The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti

Last updated

"The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 8
Directed by Tim Van Patten
Written by David Chase
Frank Renzulli
Cinematography by Phil Abraham
Production code108
Original air dateFebruary 28, 1999 (1999-02-28)
Running time49 minutes
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Down Neck"
Next 
"Boca"
The Sopranos season 1
List of episodes

"The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" is the eighth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos . It was written by David Chase and Frank Renzulli, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on February 28, 1999.

Contents

Starring

Guest starring

Also guest starring

Synopsis

At his daughter's wedding, Larry Boy tells Tony and his crew that, according to his source in the FBI, federal indictments will soon be handed down against the DiMeo crime family. One by one the capos gather their families, say goodbye to the tearful bride, and leave the ceremony early. Tony and Carmela swiftly collect cash and guns from different parts of their house while Meadow and A.J. watch. Tony hides everything, without her knowledge, in Livia's room at the Green Grove retirement community. The Soprano residence is searched by an FBI team led by Agent Dwight Harris.

Having dinner after the search, Tony explains to his children that Italians and Italian-Americans are not given the respect they deserve. Dr. Melfi, at a dinner with her own family, says a few careless words which allow her ex-husband to deduce that one of her patients is a mobster. He urges her to drop that patient, deploring the way a few thousand gangsters have tarnished the good name of millions of Italian-Americans. Anticipating arrest, Tony has told Dr. Melfi he might go on vacation and miss a session without notice; she understands what he means. He misses one, and the next time they meet, she tells him that, as previously agreed, she will still charge him. Tony angrily scatters dollar bills on the floor and leaves.

In nightmares, Christopher is haunted by Emil Kolar. He enlists Georgie to help dig up and relocate Emil's body. At the same time, Christopher is struggling to write a Mafia screenplay; he states that the characters have no arc and feels there is no arc in his own life. In a bakery, he shoots a clerk in the foot for making him wait too long. Tony is initially furious but calms down and shows some sympathy for his feelings. Christopher is resentful that he is not listed as one of those being investigated by the FBI. When his name finally appears in the newspaper, he is thrilled.

Livia divulges to Uncle Junior that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist, adding, "I don't want there to be any repercussions." [1] [2]

First appearances

Title reference

Production

Other cultural references

Music

Filming locations

Listed in order of first appearance: [4]

Reception

In a retrospective review, Emily St. James of The A.V. Club was positive. While she opined that the story with Melfi's family "has a tendency to stop the show dead in its tracks" in that "no one watching really cares what Melfi's ex-husband thinks", St. James listed Christopher's conversations with Paulie and Tony among her favorite scenes from the entirety of The Sopranos and argued that "the series shows it has a certain affection for these characters, these scumbags." [5] Alan Sepinwall also praised the scene between Christopher and Paulie as "remarkable [...] as it illustrates the folly of trying to model your life on your favorite movie and TV characters", but wrote that the dialogue in the scenes with Melfi's family about the popular image of Italian-Americans "grows a little didactic at times". [6]

Related Research Articles

"Members Only" is the 66th episode of the HBO series The Sopranos, and the first of the show's sixth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it aired originally on March 12, 2006.

"The Sopranos", also known as "Pilot", is the first episode of the HBO television drama series, The Sopranos, which premiered on January 10, 1999. It was written and directed by the series creator and executive producer David Chase.

"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood" is the 27th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the first of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on March 4, 2001.

"Proshai, Livushka" is the 28th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the second of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and directed by Tim Van Patten, and originally aired on March 4, 2001.

"Pax Soprana" is the sixth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It was written by Frank Renzulli, directed by Alan Taylor and originally aired on February 14, 1999.

"Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office..." is the 14th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the first of the show's second season. Written by Jason Cahill and directed by Allen Coulter, it originally aired on January 16, 2000.

"Toodle-Fucking-Oo" is the sixteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the third of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, directed by Lee Tamahori, and originally aired on January 30, 2000.

"Commendatori" is the seventeenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the fourth of the show's second season. It was written by David Chase and directed by Tim Van Patten, and originally aired on February 6, 2000.

"Funhouse" is the 26th episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos, and the season finale of the show's second season. It was co-written by series creator/executive producer David Chase and co-producer Todd A. Kessler, and directed by frequent The Sopranos director John Patterson, and originally aired in the United States on April 9, 2000, attracting about 9 million viewers.

"Big Girls Don't Cry" is the eighteenth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and is the fifth of the show's second season. It was written by Terence Winter, directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on February 13, 2000.

"The Happy Wanderer" is the 19th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the sixth of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, directed by John Patterson, and originally aired on February 20, 2000.

"D-Girl" is the 20th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the seventh of the show's second season. It was written by Todd A. Kessler and directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on February 27, 2000.

"Full Leather Jacket" is the 21st episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the eighth of the show's second season. It was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on March 5, 2000.

"I Dream of Jeannie Cusamano" is the 13th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the finale of the show's first season. Written by David Chase and directed by John Patterson, it originally aired on April 4, 1999.

"From Where to Eternity" is the 22nd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the ninth of the show's second season. It was written by Michael Imperioli and directed by Henry J. Bronchtein, and originally aired on March 12, 2000.

"Bust Out" is the 23rd episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the 10th of the show's second season. It was written by Frank Renzulli, Robin Green, and Mitchell Burgess and directed by John Patterson, and originally aired on March 19, 2000.

"The Knight in White Satin Armor" is the 12th episode of the second season of the HBO television series The Sopranos. It was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Allen Coulter, and originally aired on April 2, 2000.

"For All Debts Public and Private" is the 40th episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos and the first episode of the show's fourth season. Written by David Chase and directed by Allen Coulter, it originally aired on September 15, 2002.

"Nobody Knows Anything" is the 11th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. Written by Frank Renzulli and directed by Henry J. Bronchtein, it originally aired on March 21, 1999

"Isabella" is the 12th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. Written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, and directed by Allen Coulter, it originally aired on March 28, 1999.

References

  1. "The Sopranos - 1.08 - The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti Synopsis". HBO. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. Retrieved May 8, 2014.
  2. O'Connor, Mimi (October 30, 2007). "The Sopranos: Episode Guide". In Martin, Brett (ed.). The Sopranos: The Complete Book. New York: Time. ISBN   978-1-933821-18-4.
  3. Weber, John; Kim, Chuck (May 2003). "Do You Have the Patience to Wait?" . The Tao of Bada Bing! Words of Wisdom from The Sopranos. United States: Carhil Ventures LLC. pp.  88–89. ISBN   1-56649-278-5.
  4. Ugoku. "The Sopranos location guide - Filming locations for". www.sopranos-locations.com. Archived from the original on January 26, 2020. Retrieved January 27, 2020.
  5. St. James, Emily (June 30, 2010). "The Sopranos: "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti"/"Boca"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on August 22, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  6. Sepinwall, Alan (July 22, 2015). "The first 'Sopranos' episode to address the show's critics, before they even saw it". Uproxx. Archived from the original on April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 19, 2017.