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Post by diane on Oct 21, 2008 18:44:23 GMT -5
And so we begin:
I think that "The Next Murder You Hear" is the first truly great great episode. It contains almost all of the classic ML characteristics -- amazing banter, irreverant humor, pushing the envelope with the censors, good music, a silly chase......and couldn't we just go on?
I've come up with about 10 questions......and I was not quite sure how to do this. I think I will start with four, and then if we slow up conversations for want of subject matter, we can throw in a few more.
Or if anyone has a better idea, please jump in!!
OK...Questions:
1. What attracted Maddie to Paul McCain? Clearly she was not the type of woman who would "moon" over a radio commentator.
2. What is YOUR favorite classic ML moment in this episode?
3. How about that location shooting? Anybody recognize any sites? What did use of location shooting add to this episode, if anything.
4. So....about the relationship -- is David really feeling something special or is he in the throes of a "crush" on his new employer? How about Maddie......does she know there is something there yet, or is she just flattered by David's attentions?
I'm going to give a few of you a chance to answer before I jump in with mine......Have fun!!!
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 19:01:16 GMT -5
Here are my thoughts on Question 1. Paul McCain spoke to "lonely hearts". I believe that Maddie really was lonely. We don't see her with any friends and she has not had great success in the relationship area. Paul's insight into relationships really touched her- and of course, there was a certain amount of romance in his stories and philosophies.
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 19:03:36 GMT -5
Question 2 - my favorite moment is the scene where Maddie finds David hanging on her door. David's offer to "help" Maddie is priceless. I also like the follow up dialog when David is trying to get Maddie to tell him who she had been with the night before - "rhymes with..."
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:07:10 GMT -5
I think Maddie was attracted to McCain once she realized that she was basically leading a very quiet and lonely life. The whole "in bed before 9:30" thing set her off. We see her loneliness while eating soup alone for dinner, feeding her fish (her only friends at the moment!) putting the dish in her dishwasher that was empty (no other dishes) and then she gets in bed and we see newspapers and magazines all over the top of the bed (clearly she just slides in one side of the bed.....)
Then out of spite for David she heads out in her car and listens to the McCain tapes. His in depth discussion on relationships and/or the definition of a relationship intrigues her and she begins to realize just how lonely she might be. This is revealed most, I think, in the office when she is listening to him and David walks in as she is about to call a "dead" radio host on the phone and when they are coming out of his house (apt.) and she says something like "why is it that those who have someone want someone else and those who don't get left".
Her attraction is more her realization that she is indeed lonely at times and McCain seems to speak to her soul.
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 19:14:15 GMT -5
Question 3 - never been to LA, so can't say that I recognize anything. I feel that the location shots were powerful in the night scene as Maddie drives around the city, looking at couples as they stroll arm and arm. Those visuals serve to heighten the depths of her loneliness - despair might be a little strong - but maybe her discontent.
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:15:27 GMT -5
Favorite scene: 2 LOL!!
#1: David in the bar confessing his affection and jealousy for Maddie . "If she was gonna go for somebody you think she would go for me. Not that she has to go for me.....I don't care about that...." "Ok, I'm insecure....."
#2: Maddie gets David off the door and proceeds to tell her that he will help her with any desires she might have and need to satisfy. "The secret here is not to make a pig out of yourself"!!!!
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:25:50 GMT -5
Location shots: were we suppose to recognize anything?!?! I love trick questions!!!
I like the scene in the rain with Maddie running from McCain. Cybill could run! I bet she could have out run him!!
2 things: Anyone notice that when Maddie opens the door she looks like she is trying to stay under her umbrella?!?! ;D
And I have always wondered if the rain is real. Did they make rain? And I wonder if shooting it was miserable, being wet and all.
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Post by jpen on Oct 21, 2008 19:28:06 GMT -5
Wow...OK, those are "meaty" questions; thanks for putting them together, Diane! Here's my take: 1. I think Maddie is at a place where she's questioning the choices she's made--getting to know David has made her think a little about being so rational and controlled; in particular (in this episode), his remarks about being at home in bed by 9:30, and not having anyone in her life. She's lonely!! Paul's voice (and it's a great voice) reaches out to her and what he says strikes a chord--most obviously in her office, when he says "One day you wake up and realize you had a crack at some really great people, but you were too busy worrying about what you might be missing to notice." Also, Paul is SAFE--a stand-in lover with no complications. I thought the scene in her bedroom, after she's been out driving around, was particularly relevant here. The camera pans over a trail of clothing--sort of a stock suggestive shot, only usually there are two people's clothes involved--to Maddie, who is drinking wine in her bed, while one of Paul's tapes plays on the boom box. She is responding to his comments, as if they're having a conversation. She's also NAKED--or would seem to be--no shoulder straps visible. When I realized that, I had to go back and look again--it was kind of shocking to me, actually! 2. Ohh, favorite moment. Tough to choose, but I think mine is when David comes into Maddie's office and they simultaneously apologize to each other. For once, their double talk is not fighting, but making up! Also, the look on David's face as he sits on the corner of her desk..."Me? Interested?"--could there BE a bigger double meaning there??? And he's so gentle with her--he can see that she is sad, even if he doesn't know the reason. 3. Didn't recognize any locations. 4. I think this is the first episode where both Maddie and David start to realize that they could have feelings beyond friendship or simple attraction. For Maddie, it's in her reaction when David admits he had called her every 15 minutes--she is touched; then she gets angry because he goes from revealing his vulnerability to laying on innuendo. For David, obviously the bar scene is key, but also the office scene above and the final scene--when he asks her out, there's a real hope there--a softness instead of cockiness. Good Lord! How I do run on... Sorry--you just gave me a lot to think about, Diane! Can't wait to read everyone else's thoughts! PS. Is it ok if I ask a question? I wondered what people thought of Maddie's scene with McCain in front of the fire--did there seem to be an attraction on her part?
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:42:29 GMT -5
As far as David recognizing his feelings for Maddie, I think the audience knows how he feels about her from the get go. But we are especially shown his feelings in the bar scene. It just takes 3 seasons for him to tell her!! With Maddie, I don't think she really knows what she feels until "Witness...", but always tries to deny it until "I Am Curious...." But, we know!! That was/is the magic of ML!
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 19:48:18 GMT -5
Question 4 - I too believe that this is the first sign of something beyond "crush" for David. I am specifically thinking of the scene in the car in the rain after they have visited McCain's place. David questions Maddie's behavior and mood and Maddie responds that he sounds jealous. I love David's line - "Of who? Of what?" I believe that these are the same words he uses in "Maddie's Turn to Cry" when Maddie accuses him of being "jealous jealous jealous" of Sam. He then goes on to say that for him to be jealous, McCain would have to have something he wants - and he doesn't. David sounds a little too defensive here, maybe afraid that he has revealed a little too much.
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:52:57 GMT -5
The fireplace scene with McCain? I did not think she was attracted to him at that point. She has met him in person and talked to him and now maybe she just respects him or has a better understanding of who he really is.
She seemed more attracted to him during the scene where she asks Laura about him.....she has the look of infatuation, don't you think?
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Post by beesnbears on Oct 21, 2008 19:58:29 GMT -5
I agree lin212!! He is really annoyed that she sees he is jealous. It's the first time his feelings are exposed to her and he was totally not ready for it!!
What he said sure did not come out right, did it??!!! You can just tell he wanted to rewind or take it back!!
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 20:00:35 GMT -5
I just have to throw in something that has always struck me in this episode - I love love love the way Cybill plays Maddie. I can't quite put my finger on how to describe it, but there is something in the gestures, the facial expressions, the eye movements. There is a softness, a youthfulness that almost seems naive, that I find so wonderful. Even the nightshirt with white socks and then the pants outfit (in the rain) with the espadrilles - it's so nice to see her in something else other than skirts and pumps.
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Post by lin212 on Oct 21, 2008 20:03:56 GMT -5
jpen, I don't think Maddie was attracted to McCain in the fireplace scene. I see respect and admiration in her face more than anything.
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Post by callmeditzy on Oct 21, 2008 20:06:58 GMT -5
1. I think Maddie feels like Paul is tapping into a part of herself that she keeps hidden to the rest of the world. She’s been a very successful businesswoman, but doesn’t have any close relationships to speak of, except for her parents. She pretends like she doesn’t care, but she truly does and I think she feels like Paul “knows” her, or what she’s feeling, better than anyone she actually knows. Also, because Paul is only a voice, she can imagine him to be anything she wants and she’s probably imagining that not only does he “understand” her, but he’s also handsome and funny and thoughtful and charming and whatever other qualities she thinks she likes in a man.
2. I’ve got two choices for this one. First, I love the Stickpin Hokey Pokey scene because it’s one of the handful that I remember from the original run. At the time, I couldn’t explain why it was so great, but I knew it felt “different” from what every other show was doing. Now I understand that what I love about it is the injection of pure silliness and irreverence that conventional wisdom would say is out of place in a detective “drama”, but works so well for the very same reason.
I also love the second car scene, when David and Maddie fight. It’s the first scene that gives me the feeling that these two mean a lot more to each other than they let on. Up until then, their arguments have been kind of superficial and centered around the fact that they are each completely annoyed by the parts of the other that makes them so different from themselves. They’re not so different from any pair of co-workers that get on each other’s nerves. But here, Maddie accuses David of being jealous and David gets very upset and defensive. I think this is when he realizes that he has real feelings for her that go beyond just thinking she’s hot and wanting to sleep with her. His tone of voice is kind of mean when he says, “…he’s have to have something I want, which he doesn’t” because he’s pissed off, realizing his feelings and the fact that Maddie appears to be picking up on them. And she looks truly hurt when he says that because he’s basically implying “I don’t want you. Why would I want you? Nobody wants you”, which is what she’s feeling insecure about anyway. Then when he tries to apologize if he “said anything to upset” her, she spits back “You couldn’t” very coldly. Her message: “You couldn’t upset me because you mean nothing to me”. It’s not a happy scene by any stretch, but it illustrates just how far these two have gotten under each other’s skin. They’re both upset, but as we all know, you can only be that upset by someone you truly care about. And this is the first inkling of that, in my opinion.
3. I’m not sure about the location shoots, but I do enjoy seeing them out of the office. In later seasons, they weren’t “out in the world” as much, and I think the feeling of the show and their relationship changed a bit. Part of what made them so compelling was seeing the two of them interact with other people and the outside world, both as individuals and as a team.
4. I talked about this a lot in my answer to #2, but I’ll just add that I think David really has developed real feelings for Maddie and is just now realizing it. I don’t think it’s a “crush” at all. To me, the word implies having an unrealistic and overly romantic view of the other person: heightening their good qualities and ignoring their bad ones. And David is definitely aware of Maddie’s bad qualities! When she first walked into his office, I might say that he had a slight crush. He obviously found her to be beautiful and put on a big show of trying to “charm” her (although I’d argue that that side of him, when he’s laying it on so thick, is not his true self at all). But when she announced so coldly that she was closing the agency and he called her a bitch and she slapped him, that was the end of any “crush” that might have developed. From then on, their interactions were so layered, containing moments of heated conflict as well as tenderness and mutual respect; by the time of this episode, their “relationship” had become too “real” for David’s feelings to be considered a crush.
Great questions!
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