Todays's episode is of a type that I didn't remember existing in this period: it had bits of both the Barnabas plot and the Jason plot. Granted, they did not come together in any way and they were barely even interwoven; the B-plot scenes were bookended around the J-plot scenes, and the people in the B-scenes did not interact with the people in the J-scenes. It's almost as if the writers were worried about confusing the audience. But by golly, there they were, B-plot and J-plot, in the same episode, like peanut butter and jelly swirled together in the same jar.
I liked something that David Gerringer did right before the opening titles. He's staring at the camera - or roughly in that direction - and sucking on his glasses, and this is the point at which the scene should break off - but instead he gives a look that's like a shrug, and goes back to looking into the microphone - oops, microscope. It actually looked sort of real. On the other hand, his lab coat needed help. It looked like a raincoat.
And here's a mention of Hoffman - not Hoffwoman - a little something to keep us Grayson Hall fans from baying too loudly at the door. Alas, it's a whole month before Hoffman finally makes an actual appearance. And there's a mention of somebody else in another scene: Peterson. Definitely not Tony Peterson. Was the naming of Tony a few months later a coincidence or not? Because I don't see how Peterson who audits the books can have anything to do with Tony Peterson who's suing the cannery. On the other hand, I can imagine Tony using the Peterson name to set up a meeting with Roger, and Roger being surprised and haughtily angry when he finds out that the wrong Peterson has shown up.
The scene between Jason and Elizabeth is absolutely brilliant, and brilliantly executed. I'm imagining Dennis Patrick at Joan Bennett's house the night before, rehearsing with her. And I kept wondering about that tree. (Peach tree? Bearing fruit? In Maine? Oh, yeah, no snow in Collinsport.) Was it anywhere near where Andy buried the box in The Shawshank Redemption? No, no, couldn't have been, because the picnic didn't happen.
