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Do Not Resuscitate (The Sopranos)

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"Do Not Resuscitate"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 2
Directed byMartin Bruestle
Written byRobin Green
Mitchell Burgess
Frank Renzulli
Cinematography byPhil Abraham
Production code202
Original air dateJanuary 23, 2000 (2000-01-23)
Running time50 minutes
Episode chronology
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The Sopranos season 2
List of episodes

"Do Not Resuscitate" is the 15th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos and the second of the show's second season. Written by Robin Green, Mitchell Burgess, and Frank Renzulli, and directed by Martin Bruestle, it originally aired on January 23, 2000.

Starring

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* = credit only

Guest starring

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Synopsis

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Jack Massarone's construction company, which provides no-show jobs to Tony, is being picketed by black protesters led by Reverend Herman James, Jr. In return for payment by Massarone, Tony sends some thugs who beat up the protesters. In reality, Tony and Reverend James are colluding, and they split the payment. Meanwhile, Pussy meets with his FBI handler, Agent Skip Lipari, and attempts to stall Lipari's demands for information.

Tony visits Uncle Junior in jail. Junior tries to convince Tony that Livia had nothing to do with the attempted hit and urges him to make peace with her. Tony mocks him for being manipulated by Livia. Tony tells Junior's aide, Bobby "Bacala" Baccalieri, that Junior will keep the title of boss and will be permitted to "earn" on a "subsistence level"; the rest will be Tony's.

Junior's release from prison on medical grounds is obtained, but he is placed under house arrest with an ankle monitor. He conducts business at his doctor's office, which cannot be bugged. At an ostensible appointment there, Junior tells Tony that the owner of Livia's former nursing home, Freddie Capuano, has been gossiping about himself, Livia and Tony. Capuano disappears; a state trooper finds his abandoned Cadillac, with his toupée lying nearby.

Janice continues to visit Livia in the hospital. They antagonize each other, but when Janice plays old music that Livia loves, they bond for the first time in years. Livia speaks of the money she has hidden; she doesn't remember where. Tony contemptuously tells Janice they deserve each other; she can live with Livia in her house when she leaves the hospital. During a visit to his grandmother, A.J. innocently mentions DNR. Questioning him, Livia realizes that Janice and Tony are considering a DNR instruction for her.

One evening, Junior slips in the shower and is badly hurt. He speaks of his guilt to Tony and again urges him to make peace with Livia. He will not accept an ambulance but allows Tony to carry him to his car and drive him to the emergency room.

First appearances

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Deceased

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  • Frederick "Freddie" Capuano: Director of Green Grove Retirement Community, presumed murdered by the DiMeo crime family for talking about Mafia business and about Tony's attempt to kill his mother, though his body is never shown on screen
  • Reverend Herman James, Sr.: dies of natural causes due to old age (he was 83)

Title reference

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  • The episode's title is a common medical clause known as Do Not Resuscitate or DNR. Janice and Tony talk about signing a DNR for Livia.

Cultural references

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Production

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  • Although this was the second episode of Season 2 to air, it was the third to be produced.[1]

References to other media

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  • After Livia finds out about Janice's plans regarding the DNR (and that Janice will be moving in with her), she confronts her daughter, saying: "I've seen that movie with Richard Widmark." This is most likely a reference to the film Kiss of Death (1947), in which Widmark's character (a gleefully psychotic killer) pushes a wheelchair-using elderly woman down a flight of stairs to her death.[1] This is reinforced by the fact that during this scene, Janice briefly hallucinates an image of Livia falling down the stairs on an "In case of fire use stairs" sign on the hospital wall. It may alternatively be seen as a reference to the 1978 film Coma, also starring Widmark.[2]
  • When Tony finally gives his begrudging approval for Janice to live with Livia in the latter's home, he says "It'll be like 'Whatever Happened to Baby Janice?' over there," likely referring to the Bette Davis/Joan Crawford film What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?

Music

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Filming locations

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Listed in order of first appearance:[3]

References

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  1. ^ Zoller-Seitz, Matt (2000-01-28). "Star-Ledger Sopranos Archive: She's the devil in disguise". Star-Ledger. Newark. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  2. ^ "Coma (1978) - Connections". IMDB. Retrieved 2009-03-07.
  3. ^ Ugoku. "The Sopranos location guide - Filming locations for". www.sopranos-locations.com. Retrieved 2020-03-17.
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