I just thought of something that some of you fellow "Sopranos" followers might find interesting.

As we know, in Episode 12 of Season Three ("Amour Fou"), Jackie Aprile Jr and three of his friends (Dino Zerilli, Carlo Renzi, and Matush) attempt to prove themselves and jumpstart their criminal careers by robbing Ralph Cifaretto's card game. As we know, it all goes terribly awry. Sunshine the dealer, Carlo, and Dino get killed and Furio gets shot in the leg. And eventually, Jackie pays the ultimate price, too.

Anyways, I remember reading that the name of the building where Ralph had his weekly card game was something like "J. Basile Electrical Supply" or something like that. I just watched the robbery scene over again, and sure enough, the name "Basile" is on the walls.

And remember that in Season Five, we meet a character named Jerry Basile, who is a New York capo on the side of Little Carmine Lupertazzi during his turf war with Johnny Sack.

Could it be that Jerry Basile is the owner of the business where Ralph had his card game? If so, there is an interesting tidbit showing the association of the North Jersey mob and the New York mob. We know that New York gets a slice of everything that North Jersey does, and here might be an example of it.

Hey Chris; not seen you in a while, mate. Have a good Christmas?

As observant as you always are; it's been a while since I watched an episode (not since the end of season five).

This is interesting especially when you consider how inconsistent references, cross-references, and the writing/plots in general are in the programme.

This example you mention is, I think, meant, but for some reason I just can't see Chase et al writing up full backgrounds to such things and using them for subtle references for hardcore fans to pick up on. I wish they would take that much care with "big" storylines...

Mick

Hey CAPO! Long time, no type!

Yeah, I had a great Christmas. My wife and I got to announce to our family that we have a bambino on the way! Everyone was super-happy to hear that. Definitely a memorable Christmas!

But back to the "Sopranos" discussion.
You said: "This is interesting especially when you consider how inconsistent references, cross-references, and the writing/plots in general are in the programme.
This example you mention is, I think, meant, but for some reason I just can't see Chase et al writing up full backgrounds to such things and using them for subtle references for hardcore fans to pick up on. I wish they would take that much care with "big" storylines..."

I don't think Chase had the details of the Jackie Aprile Jr. robbery (the J. Basile Electrical Supply store) planned out in Season Three so he could introduce the character Jerry Basile years later in Season Five!
I think Chase had to come up with some New York mobsters for Season Five, and saw an opportunity to have some ultra-subtle "history" with Jerry Basile.

And do you really think this show has that many inconsistencies? I always thought that this show was very strong when it comes to continuity.

I've never complained about inconsistencies in the past, not as much as some "fans" bash it. But the episodes are very inconsistent now compared to the beginning of season one. After Livia died, the episodes started to get disjointed, and after the success of Pine Barrens (deserved too!), Chase has always preferred the separate episode structure, whereby each episode is a "film" within itself.

But as for frustratingly leaving us high and dry regarding Vito and his "secret", and the ongoing rat Raymond Curto, I was surprised to hear of the subtle reference you picked up on.

Hey man, congratulations of the highest order regarding your expected bambino! Nice one!

Mick

is that the reason why the stroylines seem so dissjointed? because of the whole mini-movie thing. I had never heard that, i just thought they had problems with too many stories to tell.

considering the original topic in this post, that robbery scene i was always one of my favorite bits in the entire series.

Yes, I tend to agree that episodes in a season seem to have less to do with each other. In Season One and Two, the episodes seemed to be all directly related to each other, with a few exceptions.
As of Season Three, the episodes are often stories within themselves more than they are parts a series, "Pine Barrens" being the best example.