Inquisitionist

Yesterday I saw The SNL Experience at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communications (a place I hadn't even known existed, even though I've walked by it many times). Apparently this exhibit started out in NYC and is now "on the road" with Chicago being the first stop. It's set up to literally walk you through the 6-day process, Monday - Saturday, of putting on an episode of the show, with lots of artifacts (costumes, wigs, props, sets, sketches, and of course video interviews and show clips) interspersed along the way. Well worth a visit! One of the most fascinating things was what looked like a long teletype printout of Lorne's original "proposal" for the show. You can see the outline of many elements that were adopted, even if some of them didn't last long. I was intrigued by the mention of videos being contributed by various well-known performers, including the duo of Peter Boyle and John Lennon. While Boyle hosted an episode, Lennon (who was best man at Boyle's wedding) never appeared on the show. I would have loved to see what Lorne thought the two of them might do together.

Haven't seen it, but I don't find this hard to believe.

It felt like an unconscious choice -- Erica's husband (sorry, he's still Max from Gilmore Girls to me) saw her eyes lingering on it, and said "Take it" before she had a chance to voice a selection. As to the garage sequence, Elizabeth knew the protocol was to destroy the painting because it would be traceable back to Erica/Stephanie if ever found, so she starts the process of burning it. But something in the painting speaks to her, so she hesitates and stuffs it in her locker. Then her "good spy" training kicks back in and she finishes the task of destroying the painting. It was an interesting struggle to watch.

Good questions, Misstify! I haven't see IWaMWB in ages (and I missed the ending because my VCR -- yes, it was back in VCR days -- cut out early). The homage to wigs is an amusing link, but I think perhaps the choice had more to do with Philip "following" Elizabeth wherever she ultimately goes, much as Cary Grant's character did with respect to Ann Sheridan's character in the movie. The IMDb description reads: IIRC, Grant's character had to jump through some comical, but potentially humiliating, hoops to accompany Sheridan back to the U.S. Philip also seems willing to debase/sublimate himself for Elizabeth.

It certainly operates on a different plane. ;-)

I didn't see anything in this episode to suggest that outcome. Elizabeth is still devoted to her country. She's stunned, and then pissed off, to find that others she thought shared her devotion to Mother Russia are instead working for factions that don't seem to have the country's best interests in mind. She's been used and lied to, and she doesn't like that.

A number of people (see first three quoted posts as examples) found Elizabeth's "awakening" too sudden and/or linear. I agree with JBRAVOECHO09's take to some extent: I've certainly had moments of things just "clicking" in my head without my being able to say why or what made things come together for me. With Elizabeth, I think we have to factor in Erica's influence. The scene last week where Erica told Elizabeth she had to put herself in the picture seems to have resonated -- Elizabeth drew while traveling for a reason, and that reason seems to have been a growing respect for Erica and "art" in general, as well as the stirrings of questioning, of wanting to go deeper. Add to that Philip's brazen confession about betraying her and why: Philip, who just last week, put his own life on the line not because he believed in the mission but because he loves Elizabeth. I think these two things (which each reflect a culmination of many smaller moments) were enough to make Elizabeth feel it was time to better understand the why behind her missions: to put herself fully in the picture. I did wonder about this, too. Perhaps she was inspired by Philip's bluntness with her earlier in the episode. That exchange initially gobsmacked me as well.

Actor Joseph Campanella has passed away. He was 93.

Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale in The Leopard.

Ha-ha! I should provide references so people know what I'm musing about. :-)

Cecily's mom did show up for the 2015 MD episode, hosted by Reese Witherspoon, which ran in the 10e/9c slot earlier on Saturday. Perhaps she didn't feel like flying out to NYC from Chicago again (she lives in the same Oak Park building as some friends of mine).

Do we know where E&P live relative to the travel agency? I had assumed they were in a close suburb of DC, so that it would be easy to drive to all the places they'd need to access for their various assignments. Now I'm wondering, because it seemed odd to me that "Harvest" would be living in Skokie but driving all the way to what sounds like Logan Square in the city for work (I heard references to Fullerton, Rockwell, and Milwaukee as streets in the area). ETA: I read that the Jennings family is supposed to live in Falls Church, VA, while the travel agency is in Dupont Circle. Kind of a similar distance as the one between Skokie and Logan Square, but since I know Chicago much better, those landmarks still raise my eyebrows.

Of course. I was reflecting on a comment from above (unquoted) where someone thought Henry was going to earn $16/hour.

Yes, Henry's "why is she so sad?" and E's own admission to P that she doesn't think they can pull off this assignment felt like a turning point for Philip. My thought was that he's not going to let her die away from him. He'll do what he can to keep her alive (and the mission a success), but if she dies, he'll be there and maybe go with her. Re the tannery job, I thought I heard Henry say that it paid "seven-ten ($7.10) an hour" plus they put you up (no living expenses). That rate would have been more than twice the minimum wage of 1987, which was $3.35.

Ha-ha, the way he describes the different wigs is a riot: "I had this one made so that people will say 'Alan is losing his hair.' Would you like this one?" Carl Reiner made a terrible leading man, but a terrific tyrant (in small doses).

For me, it's the notion (expressed mainly through Sally) that a woman wants (even needs) a husband more than a career. But for the most part, I thought Rob and Laura had a pretty respectful relationship, even if their gender roles were very much of the time. I love Carl Reiner's occasional appearances as Alan Brady -- thankfully, they didn't over do those. Coast to Coast Bigmouth is a particular favorite.

I've been out of town so just caught up on this episode and Rififi. Both were brilliant.

Thank you! I am so watching this.

Thanks so much for those clips, VCRTracking. OoS is the only thing I've ever liked JLo in, thanks to Clooney and Soderbergh. That is a great scene. And Lawrence of Arabia? Forgeddaboutit! :-)

Are you blaming Aidan for Carrie's OTT reactions? Seems to me those were in keeping with her increasingly drama-queen approach to many things as the series progressed. But why Aidan didn't turn tail and run after her "you have to forgive me" shpiel, I'll never know...

SJP at the Met Gala. I have no words.

Thanks for the laugh. Dare I say that Philip was planting a seed? ;-)

Wasn't it Kung Pao chicken and lo mein? Those are Chinese dishes.

The current business slump doesn't seem to be related, though, to spy-related distractions on Philip's part. He seems to have made a common small business error of trying to grow too fast.

The sense I'm getting this season is that E&P have reached a pact: the Centre can have Paige but Henry is off-limits. I'm not sure why the Centre wouldn't be funneling money to E&P to cover Paige's tuition, since her college path is critical to their plan for her, and the Centre most likely pays (indirectly) for a lot of other things (like the wig supply). But as I said, the details here don't matter to me. Getting hung up on them can obscure the larger point. But this has been going on since the first season. It's part of what we're asked to buy for this particular TV series. There is a separate thread for speculation. Please use it -- thanks!