I must first apologize for my very lengthy absence from doing these. Still trying to adjust to a hectic schedule and two jobs. It was a choice between sleep and doing the column, and sleep won out.
Fashion notes first . . .
It amazes me that Mostoller manages every damn time to find one ugly ass dress after another for Grayson Hall. No matter what the time period, she invariably selects something that just makes you go "eh." The lavender color on this one wasn't too bad, but that lace jabot thing has just got to go.
Did rather like Petofi's hat and the fur trimmed jacket. Shades of Edward Gorey.
The other reason that I was opting for sleep was the knowledge that Amanda was with us again. I'm sure Miss McKechnie is a truly wonderful person and a talented actress, but I'm so not seeing it here. Anyhow, the clothes. That dress. That . . . that so very pink dress. One best suited for a formal dinner party (admittedly among people of no taste) and not for wearing all day, every day. For pete's sake, the hookers dress better than she does. And WTF is up with that damn long curl hanging off the side of her head?
I strongly suspect they were going for this:
Eternal QuestionAnd that would be the celebrated Miss Evelyn Nesbit (maybe they were seeing DDT there as Harry Thaw???)
Speaking of DDT, I realize that his mock Parisian "I'm an artist" floppy tie is authentic enough, but everytime I see him I think of the Toulouse character in
The Aristocats.
Onto the show . . .
I realize it happened in the earlier episode, but color me very bored by Aristede's "ingenius" trap. I mean, I'm sure Goldfinger or Dr. No would find it brilliant, but I'm thinking where's Pearl White when you need her.
Thank God, I missed Angelique's bitchfest on Beth because that's just painful to watch. Of course, I also missed a chance to finally figure out exactly where Blondie's head was at when she decided to get engaged to Quentin. I was with Petofi there (I can't believe I'm writing that) in saying the hell? until he concluded that she was in love with Quentin.
Then he suggested that they might form an alliance, implying that it would be an alliance in every sense of the word and I nearly vomited. Scary visual picture. Make it stop, please.
Continuing on the subject of Petofi, I find myself very amused by his home. I mean, it's a frigging cave. They can call it a mill or whatever, all they want. The man is living in a basement/cave place. He's got a settee and antimacassars and things, but he's still living in a cave. I had a similar reaction the time I was driving in the country and saw these people who had taken their entire living room set (floor lamps too) and arranged it all out on the front lawn in conversational groupings.
I forgot how truly annoying Roger Davis is to watch. His co-stars must have absolutely loathed having to perform with him. Imagine if you bruised easily.
I see they got some renewed use out of the Evans' cottage set.
Okay, I'm missing what's so intensely frightening about Amanda seeing DDT's new boytoy. I mean most people reserve the bloodcurdling scream for witnessing dead bodies, axe murderers, vermin, etc. Here's a very pretty young man. I might gasp if he just appeared out of nowhere, but scream bloody murder? No.
Now there's a step down in employment if I ever saw one. Beth, honey, this is not the way to go here. It's not like you're going to get what you want by working for Petofi and given that extremely creepy subtext, I got the strong feeling he expects you to put out. It is so not worth it.
I just finished rereading Donald E. Westlake's
What's the Worst That Could Happen? (not the movie, the book) and I have to say that his take on the I-Ching is so much more interesting and amusing that this crap we're being fed.