I overslept this morning and barely had the time for journal writing, breakfast, and To Tell the Truth. Came in just as the panel guessed which of three ladies was the first female pilot on a major airline. The next contestant had a sadder story. He wrote a book on suicide and was an advocate for taking suicide and mental health more seriously.
Thank goodness it didn't take me long to get an Uber driver, even at quarter after 8. The driver appeared just as the garbage truck had taken off down the street. I was only a few minutes late to work.
Spent the first few hours quietly gathering carts. It wasn't busy this morning, and there were no problems...until two managers called me in suddenly at ten minutes to 12. Seems the inside bagger got sick and went home early, and they had no one to sweep the store. The store has to be swept once a hour, starting at noon. I wouldn't mind doing it, if they'd told me about it earlier when the other bagger left. It threw me off and put me way behind, on sweeping and doing the carts. Couldn't have been happier when work ended and I got a ride home, even if I had to wait 20 minutes for that ride.
Went straight into writing when I got home. Gene finally unleashes the others, allowing them to overwhelm Goodson's forces. Meanwhile, Laurie steals a knife from a sailor and intends to help the others...and asks her husband Anson where his loyalties really lay.
Broke at 6:30 for leftovers and Match Game '74. The show started with a "shy" Gene Rayburn creeping out from his door only to end up kissing Joyce Bulifant on the arm in his idea of passion. After a question made jokes about Charles not wearing socks, a lady in the audience gave him a pair. Dolly and Dick Martin and Conrad Janis of Mork & Mindy joined in the fun on Match Game PM.
Sale of the Century went almost exactly the same as it did yesterday. The female challenger pulled ahead first and bought the first Instant Bargain, but the champ did better after the first break. She picked up a $25 card on the Fame Game that helped her win the Speed Round by a wide margin. Alas, she missed the Bonus Round money by a few seconds.
Finished the night on Tubi with Cinderella. This unusual modern fairy tale was a hit on British television in 2000. Here, Cinderella goes under her Italian name of Zezolla (Marcella Plunkett), and she's a simple lass who spends her time wandering the mountainside. Her father (David Warner) brings home a new stepmother (Kathleen Turner) in outrageously bright-colored and tight-fitting clothes. All she cares about is spending her new husband's money on rich meals and fancy outfits for herself and her two spoiled and selfish daughters (Lucy Punch and Katherine Carteridge). When she finds out he has titles but little money, she slowly poisons him and turns him against Zezolla, forcing her to do all the chores.
She eventually stumbles into a cave that leads her to Mab (Jane Birkin), a mer-witch who prefers the company of fish to people. She does take a shine to Zezolla in her own way, giving her food when her stepmother refuses to feed her. This is also where the gown for the ball comes from, and only because Zezolla wants to attend in order to stop her stepmother from murdering her father. Prince Valiant (Gideon Turner) is a bored rock and roller who would rather be playing his guitar, until he sees that mystery woman. Now, he'll do anything to find her...but her stepmother has her own plans for her innocent stepdaughter.
Ok, this is definitely one of the stranger versions of Cinderella I've run across. It's a peculiar blend of styles and eras that manages to serve up an odd magic of its own. Turner is way over the top as the obnoxious woman who is determined to get her daughters to the throne in any way possible; Birkin also does well as the anti-social mer-witch who claims she wants to be left alone, but has more heart than she'd admit. The costumes in particular are amazing, ranging from Elizabethan gowns to the Prince's leather jacket to the extra tight jewel-toned suits the stepmother and stepsisters favor.
Bit too weird for me to watch all the time, but I'm still glad I gave it a try. If you're looking for a unique Cinderella story for older girls and teens, this may be what they're looking for.
(And...it's snowing again at press time. Sounds like we're going going to get 2 to 4 inches again, and it should be long done by the time I go to work tomorrow.)
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