#here i remade this promo too

[moralpuppet]

♰ ༻ HOTDOG !   Welcome   to   Moralton !   The   most   sinfree   town   known   to   Earth !  It's   a   sin   not   to   follow   the   lost   commandments   so   you'd   better    follow   this   guide   just   in   case.  Don't   worry   you'll   fit   right   in!

&  GOLLY  !  It   sure   would   be  swell   if   you   could   spread   the   good   word.  I'm   sure   you won't   regret   it  !

#MORALPUPPET . indie . sel . 18+ OREL PUPPINGTON   of   MORAL OREL . / guided by SAVBEAR. / CARRD .

[riwrite]

riwrite. featuring muses from t.gcf, p.rsk, z.ero escape, & more.

[kumatora]

Okay, so I normally don't make promos, but also I fucked up.

I'm Dandy! I was trying to clean out my sideblogs the other day, and managed to delete my main in the process, deleting it and all my sideblogs with it.

Right now I'm mostly looking to reconnect with my mutuals and find new blogs to follow. (Looking for other artists, nature/animal blogs (specifically bugs and reptiles), Pokemon stuff, etc.) I remade my artblog, @dandysphinx, too, and am going to be posting old art on there, too.

Thanks for your time here's my little guy Groovy.

[beinfriends]

( Alright, pretty sure I've basically collected everybody in the Mother RPC at this point, so looks like it's time for me to say... hello! I'm Rabbit, or better known as Psy in this community (which you can see I continue to go by... because I am too fucking lazy to redo my promo assets. But I still really do just use Psy still.), and I was in the Mother RPC previously from 2018-2021 (I think? or 2020, I don't really remember) and wound up leaving due to mental health reasons, but recently I randomly got the urge to come back, so here I am with a remade blog. I was previously twinsmily, pigmonarch/allhailkingp, and beinfriends, a blog I have since moved from in order to make this blog.

I've added a lot of muses since the previous iteration of this blog. I feel like I should warn people, even if you knew me prior to rejoining (i.e. Neg and Star. hi btw) that my muse priorities have shifted quite a bit, although Lucas/Claus/Porky are still main muses for me. I replayed Mother 3 last June and got really into the Tazmily villagers for some reason, hence why I added all of them to my muse roster. If you remember the original version of this blog, my list was like <10 muses. We're at 50 now, and I didn't even list everybody.

As to why this even happened... I was playing chapter 3 and read Paul's text during the scene where Fassad tries to get everyone to pick up Happy Boxes and he said "I don't need happiness. It's standing right next to me." and I just really admired his wifeguy-ness... I thought that was so cute, since I'd never really thought about him before. And then my brain decided I liked literally all of them so here we are.

As mentioned in my rules, I did recommend the worldbuilding page + considering reading my fic recs per each character, but overall, I feel I should plug this directly. If you're interested in seeing the Tazmily that I have built in excruciating detail, consider giving A Change of Heart a read. The fic is about Leder telling everyone the truth about their past and everyone being forced to reckon with their trauma and memories.

Up front, it's 200,000 words. But it's a fic I wrote over the course of 5 months last year and is a huge basis for how my Tazmily now functions. The main verse of this blog is directly tied to this fic. Per my timeline, the final events of ACOH concluded one year prior to the events of this blog. BUT it's okay, I do not expect you to know all this shit. I will tell you things as necessary, I just thought I could cut out the middleman a bit is all.

What do you need to know about the default universe of this blog? Here's a few simple things to make it clearer:

The events of Mother 3 concluded 4 years ago.

ALL Tazmily villagers have regained their full memories of the past. The story is generally gone, though people didn't abandon their roles/jobs.

Tazmily has been rebuilt in the old style, but the world is a mix of old and new; people still use DP, but bartering has come back in a major way in terms of doing business.

There are multiple new settlements to account for all the New Porkers.

In all, it's pretty simple, but again, highly recommend you check out my worldbuilding page for a more in-depth rundown of the world, but still shorter than a 200,000 word fic lol. I still have some stuff I wanna add, but I got a lot of it done yesterday.

Also, I have a lot of posts queued from my personal about villager lines, or edits I made, so on, so expect to see those posts in the coming days. I have chronicled a vast majority of lines you can possibly see the villagers say. I got plenty o' lines you've probably never seen. There's only a handful of lines I cannot find, and am assuming went unused. So yeah, enjoy that!! It'll be your crash course on the villagers if you, like everybody (including past me), know very little about the villagers. I look forward to it.

This blog may or may not wind up being low activity, but it remains to be seen. I start my new job today, so I'll see how the work-life balance is. Bios are still a WIP. As I said yesterday, I have 19/50 completed. I will hopefully do the secondary bio batch soon, but probably not today, and probably not tomorrow, because work. But everyone in the main tier has a bio, so check 'em out!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading! I hope I get to know all of you better in the coming days and weeks! Starter call will come after this post for everyone. See ya soon! )

[notebookmusical]

Hi! Ya I was curious about the extra bonus track..but some people said it might just be a remix so I wasn't too sure about it. I like the color though and how it also matches one of her 1989 outfits on tour like people were saying. But I kinda wonder why she is doing so much for 1989..similar to Midnights with the extra bonus track and different covers..but I think she just wants it to be really successful over the original version. I may buy one for the car eventually but it also won't have the bonus song so idk. I loved her VMAS look and after-party look..and how she wore a dress similar to Sabrina's and hung out with Selena! I love that they're still close.

Ooh that concert should be fun and I'm happy you got tickets! Hopefully she works on stage presence too. The whole album has grown on me more..especially Get him back, but i have the same favorites. Ooh yes I am hoping to listen to Laufey, Mitski and Madison Beer soon. They all kinda have a slow style and almost old fashioned sound which I like. I would say it was true for Billie's other album as well if you listen to it. But Olivia's was actually more rockish lol...so I really just like it all.

I never saw Ride the Cyclone but have heard good things about it. I guess I'm not as familiar with some off Broadway stuff for the most part but that's cool. I hope we can both like Broadway again soon. But I see you watched the Little Mermaid movie and so did I! It's nice thinking we both did the same thing near each other like with the Eras tour..and hopefully with seeing the tour movie too. Anyway I thought it was mostly fine..but also good. But I mostly enjoy all the remakes..cuz I already know what I'm getting so I can't be too disappointed. But anyway..ya new songs sometimes always feel unnecessary anyway. I knew it was Lin beforehand but also you can always kinda hear Lin's style too so it's interesting you didn't know. But it was more obvious in Encanto than here. I'm still a fan of his though! But I will watch any musical movie and at least somewhat enjoy it lol. I am also using it as an opportunity to watch the Cinderella with Brandy and Bernadette Peters finally..and hoping to watch the new Theater Camp movie that's now on Hulu. I'm also looking forward to seeing her in the Color Purple movie when it comes out, since I thought she was a pretty good Ariel. What were your thoughts? I get the idea that ya it doesn't really need to be remade cuz we have stage versions too so sometimes it's just kinda okay..I think they're all pretty equal to me.

I'm glad you're feeling better! I wasn't feeling as well either which is why I didn't reply right away. But I've also more offline and trying to read more too. I will hopefully be done with Some Mistakes Were Made by the end of this week..maybe. since I am now trying to read more books in the readathon and focus on that. I will probably put The Night Circus in cozy fantasy then, and finishing up picking for the other categories. I don't really listen to audiobooks cuz I get too distracted or can't focus on it. It would have to be a good one too..a lot of the ones I'm familiar with is just like reading out loud so I don't usually listen to them..but i could see how it might make you enjoy the book more if the audio was good. I'm glad you are reading more books you enjoy and getting more done for the readathon. I will definitely look into any book you love or recommend! Have a good week!

hi hello!! i'm definitely curious to see what she ends up doing in terms of remixes for 1989 tv! and i've seen some theories about her alternating between not a lot of promo and then a lot of promo, which is cool — and would make sense with rep being an album with not a lot of promo which means (in my delusional brain) that debut would have a lotttt of promo !! i do not think that's true, but i would love it if debut finally got paid its dues. unfortunately, the different covers is just the norm now; i think sour & guts both had ~ 15/16 variants, most artists have at least 3 but a lot of them usually have more, it's just a marketing/sales thing, unfortunately. and yes!! i think it's so cute how close they are <3

i listened to the new laufey last week but haven't had time to relisten and so i do not have favorites for you yet! i've actually never listened to madison beer, but tiktok keeps pushing her on me so i might give her album a go soon! and the new mitski — i am just very behind on music lately (been listening to audiobooks instead) but i am very excited to give the new mitski a go! one of my best friends got to go to an early listening party in a planetarium for the new mitski, and that experience sounded SO cool. guts has definitely grown on me a lot more; i think i like it more than sour, but that might be recency bias.

i saw ride the cyclone twice in seattle, and it is just such a weird little musical that i love with my entire heart! i love odd little shows that just make me think, and ride the cyclone definitely is one of those shows. i'm seeing the national tour of hadestown in a few weeks which i'm super excited for; i've seen it on broadway twice, but missed the tour last year when they were in seattle (got into seattle and then found out they cancelled my performance twenty minutes before doors opened). and i just got tickets to go see a regional performance of the band's visit when i'm in boston this fall, so i'm super stoked! i hope you're also able to love broadway again soon 🤍

and yes!! i love that! 🥺 i think i was a little disappointed by the remake? i don't usually like remakes though (aside from live action cinderella). i really loved halle bailey as ariel, but was a bit let down by jonah h-k as eric (and sent my friend caitlyn several voice memos about how his eric reminds me of how he plays laurie in PBS little women) vocally but also just wasn't the biggest fan of his characterization/interpretation! i think the remake also just didn't do a whole lot for me, which is fine! the pacing felt very drawn out, i wish the costumes were a bit brighter in color, and i think some of the casting was interesting, but i really loved daveed diggs as sebastian! i haven't actually wanted encanto but i keep meaning to!

i'm SO excited for theatre camp! i think i'm watching it on friday with a friend; i love molly gordon, and will watch anything for her haha. the color purple remake looks so good, i saw a trailer of it when i watched barbie and it looks amazing!! in general though, i really have mixed feelings because i don't think everything needs to be a remake — i think some things work better as proshots vs. remakes, and sometimes i just get sad because there are perfectly good actors who can sing well that we can cast in musicals and a lot of remakes/movie musicals don't do that (this isn't about any cast/movie in particular, just an overarching generalization).

i hope you're feeling better!! i feel like everyone is getting sick/ill lately :( take care of yourself, friend! i haven't really been doing the readathon as much as i want to either — jamie and i were briefly talking about doing an october / nov / dec one instead (i have some prompt ideas, might just post them to encourage the besties to read more if people are interested)! do you have anything fun planned for this weekend? what are you currently reading/watching/listening? 🤍

[nexus-schwarz]

Nexus' Anime List 6/10

Nexus' Anime List

Completed: Moonlit Fantasy: Nice twist to the isekai formula where the MC is instead cursed by the new world's goddess but given OP powers from his world's god. Fun ways for him to gain companions, too. Binged through this one pretty quick, I liked it that much.

Goddess of Light: This Smash 4 promo counts, so here it is. This was a good demo of Palutena's powers and the crossover potential of a Smash anime.

MHX: Day of Sigma: Never got to see this until now, but it's a good prequel to MHX. I wish they could've remade/cleaned up the X Series' timeline with more games in this series, but Capcom sure liked to screw over their supposed cash cow. 8)

[theinsanecrayonbox]

KP watches Snow Day 2022

so...Nick apparently remade Snow Day. how’s it stack up to the original (which is a favorite watch of mine btw)?

first of all, the sister is our narrator, not the brother. we start off with “one year ago...” and the snow day is immediate; we got no character setup for Hal or his friends and love interest, no family setup, nothing. and immediate musical number. this...this is gonna hurt isn’t it?

oh, the “one year ago” was pointless for just an opening song. Natalie (was that her name here? i kinda missed it) is way too over the top; she was believable originally, now she’s...idk, lame Disney Channel? the mom is too...but at least we get family setup now; not great setup, but it’s something. (is that the Fairly Odder mom?)

so...Claire is in a play and not a diver? Hal also seems to have lost his dude friend and only has Lane, who is also a bit too over the top but she’s at least got the same vibes. and Claire’s whale is now a necklace and from her dad instead of boyfriend. and yeah sis is still Nat, and still too sitcom adult in a kid’s body. and i know in the original, Hal and Nat had a good friendship, but why is Nat hanging around him and Lane at school?

we’re getting a Summer Nights type song number for Chuck and Claire? uh...can we say filler? too bad we cut out all the Chevy Chase dad opening setup, we really had no other way to fill the run time...

the Claire and Chuck break up is shown; ok i’ll give that’s a nice addition. however...Chuck was a cartoony jerk in the original, but he’s just...cartoonishly bland? the original would’ve known her dance thing was coming up. also pulling the “how well do you know me” quiz now?

oh we get a “woe is me” music number for Hal instead of him wearing Claire’s whale creepily. i guess that’s an improvement...also i will give that new Hal is a geeky looser looking kid vs original Hal who really wasn’t, so you get some point for that new movie. but no dad checking on Nat about the barometric pressure and the storm coming...idt dad is even the weatherman...idt we even know what he does...why do we even have mom dad and Randy?

we get no real setup for Snowplow man; it hasn’t been an established rivalry just a “hey i’m gonna stop him plowing so i don’t have to take a test”. it’s not something Nat and Hal have been planning for years, it’s a random spontaneous plan. and since we haven’t established Nat’s friends, she looks like she’s doing this on her own since we’ve only seen her hang with Hal and Lane who are going to go do the Claire plot. you really dropped the ball introducing your main antagonist, and featured character on all your promo covers here guys.

ok we now get to establish Eli and Wayne. Eli is not creative (and British?) and Wayne is not Josh Peck. they kept the tv in the snow fort so that surprised me. and now we get family stuff...and dad is working at home...this destroys the mom and Randy stuck at home subplot because the parents can now take shifts; also Randy is clearly older, so he doesn’t need as much of a babysitter you’d think. and he’s just as manipulative as Nat; what is with this family??

awww we cut out the snow angel scene with Hal and Lane, that’s a shame, since that’s a helpful message later on. we also cut out the Claire-stock setup...and Claire forgives Chuck far too easily...yeah this new version is just making it “nerd likes girl with boyfriend” not “looser likes the most popular girl that everyone wants” so...it’s creepy?

geeze we’re like halfway through the movie and at this point, i’m afraid this is so not  good that even Jerry Trainor can’t save it...it might even make him not funny the rewriting here is just that not good so far.

no jelly snownuts??? booooo. i get it, they don’t want imitate able behavior, but c’mon!

oh...oh Jerry...the Siri!Bird is already bad but...you’re singing a song that’s basically “I hate music” and...idk...Jerry i love you man, and you can kinda sing, so i’m gonna blame the writing...and Snowplow Man backstory in the song, wth?? he’s like the Grinch, we don’t need an origin story. also, his snowplow is named Trudy instead of Clementine; minor detail i guess. ok, waiting to throw snowballs at him until he’s stopped rather than causing him to crash into a car; again, don’t want to promote dangerous behavior. however popping his tires is bad...and the snowplow is the Gadgetmobile?? O.o i guess Siri!Bird makes more sense then for that...

oh, oh wow we replace the TV scene with Hal breaking into some tiktok girl’s house to make his Claire declaration. yeah, new Hal is creepy and dare i say simpy?

oh we are replacing Wayne being dead with ketchup, by dressing him up as a grannie and nearly getting hit by the snowplow. that’s still dangerous guys...

oh NOW we get the snow angel scene, ok, you get a point back movie...you’re still really bad though. because now we get Lane taking about ice skating? did she JUST fall in love with him? the musical number seems to imply that; original Lane seemed to be into him the whole time, just saying. it was nice and subtle...and this new one doesn’t know what the word “subtle’ means, so yeah there’s my answer i guess.

we cut back to the family...and a zillion pancakes...you know, in the original the mom and Randy subplot was about mom realizing how disconnected from her family she’d become getting wrapped up in her work. what is the point here? that the parents work too much? we haven’t established that.

Nat and Eli hack the bird to call Snowplowman...ok. it was creepier when he went to Nat’s house and they called him from across the street; but also showed that he knew who they were because they’re local and had a standing rivalry.

Claire’s friends have names?? weird. Chuck is an idiot.

so we replace Iggy Pop running music at the skating rink, Lane distracting him, and Hal taking over the music...with a random high schooler in a food truck, Lane taking it over and tricking Chuck into getting Claire a burger with pickles. what a downgrade. also this whopping crane story sounds like the baby chick story...but instead of it hyping Hal to Claire, it’s a pep talk to Hal; also kind of a downgrade.

why are we back to the parents? “oh i’ve missed you” WHY? you two had 2 seconds of screen time pre-snow day, we established nothing about you two over working or whatever. were you on the brink of a divorce maybe? and now we get the Randy snowball fight? kinda early for that.

the Wayne/Trudy exchange is in the middle of town now? i get eth comedic western showdown, but it out in the middle of nowhere was the dangerous part of it. it made double crossing easier. why are none of the business owners concerned about this display in front of their stores? but ok, using the exchange as an opportunity to sabotage the plow, sure that’s not that bad of an addition, but the rest wasn’t good. he’s also kidnapping all the kids?? O.o oh no Wayne cut the brakes, that’s not good.

so Hal drew Claire to the football field for a speech and the shoveled out whale. how did he invite her if Lane didn’t bring her? also no “But I like Zebras” line! boooooo. also no payoff for the snow angel scene either. Chuck shows up the same, and pulls receipts for Hal being a wiener. yeah, sure, super lame. and Claire tells Hal to meet her elsewhere later instead of him knowing she’d be diving, yeah sure.

back to Speed snowplow edition. there is no original scene to compare this to...unless you count them nearly hitting Chuck as an equivalent to when they took over the truck at the end and plowed him. but i don’t. he truck crashes in a sink hole, so i guess no kids driving the truck to unplow after dark...also no mob justice.

but wow is Lane’s confession lame. she over explains, she’s less annoyed with Hal, it’s just...way less impactful. also no snowmobile chase, but that was expected. the Claire kiss is also less impactful. also don’t buy Claire knowing who Lane is, they had zero interactions. the whole sequence of events were just...no.

and now it’s still daylight at the skating rink, and a couples’ skate. no, this is just, no. original had the deposing of Snowplowman, the reconciliation of Hal and Nat, and Hal finding Lane alone at the rink showing how well he knew her and that neither would  be alone again. this...was just setup for another upbeat musical number. and since this is the ending, i guess that WAS the plow scene for Chuck earlier. very lame. 

“the best is yet to come” huh? you gonna play the original next to apologize for this bland not good movie?

no final narration to sum things up. the plot threads still feel unfinished. this is just all...no.

now before starting this, i’d made guesses at what subplots would get cut. i rightfully guessed the principal one, and that’s fine, HOWEVER, they kinda set up an equivalent with the teacher Nat couldn’t blackmail at the start you know. it’s not just me that saw that right?

overall, this movie is a very poor imitation of the original. it’s not rage inducingly bad, but it’s very bland. they did not use Jerry Trainor to his best, and honestly that would’ve been the only thing to save this. Nick, you gotta stop these live action remakes of things, you’re not doing a good job at them.

i recommend watching the original over this. it’s better paced, better acted, and filled with early 2000s cheese. but it’s fun, and has a complete and engaging story. this one was written based on the original’s synopsis with musical numbers half heartedly thrown in.

[share-the-damn-bed]

It's season 2 bc he's back in his romcom era to win back his girl 😤. I'm kidding (mostly).

SAME

In terms of the jacket being similar but not the same I think and I could be wrong but I'm 90% sure in reality that the s2 jacket was taken apart and sold in patches as memorabilia.

What?! That's a travesty! They either remade it, found a wonderful dupe, or had multiple versions of it because I have stared at the two jackets (season 2's and the st5 promo photo's) for far too long and they are a dead ringer of each other.

Personally, I am CAUTIOUSLY hopeful that they're telling us visually that Jonathan is going to be active in his own arc again.

Same! For many reasons. The clothes here are just a fun little aside that may be a little nod to his character journey. They also could be like "It's fall now. This is what Jonathan wears in the fall" and they would be so right about that too lol.

Now as to how Jonathan got the jacket and the flannel back in canon obviously Nancy kept them in the section of her closet reserved for his stuff. I'm joiking but thanks to @leslie057 we do know that Nancy kept the flannel from 1x06 so like presumably she might have more stuff.

I want this to be true so so so so bad but unfortunately, I think they are three different flannels (especially the ST5 one). The one in Nancy's room could maybe possibly be the season one flannel but only if the black faded an unbelievable amount and idk there's just too much yellow. But please convince me I'm wrong. I want to believe.

It is interesting to me that he's returning to these styles because his wardrobe has mostly reflected him coming out his shell/ letting others in. (the lighter colors in s3 & the patterns in s4) So I'm curious if we're going to meet a Jonathan who's "hiding" again as it were.

I really like this interpretation of his clothing. I always thought the color change was more "it's summer!" and "they're in California now!" but what you said holds weight too. Like in season 4 he was withdrawn and hiding more than season 3 (and the colors he wears are bright but muted) but he was open and honest with Argyle. Maybe in season 5 he starts off isolated again?

Above all, I think s5 is relying HEAVILY on nostalgia so that could really be the easiest explanation for all of this

Oh for sure. I love doing these dives but at the end of the day: is it a coincidence? Probably! I'm just happy we're going back to my favorite Stranger Things aesthetic period.

Also, if they really want nostalgia points, they should have a Byers house set. Like the OG house. And let the characters visit there or use it as a rendezvous point or something. I need it.

Let me ramble real quick

So, first things first: These are the same outfit

...at least conceptually.

All three of these outfits include a dark denim jacket, a flannel, and an undershirt. However, we have seen 2 exact pieces from this ST5 outift in previous seasons.

In season 2, Jonathan wears this specific dark navy/faded black jacket in every single episode (barring episode 7, obviously) and this is NOT the same jacket from season one (that one is shorter and a thicker/darker denim). We have also not seen it since season 2.

AND we see the light tope/beige undershirt twice. Once in season 2 (episode 3) and also in season 4 (episode 3):

while Jonathan has many undershirts in neutral shades, this specific one has only been seen in these episodes.

What's the point of this?

Basically, while the styling choices for Jonathan in season 5 are giving season one and two vibes, there is a more direct connection to season 2 than season 1.

[usingthisurlsomewhereelse]

promo a remade selfship blog? ♡

(PR*SHIPPERS / AGEUPPERS DO NOT INTERACT!!!)

hiiiiii im val (they/them) i used to be @lesbianpikachuu but that blog was dying so i decided to make a new one ^_^ id rlly appreciate a promo hehe<3u can visit my carrd for my full abt, dni, fo list, etc!! also i follow from @deltaepisode so if u get a follow from that blog thats me ^_^

my romantic fo is yoomtah zing from epithet erased and my main platonic fo is ace featherstone from pokemon reborn<3observe Two of them

(source for ace art: @crimcrimart)

please note that i do Not share yoomtah whatsoever; if u romantic fo her, follow anyone else who rom fos her, or ship her with anyone other than me then do not interact. please ask to interact if u platonic fo her either. im also Very iffy abt sharing ace even if theyre "just" a friend and id rather not interact with anyone who romantic fos them, and please act to interact if u platonic fo them too.

im looking forward to making more friends and actually posting on here hehe pls feel free to talk abt yoomtah or ace with me whenever<3also talk to me abt ur fos too i just like talking lol ok i think im done here i dont wanna make this too long aaaa pls follow me i want to be ur friend<3

[littlef4ng]

[$121 USD]

this here’s the 𝔬𝔫𝔢-𝔴𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔡 𝔞𝔫𝔤𝔢𝔩 … bc sephiroth’s too iconic to limit to one design. this one is inspired by his ‘safer’ form (third slide), which takes celestial to an extreme unparalleled by any other character design imo

i’ve had this fella sitting around for a few months now just bc i haven’t had much time to concoct many promos with work ;-; remade the circular cross pendant from my 𝟚𝟚-𝕕𝕖𝕘𝕣𝕖𝕖 𝕙𝕒𝕝𝕠 & experimented with creating a dangling collar out of a badass eye custom from @sandsodalime_lampworkbeads !

~40 cm. made w/ freshwater pearls (some are grade AAA), lampwork and czech glass, lead-free pewter, and stainless steel. i’ve secured everything onto the center link connector with 22-gauge wire wraps. pricier bc the materials are high quality & i sunk A LOT of time into sourcing materials and tinkering on this. also i just think the end result is killer

feel free to purchase via ig dm, etsy, or depop. shipping and fees will be baked into my etsy / depop pricing btw! us shipping is $4.80 via ig dm, message me for international shipping

ig | etsy | depop

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5 E1 (But this is really S4 E20, right?) (Spoilers)

- I have been streaming so I tend to skip the Previously On parts, but this felt important:  This episode opens with a flashback of Veronica asking Archie whether he “felt anything” when he was “pretending to be with Betty” and it cuts immediately to Archie telling Betty he can’t stop thinking about her, to which Betty says it’s over, and then Archie wants to join the Naval Academy.  The show wants me to think that Archie did feel something and he meant it, and the show doesn’t want to think about what any of that meant for Betty.

- The other bits the show wants you to remember before we begin are - Hiram is ‘dying’ (uh huh), and the ‘escalation’ to the Killing Mr Honey videotape by Jellybean (but wait, is it still Jellybean at this point?).

- We open with Bughead having summoned Charles to a remote cabin, and telling him what should be a highly suspicious story.  Jughead says, Hi I wrote a story that describes this enacted murder by the Auteur and only me and Betty know about the story and hey, only me and Betty found the video tape.  Um.  That makes them look like the killers, but ok.  Jughead is now close enough to Charles to tap his shoulder in the way that Jughead does to people he’s intimate with.

- Funny bit - the ticket stubs that they find in the cabin are stamped B &V and to Betty this means Betty and Veronica (? - she says V’s name like a question) because to Betty,  any reference to any B = Betty.

- Veronica has slept over I guess at Archie’s and while he’s out for an early morning run she finds the song that Archie wrote for Betty.  I am impressed with Veronica - that she can understand this guitar chicken scratch that amounts to his ‘song writing.’  (Personal note, I can read music but I’m not a guitarist.) He’s focused on the naval academy and she steals the song sheet from the trash where he’s tossed it.   Veronica gets dinged a lot in terms of how she talks, but I would kind of love a girlfriend who thinks of a new endearment for me every time she sees my face: Archiekins, Teenage Thor.  What’s it like, Archibald Andrews, to be so well loved, HMM??

- Hiram has summoned Veronica home for breakfast. Hiram says he’s beating the disease.  Veronica calls the doctor to confirm, and the doctor confirms.  I’ve seen a S5b promo where Veronica actually asks Hermione if Hiram was ever sick, so I am just gonna note that here. 

- Charles has hauled in the video store owner David, and Jughead and Charles are conferring about what to do with him.  Jughead can never have nice things - he’s built up this warm chemistry with Charles, but of course Charles is play-acting this persona he’s currently presenting.   I like their contrasting character designs, too -  Charles so blonde and manly with his 5 o’clock shadow and suit with tie vs. Jughead’s dark hair and grungy flannels and pink lips, still colored over with boyishness.  They speak in the same tone, almost like they’re imitating/ influencing each other, which is cute.

- And Betty is trying to find out who made the Murdering Mr Honey tape by asking the Principal’s secretary, and hey, Mr Weatherbee is back!  Mr Weatherbee is not ok.  I make it through most nights without waking up screaming.   Kevin (lost an entire organ) and Weatherbee are the two that were the most harmed by the Farm.   Fucking Alice didn’t even lose an ear.

- Two businesses?   Oh wow my bad.  I had not been paying attention to just how much Veronica remade Archie in her own image, to bring him up to a position where he’s on par with her.  She runs two businesses, is doing a sport, studying in school, working on her relationship with her parents - and she’s both inspiring and coaching (and really, halfway carrying through actual financing and other support) Archie to being someone who is also doing all those things. She even acts like his spokesperson for the Naval Academy Commandant - she makes Archie sound impressive, so the man tells Archie (not looking at Veronica) that Archie is impressive.   

But then Veronica (like Hiram?) is someone who is always pushing her luck, going for bigger, so upon hearing that there’s a second candidate who already has been working wholeheartedly to get into the Naval Academy while Archie has been ... well, being Archie, she immediately sets up a bout between Archie and this other guy,  without seeking out any details like how big is the other dude, and this Naval Academy Commandant just is so under her sway that he’s like Eh sure why not.   Veronica is so excited to have any connection to Katy Keene again that she laughs in delight that her boyfriend and Katy’s boyfriend are going to literally fight for a spot at the Academy, and Archie really doesn’t like where this is going.  I don’t blame him. 

- Bughead are eating in the Blue and Gold and talking about what to do next in their investigation about who might be behind the Kill Mr Honey video.  Jughead is thinking about Bret, and says that “the only caveat being, he’s tried to kill me.” Well I mean, OK, so, yes he did, but also, if you hadn’t been such an oblivious lesbian about it we all could’ve had a very different S4, Jughead.

- Choni are talking about Prom Queen.  OK so this show’s idea about how to be a good partner are a bit much: If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.  And this is unilateral, from Toni to Cheryl, because Cheryl has no response to what Toni says right after this: The only royalty I care about is being Serpent Queen.  Then Toni says something fascinating:  Which I will be. Again. You’ll see.  Cheryl is saved from having to respond to this by the appearance of Kevin.

So taking a minute to shriek:  DID JUGHEAD ARBITRARILY TAKE SERPENT QUEEN AWAY FROM TONI TO GIVE IT TO FUCKING BETTY BACK IN THE DAY?  DID BETTY DECIMATE THAT POSITION SO BADLY THAT NOW THEY’VE PUT THE WHOLE EXISTENCE OF A SERPENT QUEEN ON HIATUS?? Sorry. Sorry. I just hated Betty being Serpent Queen so very much. 

- Kevin has lost an entire organ to a cult, so he recognizes mania (from Cheryl, about being prom queen) and walks away when it’s not safe.  Kevin has a such fantastic comic timing and the most eloquent face. 

- Archie is continuing to look both worried and regretful, as Veronica joyfully greets KO Kelly at the Diner after telling him there’s gonna be a bathtub full of rose petals waiting for them after prom in the Five Seasons.   I wasn’t sure what to make of the very ambiguous faces that Archie and KO make during their initial encounter but Veronica takes it as a ‘Boys are Being Rowdy Boys.’   KO immediately points out that Archie might not be in his weight class.   Why has Archie agreed to let this guy live with him??  I really think Archie misses that time he lives with Jughead, no?

-BRET IS HERE. Well Bret is in prison.  Bret is excited to see Forsythe, Jughead has apparently no trauma about talking to Bret, and Betty is super very displeased to be there.  Bret keeps smirking at Betty at the most inapt moments, and I think he’s smirking about what he - ahem - knows about Jughead, because that’s Bret. I love that Bret is still doing his meticulous preppy hair while in prison, and that War Baby, who I pegged as the scariest Serpent, is thought of as this by everyone.  Bret says they need to bring David a tape in order to gain access to the underground screenings.

- KO Kelly is 50 lbs heavier than Archie, and this is Tom Keller’s assessment on sight. So then we have a Look At Two Muscular Young Men Work Out Competitively montage. I mean, thank you, show, I like Beefcake as much as anyone else, but what can this sort of psyching out really get anywhere with someone who’s evidently so much bigger??  Your Ass is Grass, says Archie, and he looks SUPER CUTE.

- Bughead put a plan together in the Blue and Gold.  Betty has entirely, utterly gotten over the Barchie kiss. I really think that she just needed to tick that off her list. She isn’t suppressing anything, it’s a thing she needed to do, like resole an old shoe or something, and it’s none of Jughead’s business as far as she’s concerned.  The two of them sharing one long flow of thought, the Hive Mind of Two Heads, is still very delicious.   I am put in the very uncomfortable position of understanding why Betty would want to ride this forever, for as long as she can, no matter what.  Bughead chemistry is unbeatable and this little bubble they’ve made is so cozy.

- And they bring in Cheryl, using Jason, yet again.  (This might be one of the last times where doing something referencing Jason works on Cheryl).   There is no scene where they ask Reggie, because of course Reggie would say yes to anything which involves him putting on a sex monster outfit and show his abs on camera. I LOVE Reggie.

- Everyone (Varchie, Bughead and KO) are at the Bonne Nuit and Veronica is sweetly singing the song that Archie wrote for Betty.  Archie actually didn’t get to sing very far in the song but the lyrics are literally about getting laid - So, give me tonight.   Archie can look at no one, but the look that Betty gives Archie is homicidal.  How dare you bring this up again sort of a thing.  She looks really scary.  Veronica looks so pretty and in love, singing this song, and the way she has to force Archie to tell her he loves her when they part for the night hurts me.  Oh and KO has a nice easy going sense of humor, and accepts it when  Veronica ribs him about his potentially losing to her boyfriend tomorrow.

-  Choni have a discussion in bed about the fact that Toni does not want to be confrontational about her orientation with her grandparents.  I’ve recently read a thing that discussed how it can actively harm teens from non-accepting families to be constantly told that they HAVE to come out before they’re ready (as in, have a safe place to live) so I wish Cheryl could set aside her own damn feelings for a bit.

- You and Ronnie are in it to win it, Katy says.  Archie is one thing for sure as Jughead has seen it - he is honest. Not in an ethical way, but in a helplessly spew out the truth way.  He feels ruined by Betty like she intended him to, so he wants to keep STARTING OVER COMPLETELY and KO has to point out how weird that sounds from a guy in a long term relationship.  Of course, this thing, of having a dark haired cute boy sleeping on the floor while they talk before falling asleep, is a thing Archie had with Jughead back in the day.  I really like KO Kelly - We lucked out (in terms of women) and Archie just turns the lights out.

- You had me at snuff film.  Kevin goes along with the Bughead plan to sell the videotape to Blue Velvet.

- Grandma Topaz, through grit teeth, going  I will not allow you to date a Blossom.   But Toni lived there for a bit because she had that one uncle who kicked her out.  Where were you then, Grandma Topaz?   And where does your granddaughter live now, Grandma Topaz??

- David the Blue Velvet Video owner not recognizing Kevin or Betty on sight from their respective tapes is  a lie right? I’m basing this just because Tarantino worked in a video store lol.  David’s line deliveries are fabulous.  I get a kick out of the fact that Jughead is nowhere as good as Jellybean at making movies.  His work gets rejected right off the bat, and Betty knew it might not work, so she has a back up - Hal’s tape, the one he showed Alice& Betty.  David somehow is completely turned on by this non-event tape of this kid being talked to sternly by his mother.  A real connoisseur, I suppose?  This gets Bughead entry into the rave/ film festival.

- Betty lets Jughead into the rave by a side door and he comes in looking exactly like Kurtz (RIP Kurtz).  The rave of snuff/secret-sex-cam tapes is intercut with the KO Kelly- Archie boxing match.  Are  Betty and Archie ‘punishing’ themselves?  I mean, Archie is, for sure.  Jughead is extremely anxious and just starts grabbing people to ask them questions he has to know they won’t answer - do you know who the director is?  Jughead has always been more upset about Ponytail Playmate than Betty.  And someone recognizes Betty from the tape in the dark, so Jughead punches him.

- Jughead runs into Jellybean, and honestly, Jellybean is a psycho.  The tone shift in her voice between What are you doing here? and Am I in trouble? is chilling, because she knows how to be vulnerable so as to make Jughead melt.  Bughead take Jellybean out for a milkshake and quietly have  a talk about how she shouldn’t go to any more X rated raves.

- Archie loses the fight to KO Kelly by a vote of the judges (the Commandant had made it very clear that he was on KO’s side from the start) and he is blatantly rude to the Commandant. Veronica is lovely to Archie, exceptionally, and she’s willing to blow off prom to comfort him, and they’re doing this because they’re gonna hurt her at the prom and I WANT TO PROTECT VERONICA.  Goddamn it Archie.

- So it turns out Cheryl tried to force the issue because Choni has severe control issues, and the only thing that brings Cheryl in line is for Toni to hold the precious ‘prom’ over her head.  Oy.

- The prom dresses of all our beautiful Riverdale ladies - Cheryl in red, Toni in the black bedazzled gown, Veronica in her lovely grey ballerina tutu, Betty in the pink gown (has anyone ever looked so angelic in pink?).

- Wow  vs You take my breath away.  So I guess Words of Affirmation isn’t as important to Veronica as Betty.   

- At the prom:  They flashed a photo of Betty looking over  Veronica’s shoulder at Archie as Veronica kisses him, and I don’t know what I was supposed to get out of that.  Reggie spikes the punch with drugs. Bad Reggie!  KO Kelly is at someone else’s prom why?  Kevin proposes a toast to surviving the town.  Where is Ethel?  Who is Reggie’s date?  

- Hiram has asked Archie to be deputy mayor, and Veronica wants to defer Barnard to have more time with Archie.  What an angel.  And she’s got a great perspective - a single year is not that important.  And Archie just can’t take it anymore: 

I wrote that song for Betty.

Oh the pain in Veronica’s perfect madonna face.

- Choni get to be prom queens, and Veronica is holding it together by a single thread. Why are Kevin and Fangs not in the promenade court dance and just the Core (Fractured) Four?   In any case they are interrupted by a snuff tape of the murder of David the video store owner.

- Family is the most important thing.  Cheryl weeps as she lets Toni go home for the night.  

- And Veronica and Archie are in the Archie Andrews Sex Room at the high school.  Veronica is weeping and I want to hit Archie so bad.  They have two weeks of high school left.  No big drama.  No need to blow them up too.   The way that Veronica reacts to betrayal is the same as how Jughead reacts to it later, except... why WHY WHYYY is Archie more ethical than Betty?   Archie holds Veronica but does not attempt any other intimacy. 

- Veronica saves her tears for home, and weeps on her mother’s knee, and Oh I’ve been Veronica and I feel you, girl.  

- Cheryl is weeping on her Nana’s knee.  Tonight I realized Toni and I won’t end up together.  OK Cheryl, you are a fucking brat.  Toni said you could work on it. What are you DOING.

- The SemiSiblings discuss the weird snuff film they saw at Prom, and then Archie gets another tape... and this one is fucking dark. It’s the time Archie had a gun trained on his head by Hal Cooper as the Black Hood.  

[sepublic]

The new promo image of Amity looks SO angsty and just… breaks my heart! Like, I know she’s done bad stuff to Willow, but I think we can forgive her for burning the photos here, given that as far as she knows, they were recently made (and thus can be remade anyway), but also because I doubt Amity knows about the damage to photos destroying one’s mind.

With that out of the way… GOODNESS, you can really see the anguish and fear in her eyes, the pain and regret, that fear of judgment- She looks ready to flinch! Like she knows that she’s messed up, that Amity hates herself and thinks that she deserves what’s about to happen next to her! I can only imagine this is how she looks whenever her parents get mad at her, and given the implication that she doesn’t feel safe at home, I just… UGH,

Like, can you imagine Amity being hope about becoming friends with Luz, about having a real friend for the first time in forever? And she has… COMPLICATED feelings about Willow, she probably feels some guilt but is too scared to rekindle their friendship and apologize, because she’s afraid of rejection? Because Amity HATES herself for being a fool, for ruining things; Because she thinks that she’s always messing up and having to make up for it, and that she doesn’t deserve love, that THAT kind of thing is conditional and has to be earned!

And she sees Luz, and has a BUNCH of complicated feelings already… And she’s imagining Willow talking to Luz, explaining how Amity was terrible- And then Amity is afraid that Luz will ‘realize’ how terrible she is, and break ties with her? So then when Amity sees Luz looking at the photos of her and Willow’s past, she panics- Because again, these are VERY private memories that are likely somewhat traumatic for her and constantly hang over Amity’s head as guilt now? But also because she’s AFRAID that Luz will see what Amity did to Willow, and hate her… And then Luz will leave, and Amity won’t even be able to blame Luz for that? Because Amity thinks that she deserves to be hurt, for being a terrible person, I…

Which leads into Luz being shocked and probably telling Amity about the photos and how they’re destroying Willow’s mind- And now Amity thinks she’s even MORE of a screw-up and hates herself, and now has to go into her old friend’s mind to save her… And it’s like Amity really wants to apologize so much to Luz, like she’s almost afraid that Luz is going to hither or something and she’s terrified when people yell at her… GOD, just imagine Amity realizing her mistake and justifying her own self-hatred, because of COURSE she has to mess things up like always, not just with Luz but for Willow, and hasn’t she hurt Willow enough already??? And just earlier, Amity was anxious about the idea of Luz as a new, legitimately close friend, and was scared of things ‘changing’ not that the two of them go to school together… And now it looks like things ARE changing, because Amity just had to be so stupidand panic and be selfish, that’s what she thinks of herself!

But at the same time, a part of Amity IS being selfish, because she’s burning the photos because she wants to keep Luz- She wants to still be Luz, she wants to hide away from her past mistakes and forget about them, because she’s never been TAUGHT how to deal with them! Or, maybe Amity is even a little betrayed- That she’s afraid of Luz digging up her past with Willow, and using that against her… Or peering into Amity’s own personal past! Just like when Luz read her diary, and now Amity’s also questioning if she can still TRUST Luz after all, just when she thought she could maybe let her guard down around her… Like what if Luz was secretly making fun of Amity behind her back this whole time, stealing her wand, and now she’s digging up Amity’s insecurities to laugh at her about them, and I just… I…

[nyaing]

elooo im romeo (he/him) im a trans mlm and i just remade my selfship blog! i loove my f/os and talking about them and drawing too! i interact from @fagvillain​ <3 i know it’s not promo hour but im very cute and sweet and nice soooo..

u can read my carrd here! f/o list included

[konjoong]

hi i remade and would love a promo!! 💕💕 i’m Ally and this blog is currently multifandom but i mostly make content for ateez. i stan waayy too many groups to fully list but my ults are ikon & ateez. my tbz sideblog is @kyuuwoo​, i own a hanbin network @sh-bi​ and i almost never shut up about park seonghwa 💕

here is one of my gifs to entice you 

[mittensmorgul]

FYI everyone, there... is just too much meta to this episode.

This is chuck actively manipulating the ENTIRE story and slapdashing elements from pretty much the ENTIRE history of the show together until he hits on a combination of events and themes that “works” to get the ending he wants.

It’s horrifying, and manic, and BRILLIANT on the part of *our* writers, but Chuck-As-Author... is desperate, and his entire story is falling down around him. He’s been pushed to “write an ending,” instead of just being able to fly off to create another universe to bother, because he CAN’T fly off or create another universe.

He’s stuck here, going through every failed draft he’s ever written, because he can’t let go of the “one brother kills the other” ending he thinks is the best ending to his story. This is why every since draft he’d ever written before was doomed to fail. The one “successful” draft? The one where Sam and Dean chose to save each other. Over and over again.

(well, with a LOT of help along the way from Cas.)

This episode started out looking exactly like an inversion of 1.02, Wendigo. Friends camping in the woods, two doomed to die at the hands of a pair of brother werewolves who’d sworn off eating humans, after one of the brothers decided he was a monster and would never stop hunting humans or being a monster. And this pinged... SO many other episodes.

The entire werewolf plot sounded so much like Cain in 10.14 when he told Dean he would never stop killing, when Dean was begging to know if he even COULD stop, before executing him. And also, Cain in 9.11 when he asked Dean why he’d saved his own brother instead of killing him. Because this had been Chuck’s recurring story, over and over again. Kill the sibling (ostensibly to save them from monstrousness), kill the lover (while trying to save them from monstrousness), live in misery forever.

CHARMING!

But then we had Lilith show up, as a MASSIVE inversion of the entire plot of 4.18. All of that was Chuck’s story, too. This entire episode not only stood all of 4.18 on its head, it gave Lilith license to critique Chuck’s entire body of work. And even HER critique was scathing.

SHE WAS A PLOT DEVICE. She couldn’t act outside of the lines that Chuck had written for her, though she could hate those lines, and actively say so. Regardless of if this was OG Lilith or Chuck having “remade” her to serve this function within this episode, she still was able to comment on the metanarrative of the entire episode.

My head is spinning, in the best possible way.

There were callbacks to s5 and Lucifer-possessed Sam killing Dean (with FIRE this time! which also felt like a direct callback to s6 and s7 and Sam’s Halluciferations), to s9 and s10 with MoC Dean killing Sam (with the first blade this time!).

Then there was the melting of the Equalizer gun, as if that would actually solve any of Chuck’s problems. He’s already been shot, you know? The damage has been done. Granted, Sam and Dean don’t have it as a last resort weapon anymore, but would either of them WANT to use it, knowing full well how it works? One of them would’ve still had to die to fire it at Chuck. And the whole POINT of all of this is that NEITHER of them should have to die for Chuck’s dumbass, nonsensical story.

Which Lilith critiques REPEATEDLY.

Hold that thought for a second. The melting of the Equalizer looked an AWFUL lot like Dagon melting the Colt. Flashback to 12.19 for that one. Chuck doesn’t want them to have too much power. It makes things too easy for them, and gives them a way to keep saving each other instead of one of them killing the other. Okay, back to where we were.

I mean, even going back to 4.18, I’ve written A LOT about this episode, and specifically about how in hindsight from a post s11 universe it all looks like a test of Chuck’s Personal Emergency Broadcasting Network. Like Chuck wanted to see just how much power and control he had over the story, by specifically engineering this outlandish sequence of events from writing himself into the story as a “prophet” to the ridiculous “Dean seeing stars and having cartoon bandaids on his face.” He wanted to test his own power to manipulate events to his own liking.

But here’s the kicker... Lilith has come back into the story in s15 despite all logic, despite all ability to predict her arrival, WITH THE EXACT SAME STUPID PRETENCE. This time it was to “seduce Dean,” when last time it was to seduce Sam.

AND YET! BOTH TIMES SHE COMPLETELY FAILED TO DO THAT.

Dean brought Chuck to the assignation at gunpoint to draw down the Archangel protecting him to drive Lilith off. Prophecy the First averted. This time, Dean... just had to be himself. Not the kind of person who would take advantage of a terrified and wounded recent college grad. I mean, if Lilith’s “performance” was really Chuck’s attempt at “seduction” it tells us SO MUCH about who Chuck THINKS Dean is, versus who Dean actually is, you know? And this is exactly why Chuck’s story has failed over and over again.

Chuck... has no idea what the fuck he’s writing.

And it’s fucking glorious.

And now? Sam and Dean are 100% aware of the fact.

Of course, Dean’s despondent over the fact. He just wanted to be free. He wanted to think his life was finally his own. But it hadn’t been, all this time he’s still be under Chuck’s thumb. And now he’s so broken he doesn’t know if it’s even possible to win against Chuck, with all his terrible storytelling directly influencing their lives in perpetuity. How do you win against God? How do you win your way free of his terrible story? When every time you think you’ve won, he just keeps writing a new, worse scenario for you?

(and honestly, even when they DO die, he just brings them back and makes them start again! there’s no escape! It could go on forever!)

I wonder what terrible thing he’ll write into their lives next week!

Oh, wait, one of the witches in the promo for 15.06 was the actress who played Sera Siege in 4.18, aka Chuck’s agent! Aka the woman who grilled Sam and Dean about facts from the books and gave them Chuck’s address! Whose name was a conglomeration of Sera Gamble and Julie Siege-- two writers of Supernatural!

So Chuck really is the monster at the end of this book, and Dabb’s final act will be dismantling his entire reign of terror over the lives of Team Free Will.

I... am entirely here for this ride.

[papermoonloveslucy]

THE LUCIE ARNAZ SHOW

April 2, 1985

Produced by Sam Denhoff Productions and Taft Entertainment Television

Producers: Susan Seeger, Kathy Speer, Terry Grossman

“The Lucie Arnaz Show” was based on the British television sitcom “Agony” (1979-81) starring Maureen Lipman as Dr. Jane Lucas. The original series ran for 20 episodes on LWT (London Weekend Television). Guest cast included actors like Bill Nighy, Rosalind Ayres, Miranda Richardson, and Phyllida Law.

On “Here’s Lucy” there was an attempt to spin off Lucie’s character of Kim Carter for her own sitcom. In 1972, the last episode of season 4, “Kim Cuts You-Know-Who’s Apron Strings” (HL S4;E24), essentially served as the pilot for a story that had Kim moving to her own apartment, introducing a new cast of characters, one of whom was Lucy’s brother Herb, an uncle invented for the new series. CBS did not pick-up the pilot for production and Arnaz remained part of the regular cast of “Here’s Lucy” in seasons 5 and 6. While it seems unlikely that Lucille Ball was incapable of convincing CBS to pick up the new series, most likely Ball didn’t want to pressure CBS due to Vivian Vance’s sudden illness. Without Vance to fill-in as Lucy’s side-kick, Lucie was needed on “Here’s Lucy.” 

After viewing the pilot CBS made a six episode commitment to the show, but recast everyone but Lucie and Karen Jablons-Alexander (Loretta). Broadway’s Chip Zien was one of the casting casualties. CBS aired all six episodes (with a two-month break after episode 4) but they declined to pick up the show for their Fall 1985 schedule. 

CBS also made the executive decision to change the title from “Agony” to “The Lucie Arnaz Show,” a decision Lucie was conflicted about. While she was flattered to have her name on a show she felt good about, she felt it was not a show about Lucie Arnaz, but Jane Lucas. In England, the term ‘Agony Aunts’ applies to those who give advice, much like Dear Abby or Ann Landers in America. CBS insisted the title was too short to be quickly found and understood in the TV listings. 

Unlike her mother’s sitcoms, the show was NOT filmed with three cameras in front of a studio audience, but on location in New York City with one camera. 

Between the time the pilot was shot (late 1984) and production resumed after CBS gave the show the green light, Lucie Arnaz became pregnant with her third child, Kate. Production was sped up and Arnaz’s wardrobe successfully hid her pregnancy from viewers. Coincidentally, Lucille Ball herself was pregnant with Lucie when filming the pilot for “I Love Lucy” in 1951. 

CBS picked up the show as a replacement series for “Alice”, a sitcom starring Linda Lavin that ended its 9 season run on March 19, 1985. Although Monday nights had been lucky for Lucille Ball, Lucie Arnaz was given Tuesday evenings, taking the 8:00pm time slot of “The Jeffersons” which moved to 8:30pm for its final months on the air. “The Jeffersons” aired its final episode on June 25, two weeks after the end of “The Lucie Arnaz Show,” so CBS moved it back to 8pm and aired it alongside a rerun of “Alice” at 8:30pm. 

Series Premise 

“Advice Radio 88 - Your spot for music and mental health in the afternoon”.

Lucie Arnaz plays Dr. Jane Lucas, a radio call-in host in New York City, who also writes a newspaper column and holds down a private practice. She has to deal with her eccentric secretary Loretta, her chauvinistic boss Jim, her immature co-host Larry, and her interfering sister Jill. 

“The always ingratiating Miss Arnaz as a psychologist who not only writes an advice column, but also takes calls from listeners on her own radio program." ~ New York Times

The show features Jane contending (by phone) with her over-protective mother. Viewers cannot help but think of the real-life mother Lucille Ball, who looms large over the CBS sitcom world. In fact, promo material for the series touted 'You'll Love This Lucie!’ 

In the mid-1960s, CBS employed Abigail Van Buren to bring her “Dear Abby” advice column to the airwaves just as Dr. Jane Lucas did on Advice Radio 88′s “The Love and Lucas Show” in the mid-1980s.

CBS also recruited Lucille Ball to do a daily 15 minute talk show (as herself) titled “Let’s Talk To Lucy”.  Although not strictly an advice show, Ball was known to speak her mind if she was so inclined. 

In addition to her co-hosting duties at WPLE, Jane writes a column for the Daily Mirror, which was also the name of the newspaper that Lucy Ricardo read about Rosemary in “Lucy is Jealous of Girl Singer” (S1;E10).

Although it was a real-life newspaper, New York’s Daily Mirror ceased publication in 1963, making it fictional in Jane Lucas’s New York, but not Lucy Ricardo’s! 

Jane lives in Apartment 4A on East 70th Street. From 1951 to May 1953, the Ricardos lived in Apartment 4A on East 68th Street. 

Jane plays short-stop for the WPLE softball team. Lucy Carmichael and Viv Bagley played softball for the Danfield Volunteer Fire Department in “Lucy and Viv Play Softball” (TLS S2;E23) in 1963. 

Although she played music instead of dispensing advice, Lucy Carmichael hosted a radio show in “Lucy the Disc Jockey” (TLS S3;E26) in 1965. 

In 1981, the same year “Agony” ended in Great Britain, Desi Arnaz Jr. was in a TV movie titled “Advice to the Lovelorn” starring Chloris Leachman as an advice columnist named Maggie Dale. The telefilm served as a pilot for a series that was not picked up for production. 

In 1933, the same year Lucille Ball arrived in Hollywood, United Artists released a film adaptation of the Nathaniel West novel “Miss Lonelyhearts” titled Advice to the Lovelorn (later changed to Advice to the Forlorn), about a newspaper reported demoted to writing the lonely hearts column of his newspaper. It featured “I Love Lucy” character actor Charles Lane.  

In 1958, the story was remade again, this time with Montgomery Clift as the demoted reporter writing to the heartbroken. This version was titled Lonelyhearts and was adapted by Dore Schary, and produced by Walter Reilly, both of whom were characters on “I Love Lucy”. 

Finally, just a year before “The Lucie Arnaz Show” started filming its pilot, PBS presented a more faithful adaptation of “Miss Lonelyhearts” starring Eric Roberts as the writer. 

In 2020, “The Lucie Arnaz Show” began streaming on Tubi, a free TV streaming service. 

“I wasn’t anxious to do a television series. I have no desire to become any more famous than I already am--and I don’t mean that egotistically. It’s just that I’ve been well known for...well, really ever since I was born, because of whose daughter I was, and I’ve never had a burning ambition to be famous. I grew up with it; I know what it’s like.” ~ Lucie Arnaz, Los Angeles Times  

REGULAR CAST

Lucie Arnaz (Dr. Jane Lucas) is the real-life daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. She was born in 1951 just before the premiere of “I Love Lucy.” Lucille Ball was actually pregnant during the filming of the show’s pilot. Despite rumors to the contrary, Lucie Arnaz never appeared on “I Love Lucy.” Lucie played Cynthia (as well as other characters) on “The Lucy Show.”  She has been twice married, to actor Phil Vandervort (1971) and actor-writer Laurence Luckinbill (1980–present). She has three children  with Luckinbill: Simon, Joseph, and Katharine. She now lives in Palm Springs, California, near the home once owned by her parents. 

Jane is 31 years old and a graduate of New York University. Arnaz was actually 33 and did not attend college. 

Tony Roberts (Jim Gordon, Jane’s Boss) and Lucie Arnaz were both presenters at the 1981 Tony Awards aired on CBS.  Coincidentally, Roberts was on Broadway in They’re Playing Our Song, although he joined the cast after Lucie Arnaz’s departure, playing opposite Anita Gillette as Sonia Walsk. In March 1985, just prior to the airing of this sitcom, Roberts, Arnaz, and Lucille Ball were three of the “Night of 100 Stars 2″ at Radio City Music Hall. In 2018, Roberts and Arnaz were two of the many stage stars interviewed for the Rick McKay documentary Broadway: Beyond the Golden Age.

Karen Jablons-Alexander (Loretta, Jane’s Secretary) was born in 1951 in Trenton, New Jersey. Aside from this short-lived series, she only has two other screen credits, both in 1991: a day player on “General Hospital” and a background character on the film True Colors.  Aside from Lucie Arnaz, Jablons-Alexander was the only actor CBS retained from the pilot episode. 

Lee Bryant  (Jill, Jane’s Sister) is probably best remembered as Mrs. Hammen in both Airplane! and Airplane 2: The Sequel. From 1978 to 1979 Bryant starred in TV commercials for Yuban coffee, where she played a wife who can't understand why her husband never wants to drink a second cup of her coffee. She also played Fran, ex-wife of  “T.J. Hooker” (1982-83). 

Todd Waring (Larry Love, Jane’s Co-Host) made his series TV debut with this show. He has been continually working ever since. He is married to actor Eve Gordon and has two children. 

Tippy (Larry’s Invisible Dog) 

Each episode began with a different handwritten note from a listener, after which, the credits begin. 

EPISODES (aired in filming order)

April 2, 1985 - “The Old Boyfriend” (S1;E1) 

Synopsis: Discovering that her old beau had indulged in a few lies, Dr. Lucas decides that ''after 12 years, I can put down the torch.''  At the half-hour's end, she advises a listener that ''happiness is being aware of the fact that you're not going to be happy all of the time.''

Director: Ed Feldman

Writers: Susan Seeger

Rating 12.6 ~ In its first outing, the show attracted 20% of viewers, a sliver better than “Three’s a Crowd” on ABC, but well below “The A-Team” on NBC, which got 37%.

GUEST CAST

John Getz (Scott, Jane’s Old Boyfriend) is an Iowa-born theatre actor who appeared in the workshop and very first production of the musical The Robber Bridegroom. Goetz was standby for Robert Klein in Broadway’s They’re Playing Our Song starring Lucie Arnaz. One of Getz's earliest roles was as ‘Shampoo Man’ in a Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo commercial shot in the late 1970s. He has recently been seen on “Better Call Saul” and “Grace & Frankie.”

Gene Klavan (Mel, Engineer) was born on May 4, 1924 in Baltimore, Maryland. Klaven was a popular talk radio personality although on screen he was primarily a voice actor. He left radio in 1980 and died on April 8, 2004.

Thomas Quinn (Cab Driver) is best known as Desk Sergeant Martin on the CBS sitcom “Baker’s Dozen” (1981). 

TRIVIA

555-WPLE was the advice line phone number, adhering to the old film and TV practice of using 555 as a telephone exchange.  

The opening scene was filmed on location in front of the Ed Sullivan Theatre (above today), then home to the CBS sitcom “Kate & Allie”. Coincidentally, in 1987 “Kate & Allie” did an episode where Allie (Jane Curtain) dreams she is in “I Love Lucy.”

Across the street from the Ed Sullivan Theatre is the Broadway Theatre, where Anthony Quinn was performing in a revival of the 1968 musical Zorba. The revival ran from October 16, 1983 to September 2, 1984, which means the scene was shot sometime in late summer 1984.

On her office bulletin board, there is a Playbill for the musical My One and Only which opened on Broadway on May 1, 1983 and closed on March 3, 1985. It then launched a National Tour starring Sandy Duncan and Tommy Tune. Lucie Arnaz replaced Duncan on the second half of the tour. Lucie won the famed Chicago Sarah Siddons Award for her performance.

A view of the Empire State Building starts the final scene at the baseball diamond. Location footage of the Empire State Building was also seen in “Bon Voyage” (ILL S5;E13) as the helicopter carrying Lucy Ricardo toward the SS Constitution flies over Manhattan.

One of the most memorable episodes of “I Love Lucy” involved Lucy and Ethel (dressed as women from Mars) scaling the observation deck of the New York City landmark, although there was no establishing footage and the episode was filmed entirely in Hollywood. 

The final scene of the episode takes place at a Central Park baseball field. Could this be the same field where Lucille Ball played for the Broadway Show League in 1961, batting for Wildcat with Julie Andrews (Camelot) as catcher and Joe E. Brown as ump? 

April 9, 1985 - “Sisters” (S1;E2) 

Synopsis: Jane's sister visits her for the week while her family is out of town.

Director: Ed Feldman

Writer: Susan Seeger, Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman

Rating 10.5 ~ The show fell to third place in its time period, drawing just 16% of the audience.

GUEST CAST

Melissa Joan Hart (Sarah, Jane’s Niece) was an 8 year-old from Long Island when she made her TV debut with this episode. She is best known for playing the leading roles in “Clarissa Explains It All For You” (1991-94) and “Sabrina The Teenage Witch” (1996-2003). 

Sandy Schwartz (Billy, Jane’s Nephew, uncredited)

Gwyn Gilliss (Peggy Gordon, Jim’s Wife) is a NY stage actor who is best known as Lisette Grummond on over 800 episodes of the soap opera “Loving”.  She was also seen on the daytime dramas “All My Children,” “As The World Turns,” “Another World,” and “Ryan’s Hope.” 

Kate McKeown (Sister Bernadette) 

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor) was born in London in 1913. He was a New York stage actor seen in the original casts of The Dresser (1981) and Noises Off (1985), which earned him a Tony nomination. He was the voice of the Sultan in Aladdin (1992) and the voice of Krebbs in The Rescuers Down Under (1990). He died in 1999 at age 85.

Jane attends an event at the Club El Morocco. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were just two of the many celebrities who spent evenings at the Club, known for its zebra-print banquettes. 

PRESS

“Will Miss Arnaz get better scripts to showcase her decidedly appealing personality? Perhaps only Sam Denhoff, the creator and executive producer, knows for sure.” ~ New York Times, April 9, 1985

April 23, 1985 - “Good Sports” (S1;E3) 

Synopsis: Jane gets a poor review from a Sports writer (Danny Aiello).

Director: Allan Baron

Writers: Kathy Speer & Terry Grossman

Rating 9.2 ~ The show was not aired the previous week due to the mini-series “Space”. This week the show was up against two repeats, and still lost its time slot. 

GUEST CAST

Danny Aiello (Dick Rosetti, Sports Columnist) was nominated for an Oscar of 1989′s Do The Right Thing. In 2016, Aiello and Lucie Arnaz were both voices in the animated film Henry & Me. He appeared with Tony Roberts in the films Key Exchange (1985) and Radio Days (1987). He died in 2019 at age 86.

Dick Boccelli (Dominick, Bar Patron)

Frank Gio (Frankie, Bartender)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

April 30, 1985 - “Larry Writes the Songs” (S1;E4) 

Synopsis: Jane reviews Larry's song lyrics.

Director: Allen Baron

Writer: Bob Colleary

Rating 7.5 ~  Once again the show was up against two repeats, and still lost its time slot.

GUEST CAST

Ray DeMattis (Vitto, Mr. Gordon’s Barber) made his TV debut with this episode. He is a New York stage actor who was also seen in several TV shows featuring Bill Cosby. 

Melissa Joan Hart (Sarah, Jane’s Niece)

Sandy Schwartz (Billy, Jane’s Nephew)

Ted Schwartz (Buzzy Cone, Emcee)

Carol Siskind (Cookie, Stand-Up Comic)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor)

June 4, 1985 - “Jane’s Desperate Hour” (S1;E5) 

Synopsis: Jane helps a young woman with an abusive husband.

Directed by: Peter Baldwin

Written by: Len Richmond & Sam Denhoff

Rating 6.4 ~ Not only did the episode lose its time slot to reruns, it was the lowest rated show of the evening on all three networks.

GUEST CAST

Kit LeFever (Marie, Jane’s Patient)

Raymond Baker (Ralph, Marie’s Husband)

Clarence Felder (Rocky, Jane’s Patient)

Mark Kaplan (Cop)

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor)

June 11, 1985 - “Birthday Blues” (S1;E6)

Synopsis:  Jane puts together a 'surprise' birthday party for Mr. Gordon.

Director: Peter Baldwin

Writer: Laura Levine

Rating 6.6 ~ Once again the show was the lowest rated show of the evening across the board. Although the rating share was up 2 tenths of a point from the previous week, it was too little, too late to give confidence for a fall 1985 renewal.

GUEST CAST

Douglas Seale (Mr. Beverly, Jane’s Neighbor) 

Richard Zavaglia (Sam, Engineer)

FAST FORWARD!

In 1991, Lucie Arnaz was part of another failed CBS series, “Sons & Daughters”. Lucie played Tess Hammersmith in all 7 episodes that aired. 13 episodes were filmed, but the show was canceled on March 1, 1991, with six episodes that never aired. Five years earlier Lucille Ball experienced the same disappointment when “Life With Lucy” was canceled by ABC with several episodes still un-aired.