Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
None of them became witnesses, though, so nothing much came of it. It's my favorite show ever, but that was another flaw in my opinion. Big Pussy's cooperation was a gripping story, then you have other made members secretly informing as a random aside, but no cases and no cooperating witnesses. Those later informants felt like a wasted opportunity to me. The Eugene Pontecorvo episode was great, though... for a minor character I thought he was great and came across like a real wiseguy from his generation, not a caricature.
I always imagined there would be a drawn out scene at the end of the series where Tony was in court with Christopher on the stand. That would have been powerful television but instead we got a weird car accident where Tony plugs Christopher's nose to kill him, then takes peyote with a random girl on the west coast. I'm all for creative ideas and I know Chase liked to be unpredictable, but again it felt like a waste of good drama.
They had Junior's trial and Paulie's short jail bid, but I felt the show could have sustained more courtroom action and even a solid ongoing prison storyline. Paulie was great in the jail scenes trying to stay in touch with the outside world.
B. wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:53 am
My belief will always be that Tony mentally decided to flip in the diner and in that way the "cut to black" was the end of the Tony Soprano we all know.
The Kevin Finnerty dream sequence where he's holding the Valachi Papers, the whole premise of the show being about how the life wasn't as honorable as it was when his father was alive, Uncle Junior not remembering the mafia the last time Tony sees him (i.e. it was all for nothing). His buddy Johnny Sack is dead and NYC is going to be a constant threat. Silvio was out of commission, Christopher was dead, he lost faith in Paulie and almost killed him on a boat. Tony liked the money and power, but over the course of the show it's clear that Tony's favorite part of the mafia was hanging with his closest buddies shooting the shit. By the last episode that's over. The scene where Tony's at the vacation house surrounded by bodyguards is depressing.
In the diner he tells his wife that one of his captains is cooperating, so he has prison on his mind to start the whole scene off. The tension and build-up of the diner sequence is Tony's internal dilemma and in the end it shows Tony exactly what matters to him -- his wife and kids. How does he keep them? He flips and "Tony Soprano" as we know him is no more.
Just my interpretation. My biggest complaint is Christopher's death. I would have had Christopher flip first, as it always seemed like a possibility with the drug use, Hollywood fantasies, Adriana murder, etc. I would have closed the show with Tony deciding whether or not to cooperate knowing that Christopher would put him away for life.
I think Tony was either going to be killed, or he was going to flip. Tony never really did time and plus he cared about his blood family. Anytime Tony felt the heat, he panicked which leads me to believe that he couldn’t handle doing time.
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
Are u sure that Larry barese flipped??
Iv been watching YouTube for 5 hours now on sopranos...
But regarding Larry idk esp bc he had his nephew and son involved after
And yes pussy I forgotten about. But has any of them turncoats actually take anyone down??
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
Are u sure that Larry barese flipped??
Iv been watching YouTube for 5 hours now on sopranos...
But regarding Larry idk esp bc he had his nephew and son involved after
And yes pussy I forgotten about. But has any of them turncoats actually take anyone down??
The Larry Barese thing was brief and involved him giving the location of the body of Tony's first murder. Some black guy. But he did steer them away from Tony, pointing the finger at Jackie Aprile. It was left at that and the viewer gets the impression that Barese did flip.
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
Are u sure that Larry barese flipped??
Iv been watching YouTube for 5 hours now on sopranos...
But regarding Larry idk esp bc he had his nephew and son involved after
And yes pussy I forgotten about. But has any of them turncoats actually take anyone down??
The Larry Barese thing was brief and involved him giving the location of the body of Tony's first murder. Some black guy. But he did steer them away from Tony, pointing the finger at Jackie Aprile. It was left at that and the viewer gets the impression that Barese did flip.
Ohhhhhh
Yes now I remember... They were at the summer cottage lamming it incase Tony was gonna get picked up right??
Ya I remember now. But is that the only thing he gave them...??
I remmember then saying he still was stand up or something
I recently rewatched Sopranos for like the 10th time and my understanding with Barese is he flipped but he didnt give up anything on Tony, Sil, Paulie etc just old things and pinned it on guys that were dead hence the blame for Tony's first killing on Jackie Sr.
B. wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:53 am
My belief will always be that Tony mentally decided to flip in the diner and in that way the "cut to black" was the end of the Tony Soprano we all know.
The Kevin Finnerty dream sequence where he's holding the Valachi Papers, the whole premise of the show being about how the life wasn't as honorable as it was when his father was alive, Uncle Junior not remembering the mafia the last time Tony sees him (i.e. it was all for nothing). His buddy Johnny Sack is dead and NYC is going to be a constant threat. Silvio was out of commission, Christopher was dead, he lost faith in Paulie and almost killed him on a boat. Tony liked the money and power, but over the course of the show it's clear that Tony's favorite part of the mafia was hanging with his closest buddies shooting the shit. By the last episode that's over. The scene where Tony's at the vacation house surrounded by bodyguards is depressing.
In the diner he tells his wife that one of his captains is cooperating, so he has prison on his mind to start the whole scene off. The tension and build-up of the diner sequence is Tony's internal dilemma and in the end it shows Tony exactly what matters to him -- his wife and kids. How does he keep them? He flips and "Tony Soprano" as we know him is no more.
Just my interpretation. My biggest complaint is Christopher's death. I would have had Christopher flip first, as it always seemed like a possibility with the drug use, Hollywood fantasies, Adriana murder, etc. I would have closed the show with Tony deciding whether or not to cooperate knowing that Christopher would put him away for life.
That's a really interesting theory. All these years I've been convinced Tony was killed in the diner but I have been seriously questioning it lately.
B. wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 2:53 am
My belief will always be that Tony mentally decided to flip in the diner and in that way the "cut to black" was the end of the Tony Soprano we all know.
The Kevin Finnerty dream sequence where he's holding the Valachi Papers, the whole premise of the show being about how the life wasn't as honorable as it was when his father was alive, Uncle Junior not remembering the mafia the last time Tony sees him (i.e. it was all for nothing). His buddy Johnny Sack is dead and NYC is going to be a constant threat. Silvio was out of commission, Christopher was dead, he lost faith in Paulie and almost killed him on a boat. Tony liked the money and power, but over the course of the show it's clear that Tony's favorite part of the mafia was hanging with his closest buddies shooting the shit. By the last episode that's over. The scene where Tony's at the vacation house surrounded by bodyguards is depressing.
In the diner he tells his wife that one of his captains is cooperating, so he has prison on his mind to start the whole scene off. The tension and build-up of the diner sequence is Tony's internal dilemma and in the end it shows Tony exactly what matters to him -- his wife and kids. How does he keep them? He flips and "Tony Soprano" as we know him is no more.
Just my interpretation. My biggest complaint is Christopher's death. I would have had Christopher flip first, as it always seemed like a possibility with the drug use, Hollywood fantasies, Adriana murder, etc. I would have closed the show with Tony deciding whether or not to cooperate knowing that Christopher would put him away for life.
That's a really interesting theory. All these years I've been convinced Tony was killed in the diner but I have been seriously questioning it lately.
I agree w you. That post has me still (8 hours now) re watching clips and scenarios of sopranos.
And I'd actually change my opinion if it wasn't for David's quote.
I can reasonably believe anything else after he specifically said DEATH SCENE
It was intentionally designed like a murder scene, no doubt. I can't argue with the God of the entire series if he says Tony dies, though I wouldn't put it past Chase to get poetic with a phrase like "death" either. I'm mainly going with what I think makes for the most compelling story... Chase deliberately gave it a "choose your own adventure" (or "Tony's adventure", rather) vibe.
I still remember watching that episode when it debuted and watching Meadow try to park the car was some of the most tense, stressful television I've ever seen.
I recommend the Talking Sopranos podcast with Imperioli and Schirripa hosting. It's not super exciting but I enjoy hearing the behind the scenes talk and I always learn something. I mean, they revealed that Tony was originally named "Tommy Soprano" and John Ventimiglia (Artie) was one of the candidates for the role. Imagine if we had watched Artie play "Tommy Soprano"? That blows my mind more than Tony dying or not dying. Also Jerry Stiller was supposed to play Hesh. Imagine that goofball show.
Also the podcast has a ton of great Tony Sirico anecdotes. He's Paulie in real life.
The story about Sirico spraying his hair for like 5 minutes.
Glick told author Nicholas Pileggi that he expected to meet a banker-type individual, but instead, he found Alvin Baron to be a gruff, tough-talking cigar-chomping Teamster who greeted him with, “What the fuck do you want?”
Haha yeah, how he refused to let the make-up crew and hairstylists do his hair and would only do it himself. Also he is an obsessive compulsive germophobe just like Paulie.
There was also the time he demanded to have one of his lines changed which was unheard of, as Chase was very strict about the writing. After the cop commits suicide, Tony Soprano talks to the madam and she refers to Paulie as a "psycho". The original line referred to him as a "bully" and Tony Sirico was very upset about this for whatever reason. He was completely fine with them using "psycho" instead. Too funny.
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
Are u sure that Larry barese flipped??
Iv been watching YouTube for 5 hours now on sopranos...
But regarding Larry idk esp bc he had his nephew and son involved after
And yes pussy I forgotten about. But has any of them turncoats actually take anyone down??
The Larry Barese thing was brief and involved him giving the location of the body of Tony's first murder. Some black guy. But he did steer them away from Tony, pointing the finger at Jackie Aprile. It was left at that and the viewer gets the impression that Barese did flip.
Ohhhhhh
Yes now I remember... They were at the summer cottage lamming it incase Tony was gonna get picked up right??
Ya I remember now. But is that the only thing he gave them...??
I remmember then saying he still was stand up or something
Not sure what season it was when Larry may have flipped, but he was in Season 6A when Chris and Carmine Jr. were looking for investors for CLEVER and he was in Season 5 while at Ray Curto's birthday party. Though I agree that nothing came from these informants.
I always questioned where certain characters went like:
Albert Barese - he disappeared pretty much.
Perry Annunziata - (Tonys driver for 2 episodes)?
What about the guy Johnny Sack beat the hell out of and then pissed on him lol??
WALDEN - guy comes at the end with no intro, just shows up and has the best (hands down) whacking in the series. I mean i cheered when Phil took that shot while chatting with his wife.
"Tell Dr. Iaconna to call the god damn pharmacy, i should have 60 day ............. BOOOOOM"
Pogo The Clown wrote: ↑Fri Jul 03, 2020 7:56 pm
Lots of guys flipped on the show. Carlo Gervasi, Ray, Curto, Larry Barese, all Capos. Plus Big Pussy Bompensiero and Gene Pontecorvo(sp) who were Soldiers. Possibly Capo Jimmy Altieri as well. They also had a Lupprotozzi Capo flipped in the 5th season (forgot his name).
Pogo
Are u sure that Larry barese flipped??
Iv been watching YouTube for 5 hours now on sopranos...
But regarding Larry idk esp bc he had his nephew and son involved after
And yes pussy I forgotten about. But has any of them turncoats actually take anyone down??
The Larry Barese thing was brief and involved him giving the location of the body of Tony's first murder. Some black guy. But he did steer them away from Tony, pointing the finger at Jackie Aprile. It was left at that and the viewer gets the impression that Barese did flip.
Ohhhhhh
Yes now I remember... They were at the summer cottage lamming it incase Tony was gonna get picked up right??
Ya I remember now. But is that the only thing he gave them...??
I remmember then saying he still was stand up or something
Not sure what season it was when Larry may have flipped, but he was in Season 6A when Chris and Carmine Jr. were looking for investors for CLEVER and he was in Season 5 while at Ray Curto's birthday party. Though I agree that nothing came from these informants.
I always questioned where certain characters went like:
Albert Barese - he disappeared pretty much.
Perry Annunziata - (Tonys driver for 2 episodes)?
What about the guy Johnny Sack beat the hell out of and then pissed on him lol??
WALDEN - guy comes at the end with no intro, just shows up and has the best (hands down) whacking in the series. I mean i cheered when Phil took that shot while chatting with his wife.
"Tell Dr. Iaconna to call the god damn pharmacy, i should have 60 day ............. BOOOOOM"
BENNY- he would be Boss right now in 2020
Did u ever catch Vito in the bakery shop in the first season where Chris shot the guy at the register??
I think they called him Gino
