The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) The Sopranos (The Sopranos episode) "The Sopranos", also known as "Pilot", is the first episode of the HBO television drama series, "The Sopranos", which premiered on January 10, 1999. It was written and directed by the series creator and executive producer David Chase. New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano passes out while barbecuing. Tony's collapse is diagnosed as a panic attack, leading to his referral to psychiatrist Jennifer Melfi. Tony is initially uncooperative, but soon tells Dr. Melfi a story about a family of ducks which nested in his swimming pool. He goes over tensions between Carmela and Meadow over a
The Ride (The Sopranos) daughter. Carmela initially brushes off her suggestion, but asks Tony about it the next day. He insists that it would have been impossible for Chris to have gotten away with killing his fiancée. Meanwhile, Chris pays Corky for the hit on Rusty, part of which includes heroin. Chris ends up using heroin and esctasy with Corky, spending the night vomiting and in a stoned stupor. He bonds with a stray dog at the feast. Several parishioners notice that the statue is missing its golden hat, and word begins to spread that Paulie scrimped on the planning of the festival. His