Chasing It

"Chasing It"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 6 Episode 16
Directed by	Tim Van Patten
Written by	Matthew Weiner
Cinematography by	Alik Sakharov
Production code	616
Original air date	April 29, 2007 (HBO)
Guest stars
see below
Episode chronology
← Previous "Remember When" Next → "Walk Like a Man"
List of The Sopranos episodes

"Chasing It" is the eighty-first episode of the HBO television series The Sopranos. It is the fourth episode of the second half of the show's sixth season, the sixteenth episode of the season overall. It was written by executive producer Matthew Weiner and was directed by Tim Van Patten. It originally aired on April 29, 2007 and was watched by 6.76 million viewers.^[1]

Episode recap

Tony Soprano hits an unlucky gambling stretch and his continuing losses begin to impact his financial obligations as boss. Vito Spatafore's widow, Marie, turns to Tony for help with her son, Vito Jr., who has become self-destructive following his father's murder. He desecrates a graveyard and constantly misbehaves at school. However, when Marie asks Tony for $100,000 to move her family to Maine, he resists and suggests that Phil Leotardo (Marie's cousin) should get involved. While both Phil and Tony have a man-to-man talk with Vito Jr., neither are willing to step up to help with the move financially. However, Tony changes his tune after Vito Jr. publicly defecates in the school shower after being teased and is expelled from school. Having gambled away the sum necessary to facilitate the move to Maine, Tony instead pays a lesser sum to send Vito to a "wilderness therapy" program.

At the same time, Hesh Rabkin begins to regret lending $200,000 to Tony as a "bridge loan". Tony only grudgingly pays Hesh his points, going as far as to goad Hesh in front of his crew with anti-semitic remarks. Hesh later discusses with his son-in-law, Eli Kaplan, his concerns that Tony will find it easier to kill Hesh than pay him back. In fact, two of Tony's associates, Bobby Baccalieri and Carlo Gervasi, encourage Tony to stiff Hesh. Tony angrily responds that if Carlo earned as well as Vito had, he wouldn't be in the financial situation he's in. After Hesh's girlfriend dies of a stroke,^[2] Tony steps up and repays a distraught Hesh out of loyalty, but he is cold to Hesh, and they remain estranged.

A.J. proposes to Blanca and she initially accepts, but later ends the relationship during the Puerto Rican Day Parade. A.J. is visibly crushed.

Carmela and her father Hugo finally sell their spec house to her cousin Brian Cammarata. During the final inspection, Carmela worries about the sub-standard building materials her father used, going as far to call him during the night when a rain storm causes her to question the wood for the studs they used, but Hugo is not worried saying he's used the same material before. When she tells Tony that she's cleared $600K on the house, he tells her about a "sure thing" gambling tip and encourages her to bet some of "his half" on a football game. Carmela and Tony fight about the money — with Tony eventually acknowledging that the money belongs to her, not him. Later, when the tip pays off, Tony angrily berates her for not letting him gamble the profits and challenges her business acumen and character in a heated exchange. The two later reconcile, but Carmela once again expresses her worries about their future.

Guest starring

• Jerry Adler as Hesh Rabkin
• Tom Aldredge as Hugh DeAngelis
• Elizabeth Bracco as Marie Spatafore
• Max Casella as Benny Fazio
• Matthew Del Negro as Brian Cammarata
• Dania Ramirez as Blanca Selgado
• Nancy Sinatra as herself

Deceased

• Renata, girlfriend of Hesh Rabkin, of a stroke

Title reference

• The title refers to Tony's gambling addiction. "Chasing the vig" is common parlance in gambling vernacular for when one loses a bet(s) and then must make further wagers in order to either make up for the losses and/or keep up with any loan interest (the vig) accrued.

Production

• Max Casella (Benny Fazio) is billed in the opening credits but only for this episode.
• The headstone that Vito Jr. knocks over in the cemetery is for a "David M. Hackel". Episode writer Matthew Weiner worked for Hackel as a writer for the sitcom Becker. [1]
• Silvio Dante is seen reading a newspaper with an advertisement for Filene's Basement. On the February 28, 2007 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Steve Schirripa did a special correspondent piece covering Filene's Basement's annual Running of the Brides.
• Blanca breaks up with A.J. at the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, which is held every year in June. However, Tony wagers on several NFL football games when the NFL season (including preseason) takes place from August to February. Moreover, due to the format of the NFL schedule, two of the games he bets on, Buffalo Bills-Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Miami Dolphins-Philadelphia Eagles, cannot take place in the same season.
• Furthermore, he loses an NBA wager when Jerry Stackhouse hits a buzzer beater.
• The casino scenes were filmed at Atlantic City's Borgata Hotel and Casino.
• The horse race Tony lost big on in Atlantic City was portrayed as being simulcast from Batavia Downs.
• Tony sees Muhammad and Ahmed acting more religious on the street and suspects they may be linked to terrorism, as he tells the FBI agents in "Walk Like a Man". There are two other references to Islamic connections to the "war on terror": When Tony and Bobby drop by to take him fishing, Hesh lies and tells Tony he was watching a piece on the Hezbollah on CNN, and when Tony switches channels from the basketball game he was betting on as Carmela comes into the bedroom, the TV station shows a clip of George W. Bush meeting the visiting Saudi king.
• The Tampa Bay-Buffalo football game being watched at the Bing that Tony loses money on is actually footage from the film The Replacements.
• Last appearances of Hesh Rabkin and Hugh and Mary de Angelis.
• This episode was shot entirely with hand-held cameras.

Connections to prior episodes

• The ornament that Carmela throws at Tony and smashes against the wall is the Lladró figurine that she tells A.J. and his girlfriend is worth $3,000 in the Season 4 episode "Everybody Hurts".
• While Tony lectures Vito Jr., he tells him he "goes about in pity for himself", which was the phrase he became intrigued with while in the hospital, and the same thing he said to Artie Bucco in the Season 6, Part I episode "Luxury Lounge"

References to other media

• The Twilight Zone episode that Carlo attempts to explain to Tony is entitled "A Nice Place to Visit". In that episode a dead gangster, Rocky Valentine, finds himself unable to lose when gambling and able to have any woman or any other pleasure he desires. Originally, he believes himself in Heaven, until it is revealed he is actually in Hell. Later, in the episode "Kennedy and Heidi", Tony finds himself in a similar situation while in Las Vegas, winning at roulette and having sex with a beautiful young woman while high on peyote.

Music

• Nancy Sinatra sings "Bossman", a track off her 2004 album Nancy Sinatra, to a gathering of the New York and New Jersey families.
• The harmonica player in Sinatra's band is Southside Johnny Lyon, an underground legend of New Jersey's music scene. Notably, he has worked extensively with Little Steven Van Zandt, who portrays the character of Silvio Dante. Van Zandt has written, produced and performed on four of Lyon's albums and was a founding member of his band, the Asbury Jukes, before leaving to join Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. Both Springsteen and Van Zandt appear on the Asbury Jukes' Better Days album, on the song "It's Been a Long Time".
• The song played in the Bada Bing during the Buffalo-Buccaneers game is "Kernkraft 400" by Zombie Nation.
• The guitar instrumental "Cavatina" is playing in the restaurant when AJ proposes to Blanca.
• The music heard in the background when Blanca breaks up with AJ is an instrumental version of Ricky Martin's "Livin' La Vida Loca".
• The song played over the end credits is "Goin' Down Slow" by Howlin' Wolf.
• Song playing when Tony is driving in the Escalade is Bill Doggett's "Honky Tonk"

References

1. ^ http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/2007/05/02/2007-05-02_sopranos_viewers_on_the_lam.html
2. ^ From HBO's synopsis: "...he finds her dead in bed - a stroke." http://www.hbo.com/sopranos/episode/season6/episode81.shtml

External links

• HBO.com — The Sopranos official website
• The Sopranos at the Internet Movie Database
• "Chasing It" at the Internet Movie Database
• Television Without Pity — The Sopranos recaps
• The Sopranos — Family Values