I missed a few of the episodes so I’ve been going over some of the online episode guides. There’s a couple references to Junior ditching his girlfriend (Roberta) for revealing some deep dark secret about their sex life. What was the big secret?
That Junior performed cunnilingus on her. This is apparently seen as a sign of weakness in their social circle.
That he went down on her, that is apparently something that real Italian men don’t do. Tony got to hear and was making fun of Junior during a round of golf - references to sushi, for example.
And Roberta bragged about his prowess in that area to her manicurist. Angie or Rosalie overheard, and was on the phone to Carm before her topcoat tried.
Yeah, that was what the episode guides hinted at, but I wasn’t sure. Thanks everyone!
which lead to one of the best lines of the show’s run:
“Psychiatry and cunnilingus lead us to this”
I always thought that there had to be more to the “secret” than was really let on. I mean, Junior freaked on her!
Do you suppose that Junior was perhaps impotent, or experiencing episodes of impotency, and so used other methods of pleasing his girlfriend? I mean, Junior is an old man, and that kind of thing happens, right? And it would be seen as even worse of a weakness than a little lick and nibble here and there, wouldn’t it?
WEll, both Junior and Tony did say that performing cunnilingus was regarded as a sign of weakness, effeminacy or even homosexuality ( “they think that if you suck pussy you’ll suck anything”). Also, Tony’s mocking of Junior, mentioned above by amarone, related specifically to oral sex: the sushi comment and a rough/muff pun, for example.
That was a great episode. Junior and this woman (Roberta?) had been lovers for sixteen years, and he really seems to have loved her. When he was forced to dump her due to the codes by which he lived his life, he was fighting back tears as he left the building.
Saddest thing was that Roberta was innocent–she had mentioned it to the manicurist BEFORE Junior asked her not to tell anybody about his–special skills, and had indeed not said a word about it afterwards.
Hope we get more Uncle Jun next year,
now that that interminable trial is over.
Gimme back my wisecracking evil Junior.
I thought it was pretty funny when Tony called Junior a “Bushman of the Kalihari”. Heh heh heh.
I love that the episode which centers around Tony’s preoccupation with Junior’s oral sex and Junior’s preoccupation with Tony’s talking cure is titled “Boca,” which means mouth.
Wrong… “Cunnilingus and Psychiatry lead us to this.” Just finished up rewatching Season 1 on DVD.
Not a big deal but too good not to bring up again.
One thing that struck me is how “cartoonish” the show was and how even better it would have been had it been produced more recently. Just MHO.
I have a question that’s been bugging me for some time: In one episode where Junior is being treated for stomach cancer, a nurse or some other caregiver comes to his house. She’s on camera very briefly, but I would swear she’s Pauley Perette with her natural blonde hair.
I can’t find a credit for her on IMDB, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t her; when she was a waitress on Frasier, she was credited only as “Pauley P.” I could take a look if I had a DVD of that episode, but I’m not even sure which one it was.
Can anyone tell me if I’m right?
Its supposed to be cartoonist. Its filled with over the top characters trying to leaf parallel normal lives.
I believe you’re remembering the season two episode “House Arrest” (a year before Junior was diagnosed with cancer) where Junior’s being fitted with a CPAP device. The actress who plays the nurse is Sabine Singh.
Nurse: “Testing shows REM-wise, you have 40 arousals per hour.”
Junior: “More since I met you.”
Okay, mystery solved! Thank you. 
As I indicated, I only got a glimpse of her; but in this photo, she does kind of look like a blonde Pauley Perette: