Boca

"Boca"
The Sopranos episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 9
Written by	Jason Cahill, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess
Directed by	Andy Wolk
Production no.	109
Original airdate	March 7, 1999
Guest stars
see below
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti" "A Hit Is a Hit"
Episode chronology

"Boca" is the ninth episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos. It was written by Jason Cahill, Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess, directed by Andy Wolk and originally aired on Sunday March 7, 1999.

Starring

• James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano
• Lorraine Bracco as Dr. Jennifer Melfi
• Edie Falco as Carmela Soprano
• Michael Imperioli as Christopher Moltisanti
• Dominic Chianese as Corrado Soprano, Jr.
• Vincent Pastore as Pussy Bonpensiero *
• Steven Van Zandt as Silvio Dante
• Tony Sirico as Paulie Gualtieri
• Robert Iler as Anthony Soprano, Jr.
• Jamie-Lynn Sigler as Meadow Soprano
• and Nancy Marchand as Livia Soprano

* = credit only

Guest Starring

• John Ventimiglia as Artie Bucco
• John Heard as Vin Makazian
• Katherine Narducci as Charmaine Bucco

Also Guest Starring

Episode recap

Meadow's soccer coach, Don Hauser, has become well-liked by the fathers of the girls on his team including Tony Soprano, Artie Bucco and Silvio Dante, because of the success he produces on the playing field. The three fathers invite Hauser to the Bada Bing for drinks after a win. Soon, however, The Star Ledger reports that Hauser is leaving for a college coaching job at the University of Rhode Island, and the mob fathers begin trying to intimidate him into staying. Paulie Gualtieri delivers a 50-inch television to the coach's house and insists he take it. Christopher Moltisanti returns the coach's "missing dog" after apparently stealing it himself.

There is also unrest amongst the girls on the team. It's revealed that the coach has an ongoing sexual relationship with one of his players, Ally Vandermeed, who is a close friend of Meadow's. After Ally hears that the coach is moving on, Ally tries to kill herself by slitting her wrists, while her teammates are drinking in a park. When Tony and Carmela learn of the suicide attempt, Meadow informs them about the inappropriate relationship between coach and player.

Meanwhile, Junior Soprano visits Boca Raton for a weekend with Bobbi, his girlfriend of 16 years. We learn that Bobbi values Junior's skill at performing cunnilingus, but that Junior does not like her to discuss this as he feels it would damage his masculine reputation in the DiMeo crime family. He asks that she not speak about this part of their relationship with anyone. Bobbi has made the mistake of discussing her sex life at a hair and nail parlor, but then tells her hairdresser that they should be quiet on the topic from now on. Her friend, however, has already gossiped about Junior's particular talent to others. These remarks are heard by a contact of Carmela Soprano and the story gets back to Tony. When Junior pokes fun at Tony during a golf game, Tony retaliates with veiled jokes about cunnilingus, aimed at Junior. For his part, Junior responds with a reference to Tony's therapy. Later, an angry Junior storms into Bobbi's office. He is so furious that Bobbi pleads with him not to hit her. Instead, he mushes a lemon meringue pie in her face and then walks out, informing a tearful Bobbi that their relationship is over.

After Tony learns of the soccer coach's affair with his student, he contemplates murdering him in retaliation. After a visit with Dr. Melfi, who asks him why he would assume the burden of righting wrongs in society, and after hearing Artie's plea for legal justice, Tony calls off the hit and the coach is arrested by the police. After this, Tony arrives home after a night of drinking on Prozac and brags to Carmela (as well as to an eavesdropping Meadow) that "[he] didn't hurt nobody."

Production

• This episode wrongly reports the location of the University of Rhode Island (URI), claiming that it is in Providence when, in fact, it is in Kingston on the other side of the state. URI, however, has a satellite campus (the Feinstein Campus) in Providence, but URI sports teams play in Kingston.
• Actor Steven Van Zandt wore his own golfing hat for a scene in which Silvio plays a round of golf.
• The Roxbury High School Girls' Soccer team (Succasunna, New Jersey) played the extras for both the opposing team and members of Meadow's team. The team used this opportunity as a fundraiser.
• Junior mentions the "Escobedo brothers" to Mikey Palmice when explaining how it is possible for a psychiatrist to testify against a patient. This is a reference to the Menendez Brothers, Beverly Hills brothers who killed their parents and were later turned in to the police by their psychiatrist.

References to future episodes

• Junior reportedly hides out in Boca in a flashback sequence in the season three episode "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power".

Music

• In an early scene, Meadow and her friend are watching the Morphine video for "Buena" and the song is played at the end of the episode and into the closing credits.

External links

• Boca at the Internet Movie Database