BADA BINGE

FOUR SOPRANOS EPISODES TO WATCH IN PREP FOR THE PREQUEL

SEASON 1, EPISODE 7 ‘DOWN NECK’

Twenty-two years ago, in The Sopranos’ first season, came this trial run for The Many Saints Of Newark, in which Tony’s childhood is revealed through flashbacks, allowing a glimpse inside his tumultuous upbringing. Johnny and Janice Soprano get their first outings in the show (“The belt was his favourite child-development tool,” Tony says of his dad), and there’s even a reference or two to the Newark riots.

SEASON 3, EPISODE 5 ‘ANOTHER TOOTHPICK’

Remind yourself of the anti-black prejudice ingrained in Tony and the culture surrounding him before we see it from the other side in The Many Saints Of Newark. “You’re so fucking racist,” his daughter Meadow yells at him in a kitchen argument, comparing him to KKK leader David Duke after he leaps to the conclusion that her bike was stolen by a person of colour. “You stay with your own people!” Tony angrily replies, as the FBI listens in.

SEASON 6, EPISODE 1 ‘MEMBERS ONLY’

Uncle Junior is one of the classic Sopranos characters seen in his younger days in the new film, sharing scenes with a young boy who’ll grow up to become, at one point, a violent adversary. ‘Members Only’ is the culmination of their sometimes twisted, often tender relationship — with the ageing Junior (Dominic Chianese) suffering from early signs of dementia, an accident occurs that threatens Tony’s life.

SEASON 6, EPISODE 18 ‘KENNEDY AND HEIDI’

The Many Saints Of Newark shows where Tony’s relationship with the Moltisanti family begins. This episode late in the series shows where it went. Tony and his troubled nephew Christopher (Michael Imperioli) take a late-night drive in the opening scene, proving to be one of the most emotional sequences in the show’s whole run — so much so that director Alan Taylor won an Emmy for the episode.