Hi all, had the show on briefly today.  Enjoyed the duelling beehive aspect (Bruno vs. Alexis--who had the biggest hair at Collinwood???)

I realize that as a gay man, I am prone to watch DS in a certain way, but I really found myself wondering--whatever the writer and director intended--whether David Selby, Lisa Richards and Chris Pennock had intended to play the scene in Cyrus' lab today where Cyrus "returns" and "explains" about his "working relationship" with Yeagar, as if Sabrina and Quentin suspected Cyrus of having had a sexual fling with Yeagar that the latter then chose to turn to his own nasty advantage.

Blackmail was a very real force in the typical male homosexual's life in the !960s.  Threats of blackmail, and dealing with the repercussions thereof, feature even in soft core porn novels written for the consumption of the nascent gay communities in the big cities (NYC, San Francisco, Boston, etc.) as well as the more literary productions of the period such as John Rechy's City of Night.

Quentin's expression throughout the scene looked as if he'd lifted a stone and found something foul--a common mainstream straight-male reaction to insinuations of homosexuality then as now.  And Sabrina looked as if she was ready to burst into tears at any moment (which is kind of Sabrina's default setting).  Although I thought Richards brought out an element of anger at one point that felt very real--it seemed as if the penny had dropped and Sabrina was thinking, "so, you neglect me for THIS?"

I know that the text was that Longworth had run into trouble getting illegal substances for his experiments or some similar underworld thing with Yeagar, but the SUBTEXT seemed to turn around "so this is Cyrus' dirty little secret."  I thought Pennock did a GREAT job with both roles today, as well.

I've always enjoyed the symbolism implicit in the names Yeagar and Longworth.  The latter clearly emphasizes the good doctor's unworldly, simplistic moralism.  Yeagar is another spelling of the German word Jaeger, which means "hunter."  Pennock's body language in the role suggests a half-wild beast of prey very much on the prowl.

On another note, poor Damian Edwards, trapped in the leisure suit from Hell for all eternity.  And Nicky thought Cassandra had it bad getting exorcised wearing a purple butterfly caftan.

Gothick

Hi John!  I just double-checked the timing for the Jeannie/Briscoe broadcast (try saying THAT phrase three times fast).  Hope I can catch it.  I am away in Canada from tonight through next Thurs. so will have to have one of my housemates take care of getting a tape into the VCR at the right time--I'll pre-program, of course.

Oh, haven't I mentioned the story about Don Briscoe's Colt magazine layout?  I was told about this years ago from a fan who knew Keith Prentice and some other people from the old days.  I always wanted to go to that shop in NYC, Hidden Treasures or Gay Treasures or something like that, that sells old magazines of a certain stripe (!) to see if I could peruse some issues from the mid to late Sixties.  I know that DB didn't get much work between 1966 and 1968 so it's very possible that he supplemented his income with modeling work, as needed.  There is a collection of materials of this kind at Cornell University--I've always wanted to visit there (Grayson always said that she did some courses there, and reportedly gave acting seminars there in the Seventies).  It would be fun to try and track down DB's Colt layout.

Keep cool, despite the steamy temps *and* subject matter!

Gothick

John, I surely do wish MPI would add features like commercials our favorite stars did back in the day, but I don't think they feel the need to bother, when they can just set a camera up in front of Dan Curtis and get 10 minutes of the Great One enlightening the world about his own extraordinary genius.  In the words of the immortal Lucy van Pelt, ::bleah::  Still, thanks for the note about the ciggie commercial.  I hadn't heard of that one before. Have you heard the rumors about DB's Colt magazine layout? ::salivates::

And Julia, perhaps the Rodan film finally revealed the true reason why Eliot was so interested in Adam! Everybody chant together:  big hands, big feet ...

sorry to be so disgusting. It's the weather.

G.

Good for you, Rainey Park, supporting your local independent bookstore.
The brave folks who keep those going need all the help they can get.  I try hard to support the two stores in this area that are independent.  It is extra difficult in Boston and Cambridge because of all the used book stores around.  Still something of a bibliophile's paradise, though not what it once was.

How was your Midsummer?  We had chilly, rainy weather, so had a cosy indoor celebration.  I realized as we were getting ready for it that we've had chilly, rainy weather for the past 3 years in a row now on Midsummer.  I sometimes think the Goddess is just laughing at us!  We had smashing weather for Beltane, though, so I am not complaining.

G.

There's a book of arrangements that came out, I believe, from KLS' publishing house--the Pomegranate Press.

I meant to pick up a copy at the time, as it had some unique photos.  I'm not sure whether it's in print or note. There's always abebook and such.

G.

Well, given that the writer (I use the term loosely, you understand) of this tiny gem of expository prose implied that DS only "spawned" ONE feature film, And that Joan only did "a few TV films" between 1971 and her passing, it's hardly to be expected that s/he would be aware of Grayson's post-DS career (which was more noted for stage work than films or TV).

Steve

I ***LOVED*** Ode to Angelique back in the day.  I saw in 16 magazine that a 45 of it was out and looked EVERYWHERE for it, but of course could not find it.

We did not have a cassette recorder then, so I never got to make a tape of it, but they played it so frequently on the show that I soon memorized the tune.

It was a huge thrill for me when all the different arrangements came out on the one DS CD.  I found the original 45 a somewhat disappointing arrangement when I finally got to hear it.

Joanna's theme is beautiful, in my opinion--one of my favorite Bob Cobert tunes.

I really wish there had been a moment where Hoffman turned to Bruno, arched an eyebrow, gave him a smile so frosty it left icicles on his schnozz, and purred "Composer?  Come off it, babe, you were never more than an uppity Las Vegas lounge act!"

another missed opportunity,

G.