# College (The Sopranos)
**"College"** is the fifth episode of the first season of the HBO drama *The Sopranos*, first broadcast in 1999, in which mob boss [Tony Soprano](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-soprano) takes his daughter Meadow on a tour of prospective universities in Maine while hunting down a former mob informant he discovers living in one of the towns they visit.[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) • [2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf) Only five episodes into the series, it is widely regarded as the episode that established what *The Sopranos* could do, and it is frequently ranked the best hour of the show.[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) • [3](https://parade.com/news/1999-the-sopranos-episode-ranked-no-1-of-the-entire-series-and-among-the-greatest-of-all-time)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position in series | Season 1, episode 5 of *The Sopranos*, which premiered on HBO on January 10, 1999[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) • [4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/sopranos-by-the-numbers) |
| A-story | Tony takes Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) to Maine to look at prospective universities; a chance sighting of a former mob snitch leads to a murderous detour[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) |
| B-story | Carmela Soprano (Edie Falco) engages in an ill-fated flirtation with the priest Father Phil at home in New Jersey[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf) |
| Structure | The three narrative strands, on the college trip, the informant, and Carmela and Father Phil, begin and end within the single episode[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf) |
| Awards | An Emmy-winning episode[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf) |
| Creator's view | David Chase described it as "the ultimate Sopranos episode"; James Gandolfini and Jamie-Lynn Sigler named it among their favorites in the series[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705236) |
| Critical standing | Ranked first in The Independent's 2024 list of the show's ten best episodes[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) |
## Premise and structure
The episode sends Tony Soprano, played by [James Gandolfini](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-gandolfini), on a college tour with his teenage daughter Meadow, leaving behind the New Jersey criminal underworld for an ordinary father-daughter errand.[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) During the trip, Tony recognizes a man living in one of the small New England villages as a former mobster who became an FBI informant, and he sets out to kill him.[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf)
The Library of Congress study of the series describes "College" as a veritably self-contained mini-narrative with three strands that begin and end within the hour: Tony taking Meadow to visit college campuses in New England, Tony discovering and pursuing the informant, and Carmela's flirtation with Father Phil at the Soprano home.[2](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf) That self-contained quality is central to its reputation. [David Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-chase) wanted each episode to work like a discrete little movie, and "College" is the episode most often cited as fulfilling that aim; Sopranos Autopsy calls it widely regarded as one of the definitive stand-alone episodes of television, even while noting that continuity across episodes remains important to the series as a whole.[6](https://sopranosautopsy.com/season-1-3/college-1-05-3/) • [7](https://www.homeworkforyou.com/static_media/uploadedfiles/Ethan%20Thompson%2C%20Jason%20Mittell%20%28eds.%29-How%20To%20Watch%20Television-NYU%20Press%20%282013%29.pdf)
## The central scene
The scene most associated with the episode is Meadow's direct question to her father, "Are you in the mafia?".[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) Earlier in the episode, while visiting a potential college, Tony and Meadow have what Yahoo's retrospective describes as perhaps their first honest conversation about his life in the mafia.[8](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/10-best-episodes-sopranos-ranked-173035227.html) According to Colin's Review, Tony first denies the truth but eventually admits it, telling Meadow that she is almost a fully-grown woman and it is best to be honest with her.[9](https://colinsreview.com/2016/10/22/the-sopranos-college-review/)
TIME's summary of the episode captures the tension this creates: "College" captured the parallels, and the tension, between the family and Family parts of Tony's life, cementing fans' affection and repulsion for him by letting viewers see him as a caring father and an unforgivable monster at the same time.[10](https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/sopranos/article/0%2C28804%2C1602923_1602896_1602904%2C00.html) The essay collection *How to Watch Television* records that Time's James Poniewozik reflected a critical consensus in 2007 when he ranked "College" as the best episode in the series' history, citing that same opposition between family and Family.[7](https://www.homeworkforyou.com/static_media/uploadedfiles/Ethan%20Thompson%2C%20Jason%20Mittell%20%28eds.%29-How%20To%20Watch%20Television-NYU%20Press%20%282013%29.pdf)
## Reception and legacy
Critical rankings have consistently placed the episode at or near the top of the series. The Independent's 25th-anniversary ranking put "College" first, writing that just five episodes into its first season the show was already making a case for its position at the top of the TV pantheon, and calling the detour one of the most compelling and unexpected hours of TV ever made.[1](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html) Parade describes it as widely regarded as the show's best and most influential episode, and notes that its B-story carries themes of trust and treachery as Carmela faces temptation and the reality of her husband's profession.[3](https://parade.com/news/1999-the-sopranos-episode-ranked-no-1-of-the-entire-series-and-among-the-greatest-of-all-time) Television Heaven reports that it has been called "the episode that changed television forever" and argues there is a strong case that it is the best episode of the series, noting that it begins like a light coming-of-age family drama in which a teenage girl gets to know her father before turning darker.[11](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/articles/the-best-of-the-sopranos-pine-barrens) The Los Angeles Times marked the episode's premiere day as the moment *The Sopranos* became more than a mob drama.[12](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-02-07/the-sopranos-college-james-gandolfini-jamie-lynn-sigler-the-1999-project)
Production details are sparse in the record but specific: IMDb lists [Drew University](https://www.edgepedia.org/drew-university), at 36 [Madison Avenue](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-avenue) in Madison, New Jersey, as the filming location standing in for [Bates College](https://www.edgepedia.org/bates-college).[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705236) The episode also features two songs by the English new-age composer Michael Hoppé.[9](https://colinsreview.com/2016/10/22/the-sopranos-college-review/) Within the series' larger arc of 86 episodes, "College" is the early hour most often credited with showing the potential for greatness in the show and with defining the family-versus-Family duality at its center.[4](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/sopranos-by-the-numbers) • [3](https://parade.com/news/1999-the-sopranos-episode-ranked-no-1-of-the-entire-series-and-among-the-greatest-of-all-time)
## References
1. [The Sopranos 25th anniversary: the 10 best episodes, ranked, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/tv/features/sopranos-best-episodes-ranked-b2475708.html)
2. [The Sopranos, Library of Congress e-book](https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/gdc/gdcebookspublic/20/20/71/88/15/2020718815/2020718815.pdf)
3. [1999 'The Sopranos' Episode Ranked No.1 of the Entire Series, Parade](https://parade.com/news/1999-the-sopranos-episode-ranked-no-1-of-the-entire-series-and-among-the-greatest-of-all-time)
4. [The Sopranos at 25: By the Numbers, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/sopranos-by-the-numbers)
5. ["The Sopranos" College (TV Episode 1999), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0705236)
6. [College (1.05), Sopranos Autopsy](https://sopranosautopsy.com/season-1-3/college-1-05-3/)
7. [How To Watch Television, eds. Ethan Thompson and Jason Mittell, NYU Press (2013)](https://www.homeworkforyou.com/static_media/uploadedfiles/Ethan%20Thompson%2C%20Jason%20Mittell%20%28eds.%29-How%20To%20Watch%20Television-NYU%20Press%20%282013%29.pdf)
8. [The 10 best episodes of The Sopranos, ranked, Yahoo Entertainment](https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/10-best-episodes-sopranos-ranked-173035227.html)
9. ["College" | The Sopranos, Colin's Review](https://colinsreview.com/2016/10/22/the-sopranos-college-review/)
10. [College – Top 10 Sopranos Episodes, TIME](https://content.time.com/time/specials/2007/sopranos/article/0%2C28804%2C1602923_1602896_1602904%2C00.html)
11. [The Best of...The Sopranos – Pine Barrens, Television Heaven](https://televisionheaven.co.uk/articles/the-best-of-the-sopranos-pine-barrens)
12. ['College': This episode made 'The Sopranos' more than a mob drama, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/tv/story/2024-02-07/the-sopranos-college-james-gandolfini-jamie-lynn-sigler-the-1999-project)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Seasons, episodes, and installments › Episodes and serial chapters › Individual episode articles › Notable and landmark episodes › Prestige drama episodes › Crime and realist drama episodes*
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