The Sopranos (TV Series) Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office (2000) User Reviews

Whatever it is I'm gonna be five grand lighter when she rain dances back to the commune

[snoozejonc · 9/10 · 21 February 2022]

Tony's mental health suffers when friends and family make reappearances in his life.

This is a great first episode that sets the scene perfectly for what is to come in the second series.

I like that there has been an appropriate time jump between the first and second series, plus the establishing exam scene and Sinatra montage are wonderfully entertaining ways to kick it off.

The big story points relate to Janice and Big Puss, along with Dr Melfi's attitude towards Tony. These are the issues that seem to be pushing up Tony's stress levels and they are presented by great visual storytelling and entertaining dialogue.

There is one particularly good scene where Tony drives around various dilapidated areas of New Jersey that links well to his mental anxieties. I like the way he is filmed during the barbeque scene listening to the guys banter together. Plus James Gandolfini's acting and body language when he starts to suss the motives behind his sister's arrival is brilliant.

I think most families unfortunately have a Janice, or even several members who are either sickeningly pretentious or circle like vultures when they sense death is on the horizon for elderly relatives. This is clever character work by the writers as it provides a plausible antagonist who viewers would side with Tony against. Aida Turturro plays her in a wonderfully entertaining way and makes a big first impression.

Themes such as the 'regularness' and monotonous aspects of life are also put across well in scenes involving Christopher and Tony.

Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office (#2.1)

[ComedyFan2010 · 8/10 · 3 March 2014]

A new season is here! Nothing too exciting in the first episode but it already gives us a bit of an introduction into what is about to come and who will be involved.

Pussy is back. He figured out he is suspected and took off to take care of his back in Puerto Rico. Him and Tony reconcile It was a pretty good scene when they met at Tony's house just as the one when he meets the other "family".

And Tony's sister Janice comes over wanting to take care of the mother but needing some help from Tony for this.

Also Tony is looking for a new shrink, but has trouble finding somebody who will take him considering who he is. Well, one can just hope he wins Dr. Melfi back

Greatness continues!

[and_mikkelsen · 9/10 · 17 February 2024]

Season two kicks off with one solid opening episode, that continues the great quality we saw in season one! The opening wastes little time, bringing back a character, which I am eager to see how will turn out!

Great montage in the beginning letting us know the current situation! We are also introduced to a couple of new characters who seems to bring some interesting dynamics with them! The other great dynamics are still present giving us that great Sopranos "feel!"

We also see the consequences of Tony, not attention his terapi! There were a sense of unpredictability over him! You never knew what was going on inside his head!

Looking forward to the rest of the season!

Guess who's back...

[MaxBorg89 · 10/10 · 26 March 2008]

The first season of HBO's mob masterpiece ended on a really sad note for Tony Soprano: not only was he recovering from a failed attempt on his life, he also found out it was his mother and uncle who authorized the whole thing. Kind of gives a whole new meaning to the term "family values".

Things don't get much better in this Series 2 opener, either: Uncle Junior (Dominic Chianese) is in jail, Livia (Nancy Marchand) is in the hospital because of an alleged stroke, and Tony's manipulative sister Janice (Aida Turturro) shows up to make him feel guilty for how he is treating their mother. As a result he is so stressed he can't even be happy when Pussy Bompensiero (Vincent Pastore) returns after months of absence. Okay, so the latter was suspected of being a rat, but come on, give him a break: he was just hiding because he felt he wasn't safe anymore and, while he was at it, got his back problem fixed in Puerto Rico. Soon enough, though, he is cleared of all bad thoughts and warmly welcomed back by the whole crew.

This season premiere is spellbinding for two reasons: firstly, it introduces a scene that would become a recurring presence in all other series openers (except Season Six), that of the Sopranos' home driveway where Tony picks up the newspaper wearing nothing but his bathrobe, a wife-beater and a pair of boxers - an iconic image that confirms the fact the Jersey boss is no glorious figure like Vito Corleone; secondly, the terrific Aida Turturro (John's cousin) makes her first appearance on the show in a role so juicy and complex she managed to stay for the remainder of the program's run. But let's not forget Pastore: in a way, it is he who comes to dominate the events of Season Two (why will be obvious from the next episode onwards), and it is remarkable that he manages to turn a potentially ridiculous scene (Pussy turning up in front of Tony in the aforementioned driveway, his hands raised in the air) into a powerful dramatic moment, albeit one with the serial's trademark sick humor.

Salute

Alone the intro

[hishmf · 10/10 · 29 April 2022]

What a masterpiece Sopranos is. I am rewatching this series for the third time. And again I am amazed on so msny levels. When you know the characters so well it's impressive to see how David Chase is using the intro to build up the story of the different characters. Sinatra goes very well with this series 🙂

Pussy-fied

[ctomvelu-1 · 8/10 · 29 July 2008]

Pussy appears out of nowhere, claiming he was holed up with a 26-year-old in Puerto Rico, prompting Tony to want to both hit and hug him. He chooses the latter, fortunately. Junior is languishing in prison for the moment, and Livia is still laid up. Long-lost sister Janice shows up, and Tony decides to hold a party. Janice quickly establishes herself as a thoroughly contemptible (and at times pathetic) individual who immediately attempts to thwart Tony's plan to sell Livia's house. Chris starts a boiler room operation but quickly gets bored, which leads to some serious trouble that may have long-term consequences. Dr. Melfi is seeing patients in her motel room, and wants nothing further to do with the big guy, whom she claims is responsible for the suicide of a patient. So Tony tries out a new shrink, who declines to take him on, fearing the consequences. Tony of course keeps having palpitations and blackouts. While there is some pretty strong violence in the episode, it is really about the family, both kinds of family, and the stresses and strains that go with being part of a family.

Welcome back, Big Pussy.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 9 February 2023]

With Uncle Junior in jail for the time being, it's up to Tony to officially run things. He's unable to really enjoy his status, however. He realizes that he's better off in therapy; right now, he's self-medicating and once again prone to blackouts. However, a shaken and scared Dr. Melfi (who sees patients in a motel room) refuses now to have anything to do with him. While Christopher is currently operating a boiler room, Tony's long-lost sister Janice (Aida Turturro, "Deep Blue Sea") shows up on his doorstep. While he greets her with a token amount of hospitality, he's all too aware of her history as a shady character.

After all his time away, Big Pussy is quick to explain his absence. But despite some initial wariness and hostility (and after doing a check to make sure he wasn't lying), Tony and the gang welcome him back.

It's to the credit of the late, great James Gandolfini that he can make a character like Tony so complex and interesting. While he CAN be genuinely scary at times, we always see his vulnerable and sensitive side as well. We don't envy Tony as he is forced to deal with the amount of tumult in his life. Almost right away, the greedy and self-serving Janice is trying to manipulate the situation with Livia to her advantage. The character may be scum, but there's no denying that actress Turturro (cousin of John and Nick T.) makes a big impression in this debut performance.

The opening montage set to Frank Sinatra is a nice touch, easing us into another season and introducing some new characters such as Janice. One of this viewers' favorite scenes involved Tony seeing a different psychiatrist, who unfortunately is all too aware of who and what he is. Time will tell if Dr. Melfi will be able to forgive him; we know that he needs her. I also enjoyed seeing Vincent Pastore again, who apparently will become more of a pivotal figure in this second season.

Eight out of 10.

Now the fun starts , Janice is in the house

[Neptune165 · 7/10 · 7 July 2022]

Pussy's story here on his return, I'm not sure I'd have so easily bought it, easy for me to say i guess the guys are all great friends, everyone wants it to be true but pussy and his back, again. And there's no where he could have gone in North America the only one single person who could help was a Costa Rican, so much so he had to go down there, couldn't tell his wife or kids. Its a really hard sell the FBI had him come up with imo and personally one I'd have at least looked it over a once or three times. One thing to note: yes junior did take a lot of pride in being the boss. But that's not the reason he wouldn't admit that Tony was the real boss. The actually reason is that he is incredibly "old school" and doesn't believe in talking to the FBI or Police, even if it means getting reduced sentencing. He is one of the last remaining people the actually believes in the "mafia code". He realizes he got beat by Tony so he just accepts it and takes his chances with the lawyers. Janice is a manipulator, not a master manipulator like Livia, but she will definitely cause problems for Tony. She rolled back into town because she wants the house and whatever else she can get her hands on, if and when Livia dies. Think of her like a vulture circling over a dying animal. Honestly, the Janice character was the one I hated the most in the series. No, Nia, there is nothing wrong with Barbara. She is not sick, she is just the sister who knows that Tony is more than capable of handling things correctly. Barbara is probably the most normal person in this family. And here we see the beginning of the downfall of Christopher. "You need impulse control," Tony says to him. And he does because he is a junkie Wait until Tony discovers this! Christopher is a weak individual. There are a lot of weak individuals in this series, like Junior and Christopher. And by weak, I mean weakness of character. Poor, Tony has to "carry" everyone. It's a big burden on him. Tony definitely needs his psychiatrist back.

Tony's sister

[AvionPrince16 · 7/10 · 23 April 2024]

So yeah Back in business and i really appreciate to See Tony again .

We see that the relationship with Tony and his mother get worse and they dont talk anymore .

We understand more the Tony's perspective trough the arrival of his little sister and help us to understand his POV.

Jimmy is back too . And the misunderstanding and all the problem he is being accused get forgiven anyway because he was not the mole anyway so Jimmy not dead yet .

Tony's problems with his fainting came back and even he see another shrink : it dont work and he came back to see Melfi but she doesnt want to help anymore for now and to get involved to a patient's death.

A nice first episode that introduced some new stakes and new locations(business), new characters . Sound good even it start pretty slowly and let us dive in that show once again .

And i will not complain.