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Another Toothpick

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"Another Toothpick"
The Sopranosepisode
Episodeno.Season 3
Episode 5
Directed byJack Bender
Written byTerence Winter
Cinematography byAlik Sakharov
Production code305
Original air dateMarch 25, 2001(2001-03-25)
Running time60 minutes
Episode chronology
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The Sopranosseason 3
List of episodes

"Another Toothpick"is the 31st episode of theHBOoriginal seriesThe Sopranosand the fifth of the show's third season. It was written byTerence Winterand directed byJack Bender,and originally aired on March 25, 2001.

Starring

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* = credit only

Guest starring

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Synopsis

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TonyandCarmelahave a joint session withDr. Melfi.It ends in recriminations: Carmela feels the other two have joined against her. Driving home she is tearful; he drives recklessly and is pulled over for speeding by Officer Leon Wilmore, who is black. Tony's charm, hisPBAcard, and implicitbriberydo not work, and Wilmore writes up a ticket. Tony contactsNew JerseyAssemblymanRonald Zellmanto get it canceled.

Days later, visiting alawn ornamentstore, Tony sees Wilmore working there. He tells Tony, who is smiling sarcastically, that he has been transferred to the property room and can no longer work overtime. This is more drastic than Tony wanted and he asks Zellman to have him reinstated. Tony then has another argument withMeadowabout his racist attitudes, and next time he speaks to Zellman he says Wilmore can stay where he is. But he returns to the garden store, makes a purchase, and offers him some additional $100 bills. Wilmore does not deign to take the money.

Meadow takes the lamp from the basement at home to her dorm atColumbia University,and so unknowingly "neutralizes" theFBI's listening operation.

Junioris diagnosed withstomach cancer.

The last customers have left Nuovo Vesuvio andArtieis glad to be alone withAdrianato celebrate a profitable evening. She unexpectedly tells him thatChristopherno longer wants her to work as a hostess and, hiding his chagrin, Artie allows her to leave without notice. When Tony and Chris are dining there, a drunken Artie needles Chris, who angrily makes a grab at him. Tony sends Chris out, then angrily grabs Artie himself. Artie says he is in love with Adriana and Tony's anger changes to amusement. He tells him never to utter those words again.

Tony wants to go into business with Artie selling Italian food products.Charmainenixes the idea, believing Tony only wants another business as afront.During the ensuing argument, she tells Artie that their marriage is over. Artie then has an awkward dinner with Adriana; she withdraws her hand when he tries to take it.

Bryan Spatafore,Vito's brother, is innocently embroiled in a row betweenMustang Sallyand his girlfriend. Sally viciously assaults Bryan with a golf club, putting him into a coma. For this, Sally has to be killed. He goes into hiding, but is in touch with hisgodfather,Bobby Baccalieri's father,Bobby, Sr.;the relationship is "in name only", Bobby, Sr. says, and he is assigned the job. But he is dying oflung cancerand can hardly stop coughing. Bobby desperately wants to stop his father from doing it; so does Junior, who goes to see Tony, who refuses to change the plan. Bobby, Sr. himself wants to do it: "It will feel good being useful for a change."

The hit almost goes awry and ends with a struggle, but Bobby Sr. succeeds in killing Sally and his friend. After the killings, his face smeared with Sally's blood, he finds some cigarettes and starts smoking. Still smoking while driving away, he has a coughing fit, cannot reach his inhaler, and slumps onto the steering wheel. The car crashes and he dies.

Deceased

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  • Febby Viola:died of cancer; Carmela's uncle
  • Mustang Sally:shot and killed by Robert Baccalieri Sr. on orders by Tony Soprano and Gigi Cestone
  • Carlos:Mustang Sally's friend; shot for being a witness to his murder
  • Bobby Baccalieri, Sr.:Crashed his car while suffering a coughing fit brought on by his lung cancer

Title reference

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  • Janice claims that Livia often described a person who was dying of cancer as "another toothpick."

Cultural references

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  • When Tony is pulled over by the traffic officer, when he pulls out his wallet and shows his New Jersey Association card the name on his card is "Matthew J. Madonna" this could be a reference toMatthew Madonnaa Lucchesecaptainwho went on to serve as the acting boss.
  • As Bobby Sr. visits Mustang Sally and Carlos, before their deaths, the two were watchingSally Jessy Raphael'stalk showon TV.
  • In the scene where Junior tells Bobby he has cancer, the movie playing on the television isThe Devil at 4 O'ClockwithFrank Sinatra.
  • The lawn ornament store that Wilmore works at is "Fountains of Wayne", which was a real store inWayne, New Jerseythat closed in 2009; the store was the namesake of theband of the same name.[1]
  • Ralphie repeatedly discussesGladiator,starring Russell Crowe.

Production

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Going into the third season, this episode marks the first time the show's leading ladies,Lorraine BraccoandEdie Falcoas Dr. Melfi and Carmela Soprano, spoke to each other face-to-face. Their two previous conversations had taken place over the phone, while they had only caught a glimpse of each other in season 1, when Carmela drove Tony to meet Melfi for a session in her car.

Music

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  • The song played over the end credits is "Shuck Dub" byR. L. Burnside.
  • Meadow Soprano sings along toThe Corrs' "Breathless"while listening to headphones.
  • The song playing on the radio in Bobby Baccalieri Sr.'s Lumina as he is driving away from the murder scene is "Sister Golden Hair"byAmerica;Bobby Sr.'s car crashes as the line "I just can't make it" was sung in the main chorus.
  • The song playing in the restaurant when Artie and Charmaine are arguing and she says she will divorce him is"Jim Dandy"sung byLaVern Baker.
  • The piece played while Artie Bucco and Adriana have dinner is "Concierto de Aranjuez"byJoaquin Rodrigo.

Filming locations

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Listed in order of first appearance:[2]

References

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  1. ^Simons, Ted (1997-05-01)."Wayne's World".Phoenix New Times.Retrieved2019-01-04.
  2. ^Ugoku."The Sopranos location guide - Filming locations for".www.sopranos-locations.com.Retrieved2020-10-28.
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