Discuss - Ep #0193

Robservations #193

Portia Fitzsimons  - incredible, the audacity this screwball has. This side plot, or whatever you want to call it, is completely ludicrous. This “monumental” of the art world comes to the teeny, tiny town of Collinsport, a sardine canning community, because she is familiar with Sam’s work. Come on!
Fame is like salt, she says, what's meat and potatoes without it?
What the hell does that mean???
I don’t know what the writers were spiking their brownies with when they came up with this crap, but I bet it was some good shit.

Jason! YAY!!

Sam & Roger are at it again. Although I would question Portia’s raving desire to make my name a household word, and think the whole thing had just been a silly dream, I can appreciate Sam’s want of those paintings and also Roger’s refusal to give them up. Heh…

Another cliffhanger has been milked out of the fishing shack fire.  And I was quite surprised to learn that apparently it was the only fishing shack in the area.  Isn't Collinsport supposed to be something of tourist magnet?  Don't tourists fish?

Oh, dear, Sam's an artist, not a businessman.  It ought to be very easy to get Roger to help him out, because Roger, I think, can always use money.  Sam should tell Roger that if Roger will produce the missing paintings, Portia Fitzsimmons can probably get him a good price for them, and to sweeten the pot, Sam will throw in half a dozen more paintings of later vintage, because Sam believes that Portia Fitzsimmons is going to cause the value of all his work to go sky-high.  After that Sam will be able to sell his own more recent paintings at a higher price than he could before.  And if nobody wants to buy any of the paintings, even the ones that Roger has, neither Sam nor Roger has lost a penny.  But Sam's an artist, not a businessman, alas, so he can't think of anything more brilliant than, "Gimme my paintings or else."

Of course, Roger says he doesn't know where the paintings are.  But if he had a financial interest in finding them, his memory would improve quite fast, I think.

Funny, I remember a big deal being made about the miracle cure of Sam's hands, but it just got mentioned sort of by the way.

Yes indeed, yay, Jason!

What, don't they know how to do a real DS-style new-storyline transition?  You don't just end one and immediately start the new one!

I like Portia.  I mean, I like to watch her brusque, semi-bored, professional manner, it's fun, but hanging out with her for more than five minutes might be tough.   She thinks she knows what's about to be in style... there's hubris for you.   Yes, it's far-fetched, Janet, but maybe I want to believe that some NYC art bigwig could swoop in and dub you a success.   I don't know how the art world works, but it's bound to be a bit more chaotic than the regular business world.   What's strange to me is that it was worth the money and trouble to come personally.   Is she hanging around in a hotel to wait a week for response?  If he's to call her in NY, why didn't she call?  Is she more desperate than she seems?

Jason!   New villains keep materializing spontaneously behind Joe's back.  It's bizarre to see the start of Jason McGuire.   For years, he's been the story that had no beginning, he just stepped out of the mists for me along with Barnabas appearing...

Yes, Sam should just tell Roger to contact Portia.  Sam wouldn't get the money, but at least his reputation would be made, if PF's imagined scenario happens.

Portia's played by "Lovelady Powell".... !!

When Joe stumbles into the Evans cottage the night after the fire, his handsome face is smudged--and all the cuter for it. 

I also like Portia and her brusque, New York business manner. Iwas sorry we didn't get to see more of her. I thought the plot would now focus on the struggle between Roger, who has the paintings, and Sam, who could threaten him with exposure in order to reclaim them. In fact, she gives him one week to retrieve the paintings. (In the background, among Sam's other more recent work, I caught a glimpse of his unfinished portrait of Burke.)

WELCOME, JASON MCGUIRE!!!

Jason immediately managed to get my back up by referring to "Liz" when Maggie and Joe are talking about "Mrs. Stoddard."

But Jason isn't the only new face at the Blue Whale this evening. The other one is Tim Gordon, who sits silently at the bar, so you can ignore him for now. BUT [spoiler]he will play the hand of Barnabas Collins in TWO WEEKS!!!!!!!!![/spoiler]

And who the heck was Lovelady Powell! I tried looking her up, but this is the only thing she's ever been in, as far as I could tell. She looks a little like Barbara Feldon of the old Get Smart TV series.

Jason's villainy is already apparent. I couldn’t help hearing you talk about “Liz,” he says. I knew her long ago. He introduces himself as Jason McGuire. Beguiled by his oh-so-charming manner (with a hint of Irish brogue, I’m sorry to say), Maggie is inclined to gossip, but Joe overrides her (out of loyalty to his boss, I guess) and says flatly, She was ill, and now she’s better. Jason asks some more questions about “Liz.” The suspicious Joe is inclined to give him even less information and hints that he and Maggie were just leaving. Jason takes the hint, but Maggie says brightly, Why shouldn’t I tell him? Can Liz have visitors? Jason wants to know. Maggie replies brightly, Everyone in town knows that Mrs. Stoddard hasn’t left Collinwood for eighteen years. All that time! Jason comments. Isn’t that a shame! But he’s smiling broadly all the while. 

I must also add a personal welcome to Jason McGuire. He's thoroughly despicable, but when he's on screen you can't take your eyes off of him because he's so fascinatingly so. And a good deal of the fascination comes from the fact that Dennis Patrick plays him to perfection. One of the many examples on DS of a perfect marriage of character and actor is most definitely Jason McGuire/Dennis Patrick. 

I totally agree with you, MB!

And who the heck was Lovelady Powell! I tried looking her up, but this is the only thing she's ever been in, as far as I could tell.

She had a small but memorable role in The Possession of Joel Delaney with Shirley MacLaine: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067601/

ProfStokes

Thanks, Professor--too bad she didn't do more acting work.

I must also add a personal welcome to Jason McGuire. He's thoroughly despicable, but when he's on screen you can't take your eyes off of him because he's so fascinatingly so. And a good deal of the fascination comes from the fact that Dennis Patrick plays him to perfection. One of the many examples on DS of a perfect marriage of character and actor is most definitely Jason McGuire/Dennis Patrick. 

Some friends o mine had tee shirts made up with a picture of Willie with the slogan: "Got Willie?" Dennis Patrick loved it and requested one...

That's hilarious, Janet!!!

The Robservations caps for this ep have been posted. 

I too was like, wow this is a fast story transition.  Laura gone and onto Jason.  I wonder if Portia is representative of the typical summer people of Collinsport. I'm guessing so.

I too was like, wow this is a fast story transition.  Laura gone and onto Jason.  I wonder if Portia is representative of the typical summer people of Collinsport. I'm guessing so.

Portia's not on vacation.  I'll guess she's a New Yorker who imagines Maine as a wilderness with occasional settlements of Beverly Hillbillies.  Still, she did come... if not just for Sam, then she probably had several other lonely artists she wanted to swoop in on, too.