Here is the official episode title and summary from HBO's official site.

Time: 53
Genre: Drama

A flood of organized crime parolees change the landscape of the Soprano/Lupertazzi alliance. Meanwhile, Janice carries on the family's Sunday dinner tradition; Carmela and AJ commune with local wildlife; Christopher balks at footing the bill on "goomar night"; and Tony tries to introduce Dr. Melfi to his "other" self.

Sounds about right.

I encourage people to discuss Season 5 Episode 1 ONLY in this thread. Next week, new thread for Episode 2, and so on -- just like last year. That way people won't stumble upon spoilers for shows they haven't seen.

Grazie.

IT WAS UNFUCKINBELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!!

I thought the eppisode was pretty good. Better than last seasons premire at least.

SPOILERS********

The whole bear thing was humorous but I hope it doesnt become a habbit through out this season.

Robert Loggia as Feech Lemana should be a very interesting character. I see power struggles with him and Tony.

i did not see the whole "Carmine having a stroke" thing coming, especially not this early in the season. I kept thinking Johnny Sac was gonna pull the life support on him.

All and all... a good eppisode. Next weeks looks even better.

Nice episode to start things. I almost wished Paulie and Christopher hadn't made up, but I guess the impending future of those two will hit soon. Also, it was nice of them to bring up the Russian. Sounds like we'll be hearing about him in the future, and hopefully be resolved in amazing detail.

A very good episode. The scene with Christopher and Paulie with the waiter in the alley was hilarious..

Dont expect the Russian thing to be resolved. The fact that they mentioned it almost tells us that it isnt gonna resurface cause Chase wouldnt want to remind the audience.

I didn't really feel convinced that Chris & Paulie were on the level with both apologizing.

I agree that the Carmine stroke scene was a surprise. RB, I still wouldn't put it past Johnny Sac to assist in his demise.

I thought there was a chance that Melfi would take up Tony on his offer, but it was a smart move not to.

Oh, and that poor guy that got whacked at the restaurant. Chris seems to have a way with "accidently" killing small animals and innocent bystanders. Even tho Paulie finished him off, I really don't think murder was Chris' intention, do you7? Talk about cold hearted.

And the bear! Ha ha....AJ yelling "mommy, mommy!" Are there really bears in Jersey????

All and all, I enjoyed this episode. Not one of my favorites, but I think it most likely laid the groundwork for the next episodes. Next weeks does look good too.

TIS

What is the song at the beginning and at the end?

I think we all knew that Steve Buscemi was joining the cast, but I had no idea about Robert Loggia! There was another Jersey class of 2004 that was shown on the news, i recognize the actor but don't remember his name. He was Billy Bats in Goodfellas (the one that kept on calling for Pesci to get his shine box...then got wacked by Spitshine boy.). He is joining the cast, right?

Yea Good old Frank Vincent. I didnt know he was joining the cast eitehr. But Robert Loggis character seems the best out of all of them. Although they didnt really show Buscemi yet. Who knows.

Although I knew these people were joining the cast, I can't say I am real familiar with Buscemi's work, but he seems well liked by everyone here. Robert Loggia has been around forever and at one time was a familiar face in movies. As for Frank Vincent, well he and PLaw go way back!!


TIS

Great way to kick off Season 5. This past summer I sat myself down & watched all 3 seasons & fell in love with them. In October I got season 4 on DVD. So this will be the first time I continously watch an entire Sopranos season! I'm so excited & tonights episode was great. My favorite part was Paulie & Chris in the alley with the waiter. I can't believe Paulie shot him!

Does plawrence know him or something?

A fine first episode!

Chris and Paulie killing that Atlantic City waiter was unbelievable! That has to be the most sociopathic murder there's ever been on this show. Just the same, we were all laughing as we watched it (what does that say about us?).

Chris and Paulie talking about Valery the Russian mobster with the gang at the Bing was something to notice; does this mean he could reappear at some point this season, FINALLY? Who knows. Likely not!

The stuff with the bear was hilarious, especially when the little "tough guy" AJ shit his pants and was screaming for his Mommy!
And yes, there has been a problem lately with bears being too close to residential homes in New Jersey, so this detail in the episode DOES parallel real life.

Feech LaManna looks to be a great addition to the cast. No doubt about it, he's an old school gangster with some screws loose.

Carmine Lupertazzi's stroke was a major development. I guess Johnny Sack will now be the new New York boss, unless Carmine Jr tries to take over. And Johnny is obviously still nursing a grudge against Tony for refusing to help him kill Carmine in Season Four. The possibilities for internecine warfare abound!

And Tony trying to court Dr Melfi was interesting. Tony told her, "you're making me into half a stalker here". Try TOTAL stalker!

Solid episode. I look forward to Episode 2, and Steve Buscemi's debut as Tony's cousin, Tony Blundetto!

robert loggia's character is def a great addition to the cast, i love the part where hes goin nuts, his head goin all over the place hitting his fist talkin about when he beat the "biggest blackest mother fucker" while in prison. It was hilarious.

I'm surprised that Paul Pisano hasn't come back and started next week's thread already...those of you who were on this board when season 4 was airing know what I'm talking about.

Season V, Episode I was a good good beginning. It set up a lot of storylines for the upcoming season, and got ya right back into the swing of things.

I don't believe the "kiss and makeup" between Paulie and Chris is for real - they're going to be at each other's throats in this season.

I think the kid that Tony ordered to guard Carmella against the bear is going to be a goner. Look what happened to the last guy we saw sitting on the crapper reading a magazine (GiGi). Tony didn't appear too happy the kid wasn't at his post (when he was phoning his girlfriend).

Maybe the bear was the Russian from the "Pine Barrens" episode As ChrisY2J pointed out, there REALLY was a point last year (while the season was being filmed) when northern New Jersey had incidents of bears invading yards of homeowners while scrounging for food. (This was just before the hunting season started, and the bear population was very high).

Does plawrence really know Frank Vincent?? You kiddin' or sumptin?? They're old friends, and they hang out at the Garden together

Lest we forget what kind of low-lifes these guys really are, the "waiter" scene reminds us they really are bottom-dwellers. I had to laugh, though, at Chris' line that the money paying the check was HIS.

lol yea after they just killed an innocent man all that was goin through christophers mind was "thats my money paulie!"

Me and Frank Vincent hang out at the Continental Arena, not the Garden.

I don't actually know him, but I did meet him at an NBA Finals game last season.

I told him that I was probably the only guy in the whole place that would recognize him and know his name. For some reason, though, he seemed to get a litle bit insulted when I said that...

Yep! Black bears, anyway. There's even now a small hunting season for them because the numbers have been getting into residential areas. Kind of a way to keep topical events in-play on the show, I suppose. I think it's more North and Central Jersey than South, or at least I haven't heard my family say anything and they're all around the shore and AC.

Nick

Yes, a few months back in Jersey they had a real problem with the Black bears in residentail areas

I liked when Chris was telling the story from Season 3, where him & Paulie got stuck in the woods waiting for the Russian. "Chrissy, don't leave me out here!"

There plenty of funny lines and moments in this episode. By far, the one that still has me smiling was Micheli "Feech" LaManna's line about the changes in the world since getting out of prison: "The biggest change is women shaving their bushes. I was at Silvio's, and it was like the Girl Scouts!"

Awesome line.

As far as the episode goes, I was a bit disappointed. Hopefully, it will get a little more interesting as the new characters develop.

How about that Robert Loggia? I barely recognized him. He sure looks different than when he played Frank in "Scarface".

Question: Joe Santos, who played Sgt. Becker in the "Rockford Files" was in the cast last night, but I didn't notice who his character was.

I can't believe Steve Buscemi is in The Sopranos, that's so cool. First Pantalino, now Buscemi. Could it get any better?

I would love to see Joe Pesci, Bobby D or Al P show up in an ep. I hear that James Gandolfini is anxious to say goodbye to Tony Soprano. WHy? It made him a star

I heard in an interview with Gandolfini that he is getting bored with the character.

How can you get tired of playing Tony Soprano? This isn't there last season is it??