I very much agree about PT Roger...

while one could arguably look for gay "subtext" all over the place on the show (and make it up if it's not there) the writers very deliberately, yet on the sly, wrote PT Roger as a closeted homosexual.


that certainly couldn't be spelled out in specifics in 1970 on a daytime drama but all the "coding" is there. the scene where it's most fully crystallized is after the costume party where Roger is speaking to Angelique's portrait and reminiscing on how they would always mock the guests and what they were wearing at "her" parties. the attitude is not of sexual obsession but the sort of infatuation gay men often develop for glamorous, bitchy women. he was her "pet".

the writers were having a secret goof and Louis played it for all it was worth.

Salem season two was just released on Netflix and I'm three episodes in...

all of my worst fears about the Lucy Lawless casting addition have come true. she is AWFUL.


it was obviously just a piece of stunt casting set up to capitalize on her "Xena" fame and get the "comic con" crowd more fully onboard. her acting style is too campy and out of synch with the rest of the tone of the show. whenever she's onscreen it takes you "out of the story" because it's so inorganic and forced. like a "celebrity" cameo or walk on that screams "this is just show biz".

staggeringly bad. 

Sad news. My strongest association with Patty Duke is with VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and Anne Wells (portrayed by Barbara Parkins) is so reminiscent of Vicki Winters, to me at least, that I've always considered the movie as somehow connected to the DS Universe.

it's interesting you say that. because I've always considered Vicki and Anne Wells to be some sort of spiritual soul sisters. they are definitely cut from the same dated cloth: the naïve and virginal 1960s brunette heroine. the characters developed in very different ways (Vicki never got addicted to pills for instance) but their origins are similar. and they don't write this "type" of character anymore.

I haven't attended in several years and must have fallen off the mailing list...


when I decided to attend this year I had totally forgotten this ridiculous registration process. the SASAES and multilayered mailing process really blew my mind. 

true...


I am pleased with a return to the full, 2+ day, hotel bound traditional fest. I'm not looking for "innovation" in terms of format. and as a non-driver schlepping all over the place isn't an option. a "contained" setup is much easier for me.

there's plenty to like. but in other ways it's a bit underwhelming.

for a show with such a devoted cult following the merchandising has always been the weakest link. the crap MPI used to peddle (and maybe still does) was beyond belief...

even if they didn't want to launch new products off the drawing pad they have tons to draw from in terms of reissues. relaunch the board game, the trading cards, the Ross novels. fans would eat it up and the outlay of expense minimal.

indeed with this being the "big" 50th anniversary this shortcoming is more glaring than ever. there should really be a commemorative book. hardcover. something special.

as it stands the "dealer's room" and general product offerings are shaping up to be pretty weak. scott's non-DS writing doesn't interest me and you'd think parker would have moved heaven and earth to see that her new novel was printed in time for the fest. it is an enormous missed opportunity. she would have sold hundreds of copies.

what can one really say about the circa 1980 registration process (checks? SASES???)??? only THE most dedicated fans are going to bother. easy online registration would doubtless bump up attendance and open it up to "young" people who simply won't go through the antiquated process. I received my ticket last week and even after several weeks of registration I'm still only # 340. that's a worrisome number.

so it is shaping up to be a somewhat lackluster anniversary. the PTB in charge are not the most ambitious or imaginative bunch and never have been. still I'm glad I'm attending after a few years missing the "cruise" or weird one day "events" out at Lyndhurst. lets face it this is probably one of the last years the bulk of the surviving cast is still "spry" enough to make the trek. but I was hoping for more.

I haven't been to the "events" in several years but this being the big 50th anniversary, and not a "cruise" or any of the other odd formats of recent years, I couldn't resist...


my ticket came in the mail today! # 320.