Autumn Adventures

Began a sunny morning with perfect banana pancakes for breakfast and Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood. Since the fall pollen's been getting to my nose for the past few days, I thought I'd do the episode on Daniel's allergy. His allergy is a lot more serious than mine, though. "Daniel's Allergy" is to peaches, which makes him break out in a rash and his stomach hurt. His dad takes him to Dr. Anna, who tells him how to deal with it. Daniel also has to explain his "Allergy at School." His friends agree to help out and keep peaches away from him.

I'd seen the game show episodes before. Split Second brought in a lady who one once, but had run into technical trouble and lost...but she won here big-time, winning the main rounds and just getting the Countdown. She missed the car, though, and opted to come back. The solo older woman (who was once a member of the All-American Women's League) kept throwing strike-outs on Blockbusters. After missing two questions, she breezed through the Gold Rush round and was taking on a sister pair when I had to dash out for work.

Work wasn't bad when I arrived. Other than a few frustrating customers, the first hour or so was quiet. Things picked up around noon and stayed fairly busy for the rest of the afternoon. It continued to be busy when I was done, and of course, my relief never showed. The girl working the self-checkout lines came in for me, and I ended up being late getting out.

Was infinitely cheered by the arrival of two more doll outfits when I got home. Found the dress part of Felicity's Work Gown for a half-way decent price. She can wear an apron/pinafore I've had for Samantha for years and her own knitted shawl with it. Ariel got Julie's Casual Outfit, complete with the awesome brown boots I wish I had a pair of. 

Snuck in a little bit of writing before dinner. Helen Rayburn manages to make her way through the winds created by the black magic explosion to her husband Gene. She and Debralee the Water Fairy brought the townspeople and encouraged them to sing and carry torches to make light. Now, though, no one's sure what's going to happen next...

Broke for scrambled eggs with cheese, spinach, and tomatoes at 6:30. Old-time comic Jack Carter joins Orson Bean, ditzy Louisa Moritz, Betty White, and the regulars on Match Game to watch Gene pass out over the sight of Louisa's "assets" on display in a brief halter top. Match Game PM traded lust for drunk jokes. Foster Brooks has to sober up his act long enough to answer "Goof ___" on the Head-to-Head Round.

Sat down with popcorn as Sale of the Century began. The woman champ had stiff competition from the one guy, who kept going back and forth with her the entire show. She finally ended up getting a money card on the Fame Game that helped her win big time in the Speed Round. To her utter delight, she picked the car from the prize board.

Moved online after I hit the shower. "Samantha Fights City Hall" in season 5 of Bewitched on The Roku Channel. Incensed that a local park is to be torn down for a shopping center, Samantha rallies the mothers in the neighborhood to picket its destruction. Darrin is torn between progress and his wife insisting that the kids need a park, especially after he learns that the owner of the proposed shopping center happens to be his advertising firm's newest client.

Finished off the night on the Kanopy Library streaming site with the rare silent swashbuckler Bardleys the Magnificent. This film was lost for years; the majority of it only turned up in 2006, and even now, there's a segment covered by film stills. Bardelys (John Gilbert) wagers his estate against that of the Comte Chatellerault (Roy D'Arcy) that he can't make Roxalanne de Lavadan (Eleanor Boardman), the daughter of a rebel family, fall in love with him. He poses as a rebel to gain entrance into her family's home. It works, and they fall in love, until Roxalanne discovers that the rebel had a sweetheart and gives Bardelys away to the king's soldiers. He must convince the king he's who he claims to be and keep his sweetheart from marrying the wicked Chatelleraut.

If you want to know more about John Gilbert before his notorious fall during the early talkies era, you'll want to start here or with The Big Parade. Gilbert's having a ball here, swinging on tapestries, romancing all the ladies, and making love with the stunning Boardman. MGM spared no expense on the production, either, even adding blue tint to the daytime scenes when Bardelys finds the dying rebel and meets Roxalanne. Lovers of swashbucklers or silent film will want to check this one out.