The FBI-tapping episode (Season 3)
When Season 3 premiered, it was like Pedro Martinez taking the mound on opening day in 2001 against the Baltimore Orioles. How do you follow up two of the greatest seasons ever? Well, this episode, the first of the season, was like Pedro wiping his brow, facing down the batter, shaking off a sign… and throwing a ping-pong ball underhand.

Starting with a takeoff on the Peter Gunn/Spyhunter theme song, nearly the entire episode was concerned with the FBI’s sometimes ham-fisted attempts to bug The Sopranos household. While the whole thing went on way too long, the episode is interesting for showing the lengths the FBI is forced to go to get evidence on a known criminal, and also for adding an undertone of suspense into Tony’s criminal dealings at the house (an idea that was cut off at the knees when Meadow borrowed the bugged desklight for her dorm room, which illustrates one of my pet theories: Tony isn’t a brilliant criminal, he’s just ridiculously lucky. To be addressed in a future post…).

This ep also deserves points for cojones. It gave many of us our first hint that David Chase couldn’t give a flying crap what us fans think or expect. He’s got us by the balls and he knows it.