The Sopranos

The Sopranos is an American crime drama television series created by David Chase.

References to The Sopranos in The Simpsons

Characters

Picture Character name Reference Fat Tony The character' first storyline of hiring Bart for afterschool job was inspired by same storyline GoodFellas where the young Henry Hill was hired by the local Brooklyn caporegime Paul Vario, renamed Paulie Cicero for the movie, and played by actor Paul Sorvino who was the model for the character design. Fat Tony is a pastiche of Mafia characters from movies and dramas, especially the Godfather franchise (and in later seasons The Sopranos). After 1999 when The Sopranos premiered on HBO, Fat Tony started to parody parts of the lead character Tony Soprano. In several episodes, The Sopranos intro theme ("Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3) is played in scenes with Fat Tony.

Episodes

Picture Season Episode number Episode name Reference 13 291 "Poppa's Got a Brand New Badge" The Mafia's journey to the Simpsons' house is a spoof of the opening, complete with the show's opening theme, "Woke Up This Morning" by Alabama 3. 14 301 "Pray Anything" The title of Rev. Lovejoy's sermon in church "God: the original Toni Soprano" is clearly a reference to the TV series. 18 392 "Yokel Chords" The relationship Bart shares with his psychiatrist is reminiscent to the way that Tony Soprano and his psychiatrist form a unique bond, with Bart in depression wanting to see her, and the doctor wanting to see more of Bart. Dr. Stacey Swanson's psychiatrist, voiced by Peter Bogdanovich, parodies Dr. Elliot Kupferberg from The Sopranos, Dr. Melfi's psychiatrist who was also played by Peter Bogdanovich. 18 379 "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer" When Fat Tony is driving his Lincoln Navigator in the carpool, The Sopranos theme song is heard. Additionally, several Sopranos actors (including Joe Pantoliano and Michael Imperioli) voice mob characters in this episode and that they had their real faces in this episode. Nelson says in this episode that "There is no Mafia" which is another reference to The Sopranos, where Anthony Soprano Sr. says this to his daughter Meadow. Fat Tony works, as he says, in "waste management", which is the official job of Anthony Soprano Sr. The promotional image for this episode is based on promotional material for the HBO original series The Sopranos. 19 416 "Papa Don't Leech" The scene where Homer suffocates Abe parodies The Sopranos episode "Kennedy and Heidi," in which Tony suffocates Christopher in a similar manner. 23 494 "The Ten-Per-Cent Solution" The Sopranos is one of the shows shown on HBOWTIME. The characters Tony Soprano, Christopher Moltisanti, Silvio Dante, and Paulie Gualtieri were seen. 28 613 "22 for 30" Louie asked Fat Tony for the name of the secret shrink he sees. Lisa used Mafia search engine "BadaBing" for her research. The Bada Bing is the New Jersey strip club and mob hangout in 'The Sopranos". 29 634 "King Leer" Moe says he'll "go to the mattresses" with his siblings, a reference to the mob saying that become popular thanks to the movie The Godfather and the TV series The Sopranos. 31 665 "The Fat Blue Line" The rest of the Simpsons eating in another section of Luigi's (looking like the interior of Holsten's Ice Cream Shop in Bloomfield, New Jersey) while "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey plays and across the street Maggie in a Cozy Coupe-style toy car attempting to parallel park are directly recreating the series' final scene. The Italian deli and meat market where Fat Tony, Chief Wiggum and Homer eat near the end is modeled directly from Satriale's Pork Store. 34 741 "The Many Saints of Springfield" The title is referencing The Many Saints of Newark, title of the feature film and prequel to the TV series. The photograph of Fat Tony's mother or he "believes to be my mother" is a reference to the first season episode Isabella where the title Isabella (played by Maria Grazia Cucinotta) is actually a hallucination brought on by Tony Soprano's mother issues. The Italian deli and meat market next door to Legitimate Businessman's Social Club is modeled directly from Satriale's Pork Store. 36 769 "Bart's Birthday" During the closing credits The Simpsons appears in spoofs of well-known TV series finales, one of them being The Sopranos.

Comics

Picture Comic issue Story name Reference Simpsons Comics #85 The Simpson Family Circus The D'ohpranos is a parody of The Sopranos.

Video games

Picture Game Reference The Simpsons: Tapped Out

Common Cast and Crew

Cast

Picture Name Role in The Sopranos Role on The Simpsons Will Arnett Played Mike Waldrup in two episodes of Season 2. Voiced Deputy Director Gratman in "Steal This Episode". Peter Bogdanovich Played Dr. Elliot Kupferberg. Voiced a psychologist in "Yokel Chords". Steve Buscemi Played Tony Blundetto. Voiced himself in "Brake My Wife, Please" and Dwight Diddlehopper in "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings". Maria Grazia Cucinotta Played the title Isabella in "Isabella". Voiced Francesca in "The Italian Bob". Lady Gaga Played a girl at a swimming pool in "The Telltale Moozadell". Voiced herself in "Lisa Goes Gaga". Janeane Garofalo Played herself in "D-Girl". Voiced herself in "The Last Temptation of Krust". Michael Imperioli Played Christopher Moltisanti. Voiced Dante Calabresi, Jr. in "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer". Sam McMurray Played Dr. John Kennedy in "Second Opinion". Voiced a Duff commercial narrator and an Springfield Nuclear Power Plant employee in "Homer's Odyssey" and Gulliver Dark in "Homer's Night Out". Joe Pantoliano Played Ralph Cifaretto. Voiced Dante Calabresi, Sr. in "The Mook, the Chef, the Wife and Her Homer".

External links

• The Sopranos at the Internet Movie Database
• The Sopranos at Wikipedia

Cultural references

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