Join the Club (The Sopranos episode)
Encyclopedia
"Join the Club" is the second episode of the sixth season and sixty-seventh episode overall of the HBO television drama series The Sopranos
, which premiered on March 19, 2006 in the United States
. It was written by series creator/executive producer David Chase
and directed by David Nutter
.
The episode's narrative details the aftermath of the shooting of series protagonist
Tony Soprano
(James Gandolfini
) by his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano
(Dominic Chianese
). Tony, now in a comatose state and hospitalized, has a dream-like experience in which he envisions himself as a travelling salesman not involved with the Mafia
. Meanwhile, Tony's family and associates adjust to the possibility of Tony not coming out of his coma, with Tony's wife Carmela
(Edie Falco
) struggling with the situation.
Most interior hospital scenes of the episode were filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center
, Los Angeles
, with additional exterior and interior scenes filmed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
, Newark
. "Join the Club" is the only episode of the series directed by Nutter and the eighth of nine episodes for which Chase receives an individual writing credit. It attracted 9.18 million American viewers and was generally well-received critically, with particular praise directed at Falco's performance in the episode. Since its premiere, the episode has frequently been cited by critics as one of the best of the series. It received two award nominations for directing.
is in critical condition, two days after being shot by Uncle Junior
. The attending physicians in the ICU
sedate Tony into an induced coma
after he awakes and rips out his breathing tube
. Several doctors comment on the complications of Tony's gunshot wound, the most dangerous of which is severe sepsis
, and they encourage Carmela
and others to talk to him and play him music he enjoys in the hopes of a recovery. However, they also warn his family members of the "obviously negative outcome", as well as the prospects of brain damage
. Carmela asks the doctor if Tony is "aware that he's dying." A vigil of Tony's family members and business associates have assembled in the ICU. A distraught Carmela, Christopher Moltisanti
, and Meadow
sleep in the hospital.
Uncle Junior
is being held in custody and is questioned about the shooting. He is confused about the situation, hostile towards his interrogator and does not remember that he has a new lawyer, replacing Harold Melvoin, who Junior dismissed after his stroke
. He denies that he shot his nephew and insists that if Tony was shot it must have been self-inflicted, because he is "a depression case."
Christopher, Paulie
, and Vito
vie for small opportunities to assist Tony's family during the crisis, such as sending presents to Tony's room and bickering over giving a ride home to A.J.
During the funeral wake of the late soldier Eugene Pontecorvo, who committed suicide by hanging in the previous episode, Members Only
, an impromptu meeting of the family is held and Silvio Dante
assumes Tony's responsibilities as acting Boss
. The meeting also reveals that, while most of the group is loyal to the incapacitated Tony, some are unsympathetically furious at Junior, and others are suspicious of why Bobby
—traditionally Junior's de facto caretaker—was not in the house that night. Ultimately, they decide on officially banishing Junior from the family and cutting off all contact with him, making Tony the official Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family. Vito makes a bid to take over Eugene's sportsbook responsibilities, and later, suggests to Janice
that perhaps Eugene had been a self-loathing homosexual who had no one to talk to, which causes Janice to roll her eyes.
Meanwhile, A.J. acts curiously aloof, avoiding Tony's room, and shirking his familial and school responsibilities. To the chagrin of Carmela, he talks to a reporter just outside the hospital, but later curses the ones camped outside the Soprano home; he forgets to bring requested items to the hospital to assist in Tony's recovery. A questionable stomach flu excuses him from a night shift at the hospital and he is flippantly preoccupied with cars. A.J.'s unforthcoming behavior to his father's condition worries Carmela, who voices her concerns to Rosalie Aprile. With the death of her own wayward son Jackie Aprile, Jr.
, Rosalie advises Carmela to engage in stricter parenting with A.J.. In addition to the normal worries for her son, however, Carmela fears that A.J.'s deep esteem for his father is the source of his aloofness.
A.J. admits to Meadow that he is embarrassed and angry by the actions of his family, especially Uncle Junior. A.J. finally concedes to his family's wishes to talk to his comatose father. Once the two are alone (and after casually talking about cars), A.J. vows to avenge his father by putting a bullet in Uncle Junior's "fucking mummy head." Immediately afterwards, he admits to Carmela that he flunked junior college, after earning a 1.4 grade point average
, his counselor told A.J. that it would be pointless to go back, Carmela looks at her son in disgust, and angrily says "with your father in a coma?".
in Costa Mesa, California
. He is a mild-mannered precision optics salesman on a business trip, without his real-life New Jersey
accent. That night, he goes to the hotel's bar, where he notices a TV showing a brush fire in Costa Mesa; he also notices a strange light that glows on the horizon as he looks out the window. The next morning he goes to a convention and is asked for ID to gain admittance. But Tony has someone else's wallet and briefcase, a man named Kevin Finnerty from Kingman, Arizona
, to whom he bears a resemblance. Tony says that he must have unintentionally picked up these items the previous evening at the hotel bar. He returns to the bar, where a group of business travelers overhear him telling his story to the bartender (when asked what Costa Mesa is like, the bartender replies, "Around here, it's dead"). The group invite Tony to join them for dinner, during which he discusses his 'life' in more detail, alluding to a midlife crisis
by saying, "I mean, who am I? Where am I going?" As he and his group leave, Tony notices a commercial on TV, which displayed the question, "Are sin, disease and death real?", followed by the Cross. After dinner, outside the hotel, Tony makes a pass at a woman from the group. She responds at first but then cuts him off. She tells him she saw his face when he got off the phone with his wife (whose voice is not Carmelas). Suddenly, a helicopter spotlight shines on the pair, to which the woman says "They must be looking for a perp". It is here that Tony awakens from his original coma, and rips out his breathing tube. He is moaning "Who am I? Where am I going?" (The latter phrase perhaps being both a reference to his life in both the dream and waking life, and his afterlife
).
The dream resumes when he is placed in another coma, as he checks into a different hotel, the Omni, under Finnerty's name. Two Buddhist monks overhear him checking in and, thinking he is Finnerty, accost him saying they had a horrible winter at the monastery because of Finnerty's heating system. Tony tells them that he's not Finnerty, which makes the monks angry; they scuffle briefly and the monks flee. The next morning, the hotel elevator is out of order, so Tony takes the stairs. As he is walking down the stairs, he slips and falls; in the emergency room, the doctor tells Tony that aside from having a minor concussion, his CT scan shows some dark spots on his brain, which indicate lack of oxygen. The doctor states that this indicates early stages of Alzheimer's disease
. When the doctor leaves him at his bed, Tony is seen saying "I'm lost" to himself. After he returns to his hotel room, Tony picks up the phone, but hangs up before dialing.
Since its premiere, "Join the Club" has frequently been singled out by critics as one of the best episodes of the series.
The Sopranos
The Sopranos is an American television drama series created by David Chase that revolves around the New Jersey-based Italian-American mobster Tony Soprano and the difficulties he faces as he tries to balance the often conflicting requirements of his home life and the criminal organization he heads...
, which premiered on March 19, 2006 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was written by series creator/executive producer David Chase
David Chase
David Chase is an American writer, director, and producer of television series. Chase has worked in television for more than 30 years; he has produced and written for shows as The Rockford Files, I'll Fly Away, and Northern Exposure. He has created two original series; the first, Almost Grown,...
and directed by David Nutter
David Nutter
David Nutter is an American television and film director and television producer. He is best known for directing pilot episodes for television series, being known as "the pilot whisperer."-Career:...
.
The episode's narrative details the aftermath of the shooting of series protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
Tony Soprano
Tony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
(James Gandolfini
James Gandolfini
James J. Gandolfini, Jr. is an Italian American actor. He is best known for his role as Tony Soprano in the HBO TV series The Sopranos, about a troubled crime boss struggling to balance his family life and career in the Mafia...
) by his uncle Corrado "Junior" Soprano
Junior Soprano
Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun", he is the mentor and surrogate father for capo Tony Soprano. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco...
(Dominic Chianese
Dominic Chianese
Dominic Chianese is an American film, television and theatre actor, perhaps best known for his role as Corrado "Junior" Soprano on the HBO TV series, The Sopranos.-Early life:...
). Tony, now in a comatose state and hospitalized, has a dream-like experience in which he envisions himself as a travelling salesman not involved with the Mafia
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...
. Meanwhile, Tony's family and associates adjust to the possibility of Tony not coming out of his coma, with Tony's wife Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
(Edie Falco
Edie Falco
Edith "Edie" Falco is an American television, film and stage actress, known for her roles in Oz as Diane Wittlesey, as Carmela Soprano on the HBO series The Sopranos, and as the titular character on the Showtime series Nurse Jackie...
) struggling with the situation.
Most interior hospital scenes of the episode were filmed at the North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center
North Hollywood Medical Center was a hospital in the community of North Hollywood, California, demolished in mid 2011. It was located at 12629 Riverside Drive in North Hollywood in the San Fernando Valley, north of Los Angeles...
, Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, with additional exterior and interior scenes filmed at the New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology
New Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
, Newark
Newark, New Jersey
Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...
. "Join the Club" is the only episode of the series directed by Nutter and the eighth of nine episodes for which Chase receives an individual writing credit. It attracted 9.18 million American viewers and was generally well-received critically, with particular praise directed at Falco's performance in the episode. Since its premiere, the episode has frequently been cited by critics as one of the best of the series. It received two award nominations for directing.
Plot
TonyTony Soprano
Anthony John "Tony" Soprano, Sr. is an Italian-American fictional character and the protagonist on the HBO television drama series The Sopranos, on which he is portrayed by James Gandolfini. The character was conceived by The Sopranos creator and show runner David Chase, who was also largely...
is in critical condition, two days after being shot by Uncle Junior
Junior Soprano
Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun", he is the mentor and surrogate father for capo Tony Soprano. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco...
. The attending physicians in the ICU
Intensive Care Unit
thumb|220px|ICU roomAn intensive-care unit , critical-care unit , intensive-therapy unit/intensive-treatment unit is a specialized department in a hospital that provides intensive-care medicine...
sedate Tony into an induced coma
Induced coma
A barbiturate-induced coma, or barb coma, is a temporary coma brought on by a controlled dose of a barbiturate drug, usually pentobarbital or thiopental...
after he awakes and rips out his breathing tube
Tracheal tube
A tracheal tube is a catheter that is inserted into the trachea in order for the primary purpose of establishing and maintaining a patent airway and to ensure the adequate exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Many different types of tracheal tubes are available, suited for different specific...
. Several doctors comment on the complications of Tony's gunshot wound, the most dangerous of which is severe sepsis
Sepsis
Sepsis is a potentially deadly medical condition that is characterized by a whole-body inflammatory state and the presence of a known or suspected infection. The body may develop this inflammatory response by the immune system to microbes in the blood, urine, lungs, skin, or other tissues...
, and they encourage Carmela
Carmela Soprano
Carmela Soprano née DeAngelis, played by Edie Falco, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is the wife of Mafia boss Tony Soprano and the program's most prominent female character.-Character biography:...
and others to talk to him and play him music he enjoys in the hopes of a recovery. However, they also warn his family members of the "obviously negative outcome", as well as the prospects of brain damage
Brain damage
"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...
. Carmela asks the doctor if Tony is "aware that he's dying." A vigil of Tony's family members and business associates have assembled in the ICU. A distraught Carmela, Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher Moltisanti
Christopher "Chris" Moltisanti, played by Michael Imperioli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was Tony Soprano's protégé and a Capo in the Soprano crime family.-Biography:...
, and Meadow
Meadow Soprano
Meadow Mariangela Soprano , played by Jamie-Lynn Sigler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos.-Character:Meadow is the first-born child of Tony and Carmela Soprano...
sleep in the hospital.
Uncle Junior
Junior Soprano
Corrado John Soprano, Jr., played by Dominic Chianese, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually referred to as "Junior" or "Uncle Jun", he is the mentor and surrogate father for capo Tony Soprano. A younger Corrado sometimes appears in flashbacks and is played by Rocco...
is being held in custody and is questioned about the shooting. He is confused about the situation, hostile towards his interrogator and does not remember that he has a new lawyer, replacing Harold Melvoin, who Junior dismissed after his stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
. He denies that he shot his nephew and insists that if Tony was shot it must have been self-inflicted, because he is "a depression case."
Christopher, Paulie
Paulie Gualtieri
Peter Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri played by Tony Sirico, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is a caporegime and later underboss in the Soprano crime family.-Plot details:...
, and Vito
Vito Spatafore
Vito Spatafore, Sr., played by Joseph R. Gannascoli, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a member of the DiMeo Crime Family and a subordinate of Tony Soprano. He was married to Marie Spatafore with two children, Francesca and Vito, Jr., and was a closeted homosexual...
vie for small opportunities to assist Tony's family during the crisis, such as sending presents to Tony's room and bickering over giving a ride home to A.J.
Anthony Soprano, Jr.
Anthony John "A.J." Soprano, Jr. , played by Robert Iler, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. Usually just called "A.J.", he is the son of Carmela and Tony Soprano. He is a prototypical underachiever and is a constant source of stress and anxiety for his parents...
During the funeral wake of the late soldier Eugene Pontecorvo, who committed suicide by hanging in the previous episode, Members Only
Members Only
Members Only is a brand of clothing that became popular in the 1980s with the Members Only jacket. The brand was created in 1975 and introduced to American markets in 1979 by Europe Craft Imports .Members Only was renowned for their brand of jackets, which were first introduced in 1981 and...
, an impromptu meeting of the family is held and Silvio Dante
Silvio Dante
Silvio Manfred Dante, often referred to as "Sil", played by Steven Van Zandt, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He is the consigliere to Tony Soprano in the Soprano crime family. Silvio has one of the lowest profiles on the show. He is usually a behind the scenes figure...
assumes Tony's responsibilities as acting Boss
Crime boss
A crime boss or boss is a person in charge of a criminal organization. A boss typically has absolute or near-absolute control over his subordinates, is greatly feared by his subordinates for his ruthlessness and willingness to take lives in order to exert his influence, and profits come from the...
. The meeting also reveals that, while most of the group is loyal to the incapacitated Tony, some are unsympathetically furious at Junior, and others are suspicious of why Bobby
Bobby Baccalieri
Robert "Bobby Bacala" Baccalieri, Jr., played by Steve R. Schirripa, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. He was a Capo and later the acting underboss of the DiMeo Crime Family, as well as Tony Soprano's brother-in-law...
—traditionally Junior's de facto caretaker—was not in the house that night. Ultimately, they decide on officially banishing Junior from the family and cutting off all contact with him, making Tony the official Boss of the DiMeo Crime Family. Vito makes a bid to take over Eugene's sportsbook responsibilities, and later, suggests to Janice
Janice Soprano
Janice Soprano Baccalieri, played by Aida Turturro, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. She is Tony Soprano's elder sister. A young Janice has appeared in flashbacks, played by Madeline Blue and Juliet Fox.-Biography:...
that perhaps Eugene had been a self-loathing homosexual who had no one to talk to, which causes Janice to roll her eyes.
Meanwhile, A.J. acts curiously aloof, avoiding Tony's room, and shirking his familial and school responsibilities. To the chagrin of Carmela, he talks to a reporter just outside the hospital, but later curses the ones camped outside the Soprano home; he forgets to bring requested items to the hospital to assist in Tony's recovery. A questionable stomach flu excuses him from a night shift at the hospital and he is flippantly preoccupied with cars. A.J.'s unforthcoming behavior to his father's condition worries Carmela, who voices her concerns to Rosalie Aprile. With the death of her own wayward son Jackie Aprile, Jr.
Jackie Aprile, Jr.
Giacomo Michael Aprile, Jr. , played by Jason Cerbone, is a fictional character on the HBO TV series The Sopranos. In the episode "...To Save Us All From Satan's Power", Cerbone's younger brother Matt played a younger Jackie Jr. in a flashback sequence.-Plot details:Jackie Aprile, Jr. was born into...
, Rosalie advises Carmela to engage in stricter parenting with A.J.. In addition to the normal worries for her son, however, Carmela fears that A.J.'s deep esteem for his father is the source of his aloofness.
A.J. admits to Meadow that he is embarrassed and angry by the actions of his family, especially Uncle Junior. A.J. finally concedes to his family's wishes to talk to his comatose father. Once the two are alone (and after casually talking about cars), A.J. vows to avenge his father by putting a bullet in Uncle Junior's "fucking mummy head." Immediately afterwards, he admits to Carmela that he flunked junior college, after earning a 1.4 grade point average
Grade (education)
Grades are standardized measurements of varying levels of comprehension within a subject area. Grades can be assigned in letters , as a range , as a number out of a possible total , as descriptors , in percentages, or, as is common in some post-secondary...
, his counselor told A.J. that it would be pointless to go back, Carmela looks at her son in disgust, and angrily says "with your father in a coma?".
Tony's coma
While he is in a coma, Tony has a long dream-like experience that is woven throughout the episode. The experience begins with Tony awaking in a hotel room at a Radisson HotelRadisson Hotels
Radisson Hotels is one of the leading, full-service global hotel companies with more than 420 locations in 73 countries. The first Radisson Hotel was built in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1909, and was named after the 17th-century French explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson...
in Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa, California
Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 109,960 at the 2010 census. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to a primarily suburban and "edge" city with an economy based on retail, commerce, and light...
. He is a mild-mannered precision optics salesman on a business trip, without his real-life New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
accent. That night, he goes to the hotel's bar, where he notices a TV showing a brush fire in Costa Mesa; he also notices a strange light that glows on the horizon as he looks out the window. The next morning he goes to a convention and is asked for ID to gain admittance. But Tony has someone else's wallet and briefcase, a man named Kevin Finnerty from Kingman, Arizona
Kingman, Arizona
Kingman is located in a desert climate on the edge of the Mojave Desert, but its higher elevation and location between the Colorado Plateau and the Lower Colorado River Valley tempers summer high temperatures and contributes to winter cold and rare snowfall. Summer daytime highs reach above 90 °F ...
, to whom he bears a resemblance. Tony says that he must have unintentionally picked up these items the previous evening at the hotel bar. He returns to the bar, where a group of business travelers overhear him telling his story to the bartender (when asked what Costa Mesa is like, the bartender replies, "Around here, it's dead"). The group invite Tony to join them for dinner, during which he discusses his 'life' in more detail, alluding to a midlife crisis
Midlife Crisis
"Midlife Crisis" is a song by the American rock band Faith No More. It was released on May 26, 1992 as the first single from their fourth album, Angel Dust...
by saying, "I mean, who am I? Where am I going?" As he and his group leave, Tony notices a commercial on TV, which displayed the question, "Are sin, disease and death real?", followed by the Cross. After dinner, outside the hotel, Tony makes a pass at a woman from the group. She responds at first but then cuts him off. She tells him she saw his face when he got off the phone with his wife (whose voice is not Carmelas). Suddenly, a helicopter spotlight shines on the pair, to which the woman says "They must be looking for a perp". It is here that Tony awakens from his original coma, and rips out his breathing tube. He is moaning "Who am I? Where am I going?" (The latter phrase perhaps being both a reference to his life in both the dream and waking life, and his afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
).
The dream resumes when he is placed in another coma, as he checks into a different hotel, the Omni, under Finnerty's name. Two Buddhist monks overhear him checking in and, thinking he is Finnerty, accost him saying they had a horrible winter at the monastery because of Finnerty's heating system. Tony tells them that he's not Finnerty, which makes the monks angry; they scuffle briefly and the monks flee. The next morning, the hotel elevator is out of order, so Tony takes the stairs. As he is walking down the stairs, he slips and falls; in the emergency room, the doctor tells Tony that aside from having a minor concussion, his CT scan shows some dark spots on his brain, which indicate lack of oxygen. The doctor states that this indicates early stages of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
. When the doctor leaves him at his bed, Tony is seen saying "I'm lost" to himself. After he returns to his hotel room, Tony picks up the phone, but hangs up before dialing.
Title reference
- In Tony's dream, Lee (the woman from the business group at the bar) tells Tony to "join the club", an expression commonly used when someone talks about undergoing stress or pain to someone else experiencing the same.
- The title could also be considered something of a "sequel" to the previous episode's title, "Members OnlyMembers Only (The Sopranos episode)"Members Only" is the sixty-sixth episode of the HBO series The Sopranos, and the first of the show's sixth season. Written by Terence Winter and directed by Tim Van Patten, it aired originally on Sunday March 12, 2006.-Guest starring:...
".
Production
- The exterior of the hospital is actually Fenster Hall at the New Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Jersey Institute of TechnologyNew Jersey Institute of Technology is a public research university in Newark, New Jersey. It is often also referred to as Newark College of Engineering ....
(NJIT). - The interior of the hospital lunch room is actually "The Highlander Club" (formerly called "The Pub") inside the Campus Center at NJIT.
- The interior of the hospital is the same hospital from the TV show ScrubsScrubs (TV series)Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
. - In the hotel Tony checks into, under Finnerty's name, he is given a room on the 7th floor. This may be a reference to the seven terraces of PurgatoryPurgatoryPurgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
in Dante's Purgatorio. When Tony falls in the stairwell he lands on the 5th floor, which is where the avaricious or greedy are banished. - The credits do not mention the actress providing the voice of Tony's wife in his dream, though the writers have stated the voice is of a generic New Jersey actress and not intended to be anyone previously featured on the series. On the A&E syndication rebroadcast, the voice is credited on the closed captioningClosed captioningClosed captioning is the process of displaying text on a television, video screen or other visual display to provide additional or interpretive information to individuals who wish to access it...
as 'Carmela's voice'. - This episode was shown at the season's premiere party instead of the first installment, "Members Only".
Music
- The song Carmela says was playing in Tony's car an entire weekend at Long Beach Island is "American GirlAmerican GirlAmerican Girl is a line of dolls, books, and accessories.American Girl may also refer to:* American Girl , a magazine published by the American Girl company* American Girl , a 2002 American film...
" by Tom Petty and The HeartbreakersTom Petty and the HeartbreakersTom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
. - The song playing at the end of the episode, where Tony returns to his hotel room and picks up the phone but ceases dialing, is MobyMobyRichard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
's "When It's Cold I'd Like to DieEverything Is WrongEverything Is Wrong is the third studio album by American electronica musician Moby, released in 1995. The album was Moby’s first acclaimed electronica album, but true mainstream success did not come about until the release of his 1999 album, Play....
" with vocals by Mimi GoeseMimi GoeseMimi Goese is the former vocalist for college rock band Hugo Largo. Two collaborations with Moby, Into the Blue and When It's Cold I'd Like to Die appear on the latter's album Everything Is Wrong...
. - The song playing in Bada Bing is "SpitfireSpitfire (song)"Spitfire" is the sixteenth single released by the English cross-genre band The Prodigy. It was initially released as a 12" vinyl record on 4 April 2005, as a digital download from iTunes the following day, and as a CD single on 11 April 2005...
" by The ProdigyThe ProdigyThe Prodigy are an English electronic dance music group formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s...
. - The song Carmela plays for Tony in the hospital first is "Smoke on the WaterSmoke on the Water"Smoke on the Water" is a song by the British hard rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1972 album Machine Head. In 2004, the song was ranked number 426 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Smoke on the Water"...
" by Deep PurpleDeep PurpleDeep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
. This was the same song played in the series' second season premiere, "Guy Walks Into a Psychiatrist's Office...", in a scene where Tony crashed his car into a barricade.
Reception
"Join the Club" was watched by 9.18 million American viewers on its premiere date.Since its premiere, "Join the Club" has frequently been singled out by critics as one of the best episodes of the series.