| "Calling All Cars" | |||
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| The Sopranos episode | |||
| Episode no. | Season 4 Episode 50 |
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| Directed by | Tim Van Patten | ||
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| Production code | 411 | ||
| Original air date | November 24, 2002 | ||
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"Calling All Cars" is the fiftieth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and was the eleventh of the show's fourth season. It was written by David Chase, Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess and David Flebotte from a story by Chase, Green, Burgess and Terence Winter. It was directed by Tim Van Patten and originally aired on Sunday November 24, 2002.
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Tony Soprano has a dream in which he rides in the back of his father's old Cadillac: Carmela drives while Ralphie sits in front of him with a caterpillar on his bald head that changes into a butterfly or moth. Sitting next to Tony is Gloria Trillo at first, but changes to Svetlana Kirilenko. Tony discusses the dream in therapy and Dr. Melfi suggests that it means that Carmela is in control and Tony wants to square the changes in the lives of the others in the car with her. Dr. Melfi also asks in reference to Ralph "Has your friend changed recently?" Tony frustratedly replies, "Hmm..no.." Tony expresses a dissatisfaction with his therapy and that his lack of impulse control still leads him to make mistakes in his life and work. He makes a sarcastic reference to the fact that the money he spent on therapy could have gone towards a Ferrari and at least he would have got a blowjob out of that.
Bobby Baccalieri drops his daughter, Sophia, off at a baseball game and she notices a birthday-like cake in the back of the car. Bobby later takes the cake to his wife Karen's grave and buries it next to her. While burying the cake he has a "conversation" with his dead wife, confiding in her that he would have committed suicide and been with her already if "it wasn't for the kids." Later at dinner, an upset Bobby is followed upstairs by Janice, who questions him about the cake. He initially lies, but then tells her why he did what he did, because it would have been their 14-year anniversary. In Bobby Jr.'s room, the children talk about ghosts; Sophia is afraid but Bobby Jr. tries to reassure her that there are no such things as ghosts. Janice visits Carmela at the Soprano household to discuss her difficulties in getting Bobby to "move on."
Tony has a sitdown in New York City with Carmine Lupertazzi and Johnny Sack. They demand 40% of his HUD business as it is linked to Assemblyman Zellman, who is in the pocket of both families and any profit made by using Zellman should be split, though not equally but fairly. Carmine comments, "Fuckin' Ralph...where's your point man on this one? He missed his drops this week." Tony replies with a devious smile on his face, "I was hoping maybe you could tell me." And with that, Tony refuses, gets up, and leaves. Carmine and Johnny look at each other and concede that Tony's reaction was about what they expected. Tony phones Johnny on his way home with a counter of 5.5%, which Carmine refuses to discuss. Instead Carmine dispatches Joey Peeps to attack Tony's appraiser on the HUD scam. He takes Anthony, an associate, with him and catches up to "Vic the Appraiser" the next day.
Later Johnny meets with Paulie and suggests that a change in leadership might be needed. Paulie is quick to put himself forward, reminding Johnny of his good relationship with New York. Johnny assures him that Carmine will always keep him in mind.
Tony visits Junior at home to discuss getting to a juror in the RICO trial, but Junior seems distracted and looks disheveled. He even forgets to wipe some shaving cream off the side of his face, prompting Tony to wipe it off as if Junior was a child with a runny nose. Junior blames it on the lighting in the bathroom that caused him to miss it. Branca Libinsk and Junior are not getting along very well. Later, Tony has a meeting with Silvio Dante, Vito Spatafore and Paulie Gualtieri to discuss the assault and disappearance of the appraiser. Eugene Pontecorvo arrives to pick up Vito and Paulie also reluctantly leaves. Once he is alone with Silvio, Tony raises the possibility of reaching out to Little Carmine Lupertazzi in Florida through their old friend Beansie Gaeta. "Vic the Appraiser" gets beaten down again later — this time by Vito and Dogsy from the Soprano family.
At the Soprano Sunday dinner, the De Angelises and Baccalieris enjoy Janice's cooking. After dinner, A.J. disappears to his room with his girlfriend, Devin, but Carmela insists that he play a game with Bobby Jr. and Sophia. A.J. pulls out a Ouija board and this progresses into a mock séance that terrifies the Baccalieri children. Tony gets a call from Beansie to confirm the trip. He later speaks to Silvio and tells him he suspects Paulie of being the leak through which Johnny is getting information on their business. He asks Silvio to keep the trip to Miami quiet from Paulie.
Svetlana calls Tony to thank him for sending one of his horseshoe brooches. Tony seems eager to continue the relationship but Svetlana turns him down abruptly and politely hangs up. In therapy, Tony tells Dr. Melfi that he has broken Svetlana's heart. He makes a Freudian slip, saying after a while he "had to cut off the leg." He eventually admits that it was actually the other way around. He blames his lack of progress in therapy for Svetlana calling him "high maintenance". Tony again tells Dr. Melfi that he wants to leave therapy, but she insists that now that his symptoms are under control they can make real progress, but Tony decides that her time is up. Tony kisses Dr. Melfi gently on the cheek and thanks her for saving his life the past three years before he leaves. Later Dr. Melfi calls her therapist, Dr. Kupferberg, and leaves a message on his answering machine to let him guess who is no longer her patient, adding "Calling all cars" to the important news.
At Junior's trial, the judge throws out Attorney Melvoin's motion for a mistrial because of Junior's head injury and "dementia" because government psychiatrists have seen through Junior's act, ironic since Junior's dementia seems to be becoming a real illness. Bobby reassures Junior that they will get to a juror.
Bobby and Janice get into a fight at the mall over Bobby's continuing reluctance to let go of his late wife. Later, Janice uses an internet chat program to deceive and secretly direct Bobby's children to a Ouija board in their home. When Bobby arrives home, his children are in a terrified state and he calls Janice for help. She tells him she had heard them with the Ouija board earlier in the day but didn't want to get involved because of their argument. Janice uses her manufactured situation with the children as a reason that Bobby needs to move on and again asks him to eat his wife's last ziti. Bobby agrees with a tear running down his face. While Bobby and Janice are eating the ziti, the ghost of Karen pays a visit by subtly moving Janice's wine glass.
Tony arrives in Miami Beach and meets up with Beansie. Later they meet with Little Carmine at a restaurant. Carmine agrees to travel home and talk to his father and he seems eager to place the blame for the situation at Johnny's feet. Tony mentions that Carmine has tried to reach Maurice Tiffen as well as having the appraiser jumped.
Tony has another strange dream where he follows a bald Ralph to an old house, which Ralph enters. Tony is dressed in trousers, suspenders and a sleeveless undershirt —- like a workman. He knocks on the door. The door springs open spontaneously and slowly creaking ominously. After a few moments of no one answering he knocks again and announces he is there for the "masonry job". A few more moments and then a female figure descends slowly in shadow. He sees her and then opens the door to let himself in. The door creaks ominously. Tony says he is there for the masonry job, but then says in a stereotypically Italian immigrant manner: "No speakie de English." Just as Tony enters the house he wakes up short of breath. He is still in Miami Beach, in a hotel (presumably the Fountainebleau); standing on his balcony seems to calm him.
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