Where's Johnny?

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The Sopranos episode
“Where's Johnny?”
Episode no. Season 5
Episode 55
Guest star(s) see below
Writer(s) Michael Caleo
Director John Patterson
Production no. 503
Original airdate March 21, 2004
Episode chronology
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Episode chronology

"Where's Johnny?" is the 55th episode of the HBO original series, The Sopranos. It was the 3rd episode for the show's fifth season. The episode was written by Michael Caleo and was directed by John Patterson. It originally aired on March 21, 2004.

Contents

[edit] Guest starring roles

[edit] Episode recap

Tensions rise in New York as loan shark Lorraine Calluzzo and her boyfriend Jason are visited by Phil Leotardo & Joe Peeps in a bar, and are warned that they will be "kicking up" directly to Johnny now. Lorraine refuses, stating that she has always been faithful in giving her collections to Little Carmine in Miami. Phil Leotardo decides to scare Lorraine by tying her up and putting a phone book to her chest. Phil then fires the gun, with the bullet only penetrating through to the middle of the phone book's "R" section. Phil then says seriously "Next time, there'll be no next time!"

Lorraine then takes her case to New Jersey with the guidance of Tony and Uncle Junior. Along with Angelo Garepe, Lorraine & Jason meet Tony and Junior at Harold Melvoin's office to discuss the New York issue. Lorraine tells Tony that she is scared and that Johnny now wants her to be giving her collections directly to him. Tony tries to resolve matters by recommending New York form an oligarchy of bosses: Johnny, Carmine and Angelo. Angelo insists that he does not want to work with all the added stresses since he has a young grandson he watches. Uncle Junior then adds "Why are you listening to him for? He never had the makings of a varsity athlete!" Tony laughs it off stating that Junior does not know what he is saying.

Feech La Manna causes trouble for a local gardener, Sal Vitro, who has been cutting grass in a particular neighborhood for several years. Feech does not care about Vitro's arrangements and claims that his nephew, E. Gary La Manna, reserves the right to this area. When Sal Vitro tells him to fuck off, Feech becomes offended and badly injures him. Paulie Walnuts learns from his Aunt Mary, who is a loyal customer to Sal, that Sal will not be gardening the area anymore because he was beat up. Paulie tries to help Sal win back his neighborhood but is forced to compromise with Feech after learning it is his nephew. Feech refuses to negotiate and throws Paulie out of his bakery. Paulie then pays a visit to Gary La Manna, who is pruning a tree high up with support from his brother. Paulie asks Gary to give back his area to Vitro, and Gary refuses, causing Paulie to bean his brother in the head, which, in turn, pulls La Manna down from the tree. Paulie threatens Gary, takes away his lawn mower as a down payment and tells Gary that he is to pay Sal's medical bills. Paulie and Feech have a sit-down with Tony, who rules out that Sal and Gary both keep half of their areas. When Sal hears this, he is disappointed, especially when told he will have to provide "comp" services at the homes of made men (Johny Sack's home, for example).

During Sunday dinner at Uncle Junior's, which "Janice" prepares (with the help of Nuovo Vesuvio take-out), Uncle Junior once again says the phrase Tony had regretted. Tony becomes very hurt, since he knows how Uncle Junior made him feel when he always said it in front of the girl cousins. Angered, Tony tells A.J. they are leaving and they both then leave. Janice then asks Uncle Junior if that was necessary, which causes Uncle Junior to call Tony "a hot house flower".

When Tony once again tries to have a sit-down with Johnny to resolve the New York issue, Christopher intrudes in the argument, causing Johnny to remind him that he was once a driver and that he should probably still be there. Tony then lashes out at Christopher in the car afterwards and advises him to keep his ears open and mouth shut for the future. Meeting in a lot in Coney Island the following night, Tony and Johnny try to resolve the issue by using Tony's oligarchy plan. Johnny immediately becomes offended.

Meanwhile Uncle Junior wanders from his house in his bathrobe unbenownst to a sleeping Tommy, who was supposed to be watching him. Junior drives to Bloomfield Avenue where his brother Johnny once had a Soprano family hangout. Instead he finds a storefront church where he is not welcomed and leaves his car behind. While he is sitting on a park bench, he encounters a homeless woman who offers to give him a blowjob. He refuses saying that he has to find his car. He is eventually discovered by police walking across a Newark bridge, and he is driven home. This causes Janice and Bobby to worry that Uncle Junior is becoming less and less aware of surroundings, possibly due to early Alzheimer's disease. When Janice tells Tony this, he claims not to care, due to resentment over the "varsity athlete" comments. Tony and Janice then begin to fight; Tony reminds her of people she has tried to help in the past but failed.

After running into Junior's neurologist on the golf course, Tony realizes that Junior's comments may have been due to his developing mental condition. Tony visits Junior to reconcile, and recommends that he take his medication to help with his memory loss. When Tony asks Junior if he loves him, Junior doesn't answer, but weeps quietly.

[edit] Title reference

  • Confused and possibly suffering from dementia, Uncle Junior asks the whereabouts of his younger brother, Johnny Boy.

[edit] Trivia

  • Junior insults Tony by saying "he will never be a varsity athlete" - this was a repetition of comments that Junior made about Tony in the past, as discussed in Tony's therapy in the Pilot.
  • The television show that Uncle Junior confused for showing him and Bobby Bacala was the HBO comedy series, Curb Your Enthusiasm, specifically the season 2 episode, "The Doll", mistaking Larry David for himself and Jeff Garlin for Bobby.
  • The episode marks the return of Tony's sister, Barbara, who was absent during Season 4. The role was previously played by Nicole Burdette, now replaced with actress Danielle Di Vecchio.
  • A bartender is reading a New York Post before Lorraine Calluzzo and Jason Evanina walk in and are promptly beaten by Phil Leotardo and Joey Peeps. Calluzzo represents New York Post entertainment journalist Linda Stasi, who gave season four horrible reviews, wanting more deaths in the show. Johnny Sack even complains about Calluzzo and her blood-thirsty rants later in the same episode.
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