only one thing from the character: trouble. It is testament to clever writing and also the performance of David Proval that you can take such an instant dislike to someone who not only puts you on edge with what he says and does, but just from the look in his eyes. As violent and murderous as Tony can be, you side with him instantly in his dealings with this character.

I love the parental issues that Tony and Carmela experience with Meadow. The irony associated with a character who controls the New Jersey underworld having rings run around him by his teenage daughter is outstanding. It also follows on well from the themes explored in the season one episode 'Down Neck' that explored parental influences on the behaviour of children.

Related to this is for me the most entertaining scene in the episode involving an emotive sequence of dialogue between Tony, Carmela and Janice. This is a great moment that is fantastically written and performed. Again the writers cleverly make sure you stay on side with certain characters.

James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Aida Turturro, Lorraine Bracco, and Nancy Marchand are all on excellent form.

As ever the production values are superb, with great cinematography, particularly the shots of Proval that help make Aprile look like a complete psychopath.

Veteran character actor David Proval ("Mean Streets") joins the cast here as Richie Aprile, the older brother of the late don. Richie has just gotten released from prison after 10 years, and is hellbent on picking up where he left off. (Never mind the changes in the family's structure, this guy wants what he wants and isn't going to be told differently.) Dr. Melfi encounters Tony and his associates in a high-class restaurant and later reproaches herself for her choice of words. And Meadow gets into big trouble when a party is thrown at Livias' old house, and it naturally gets out of control.

Particularly enjoyable are the complicated relationships between Tony & Meadow, and Tony & Dr. Melfi. It's fun to see the looks on Meadows' face as she is fully aware that she actually has the power despite whatever inevitable punishment comes her way. Carmela & Janice really get into it when the latter dares to question the way that Carmela & Tony discipline their children.

While the whole cast is in excellent form, it's the arrival of Richie / Proval that provides the most juice, and the actor does a superb job at creating a character that is going to spell LOTS of trouble for the regular characters. He doesn't even back down when Tony attempts to intimidate him, and goes so far as to cripple a pizzeria chain owner (Paul Herman, "The Irishman") who is supposedly under Tonys' protection. You can see that things are only going to get more interesting from here on in.

It's nice, also, to get a cameo from filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich ("Paper Moon", "The Last Picture Show", etc.) as a colleague of Melfis' to whom she relates her own issues.

Eight out of 10.