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Post by sandra on Apr 17, 2011 16:03:27 GMT -5
Thanks Hazel.
You're too sweet. It has been such a pleasure to do this project.
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witness
3rd Level
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
Posts: 857
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Post by witness on Apr 17, 2011 23:36:56 GMT -5
Wow, I had set aside this time to catch-up and only got so far.
MFD, I loved reading your presentation. You did a fine job capturing what makes those moments special to all of us. Thank you!
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witness
3rd Level
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?"
Posts: 857
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Post by witness on Apr 18, 2011 0:51:47 GMT -5
Well, well . . . you've done it again. I suppose you're going to get credit for all this! In that case, I'll give credit where credit is due: terrific job, Nancy. What struck me most is your presentation of two scenes that have a dream element # 'We do what we have to do' - the ice-cube scene from 'Dream Sequence' This scene melts- and Zach playing his trumpet in the window certainly doesn't 'take your mind off the heat'! I love the toxic combination of lust, murder and dream-like qualities. It opens with Rita in THAT night gown, playing with a piece of ice (clever acknowledgment of the ice-berg that Maddie is...here we see it melting in David's dream). We've all spent so much time analyzing these scenes; and yet, someone always manages to bring something new to the table, e.g. your insight about the ice and what the melting of it represents. That's the magic of this show: every detail has its own deeper significance. Which brings me to # 'I didn't know it was your wife...I didn't know it was anybody's wife!' from 'Maddie's Turn to Cry'- damn that mascara! David wakes up alone in his bed and you wonder what on earth must be going on in that mind of his (it's been an emotionally bumpy road the past 3 episodes) - you're feeling as much sympathy for him as a you would towards a rescue dog from the RSPCA and then he utters those lines: 'I didn't know it was your wife...I didn't know it was anyone's wife!' - Reminding us all he's still our lovable rogue- warts 'n' all. When I read the line that David says as he's waking up, I found myself thinking about the dream more symbolically. It seems like a premonition. The dream suggests David is being confronted by a husband he didn't know existed telling him this woman he's "entertaining" is unavailable. Apparently she left him in the dark about where he stood; meanwhile, Maddie is surely lying in bed consumed with thoughts about Sam's proposal and what's on David's mind/heart, which leads her to his apartment. She seeks answers, but also keeps him in the dark about what he's possibly up against. Later that morning, he's being confronted for real by his competition, when Maddie led him to believe only hours earlier that he was winning the race. Or . . . it may be just a 'quintessential David' dream, as you said! Maddie is temporarily distracted, from her hell bent pursuit of finding out what he was going to tell her, by the empty living room. She looks around in dismay as David explains that he normally does all of his entertaining in the bedroom. Every single time I watch this scene (which is quite often), I get the giggles when he says this line! David says it so matter-of-factly, like it's completely natural that he doesn't bother engaging in some nice conversation on a living room sofa with his conquests. Just as funny is his followup line "I dunno, I'm not here that much." Thanks Nancy for such a wonderful read.
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Post by beesnbears on Apr 18, 2011 10:03:24 GMT -5
Dang I'm so far behind on reading everyones favs.....will try to catch up tonight....feel like I missed this huge party or something....
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Post by diane on Apr 18, 2011 12:52:50 GMT -5
Ok Sandra, doing the standing ovation thing!
A great great mixture of scenes...funny, sexy, dramatic. And totally agree with you...so often we see David teasing and playing with Maddie....so nice when it comes from the other perspective! Along with the big heart, she also has a bit of a seething volcano in there. Nice to see some of the lava flow every once in a while.
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Post by sandra on Apr 18, 2011 13:03:25 GMT -5
thanks Diane, it was so much fun doing this project. And yes I discovered many new thongs even about scenes I'd seen many times!
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Post by beesnbears on Apr 18, 2011 18:29:08 GMT -5
I have a special affinity for the scene in "Father Knows Last", when Maddie's father returns from seeing David, and goes into her room to check on her.....it is a split second, a moment in time, but it completely tugs on my heart strings. For most of my childhood, my dad was a night worker, going in at about 3 in the afternoon, and coming home in the wee hours of the morning. He also worked weekends (he was a pressman for the city newspaper). There were lots of times that we didn't see him, or he didn't see us awake for a few days at a time. He got into the habit of coming in from work, and going to each room, checking on us in our sleep (there were 6 of us...that's a bit of checking!). He couldn't sleep until he was sure we were sleeping and safe. The simple gesture that Mr. Hayes makes checking on his sleeping daughter always brings tears to my eyes. The unspoken love in those small moments is one of the things that could be easily ignored, but that makes ML the masterpiece that it is. I'm so sorry I forgot. That scene makes me miss my Dad, and appreciate what being a father really means. This scene always gets me, too. Though, I didn't ever really relate it to my own father, but now rather my husband, the great dad that he is, checking in on his own daughters. He's a big ol' teddy bear most of the time, but kind of tough when it comes to boys and his girls. That really is such a sweet, touching scene, especially after the fiery conversation Mr. Hayes just had with the other man in Maddie's life.
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Post by beesnbears on Apr 18, 2011 18:46:50 GMT -5
Sandra, your pics are terrific!
I also have always loved "the bet" scene. Something about the sound and the lighting...the close up shots of Maddie looking at David after he says "something that really matters".... It just sizzles, doesn't it? Something in the way they have the sound set up allows you to hear every sound and syllable and it just grabs me every time!
And the "delighted" scene has always made me laugh. Maddie does her best to make David think his taking her to Chicago will just be all business when we all know better!
You betcha', Sandra, your pics were a delight to read!
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Post by sandra on Apr 19, 2011 1:23:01 GMT -5
thanks bees, and it surprised me how much seriousness and meaningfulness could be detected even in those funny scenes. Yes, that moment at the door - probably one of tge hottest.
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Post by stayedinmostly on Apr 19, 2011 3:19:53 GMT -5
OK I'm starting early and since I'm in the UK that means VERY early for most of you. Here are my favourite scenes, in no particular order:
1) Twas the Episode Before Christmas: “I’m doing what I should have done all along.”
The secret of good comedy is timing, and this is perfect. David knows Maddie well enough to finish her sentences and predict her movements. This is like a sibling argument, done largely for the exhilaration of annoying the other person. Maddie’s rising hysteria ends with her screaming “I hate you!” as he counters “You love me!” There is so much energy and physical humour here: this is the clip I would show a ML sceptic to prove that it isn’t a dated show from the 80’s. The comedy is precisely executed and timeless.
Extra points for Bruce Willis’ delivery of his line at the very beginning of this scene, before they go into his office: “Hang on to your suspension of disbelief, this one’s a pip.”
2) Every Daughter’s Father Is a Virgin: Scene in the office doorway.
One of my most re-watched scenes ever (and it seems I’m not alone!) The intimacy of them standing so close together in the dim light, their heads within kissing distance. So well written and acted that you understand everything they can’t say to each other, and that even though David desperately wants to protect her from the truth, he knows he can’t lie about something so important. She is distracted by his closeness after his absence from the office all day, but desperate to hear that her faith in her father isn’t misplaced.
This was one of the few occasions when it made perfect sense for them not to kiss. You can tell from the slight movement of David’s mouth that he wants to, but he also understands that she is off-balance and unlikely to be feeling in a romantic or trusting mood. This time, it isn’t about their relationship, and that makes this scene so tender and nuanced.
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Post by stayedinmostly on Apr 19, 2011 3:34:17 GMT -5
3) Symphony in Knocked Flat: Scene at the door
Yes, I guess there's no such thing as an original idea, but I couldn't leave this sexy, romantic scene off my list. This was my idea of how it would be when they finally got together, that it would come from an occasion when they were temporarily in sync and unafraid to appreciate the other. I was too young (then) to understand the extremes of passion which prompted the Big Bang.
Of course, I do know that a tv show about two attractive people who get on well and agree on the majority of things wouldn’t keep you watching... and certainly wouldn’t be remembered decades later, but these occasions when they showed real affection were so special.
4) Bride of Tupperman: “Maddie, what will it do to the morale of our worker bees out here when they see their queen leaving two hours early?” “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
David chases her into the lift and somehow manages to persuade her to “go out, do something together” and once he realises she’s agreed, the look on his face as they stand together in the lift is something to behold. It’s like a prefiguring of that stunned look he has in the Big Bang. And it is yet another scene where the getting closer/pulling back dance that they do so well makes perfect sense; it’s entirely plausibe that with their different approaches to life, they could never agree on how to spend the evening. The comedy comes seamlessly because we know the characters so well, culminating with the classic exchange between Maddie and Miss Dipesto: “I was just coming in!” “I was just going out!” “Wow, what do you think the chances of that happening again are?”
For years my children have wondered why I often say “Monday, David” instead of just “Monday” but even after showing them this scene it didn’t make any more sense. It’s not as though it’s the funniest line ever, but it is an indicator of how often I watched this scene that even the trivial lines became embedded in my mind.
OK, I have to go now but will post the last four of my choices later tonight. Thanks for reading.
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Post by sandra on Apr 19, 2011 3:44:39 GMT -5
wow stayedinmostly, great start. Love particularly your observation about the doorway scene - that it makes perfect sense for them NOT to kiss and that this time it's not about their relationship. But it shows also a lot about their relationship - she trusts him with an important issue, and he shows himself trustworthy.
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Post by sandra on Apr 19, 2011 4:31:11 GMT -5
I love the BOT scene too, and just because of the reason you me tioned, stayedinmostly. Yes, the look on David's face, as if he's frightened of his own courage - so cute! And Maddie's expression is adorable either, so eager and shy at the same time. She SO wants this date, doesn't she?
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Post by bluemoonshampoo on Apr 19, 2011 9:34:54 GMT -5
Hey well done stayedinmostly- these are great observations! Have really enjoyed your first few picks- they did doorways so well huh? Perfected the art of a good doorway liason I'd say! Not only did they get banged but they were sizzled in front of too- the doors that is ha ha xx
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Post by bluemoonshampoo on Apr 19, 2011 9:48:27 GMT -5
ps thanks for your comments Witness -like your own reading of David's dream (very revealing) and also what you said about bringing new things to the arena - think this project has really allowed that to happen. Great insights all round! xxx
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