In a scene in Naples, Paulie again tries to greet a passing Italian man, telling him he's from America. But the local guy only asks Paulie if he's from "NATO" and whether he 'cut our ski-lift cable.' This is a reference to a 1998 disaster in which a low-flying NATO-based U.S. Marine Corps jet on a training ran over northern Italy, accidentally cutting the lift lines in the resort town of Cavalese, causing the death of 20 people.
The scene where Tony and his men try to watch a pirate copy of The Godfather (1972) on DVD is featured as an "Easter egg" on the bonus disc in the Godfather Trilogy box set.
Tony and the gang go to Italy to conduct business. While Paulie is dining in an outdoor café he notices a man and greets him in Italian, but the local guy ignores him and turns away. This indifferent Italian is played by series creator David Chase.
The first appearances by Toni Kalem as Angie Bompiensaro and Maureen Van Zandt as Gabriella Dante. Both characters were seen briefly in season one and were played by other actresses who spoke no lines. Van Zandt is Steven Van Zandt's real life wife. Kalem had originally auditioned for the role of Carmela. Casting producers were really impressed by her and later decided to cast her as Pussy's wife Angie. Kalem would also go on to write episodes for the series.
The actor playing Jimmy Bones, an Elvis impersonator who's also part of the Jersey mob, is played in this solo "Sopranos" appearance by Mike Memphis, an actual Elvis impersonator from Brooklyn formally known as Michael Anthony LePore. At the end of the scene where Big Pussy is finishing his visit to Jimmy's home, note the Elvis paraphernalia.