6 December 1979 - 9 January 1980
3243 - 3262
There have been exciting times at the motel, and no mistake. Where to begin?
Well.. the truth’s out about Arthur Brownlow. That is to say, he’s told Kath. Glenda and her newly-materialised brother Ron are still in the dark, but Kath’s doing that matriarch-from-Hell thing of feeling that the information is now
hers to control and has already come close to spilling the beans against Arthur’s wishes.
Confusing things further, Arthur seems to have neglected to tell Kath that Doris knows about his diagnosis, so their conversations, too, continue to be oblique.
There’s been a disastrous party at the Brownlows, ending with a cruel game of blind man’s buff where everyone tiptoed out after blindfolding poor Arthur. However, whenever we visit their beige living room, my attention keeps getting drawn to their flecked tweedy sofa which looks very comfortable. I’d thought it was very similar to the one the Brodys had in
Jaws 2, but a quick peek at that film tells me I’ve misremembered: the Brodys’ furniture is a rather fetching plaid.
Interpol have now been bought into things at Diane’s flat, with Chris’s emissary being arrested - offscreen, naturally - while trying to flee the country with the £5000 in cash she’d smuggled in for Diane. Not one to let the drama die down, Diane, naturally, is outraged and has a big scene with Steve about the devious woman trusting Diane, etc. I can completely see her view when it comes to the irritating Super who is always pushing his way into her flat, questioning her, walking round and peeking into bedrooms without the vaguest whisper of a warrant.
Over at the motel, there’s been some kind of industrial espionage going on, with a pair pretending to be journalists for a fancy food magazine actually investigating the management in general - and Adam Chance in particular. The man is the usual slightly camp villain and I couldn’t help thinking in his key scene with David in #3253 that the chemistry seemed good and they made rather a handsome couple. This is the same scene that included an Acorn Antiques style brief cut to a shot of David Hunter’s arse as he crouched to recover some papers dropped onto the floor Presumably we were meant to be looking at the papers, but Ronald Allen’s backside blocked them and we quickly cut away.
But on to the main event… This run of episodes has included some true
Xrds iconography, served up in the series’ inimitable style. The build up began as Rosemary accepted help from Lloyd over her inability to let go of David. This seemed somewhat inappropriate given Lloyd’s relationship with most of the key characters involved, but he stressed it wasn’t “official” so I suppose that covers that. Incidentally, the scene in which Rosemary first opened up to Lloyd really impressed me for being some seven minutes long: a very lengthy scene by
Xrds standards.
Further adding to the impropriety of their sessions is Lloyd’s living situation, with his housekeeper - and Rosemary’s key rival - Barbara repeatedly arriving home and interrupting their sessions. Lloyd recording notes into a dictaphone after their sessions and keeping it in an unlocked drawer seemed like a potential goldmine of soapy discoveries, however this has (so far been unexplored). But it’s the other item he kept in the unlocked drawer that led to the key drama.
There’s a great deal of contrivance involved - Barbara discovered a loaded handgun that Lloyd’s daughter Kathryn had left in her old room. He put in into the drawer and after Rosemary’s next session it was gone. Again, there was some opportunity for mystery that was unexplored. Not least that Barbara herself (still something of an unknown quantity) could have taken it to frame Rosemary. I suppose it could be viewed as having been suggested, but if so it was
very subtle. Certainly, it was some time before it was confirmed that Rosemary did indeed have the gun.
With the characters gathered for a big engagement party, there were all kinds of possibilities that could have happened (and indeed, probably would happen in today’s soap world) involving mysteries over who got shot or who set the gun off. However, I really like what we got.
Rosemary is the latest character whose psychology seems to be out there for the viewer to explore, and the intimate scene between she and David, with close-ups of her face as she goes through an internal and external battle felt very powerful. Of course, I knew of the “Say you love me” scene (and the infamous outtake where the gun didn’t go off but Ronald Allen had already burst his blood bag), but seeing it in context is a different matter. In the end, it felt very organic and quite poignant. Here’s Rosemary pointing a gun at David and he
still refuses to say what she wants. It’s a moment of quiet dignity for him and of tragic pain for her, despite the scenario.
It’s also fascinating to see that this happened some weeks before JR was shot over on
Dallas. You certainly took your chances spurning a lover in early 1980.
With Steve apparently gone from the
Xrds landscape again, it falls to two stereotypical officers to investigate the shooting: the bumbling likeable good copper and the abrasive senior officer who refers to Rosemary as a “bird”. David’s been whisked off to hospital. Rosemary is conveniently permitted to stay at the motel. I’m keen to see where we go from here, particularly with Rosemary.
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