No Show

"No Show"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no. Season 4
Episode 2
Directed by John Patterson
Written by David Chase
Terence Winter
Cinematography by Alik Sakharov
Production code 402
Original air date September 22, 2002
Running time 57 minutes
Guest appearance(s)

see below

"No Show" is the 41st episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos and the second episode of the show's fourth season. Written by David Chase and Terence Winter, it was directed by John Patterson and originally aired on September 22, 2002.

Starring

* = credit only

Guest starring

Episode recap

Meadow's recent lack of drive, caused by Jackie Jr.'s death, continues to worry Tony and Carmela. She reveals that she hasn't registered for classes because she hopes to travel to Europe with her friend Misty. Tony discusses the problem with Dr. Melfi, who recommends a psychologist specializing in adolescents. Meadow agrees to see Dr. Wendy Kobler, who actually encourages her plans. This prompts a protracted family argument where Meadow confronts Tony with the truth about his profession; Tony claims that he did everything he could to save Jackie. Meadow eventually returns to her classes in Columbia University while her parents worry if she has fled the country.

Carmela begins flirting with Furio as he makes his morning visits to pick up Tony. The Soprano family crews throw a birthday party for Albert at Nuovo Vesuvio, where Ralphie makes an off-color joke about Johnny's wife Ginny. While Paulie is incarcerated, Patsy Parisi and Little Paulie Germani arrange a sit-down on his behalf to discuss Ralphie's division of jobs at Junior's warehouse. After some haggling, they settle with five jobs: three no-works and two no-shows. Paulie receives the first no-show job, while Christopher, as acting capo of Paulie's crew, gets the second no-show job. This upsets Patsy, who has been a made man longer than Chris. The three no-work jobs are given to Patsy, Little Paulie, and Benny Fazio.

Silvio is put out that Chris is starting to usurp his place in Tony's inner circle. Chris visits the construction site where Patsy, Benny, Little Paulie, Donny K. and Vito are enjoying their no-work jobs. The guys notice valuable fiber optic cables lying around. When the cables go missing, Tony reprimands Chris, angry about the unwanted attention thefts will bring to their involvement in the job. Chris goes home to get high and complain to Adriana. Patsy and Silvio agree to steal floor tiles from the site, in spite of Tony's orders. When Jack Massarone informs Tony about the theft, an infuriated Chris drives to the site and has a violent confrontation with Patsy. When a construction worker threatens to phone the police, Patsy beats him with a scaffolding pole.

Adriana continues 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 from an abortion she had before she met Chris. Danielle sympathetically offers to recommend a good OB-GYN that her sister knows in New York City. Chris and Little Paulie arrive at the club and Chris offers cocaine in front of Danielle. Meanwhile, Ralphie and Janice's relationship continues. When Tony arrives unexpectedly at her house and finds Ralphie's shoe, he warns Janice about getting involved with him. Little Paulie visits his uncle in Youngstown, Ohio and gives him the news from the sitdown. Little Paulie relays Ralphie's joke about Ginny, which Paulie does not find funny.

Chris and Adriana spend the evening at Crazy Horse with Danielle. While the couple share a kiss, Chris puts a hand on Danielle's thigh, causing an argument between him and Adriana. Chris claims Danielle put his hand on her thigh and Adriana chooses to believe him. She stops returning Danielle's calls; when Danielle persists, Adriana tells her not to see her anymore. The FBI decides to bring Adriana in and reveal Danielle's true identity as Agent Ciccerone. Agent Harris accompanies Ciccerone to pick up Adriana. She is taken to meet with Chief Frank Cubitoso and is told she can choose between facing prison time for drug possession or co-operating with the FBI. Overly anxious and extremely upset, Adriana 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 miss the flight.

Production

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 him. 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 One").
  • Tony makes reference to Richie Aprile while talking to Janice, reminding her that "...I had to haul your last boyfriend out of your kitchen; in a hefty-bag." Tony had Christopher and Furio remove Richie's body from the kitchen of Janice's home after she had murdered him in "The Knight in White Satin Armor"

Other cultural references

  • At Albert's party, the Harry Potter books are mentioned.
  • When Tony visits Janice at her house, the video he picks up is Faces of Death. He comments, 'Was The Sound of Music already rented?'
  • Chris pulls up to the construction site singing Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter", substituting the word 'lady' with 'douchebag'.
  • When Chris asks Patsy about a collection envelope, Patsy says to Little Paulie "You remember to put the spores in there?" which is a reference to the 2001 Anthrax attacks
  • Meadow has an N*Sync poster up in her room at the Soprano home.
  • At Christopher and Adriana's house, Adriana watches Everybody Loves Raymond on television as Christopher gets high on heroin. Ray Romano's character and Tony Soprano's sanitation business share the "Barone" name.
  • Christopher shows Adriana some diamonds he got from a Harry Winston jeweler and says they "have more carats than Bugs Bunny."
  • During an argument with Meadow about traveling to Europe, Meadow mentions the travel website CheapTickets having a good package available.
  • While Ralphie clips his toenails on the bed, Janice is reading The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels.

Music

  • The song played over the end credits is an instrumental remix of the title track off Radiohead's 2000 album Kid A.
  • Robert & Johnny's "We Belong Together" (1958) can be heard in the background as Tony and Christopher discuss the fiber-optics theft
  • The live rock band playing (and lip-syncing) their original song "You" in Adriana's club is the real-life Jersey group The Swingin Neckbreakers.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ Frost, Scott. "Swingin' Neckbreakers found fame with The Sopranos". The Trentonian. Retrieved 28 September 2013.
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