Nice. All around good episode.

Good episode, I especially loved Chris' whole speech about T-Rex and the Garden of Eden. Had me rolling.

We said the same thing here about the prayer thing. The timing is pretty funny. I thought the episode was much better. Especially can't wait to see how the Vito thing pans out now that Carmela has him on the radar.

And yeah, Hal Holbrook is awesome.

I will say that Moltisanti going back and forth when Pastor Bob was talking to Tony was pretty funny.

What happens if Paulie's father, "Russ", isn't Italian?

Had the same thought. Probably nothing good.

isn't Hesh a made man?

Couldn't say. I only watch each episode once, so I'm not up on every little detail.

much better episode. i'm so glad carmela noticed vito's shenanagins. hell yes.

either i'm analyzing too much but i also noticed how that jason kid was checking out meadow when him & paulie were visiting tony in the hospital.

now the action will begin... oooh can't wait for next week's episode!

I don't think so. Isn't Hesh Jewish? I think thay he was a consigliere(sp?) to Tony's dad---kind of a Tom Hayden type of character though a little more interesting b/c of his connections with the music business.

From the headless horse's mouth over at HBO

Because he's Jewish he can never be a made man, but in every other sense Herman "Hesh" Rabkin is an important part of Tony's crew. He was a trusted advisor of Tony's father, and Tony seeks his counsel as well; it was Hesh who told Tony about his father's fainting spells. He made a bundle in the recording industry in the 50's and 60's and, to his credit, Hesh gave a lot of talented young black musicians their start - but he also kept authorship of many of their songs for himself. This practice almost bit Hesh in the tushy, when a rap star named Massive G tried to shake him down for $400,000 in royalties he claimed was owed to a relative. Massive G threatened to sue, but Hesh fended him off with the threat of a countersuit. Hesh is perhaps the most sophisticated member of Tony's organization, he's well read and erudite, and keeps a stable of well-bred horses. (Although he doesn't ride them; just enjoys watching them run.) He's seen and experienced a lot, and Tony is fortunate to have him in his corner.

so i was pretty much right with my middle of the night post (unresearched), no?

the situation where the gf has to get up at 4am for work on mondays is fucking killing me. i literally just walked around the house for an hour this morning.

All I have to say is:

I want Paulie to DIE. I can't stand that fat headed ass. We ended up watching late last night and I kept having to turn away because he was annoying me sooo much.

I was soo happy when Tony told him off(basically telling him what I would have loved to) but then when he went after that one dude anyways at the end, oh man oh man I was screaming.

I hate him, hate him hate him.

Oh and ditto on Hal Holbrook. Loved him. I kept turning to Josh saying " I think that's him" but he had no clue who Hal Holbrook was to begin with. Made me sad to see him though, he's aged so much. sigh.

Everything's pointing toward Paulie getting whacked. He's unstable, even more so than usual, and he had a point of going behind Tony's back to end the episode. Carmella has her suspicisions about him, he's in a beef with Vito about money and Johnny Sachs has shown that he'll never stand up for him. He's going down. I, for one, am never annoyed by Paulie, although I found his riff last night on corporate bookeeping to be completely out of character for someone who has shown his IQ to be borderline retarded. On the other hand, I highly enjoyed his comments on his injury, especially when he refers to it as his "groin and balls."

One other thing is the character of Bobby. I like the character and I like the actor, but the idea that this soft-spoken guy without much of a temper is supposed to be a hit man has always seemed out of whack. It made more sense when he was positioned as Junior's man servant because they couldn't think of anything else for him to do. Sort of a Fredo-type.

Holbrook was fucking great, as was Lord Jamar from Brand Nubian as the rapper who invites Tony over to watch the fight. I especially love the "Hold that shit straight, Nigga" to Treach (from Naughty By Nature)..you gotta love a dude who has one of his posse hold a afucking satellite so they can watch the fight.

Carm is gonna go all the way live with this gangsta shit, and realize that she is part and parcel of the whole thing, or she's gonna go crazy...

Though Paulie has been revealed as a cheapo-lameo-schmuck on wheels, I still think the ganking of the dude at the end was right in line with what his character was gonna do. (And PUMA -- that dude WAS eyeing Meadow something fierce)

And PROPS to the beating of people with steel pipes and pool cues in this episode. This season has a HUGE upside. Especially if we see and all out war with New York (though Tony pussed his out, his guys aren't gonna stand for that) AND a war within the family over control because of Tony's perceived or actual weakness.

Though I constantly bitch about this show, it is still fucking TOPS.

One other thought. I was highly skeptical about "Big Love," but it's fucking great.

I thought that was Treach.

nice work. good review coming from an avowed "hater"

The fucking Paulie scene at the end had your voice ringing through my head "I knew he wasn't gettin away without SOMETHING happenin. Ol Walnuts goes bucky with the pipe!"

You just knew something was going to happen. The guy doesn't exactly have great impulse control, and he can't kill him mom/aunt. Somebody had to get on the bad side of a beating.

And he's SUCH a cheap bastard that anyone fucking with his money is gonna get the wrong end of him.

Permanent Midnight Anyone???

They played that epsiode for quite a few laughs -- seems like an effort to release the tension of the first couple of episodes. Between Paulie demeaning nuns to the priest, the rapper getting shot in the ass and Tony calling the insurance lady a cnut, and Christopher responding to T's philosophical musings with "I don't think that way," I was laughing my ass off.
Don't mistake Tony's pensive, post near-death experience ennui as weakness. I got a feeling things are getting ready to go shithouse.

"y'mean, like the Flintstones!??"
That line made me swaller my chaw.

Did anybody else pick up on the inference that maybe Tony was kind of a "dinosaur" now?

ah, so that's WHO those 2 rappers were... thought they looked familar. and okay so i wasn't crazy in noticing jason eyeing meadow.

i definitely wouldn't be surprised if paulie got whacked ESPECIALLY for going behind tony's back.

it's going to get interesting how people are going to try to take advantage of tony because they think he's "weak" but i think carmela may step up to the plate.

Can somebody become "unmade"? Who's your Daddy?

Cmon now.

That gay bar scene with Vito was the stupidest shit I've seen in a long time, even stupider than when "The Wire" had Rawls sitting in the background in the gay bar.