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No Show (The Sopranos episode)
Encyclopedia
"No Show" is the forty-first episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos
. It is the second episode of the show's fourth season. It was written by David Chase
and Terence Winter
, and was directed by John Patterson. It originally aired on September 22, 2002.
's recent lack of drive continues to worry her parents. Carmela
tries to discuss her failure to register for classes but Meadow again uses Jackie Aprile, Jr.
's death as an excuse. She eventually reveals that she hasn't registered because she hopes to travel to Europe with her friend Misty. Tony
discusses the problem with Dr. Melfi
and she recommends a psychologist specializing in adolescents. Meadow agrees to see Dr. Wendy Kobler, who actually encourages Meadow's plans. This prompts a protracted family argument where Meadow confronts Tony with the truth about his business life by calling him "Mr. Mob Boss." Tony responds, quite emotionally, by telling her he did everything he could to save Jackie. She flees the house saying she has made up her mind. Meadow eventually goes to Columbia and registers for some courses while her parents worry if she has fled the country.
Carmela's flirtation with Furio Giunta
continues and she continues to take pleasure in his morning visits to pick up Tony. Furio tells her he is planning to buy a house.
The crews have a birthday party for Albert Barese at Vesuvio. Ralph Cifaretto makes an off-color joke about Ginny Sack's weight, saying she has had a "95-pound mole
removed from her ass." While Paulie Walnuts is incarcerated, Patsy Parisi and Little Paulie Germani have arranged a sit-down on his behalf to discuss Ralphie's division of jobs at the Esplanade site. It takes place in the Vesuvio and Silvio Dante
presides. After some haggling, they settle with five jobs: three no-works and two no-shows
. Capo Paulie receives the first no-show job. Silvio announces that Tony wants Christopher Moltisanti
as acting capo of Paulie's crew during his absence and gives Chris the second no-show job. This upsets Patsy, who believes he has seniority over Chris, as he has been a made man
longer. Indeed, it was Patsy and not Christopher who negotiated the jobs in the meeting. The three no-work jobs are given to Paulie to distribute, and they go to Furio, Benny, and Little Paulie.
As they leave the meeting, Chris jokes to Silvio that the first thing he will do is get wings in his hair—much like the gray "wing-like" hair Paulie has on the side of his head. Silvio is not amused; he is also put out by the promotion as he realizes that Chris is starting to usurp his place in Tony's inner circle. Chris later visits the construction site where Patsy, Benny Fazio, Little Paulie, Donny K. and Vito Spatafore
are enjoying their no-work jobs. The guys have noticed a lot of valuable materials lying around; they mention this to Chris and he seems interested.
When the materials go missing, Tony immediately calls Chris in to reprimand him. Tony tells him he is not seeing the financial potential of the construction contracts and that he is angry about the unwanted attention thefts will bring to their involvement in the job. Christopher goes home to get high and complain to Adriana
. He also relays the rebuke to crew members Patsy and Little Paulie, but Patsy insists Chris gave him "a look" that he took as a go ahead.
Silvio approaches Tony about Patsy feeling marginalized by Chris' promotion. Tony doesn't seem too concerned but Silvio is obviously upset about having a new rival. Patsy visits Silvio at the Bing and mentions some floor tiles at the site; Silvio tells him to steal them in spite of Tony's orders, most likely due to Silvio's feelings of disdain towards Christopher's being made acting capo instead of the more experienced Patsy. Following this theft, Jack Massarone finds Tony playing golf with Artie Bucco and tells him about what has happened. Chris gets a verbal battering from Tony for not controlling his crew. Chris drives straight to the Esplanade site despite being on his way to a prior engagement with Adriana at her mother's house. Chris argues with Patsy and the argument descends into violence. When an African-American construction worker threatens to phone the police, Patsy makes a "Ralph Bunche
" reference and beats him with a scaffolding pole.
Adriana continues in her friendship with "Danielle", an undercover FBI agent, arranging to meet her at the Crazy Horse. When they meet, Adriana discusses her fears that she may be unable to have children because of complications of an abortion she had before she was with Christopher. Danielle had been pushing Adriana to reveal Chris' involvement with the Mafia, so she is a little surprised with what she did learn. However, she sympathetically offers to recommend a good OBGYN
that her sister knows in New York
(she has actually just had a baby herself). Chris and Little Paulie arrive at the club and Chris gives Little Paulie some cocaine right in front of Danielle.
Ralphie and Janice
's relationship continues and they are spending time at Janice's house. Tony arrives unexpectedly and Ralphie hides upstairs. When Tony finds his shoe, he warns Janice about getting involved with Ralph but she is unreceptive. Little Paulie visits his uncle in Youngstown, Ohio
and gives him the news from the sitdown. Paulie asks if anyone has been to visit his mother and Little Paulie tells him nobody has but that Tony sent a box of chocolates. Little Paulie relays Ralph's joke from Albert's birthday party, which Paulie does not find funny, most likely due to his budding partnership with Johnny Sack
.
Christopher and Adriana are spending the evening at Crazy Horse with Danielle. While the couple share a kiss, Christopher puts a hand on Danielle's thigh, which starts an argument between him and Adriana, and prompts Danielle to leave. Chris claims Danielle put his hand on her thigh and Adriana chooses to believe him. She stops returning Danielle's calls; when Danielle persisted in calling, Adriana called back, telling Danielle not to see her anymore. The FBI decides to bring Adriana in and reveal Danielle's true identity—Special Agent Deborah Ciccerone. Agent Harris
accompanies agent Ciccerone to pick up Adriana. She is taken to meet with Chief Frank Cubitoso, where the agents tell her she can choose between twenty-five years in prison for possession and intent to supply cocaine (with an additional possible consequence of retribution by Tony Soprano for bringing an undercover agent to his and Moltisanti's homes, and the club) or begin co-operating with them by answering some questions. Overly anxious and extremely upset, Adriana promptly vomits all over the table and Chief Cubitoso.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
. It is the second episode of the show's fourth season. It was written by David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
and Terence Winter
Terence Winter
Terence Winter is an American writer and producer of television and film. He is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series Boardwalk Empire...
, and was directed by John Patterson. It originally aired on September 22, 2002.
Guest starring roles
- Will ArnettWill ArnettWilliam Emerson "Will" Arnett is a Canadian actor and comedian best known for his role as George Oscar "G.O.B." Bluth II on the Fox comedy Arrested Development. He is also known for his role as Devon Banks on the NBC comedy 30 Rock. Since his success on Arrested Development, Arnett has landed major...
as Agent Mike Waldrup - Carl CapotortoCarl CapotortoCarl Capotorto is an American actor, known for his portrayal of Little Paulie Germani on The Sopranos. He is also the author of Twisted Head: An Italian-American Memoir.-External links:*...
as Little Paulie Germani - Max CasellaMax CasellaMax Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
as Benny Fazio - Robert DesiderioRobert DesiderioRobert Desiderio is an American actor best known for his television roles.Desiderio was born in New York City, New York, the son of Mary and Anthony J. Desiderio. He first came to prominence in soap opera, with parts in daytime dramas such as Search for Tomorrow, Ryan's Hope and One Life to Live...
as Jack Massarone - Raymond Franza as Donny K
- Danyelle Freeman as Misty Giaculo
- Robert FunaroRobert FunaroRobert Funaro is an American film and television actor. Funaro is best known for the role of Eugene Pontecorvo in the Emmy Award-winning television series The Sopranos...
as Eugene Pontecorvo - Joseph R. GannascoliJoseph R. GannascoliJoseph R. Gannascoli is an Italian-American actor and celebrity spokesman most notable for his portrayal of Vito Spatafore on the HBO series, The Sopranos.-Early life:Joseph R. Gannascoli was born and raised in Brooklyn....
as Vito SpataforeVito SpataforeVito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
- Lola GlaudiniLola GlaudiniLola Glaudini is an American actress best known for her portrayal of Elle Greenaway on the hit CBS series Criminal Minds, and for her role as Agent Deborah Ciccerone on the award winning HBO series The Sopranos....
as Agent Deborah Ciccerone - Dan GrimaldiDan GrimaldiDaniel "Dan" Grimaldi is an American actor who is known for his roles as twins Philly and Patsy Parisi on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Career:...
as Patsy Parisi - Linda LavinLinda LavinLinda Lavin is an American singer and actress. She is best known for playing the title character in the sitcom Alice and for her Broadway performances.After acting as a child, Lavin joined the Compass Players in the late 1950s...
as Dr. Wendy Kobler - George Loros as Raymond Curto
- Richard Maldone as Albert Barese
- Arthur J. NascarellaArthur J. NascarellaArthur J. Nascarella is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of films, most often playing a mobster or police officer. Among his notable film credits include a corrupt cop in Cop Land , a hypocritical ambulance captain in Bringing Out The Dead and a fed-up casino boss in The Cooler; he has...
as Carlo Gervasi - Frank PellegrinoFrank PellegrinoFrank Pellegrino is an American actor and restaurateur.Born in East Harlem, Pellegrino has often acted in law and gangster-themed film and television productions. He was a member of an early sixties singing group called The Holidaes. There is a rare recording of a song called "Never" that appears...
as Chief Frank Cubitoso - Matt ServittoMatt ServittoMatt Servitto is an American actor, probably best known for his role on The Sopranos as FBI agent Dwight Harris. He also appeared on all 3 seasons of the Peabody Award-winning series Brotherhood as Rep. Donatello and had a guest appearance on Sex and the City as Carrie Bradshaw's editor...
as Agent Dwight HarrisDwight HarrisSpecial Agent Dwight Harris, played by Matt Servitto, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is an FBI agent assigned to Tony Soprano's case...
Episode recap
MeadowMeadow Soprano
Meadow Mariangela Soprano , played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Character:Meadow is the first-born child of Tony and Carmela Soprano...
's recent lack of drive continues to worry her parents. Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
tries to discuss her failure to register for classes but Meadow again uses Jackie Aprile, Jr.
Jackie Aprile, Jr.
Giacomo Michael Aprile, Jr. , played by Jason Cerbone, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. In the episode "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", Cerbone's younger brother Matt played a younger Jackie Jr. in a flashback sequence.-Plot details:Jackie Aprile, Jr. was born into...
's death as an excuse. She eventually reveals that she hasn't registered because she hopes to travel to Europe with her friend Misty. Tony
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
discusses the problem with Dr. Melfi
Jennifer Melfi
Jennifer Melfi, M.D., is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the psychiatrist of Mafia boss Tony Soprano. She is portrayed by Lorraine Bracco.-Character description:...
and she recommends a psychologist specializing in adolescents. Meadow agrees to see Dr. Wendy Kobler, who actually encourages Meadow's plans. This prompts a protracted family argument where Meadow confronts Tony with the truth about his business life by calling him "Mr. Mob Boss." Tony responds, quite emotionally, by telling her he did everything he could to save Jackie. She flees the house saying she has made up her mind. Meadow eventually goes to Columbia and registers for some courses while her parents worry if she has fled the country.
Carmela's flirtation with Furio Giunta
Furio Giunta
Furio Giunta, played by Federico Castelluccio, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was an Italian mobster working for Tony Soprano.-Biography:...
continues and she continues to take pleasure in his morning visits to pick up Tony. Furio tells her he is planning to buy a house.
The crews have a birthday party for Albert Barese at Vesuvio. Ralph Cifaretto makes an off-color joke about Ginny Sack's weight, saying she has had a "95-pound mole
Mole (skin marking)
A melanocytic nevus is a type of lesion that contains nevus cells .Some sources equate the term mole with "melanocytic nevus". Other sources reserve the term "mole" for other purposes....
removed from her ass." While Paulie Walnuts is incarcerated, Patsy Parisi and Little Paulie Germani have arranged a sit-down on his behalf to discuss Ralphie's division of jobs at the Esplanade site. It takes place in the Vesuvio and Silvio Dante
Silvio Dante
Silvio Manfred Dante, often referred to as "Sil", played by Steven Van Zandt, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is the consigliere to Tony Soprano in the Soprano crime family. Silvio has one of the lowest profiles on the show. He is usually a behind the scenes figure...
presides. After some haggling, they settle with five jobs: three no-works and two no-shows
No-show job
A no-show job is a paid position that ostensibly requires the holder to perform duties, but for which no work, or even attendance, is actually expected....
. Capo Paulie receives the first no-show job. Silvio announces that Tony wants Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
as acting capo of Paulie's crew during his absence and gives Chris the second no-show job. This upsets Patsy, who believes he has seniority over Chris, as he has been a made man
Made man
A made man, also known as a Mafioso , made guy, man of honor, or uomo d'onore , is someone who has been officially inducted into the Sicilian or American Mafia . They may also be referred to by some as a goodfella or wiseguy...
longer. Indeed, it was Patsy and not Christopher who negotiated the jobs in the meeting. The three no-work jobs are given to Paulie to distribute, and they go to Furio, Benny, and Little Paulie.
As they leave the meeting, Chris jokes to Silvio that the first thing he will do is get wings in his hair—much like the gray "wing-like" hair Paulie has on the side of his head. Silvio is not amused; he is also put out by the promotion as he realizes that Chris is starting to usurp his place in Tony's inner circle. Chris later visits the construction site where Patsy, Benny Fazio, Little Paulie, Donny K. and Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
are enjoying their no-work jobs. The guys have noticed a lot of valuable materials lying around; they mention this to Chris and he seems interested.
When the materials go missing, Tony immediately calls Chris in to reprimand him. Tony tells him he is not seeing the financial potential of the construction contracts and that he is angry about the unwanted attention thefts will bring to their involvement in the job. Christopher goes home to get high and complain to Adriana
Adriana La Cerva
Adriana La Cerva played by Drea de Matteo, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the long-time girlfriend and, later, fiancée of Tony Soprano's protégé, Christopher Moltisanti.-Character history:...
. He also relays the rebuke to crew members Patsy and Little Paulie, but Patsy insists Chris gave him "a look" that he took as a go ahead.
Silvio approaches Tony about Patsy feeling marginalized by Chris' promotion. Tony doesn't seem too concerned but Silvio is obviously upset about having a new rival. Patsy visits Silvio at the Bing and mentions some floor tiles at the site; Silvio tells him to steal them in spite of Tony's orders, most likely due to Silvio's feelings of disdain towards Christopher's being made acting capo instead of the more experienced Patsy. Following this theft, Jack Massarone finds Tony playing golf with Artie Bucco and tells him about what has happened. Chris gets a verbal battering from Tony for not controlling his crew. Chris drives straight to the Esplanade site despite being on his way to a prior engagement with Adriana at her mother's house. Chris argues with Patsy and the argument descends into violence. When an African-American construction worker threatens to phone the police, Patsy makes a "Ralph Bunche
Ralph Bunche
Ralph Johnson Bunche or 1904December 9, 1971) was an American political scientist and diplomat who received the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize for his late 1940s mediation in Palestine. He was the first person of color to be so honored in the history of the Prize...
" reference and beats him with a scaffolding pole.
Adriana continues in her friendship with "Danielle", an undercover FBI agent, arranging to meet her at the Crazy Horse. When they meet, Adriana discusses her fears that she may be unable to have children because of complications of an abortion she had before she was with Christopher. Danielle had been pushing Adriana to reveal Chris' involvement with the Mafia, so she is a little surprised with what she did learn. However, she sympathetically offers to recommend a good OBGYN
Obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...
that her sister knows in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
(she has actually just had a baby herself). Chris and Little Paulie arrive at the club and Chris gives Little Paulie some cocaine right in front of Danielle.
Ralphie and Janice
Janice Soprano
Janice Soprano Baccalieri, played by Aida Turturro, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is Tony Soprano's elder sister. A young Janice has appeared in flashbacks, played by Madeline Blue and Juliet Fox.-Biography:...
's relationship continues and they are spending time at Janice's house. Tony arrives unexpectedly and Ralphie hides upstairs. When Tony finds his shoe, he warns Janice about getting involved with Ralph but she is unreceptive. Little Paulie visits his uncle in Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown, Ohio
Youngstown is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Mahoning County; it also extends into Trumbull County. The municipality is situated on the Mahoning River, approximately southeast of Cleveland and northwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
and gives him the news from the sitdown. Paulie asks if anyone has been to visit his mother and Little Paulie tells him nobody has but that Tony sent a box of chocolates. Little Paulie relays Ralph's joke from Albert's birthday party, which Paulie does not find funny, most likely due to his budding partnership with Johnny Sack
Johnny Sack
John "Johnny Sack" Sacramoni, played by Vince Curatola, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was the longtime underboss and later the boss of the powerful Brooklyn-based New York City Lupertazzi crime family...
.
Christopher and Adriana are spending the evening at Crazy Horse with Danielle. While the couple share a kiss, Christopher puts a hand on Danielle's thigh, which starts an argument between him and Adriana, and prompts Danielle to leave. Chris claims Danielle put his hand on her thigh and Adriana chooses to believe him. She stops returning Danielle's calls; when Danielle persisted in calling, Adriana called back, telling Danielle not to see her anymore. The FBI decides to bring Adriana in and reveal Danielle's true identity—Special Agent Deborah Ciccerone. Agent Harris
Dwight Harris
Special Agent Dwight Harris, played by Matt Servitto, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is an FBI agent assigned to Tony Soprano's case...
accompanies agent Ciccerone to pick up Adriana. She is taken to meet with Chief Frank Cubitoso, where the agents tell her she can choose between twenty-five years in prison for possession and intent to supply cocaine (with an additional possible consequence of retribution by Tony Soprano for bringing an undercover agent to his and Moltisanti's homes, and the club) or begin co-operating with them by answering some questions. Overly anxious and extremely upset, Adriana promptly vomits all over the table and Chief Cubitoso.
Title reference
- The title refers to the way the mob assigns paid jobs at a construction site to workers who never have to show up but continue to be paid. In the episode, the family splits the no show jobs between Ralph and Paulie's crews — Christopher and Paulie both receive a no show job. Also doled out are three no work jobs, in which a "worker" shows up for the titular job for the hours allocated but doesn't lift a finger doing actual work but, as depicted by Patsy, sit around in beach lounge chairs.
- The title also refers to Meadow's decision. "No show" is the airline code for passengers who have bought the ticket but they do not show themselves at check-in points and therefore they miss the flight.
Production
- The episode creates a major plotline in the season regarding Ralphie's behavior. The joke Ralphie makes about Ginny Sacramoni becomes a major problem and topic of conversation in the next two episodes, and resurfaces in the show's final season.
- When Adriana throws a drink at Christopher during their argument at the Crazy Horse after the incident with Danielle, the couch alternates between wet and dry in successive shots.
Connections to prior episodes
- Silvio, Patsy, and Little Paulie discuss the no show and no work jobs for Paulie's crew. In "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", Paulie tells Tony that Tommy Angeletti, a contractor for Ralphie's Esplanade Project, owes him $100,000 from betting on college basketball. Since Ralphie held out Angeletti for more money, he is unable to pay back his debt. Paulie requests that Tony give him the jobs as compensation.
- When Chris and Patsy get into a fight at the construction site, Chris warns Patsy that he didn't forget about his sniffing Adriana's underwear. Patsy responds that it wasn't he. This is a reference to the incident in "Second Opinion", wherein Paulie and Patsy barge into Chris and Adriana's apartment demanding their cut of Chris' score of designer shoes. While searching around, Chris spots Paulie, not Patsy, sniffing Adriana's underwear.
- While talking to Dr. Kobler, Meadow mentions that she was irritated by Junior's singing Italian ballads at Jackie Jr.'s wake, and the attendees' sentimental reactions (in "Army of OneArmy of One (The Sopranos episode)"Army of One" is the thirty-ninth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the finale of the show's third season. It was written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner, directed by John Patterson and originally aired on Sunday May 20, 2001....
").
Music
- The song played over the end credits is the title track of RadioheadRadioheadRadiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
's 2000 album Kid AKid AKid A is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Radiohead, released in October 2000 by the Parlophone label. A commercial success worldwide, Kid A went platinum in its first week of release in the United Kingdom. Despite the lack of an official single or music video as publicity, Kid A...
. This refers to MeadowMeadow SopranoMeadow Mariangela Soprano , played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Character:Meadow is the first-born child of Tony and Carmela Soprano...
, who plays a large role in this episode; she is the first-born child and an honors student: a "Kid A".