Favorite Quotes from 'The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti'

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

Quote your favorite lines from this episode here.

[niceguy11]

Dr Melfi's Boyfriend speaking of Tony

"The man's a criminal Jennifer, and after a while finally ,you're going to get beyond
psychotherapy with it's cheesy moral relativism, finally you're going to get to good and evil ,and he's evil"

To me one of the sanest things I have heard on the Sopranos ever

[dsweeney]

Hurrah!! At last, somebody who sees Tony Soprano for the depraved evil he really is. People say things like " that Ritchie, he's a creep" or " Phil Leotardo, jesus what a hard case", things like that. But guess what, who personally has killed more people than anyone else on the show? Anyone? Well, it's Tony. By a long chalk. Something like seven murders at least that I can think of off-hand. But of course he likes ducks, horses and small dogs so that's ok. And he takes care of his children! Jeez, what a guy! Welcome to the site.

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

Hurrah!! At last, somebody who sees Tony Soprano for the depraved evil he really is. People say things like " that Ritchie, he's a creep" or " Phil Leotardo, jesus what a hard case", things like that. But guess what, who personally has killed more people than anyone else on the show? Anyone? Well, it's Tony. By a long chalk. Something like seven murders at least that I can think of off-hand. But of course he likes ducks, horses and small dogs so that's ok. And he takes care of his children! Jeez, what a guy! Welcome to the site.

Please point to one post on this site that implies that Tony's evil deeds or sociopathy are excused because he "likes ducks and horses". And if you can't, then stop infusing your posts with inflammatory rhetoric. I'm getting tired of asking you nicely.

[badabellisima]

Dr Melfi's Boyfriend speaking of Tony

"The man's a criminal Jennifer, and after a while finally ,you're going to get beyond
psychotherapy with it's cheesy moral relativism, finally you're going to get to good and evil ,and he's evil"

To me one of the sanest things I have heard on the Sopranos ever

i agree with you. i think the difference some of us have is that once we are acknowledging evil- what is our response to it? Melfi came to the place in her life where she could walk away from being in what eventually may have become a possibly co-dependant, enabling professional therapist-patient relationship with Tony. i still don't like how she handled it, but still she at least confronted the issue within herself and took some sort of stand with it.

For me, i can live with the contradiction of knowing Tony is, or can be at times, evil; and at the same time, try to forgive and 'love him' anyway. Doesn't mean i don't see the evil, i just have a different response to it than some other posters here. i don't feel personally responsible for converting others to my position, or hating them for theirs; and i don't feel a need to mete out Tony's punishment. i don't feel glee in the thought that he should get his just rewards in a particular kind of death.

i have sorrow for his bad choices and those that are hurt. i also have joy for his good choices and those he has loved and helped.

[dsweeney]

Please point to one post on this site that implies that Tony's evil deeds or sociopathy are excused because he "likes ducks and horses". And if you can't, then stop infusing your posts with inflammatory rhetoric. I'm getting tired of asking you nicely.

Fly, I am simply pointing out that a lot of viewers seem to gloss over the fact that Tony is a career criminal, a multiple murderer and a sociopath. A cheating husband, a racist and somewhat homophobe. Oh and in case I forget, a fat greedy bastard.

Maybe this is the point though , that the viewer, like Melfi to at least SOME degree, is somehow charmed by him. Taken in by him. If this was Chase's intent then he succeeded in spades. But I find it strange for instance that not many people like Christopher but find things in Tony they can like. What did Ritchie do, apart from make Beansie a cripple ? Did he murder anybody ? No. As a person is Phil any worse than Tony ? No, he isn't.

Because Tony is broken up about Pie people feel he is at some level a good person. Because he is so upset over Tracee people think he's a good guy really. They forget though how he had Adriana killed like an animal in the woods. Melfi finally realises this is all part of his profile as a sociopath. "The crocodile tears" etc. I ,for one, am not taken in by Tony Soprano's charms. That's all I was saying.

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

Fly, I am simply pointing out that a lot of viewers seem to gloss over the fact that Tony is a career criminal, a multiple murderer and a sociopath. A cheating husband, a racist and somewhat homophobe. Oh and in case I forget, a fat greedy bastard.

Maybe this is the point though , that the viewer, like Melfi to at least SOME degree, is somehow charmed by him. Taken in by him. If this was Chase's intent then he succeeded in spades. But I find it strange for instance that not many people like Christopher but find things in Tony they can like. What did Ritchie do, apart from make Beansie a cripple ? Did he murder anybody ? No. As a person is Phil any worse than Tony ? No, he isn't.

Because Tony is broken up about Pie people feel he is at some level a good person. Because he is so upset over Tracee people think he's a good guy really. They forget though how he had Adriana killed like an animal in the woods. Melfi finally realises this is all part of his profile as a sociopath. "The crocodile tears" etc. I ,for one, am not taken in by Tony Soprano's charms. That's all I was saying.

I know exactly what you were saying and why. It required no explication with another round of your passive/aggressive, half/not really apologies. Your initial hyperbole was extremely inflammatory and unfair, a complete mischaracterization of what you might term the Tony "apologists" really believe and have expressed. If you can't understand the difference between what you stated and what Bada just wrote, that's your problem. If you can't express that misunderstanding in a less provocative way, a way that doesn't mock those who hold a different view, then you will not be posting at this forum much longer.

[dsweeney]

I wqs actually referring to people I work with and not anything Badabelissima said.

Having gone back and read what she just said I understand perfectly well what she said.

If she's fine with people being evil then good luck to her. That's her right. But who was it who said " all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" ?

[badabellisima]

:icon_neutral:

[badabellisima]

well, i'm not sure what to say- i guess thank you Fly, for doing the right thing. dsweeney's informative posts will be missed, but the aggravation he caused outweighs the good, and imo was undermining and detracting from the spirit of genuine fellowship that you created here. i was starting to feel unsafe or unwelcome in my own community so to speak.

For some reason lately, i have been having such a hard time at work for fear of losing my job in this economy, and fear that my bosses aren't backing me up or looking out for me- just not feeling supported in a personal way. Not feeling safe there either. i came home just weary of it, and almost didn't log on to Chase Lounge because i didn't want to be insulted one more time today in the way that some posters have in the past...- and then i read all that has transpired today. i have no happiness or glee whatsoever that dsweeney got whacked- unlike another time. i feel numb and almost surprised that you actually took him on and told it exactly like it is. For some reason i feel grateful and relieved, and i hope i haven't made you feel uncomfortable by my saying so. Today i realized i really need a true friend right now in my life, and today it feels like i have one.

[richjcrouch]

Fly, I am simply pointing out that a lot of viewers seem to gloss over the fact that Tony is a career criminal, a multiple murderer and a sociopath. A cheating husband, a racist and somewhat homophobe. Oh and in case I forget, a fat greedy bastard.

Maybe this is the point though , that the viewer, like Melfi to at least SOME degree, is somehow charmed by him. Taken in by him. If this was Chase's intent then he succeeded in spades. But I find it strange for instance that not many people like Christopher but find things in Tony they can like. What did Ritchie do, apart from make Beansie a cripple ? Did he murder anybody ? No. As a person is Phil any worse than Tony ? No, he isn't.

Because Tony is broken up about Pie people feel he is at some level a good person. Because he is so upset over Tracee people think he's a good guy really. They forget though how he had Adriana killed like an animal in the woods. Melfi finally realises this is all part of his profile as a sociopath. "The crocodile tears" etc. I ,for one, am not taken in by Tony Soprano's charms. That's all I was saying.


I know dsweeney won't be able to reply now, but there were a couple of points here that I felt I wanted to address.

Primarily, the notion of 'Tony the homophobe'.

Personally, I think Tony is one of the more liberal characters on the show, or at least 'live and let live'.

The obvious example here is Vito. It wasn't Tony who whacked him, it was Phil. In fact, Tony was more concerned with the bottom line than what Vito choose to do 'of a weekend'.

It's also worth remebering that when there was real outrage, Tony did retort to Sil with 'it's not like he's the first' and on other occassions did stick up for Vito.

If Tony was homophobic, he was far more scared of lost income.

I also think the comments about him being racist are slightly wide of the mark. Yes, racist comments were made and he did exhibit signs of racism, however, by stating that 'he' was racist, it almost exonerates the culpability of the society from which he came.

As Carmella said, Tony was from a very different time, where he thought he was doing the right thing. If he has a problem with people of different ethnicities, the blame for that problem rarely lies with the individual.

The society he grew up in was one of racial intolerance, the Italian-american subculture was also one that thrived in the 60s, hence the constant JFK nostalgia. It's not unfeasible to think that all members of the subculture yearn for that time again, a time where overt racism was not only acceptable, but encouraged amongst the larger populace in both America and over here in the UK.

However, with the obvious exceptions, what is now deemed racist may not have been construed as racism, or at least extreme racism in years gone by. For example, there are TV shows over here that were built on race jokes. These shows were shown in the 70s, and could never be repeated now. They weren't deemed offensive back then, to people of any ethnicity, but we are now programmed to take them as being offensive.

To brand Tony homophobic and racist would be somewhat of a misnomer as far as I'm concerned. It would be more appropriate to brand him greedy and living in a time warp. His racism, and indeed most of his other negative traits, are the product of a mix of individual personality and upbringing. In the great nature vs nurture debate, Tony is a prime example of amalagamtaion.

Maybe he is just lazy and goes with the flow. After all, his father was in it, his uncle was in it....

[richjcrouch]

Apologies for going quite far off topic there!

[FlyOnMelfisWall]

Excellent points, Rich. I agree.

Bada, I just PM'd you.

[Don Antonio]

Have you seen what tony says to meadows african american boyfriend? sounds pretty racist to me.

[Pope Corky the IX]

There's also his obvious discomfort in "Do Not Resuscitate" after the Reverend, referring to Moses and the Jews, states "Never underestimate a man's determination to be free". Tony stares off for a few seconds, then abruptly gets up, shakes the guy's hand and tells him he'll catch up with his son another time; all the while with the Reverend giving him a funny look.

Unless I read that scene all wrong. I took it as almost a struggle within Tony, between his racist (yes, the product of his upbringing and environment) tendencies and his genuine respect for elders, especially those who have been through things like the Depression, World War II, etc.

BACK ON TOPIC

Christopher: You touch a single fuckin' crust and you're gonna wish you took that job at McDonald's!

[Pope Corky the IX]

I also have to add a Paulie quote from this episode. Right after the incident at the bakery, Christopher walks into the back room of the Bing with the box of pastries and Tony asks where the hell he's been. Chrissy gets pissed, yells "fuck this!" and slams the box down on the pool table. Paulie walks in from out of nowhere with:

Paulie: Ooohh!! The sfogliatelle!

He grabs the box with a pissed off look, then runs off. I don't think you see him for the rest of the scene.

[jtkbigk77]

Have you seen what tony says to meadows african american boyfriend? sounds pretty racist to me.

it sounds racist and could be considered racist by some. but at the same time, his actions take root in the fact that the boyfriend is not of the same culture and background as meadow. . . i also think that the post referring to tony's conversation with the black preacher is misinterpreted, granted i haven't see it lately. and obviously a deal was being made, but he seemed to have a genuine connection with the black guy who was part of the HUD scam. i'll just end by saying that some definitions of the word racist would most definitly categorize tony as a racist but i still think the fact remains that in the end he believed (at least during season 3), "You stay with your own people" and this is why he does not want his daughter dating an African American.