Fashion notes first, okay, only two today because that's right, it's Day 6. Still. Art is writing these episodes so it's going to be a long day too.
Either I've been blind or Maggie wears one of those frilly waitress tiara things on her head for the first time.
And Carolyn changes her dress. Why, I'm not sure. She was wearing a knee length, ¾ length sleeve knit dress with detailing on the collar and cuffs and when she changes about an hour in real time later (remember she rose at noon, and it's still lunch time when Vicki's at the diner), she's still wearing a knee length, ¾ length sleeve knit dress with detailing on the collar and cuffs. The detailing is different and there's a distracting detail over her one breast; not sure if that's a pocket or not, but it doesn't seem to fit quite right. Anyhow, since she's not doing anything that would require a change of clothes, I'm not sure what the deal is.
Onto the show . . .
Our two sets for this episode are the diner and the police station. Neither of which excites me. I can tell I'm bored because in the second episode, I was enthralled by what turned out to be a hitherto never noticed cigarette machine. The police station's only new addition that I can detect is a headshot of someone in police uniform on the wall. Since it looks vaguely like Dana Elcar, I'm guessing it's supposed to be Sheriff Patterson. Yeah, I really don't get this. It's like Maggie's 8 x 10 glossy of herself in her bedroom. What the hell is that all about?
Burke comes down from his suite and pops in for some coffee. He's reminiscing about Bill with Maggie, who is as perky as ever. When he mentions how he'll take Bill out for a steak dinner, Maggie breaks the news. I really like the way Mitchell Ryan plays the scene. His shock and grief seem real. It's not over the top. There's no immediate scene chewing. It's very nicely done, which is probably a good thing, because IIRC, he acts like an ass in several upcoming episodes.
After the news sinks in, Burke is all about finding out the specifics. He quickly turns to anger and bitterness and there are some lines about Bill being the last honest man and the death of honesty. Now I liked Bill. I really did, but it seems like a bit much to call him the last honest man. In fact the more I think about, the more hyperbolic a characterization that seems. It didn't seem to be all that much of a shock to Bill to discover the truth about the hit-and-run so he must have had a fairly good notion something was up all the while Burke was sent up to prison and doing his time and all. And given Bill's bulldog like devotion toward Liz, I have to assume that if Burke had not agreed to his offer that Bill would have kept his mouth shut. Since accepting that would lead Burke into some other grey areas when it comes to other players in the hit-and-run drama of 1956, he's not gonna go there. Hence the canonization of Bill Malloy.
Maggie's having a hard time maintaining her perky all-is-well demeanor when Vicki shows up. I like the speculative look Vicki throws Burke's way. It has nothing to do with what he's saying either, just a long, considering look. He ruins the moment by yelling at her about Roger and the truth and well, a lot of other things that have absolutely nothing to do with her. He storms off.
I can tell it's an Art Wallace episode because although both the actors in question are in the episode and both sets are built, he opts for the non-dramatically interesting one-sided phone call. On the other hand, this phone call involves Maggie flirting with Dim George, which scares me a little bit. So Vicki's sitting there while Maggie tries to pump George for the cause of Bill's death. It's understandable then why poor Vicki is bewildered when Maggie snaps she doesn't want to talk about Bill. Then Maggie goes and brings it up again herself. She also indulges in the by now obligatory warning to leave town. Why, I'm not sure? Auld lang syne maybe? Then Vicki hints that Sam may know something about her past, which baffles Maggie.
Police station: Dim George is on the phone with the never seen Harry Shaw (not to be confused with Harry Jones, Collinsport's only taxi driver or the light-fingered Harry Johnson), when Burke shows up demanding details. Gotta admire his chutzpah. It's only when Dim George warns him not to leave town and starts in on his whereabouts at 10:45 that Burke clues into his "person of interest" status. There is an odd lingering shot of the water cooler, which seems like a strange directorial choice, but whatever. To his credit, George does a fairly decent job of reestablishing his authority here. Burke shares his theory about the reason for the meeting. I think you can all imagine his reaction upon learning that Roger's story diverges significantly from his.
Diner: Vicki is busy explaining the chain of logic that has led her to Sam. Maggie, who has enough stress in her life at the moment, is confused. As well she should be, this angle makes no sense whatsoever. She goes ahead and invites Vicki to dinner and treats her to lunch. For those who care, Vicki's lunch is clam chowder, lobster roll, and coffee. I have to say the first time I ever heard of lobster roll, I was imagining something a lot more exotic that lobster salad on a hot dog bun.
Police station: Burke claims he was at the Blue Whale until 10:45 and that the people there will be able to vouch for him. We learn that the coroner's report is inconclusive. They're conjecturing he died at 10:45. Cause of death is drowning although there's evidence of a blow to the head. Again scene is oddly written, because the sense is that there's more to come with this discussion. So it's jarring when the concluding scene is at the diner.
Diner: Burke shows up. He's in time to see Vicki heading out to do some shopping and invites her dinner. Considering the last time he saw her, he was yelling at her, Vicki is very gracious in declining. She lets out that she'll be dining at Casa Evans. He looks very thoughtful at that.
Next episode brings us to Collinwood and the Blue Whale.
Sam is busy keeping Bob Rooney in business when Joe saunters in. Okay, he gets the day off because they closed the cannery in tribute to Bill and he goes to the local dive? Joe then proceeds to rock my entire world by calling Bob "Punchy." We're going to pretend we never heard that, okay? Sam is in a melancholic mood. I'll be charitable and say it's not just the boilermakers talking.
Collinwood: Finally something awakens David's intellectual interest. He's lying on the floor intently studying tidal charts and making calculations so he can prove his father's guilty. Carolyn walks in and is nonplussed on his interest in the location of where they found the body. He is equally surprised that she's calling him ghoulish. I like this scene. There's no deceit here. David is being pretty damn honest actually. His motives may be reprehensible and he's completely uncaring about Bill being dead, but he's not being ghoulish.
Actually, I have to say that Carolyn is really pretty consistently hostile with him. They change that later on and supposedly they are close, but I think that's more a retcon than anything else. Some big time resentment on her part, I'm guessing.
Blue Whale: As Bob blows smoke rings in the background, Joe is getting technical with a deeply interested Sam about how the cops can use the times they have and the tides to figure out Bill's posthumous journey. Dim George shows up and shoos Joe out. You can tell how old this episode is because Joe's just finished ¾ of a beer and George suggests Joe go out for a long drive.
Collinwood: Getting nothing from Carolyn, David returns filthy but in a manner befitting Encyclopedia Brown, victorious. How he figured out where Bill's body was, I'd rather not know. Hopefully, it was just cordoned off with police tape and not something grislier. Joe stops by for some smooches and time with Carolyn when David pops up with his calculations and tidal charts.
Blue Whale: Dim George claims the smoke is too thick there (allow me to point out that there are three people in the Blue Whale at that moment, and two of them are Sam and George) and drags Sam off to his office.
Joe is busy explaining ebb tides or something to David when Carolyn comes in (having inexplicably changed her dress). She has a fit, which I think is a bit much. I love how he shamefacedly protests that he got interested in the problem, because I think that's completely believable. It's a puzzle; it involves his expertise and he's got nothing better to do while his erstwhile girlfriend changes into a practically identical outfit. He suggests David talk to Roger about the thing. Heh.
Police station: It's very slow-going, mainly because Sam is only answering in monosyllables, but Dim George gradually gets Sam's story, which corroborates Roger's. Sam has no alibi. He walked to the cannery and apparently nobody saw him at 10:45. Sam therefore figures out that the magic moment was 10:45 and that's a suspect too. Again abrupt jump.
Collinwood: David is frustrated with his efforts when the sheriff shows up. David's full of questions but obligingly goes to get his father.
And we're done.
