Shook the Spot

"YOU NEVER HEARD OF PULLING OUT?" . . . THE SOPRANOS — SEASON 6, EPISODE 9 . . . "THE RIDE" . . . CHRISSY DONS A ROCK, HITS THE ROCK, AND ROCKS OUT WITH THE DON . . . PAULIE CONFRONTS MORTALITY, HIS ADOPTED MOTHER, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND LAWRENCE WELK . . . FLASHBACK!

In the bathroom of Vesuvio's, Tony confronts a rattled Paulie and delivers what Shook is ready to declare, unequivocally, the best line of the season . . . "You're doing a heckuva job, Brownie." Next episode, the congressional hearings.

Skip's Michael Brown allusion was just the latest example of very current events seeping into a Sopranos script. Remember Chrissy, in defending the two Arabs in his crew, noting that one of them had denounced the Mohammed cartoon riots? And there have been several other such moments that escape my mind right now. (Hit up the comments if you got any.) It's tricky adding current humor to a television script, since you run the risk of missing the window of relevance and appearing outdated instead of with it. But since Brownie was on the late-night TV circuit less than two months ago and the Mohammed controversy still rages in some circles, both topics felt fresh when they got mentions from the Sopranos cast.

HBO, more than most networks, embraces time stamps on its shows, which may have something to do with their lack of interest in future syndication. (Two HBO shows that been syndicated on basic cable, Arliss and Sex and the City, were notably less tied to any particular year, though they certainly speak to the present era.) Six Feet Under began every episode with the current year, in the form of a newly dead person's lifespan, and the Fishers' conversations often focused on current events. Entourage is full of timely Hollywood allusions, and who could forget Ari referencing Edgar Ray Killen, though not by name, in the epic steam room scene where he tries to convince E that he shouldn't fess up to cheating on his girlfriend? (Speaking of which, anyone else giddy with excitement for the Entourage premiere next June?) The time-pegged allusions in HBO scripts tend to work, add a little pop to the dialogue, and enhance the network's "It's Not TV" image. And on The Sopranos, the references to current events are key to humanizing the characters, which is itself key to the series. So . . . word.

Well, that's all Shook has to say about last night's episode, which was otherwise uninspiring for me in the blogging department. A question, though . . . has the show ever done a flashback to an earlier season like the one last night in which Chrissy told Tony about Adrianna? They've flashed back to points before the series began, like Tony's father cutting off that dude's finger, but Shook can't recall a gap-filler like that one. It didn't really seem to work . . . were new viewers just getting background to prepare for Carmella's confrontation with Liz LaCerva? . . . and kind of screamed West Wing, season two, to me.

Wish there were more with the Catholic Church and that badass priest who's not afraid to take on the mob. Can anyone read anything into the significance of St. Elzear?