So it's off to the Motherland, the Homeland, the Mother Country, whatever you want to call it. Isn't this where it all started... the Mafia, the Costanostras? This kind of reminds you of The Godfather II where Michael takes an extended visit to Italy. The show was filled with Italian music and dialog. I'm sure the Italian fans of The Sopranos will love this show.

Tony, Paulie and Christopher take a trip to Italy to get some business taken care of. The dealings with the people in Italy used to be Junior's affairs but since Tony is running things he's got to go and get things straightened out. The trip turns out to be both amusing in some regards and also attempts to show the very serious side of the Mafia or mob business as it is today. Christopher is lost in his drug world and Paulie turns into a real comedian as he tries to fit in the day-to-day life.

Tony, on the other hand is all business. He immediately becomes upset when he learns he has to deal with some middle man rather than the Don himself. He eventually meets the Don, who is now in a wheelchair and seems to be a figurehead rather than someone running things. Tony finds out he has to deal with his daughter, Annalisa. This doesn't sit well with him. A "woman" running things? This would never happen in America is what he tells her. The result is both business dealings and sexual tension between them. Tony is extremely attracted to her but when she outright asks him "Don't you want to fuck me?" he answers "Yeah, I do... but I don't shit where I eat". That's a new expression... never heard that one before.

On the domestic scene, Pussy meets with a Fed in a toy store where they inadvertently run into an old time friend; an Elvis impersonator of all people! Pussy gets very nervous because he knows he's been seen. So what do you do about it? Well, just what anyone would do if they don't want someone to know they've been seen with someone.. They go over to their house and smash their skull in with a hammer. Pussy... didn't know you had it in you.

More bad news for Pussy. His wife of 24 years want to divorce him. She's fed up with him and his disinterest in her. This causes a big stir in the "female" population of the show. Carmela is opposed to the whole thing because marriage is sacred and is not meant to be broken.

We get a brief glimpse of Janice and Meadow. Anthony Jr. - where were you? I missed his one-liners.

I really enjoyed this episode. It attempted to give you a feeling of the roots and history behind the whole Mafia business. It was a side-line episode, kind of like "College" was last season.

So far the most frequently asked question has been: Who is the Italian girl? Well her name in the show is Annalisa and she is Sofia Milos. Not too much info on her yet but she has been in Caroline in the City as Julia and an episode of Weird Science and as Aurora in Friends. I've got a 40 second Real Video/Audio clip of her being interviewed on Caroline in the City. If you've got the RealPlayer installed on your machine and would like to see it, let me know.

Got any comments or feedback on the show? Please send them in and I'll post them as I get them.