Off the Back of a Truck

Unofficial Contraband for the Sopranos Fan

Nick Braccia

• Publisher: S&S/Simon Element
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781982139063
• eBook ISBN: 9781982139087
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Television

Unleash your inner Soprano and relive all your favorite moments with this companion guide to the award-winning television series The Sopranos. We all know and love The Sopranos, one of the most important television dramas to ever hit the small screen, having run for six seasons on HBO. The story of the Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano balancing his family life with his role as the leader of a criminal organization pioneered decades of genre-bending "peak TV."Now, Off the Back of a Truck takes you one step further into the world of Tony Soprano and his families, offering an Italian potluck of fresh and fun takes that any true fan can get lost in for hours. Off the Back of a Truck includes:
-New looks at everyone's favorite episodes, scenes, and characters
-All 92 deaths analyzed, evaluated, and ranked
-An investigation of true crimes behind the families' schemes
-An exploration of movies and shows that inspired The Sopranos
-Reflections on the use of music, food, and fashion from writers who are also huge fans
-A provocative conversation about what happens in the controversial endingThis book takes you on a journey through the six seasons you have watched time and time again—but it's organized so you can dip in at any time, at any place. Roam around as though you're in Tony's backyard for a BBQ...

CHAPTER I The FAMILIES

Eighty-six episodes of The Sopranos aired on HBO from January 10, 1999, to June 10, 2007. Across its six seasons, we meet hundreds of characters, from Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero (Vincent Pastore) to producer Bernie Brillstein, who plays himself in one of the DiMeo crime family’s executive card games. While we watch Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) navigate his tumultuous home life, we also keep tabs on the ever-evolving dynamics within two Mafia families (New Jersey’s DiMeos and New York’s Lupertazzis) and their internal factions. These frequently shifting collectives are rife with betrayals, murders, reentries into society, and fresh indictments.

There’s a reason why the FBI uses big thumbtack boards that they plaster with mugshots, index cards, string, and Sharpie scribbles—there’s a lot of sausage to juggle! We’ve constructed this chapter to provide orientation (or reorientation) to the hierarchies in place at the beginning of each season as well as the new ones that emerge at season’s end, once the body count is tallied and the smoke has cleared. As you read through this book, you can always flip back to this chapter for a reminder as to who works for whom and when characters get promoted or planted.

Season One:

THE DIMEO FAMILY

When the series begins, the official boss of the DiMeo crime family is its namesake, Ercole “Eckley” DiMeo. The seventy-four-year-old DiMeo is never seen on-screen; he’s serving a life sentence in a Springfield, Missouri, federal penitentiary. In his absence, the acting boss is Jackie Aprile Sr. (Michael Rispoli), who suffers from terminal stomach cancer. The DiMeo family has several caporegimes aka capos. These are the captains who serve underneath Aprile: Tony Soprano, Tony’s uncle, Junior Soprano (Dominic Chianese), Jimmy Altieri (Joseph Badalucco Jr.), Larry Barese (Tony Darrow), and Raymond Curto (George Loros). A power struggle ensues between Tony and his uncle that upends the FBI’s charts and gives northern New Jersey’s undertakers plenty of fresh business. We’ll also briefly meet Lupertazzi underboss John “Johnny Sack” Sacrimoni (Vincent Curatola), whose New York–based organization plays a more expansive role as the series progresses.

Season Two:

THE DIMEO FAMILY

Junior Soprano is technically boss but under house arrest, so Tony Soprano runs the family, day to day, with the help of some new players, like Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa), who is tasked with assisting Junior. Richie Aprile (David Proval), brother of the late boss, is released following a decade in prison and bristles against the new pecking order. Gigi Cestone (John Fiore) defects from Junior to work among Tony’s crew, which soon includes Furio Giunta (Federico Castelluccio), a Napoletano heavy with aquiline features. There are a few new players on the lower rungs of the ladder, too. Tony’s “nephew,” Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), charged with managing a boiler room, recruits two young wannabes, Matt Bevilaqua (Lillo Brancato Jr.) and Sean Gismonte (Chris Tardio). Finally, Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, who mysteriously disappeared at the end of Season One, returns.

Season Three:

THE DIMEO FAMILY

Tony Soprano gets a double dose of agita. Ralph Cifaretto (Joe Pantoliano), a new face with a mercurial personality, is moving up in the family, but not fast enough for his liking. Meanwhile his late friend’s son, Jackie Aprile Jr. (Jason Cerbone), requires mentorship if he’s to stay out of the family business, as his father wished. Other new characters include made man Vito Spatafore (Joseph R. Gannascoli) as well as associates Eugene Pontecorvo (Robert Funaro) and Benny Fazio (Max Casella). All three will play larger roles as the series evolves. We also see considerably more of John Sacrimoni, who moves to New Jersey, as well as other Lupertazzi family members, including their boss, Carmine Lupertazzi Sr. (Tony Lip) and his malapropping son, Carmine Jr. (Ray Abruzzo).

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Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Introduction
• Chapter I: The Families
• Chapter II: Inspired Crimes: Investigating the Schemes of The Sopranos
• Chapter III: The Craft of The Sopranos
• Chapter IV: Watch List: The TV and Cinematic DNA of The Sopranos
• Chapter V: The Sopranos in Culture
• Chapter VI: Whack Attack
• Chapter VII: Favorite Episodes
• Chapter VIII: “Made in America”: A Conversation
• The Contributors
• Acknowledgments
• Notes
• Copyright