Down Neck

“Down Neck”
The Sopranos episode
	File:Sopranos ep107.jpg
Episode no.	Season 1; Episode 7
Guest stars	see below
Written by	Robin Green & Mitchell Burgess
Directed by	Lorraine Senna Ferrara
Production no.	107
Original airdate	February 21, 1999
Episode chronology
"Pax Soprana"	"The Legend of Tennessee Moltisanti"
	Episode chronology

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"Down Neck" is the 7th episode of the HBO original series The Sopranos.The episode was written by Robin Green and Mitchell Burgess and was directed by Lorraine Senna Ferrara. It originally aired on Sunday February 21, 1999.

Guest starring roles

Episode recap

A.J. and his friends steal sacramental wine in school and turn up drunk and giggling at gym class. Tony and Carmela are called in to see the principal of A.J.'s school, Verbum Dei. The principal is accompanied by the school psychiatrist who tells them that A.J. may have ADHD. The school is lenient in disciplining A.J. because of this but they are considering placing him in a special education class.

This incident prompts Tony to recall his own childhood when he first learned about his family's involvement in the Mafia. He discusses this in therapy with Jennifer Melfi. Included in Tony's memory is the time his father wanted to move the family to Reno, Nevada, to manage a supper club for Rocco. Tony's mother refused and said she would rather suffocate the children than move. Tony, visiting his mother in the nursing home, asks her how Rocco is doing and she responds that Rocco is a multi-millionaire. Tony reminds her of the request to move and she denies that they were seriously considering moving or that she was involved in the decision to stay.

A.J. is punished by his parents and forbidden to watch TV or play Nintendo. He also has to visit his grandmother, Livia, at Green Grove every day. During one of these visits A.J. discusses his possible learning disorder and reveals to Livia that Tony is seeing a psychiatrist.

First appearances

Johnny Boy Soprano: Tony's deceased father who reappears in flashbacks to his childhood. Long-time capo of the Soprano/Gualtieri crew until his death in 1986.
Janice Soprano: Tony's older sister who appears as a child in flashbacks. She will first appear as an adult in the episode "Guy Walks into a Psychiatrist's Office...".

Title reference

The episode's title refers to "breathing down neck" or shortness of breath.
Down Neck also refers to the portion of the Passaic River in Newark, New Jersey that doubles back around a peninsula of land between Lister Street and the Pulaski Highway. In time, all the land east of the Pennsylvania Railroad in Newark came to be known as "Down Neck". This area is where young Tony and his family lived and his father did business.

Production

Although the flashbacks are set in the 1960s, some modern day motor vehicles are visible in the background in some of the scenes.

References to other media

The South Park episode "Cartman Gets an Anal Probe" is mentioned by Anthony Jr. during his session with the psychiatrist.
During one of the flashbacks, as Little Tony watches his father rough up Rocco on the street, Johnny Boy misses a punch in the style of Sonny Corleone from The Godfather.