A few little sad fashion notes first . . .
Sam is sporting an open necked shirt, but he's got some sort of t-shirt/undershirt visible underneath, so that's okay.
George has on the sheriff's chapeau and it's very unattractive.
Roger also sports what I think is called a Trilby hat. Thankfully, he takes it off very quickly.
And the bow in Vicki's hair is making its first of many appearances.
Carolyn's outfit is a new one. I think. It's long sleeved with detailing around the neck and sleeves. Since she's not clearly in shot much it's hard to say much else.
Vicki, the girl who arrived in town with one sad little suitcase, changes her clothes more times a day than your standard Victorian lady. Now she's in a short sleeved dress that's at least two sizes to large on her.
Onto the show . . .
It's Day 6. For the record, Francis writes the first episode and Art tackles the second.
The first episode is done on two sets: the drawing room and the diner (according to some show on the Food Network, a place only really qualifies as a diner if it's in a detachable specially made car, but I've been calling it a diner for years and I can't stop now).
Drawing room: Roger has to be introduced to George the Dim. I continue to indulge in my theory that the family decided Jonas Carter was too smart for their own good and had him replaced with someone less cerebrally gifted. Roger seems very surprised to hear that Bill is dead. He indulges in a stiff mid-morning drink. Somehow I get the feeling that he hoists a glass for anything from Arbor Day to finding a good parking space at the cannery. Dim George is sympathetic to Liz's explanation that Matthew moved the body because he didn't want attention drawn to Collinwood. He theorizes that he might be able to keep the Collinwood angle out of general knowledge once he has more facts. Since the cat's already out of the bag, I'm not sure how that's going to be possible. Also, in order for George to get a handle on the situation, he's going to have to bring up Collinwood.
Diner: Maggie is what else? Cheery. Pop is hung over and has the shakes. Maggie cheerfully suggests coffee, because of course, that's kept him sober for the past decade and is going to do wonders for those tremors. Sam lights up, a bit of business that enables David Ford to stare soulfully into the Teleprompter and find his lines.
Drawing room: Yeah, George's assurances about keeping this quiet are going to work real well. His deputy is out there with Matthew and knows as do the Coast Guard. Since they're also planning on using the coordinates and tides to figure out what ports of call Bill's corpse has been to, I'm guessing that by now just about everyone knows or will know about Matthew's devotion to Mrs. Stoddard's peace and quiet. I gather Roger would not be a big fan of CSI because he doesn't get the reason for an autopsy at all.
Diner: Miss Enabler & Co-dependent of 1966 slaps on a cheery file to serve her father some coffee. Sam doesn't respond to Little Maggie Sunshine. He just wants his letter back. She balks at this (albeit in a cheery way).
Drawing room: Roger is giving quite the performance. He very helpfully informs Dim George that the last time he saw Bill was 10:00 and everything was copasetic. Liz chimes in to report that she spoke with Mrs. Johnson who last heard from Bill at 10:30. Roger pleads total ignorance of the meeting's purpose. Can't say I get what the hell he's thinking here. I mean, yeah he can bully Sam into the story, but Burke's gonna have a whole different side of things, and Vicki has already proved obstinate. Anyhow, George takes it all down and then throws in the possibility of suicide. This nonplusses Roger and Liz. Then Roger suddenly embraces this as a totally plausible concept. Liz does everything but snort at the idea. Hmmm¢â‚¬¦.George, we learn is a local. Wonder what he did before he became sheriff.
Diner: smiling while she's dialing, Maggie flirts with Burke on the phone. Well, as much as you can flirt while taking somebody's sandwich order. God, she just never shuts up.
Drawing room: Dim George takes off. The next minute exemplifies everything I love and hate about DS. Bennett's walk and bearing actually change the minute she shuts the door behind him and turns around. She cynically asks Roger how much of his story was actually true. They drop all pretense of politeness. Roger has another drink. Bennett does her own bit of Teleprompter reading (since she was reportedly extremely near sighted, I wonder how helpful the technology actually was). And there are some lovely fireworks.
I see this scene and it's both marvelous and horrible at the same time. I realize that both Bennett and Edmonds probably didn't recall much if anything of their work as Elizabeth and Roger, but they own those parts in this scene. Everything about the way they move and talk it's all beautifully crafted. At the same time, they're doing this in one take. They have a ton of lines and most of the content is exposition. Bennett's looking at the Teleprompter--even Edmonds makes a rare flub. In comparison to burning sets and falling scenery, this is minor stuff, but it's what I loathe about this show.
Diner: Dim George pops in for some doughnuts (nothing like George for perpetuating those stereotypes). He gets a call and drops his bomb about Bill Malloy.
Second episode pretty much has parts of Collinwood and the Blue Whale. It's apparently Noon, because both Carolyn and Vicki's VO reference that. Carolyn has managed to get out of bed. The sound on Volume 12 is going wonky and my tape was doing some interesting things (note to MPI Media: these episodes cannot be released on DVD too soon). So for the first few minutes I am going blind here. Liz gives Carolyn her wristwatch and Carolyn is all smiles until, I gather she starts learning about the latest developments. Then the phone rings and apparently from their expressions, they discover that Bill's body has been recovered.
Sound is back on my tape. Carolyn is busy having hysterics. She's also appalled to learn that Matthew pushed the body away and why (there's more about the legends of Collinwood). There's also more surprise about the need for an autopsy. I have to remind myself that DS predates both Quincy and CSI.
Blue Whale: Roger shows up to see Sam and Bob Rooney. Well, Sam anyhow. Bob is busy prepping silently for the dinner crowd. Sam has chosen the occasion of Bill's death to: surprise--start drinking.
Collinwood: Vicki is making her bed when Carolyn pops in. She's being pretty surly and snotty and then finally breaks down revealing the truth about Bill. I don't doubt she genuinely liked the man, but like many older teens, Carolyn has made this tragedy all about her.
Blue Whale: Oh my God. Roger is drinking beer!!! Wait, I think it's because he's trying to buddy buddy up to Sam. He gets him up to speed on his alibi. Meanwhile, Bob is casually blowing smoke rings in the background. As extras go, Bob O'Connell really excels. You notice Bob Rooney, but he doesn't upstage the actors. He looks the part to boot.
Collinwood: Carolyn is being really self-absorbed and getting kind of maudlin. Vicki is calm and non-dramatic. It's interesting to watch really. She's very much the grown-up patiently waiting for the adolescent to get over it. Okay, this is weird: Carolyn tells us that Bill's greatest dream was to spend one solid month on a tropical island looking up at the sky??? Yeah, because that just screams Bill Malloy. He's hardly the Gauguin type. Whatever.
Liz (who is more likely Bill Malloy's greatest dream) pops in and firmly tells Carolyn she needs to get dressed (up till now Carolyn has been bopping around in that ugly frilly negligee set) and drive in to town to locate Roger. Carolyn who is still in high drama mode is reluctant, but Liz gets her moving. Meanwhile, she gives Vicki the rest of the day off. She also doesn't want David learning about Bill (yeah, good luck with that). With her gift for always knowing the appropriate moment to bring up a new topic, Vicki tries to discern if Elizabeth knows anything about Sam Evans. Elizabeth sort of rolls her eyes and leaves.
Blue Whale: Sam is having qualms of conscience. He's also using more weird metaphors than Dan Rather on election night. Roger persuades Sam to corroborate his story in the name of self-protection. Now I see where he's going. It's going to be their word against Burke's. Heh.
Collinwood: Vicki is hot on the Sam angle. She's getting nowhere fast so why she doesn't drop it, I do not know. She tries talking to Carolyn about why Roger wouldn't want her hanging around Sam, but neglects to bring up his objection that Sam is a drunk. A point that Carolyn also mentions, albeit more politely. In pops Roger, so Vicki gets Carolyn's wheels to head into town. He's not too thrilled that she's off to talk with his new best bud, but covers.
I dunno. I'm kind of lukewarm about this episode. From a dramatic perspective the big deal is Carolyn's indulgent hysterics. I give her some slack because she's supposed to be about eighteen, and it's very easy to be so solipsistical when you're that young. I do like the quiet contrast with Vicki. I wish though they were giving her more plausible reasons for acting like a bull in a china shop about Sam.
