Before the Rains Came

Began the morning with breakfast and Alice's Wonderland Bakery. The Queen of Hearts creates "The Fiesta of the Red and White Roses" as a last party before the roses are painted red. She wants Rosa to perform for their guests, but she's too shy. She tries to get out of it, until she realizes she and her mother can sing together. It's a "Peanut Butter Change Up" when Alice discovers their friend JoJo the Dodo is allergic to peanut butter and can't eat the chocolate peanut butter cakes they planned for their game night. JoJo joins the other kids to help them find an alternative filling she can eat.

Headed out after that; got to work just in time. Not that it mattered. We were quiet as can be the entire morning. It's the middle of the week and the middle of a month that doesn't have a whole lot going on besides the 4th of July. I spent most of the morning sweeping and gathering carts. It was once again hot, sunny, and incredibly humid, probably in the mid-90's. Thankfully, I was in and out with no problems whatsoever.

Stopped at the pretzel shop on the way home. They were out of cheesesteak-stuffed pretzels, so I got a pepperoni stuffed for lunch, along with two regular pretzels and a can of Diet Pepsi. They weren't busy, either, allowing me to quickly buy my lunch and head out.

Watched What's New, Scooby Doo? while changing and eating lunch. "Homeward Hound" has the gang attending a dog show that's attacked by an enormous cat creature. Scooby's more interested in protecting a pretty prize-winning golden retriever and her six adorable puppies. When Scooby and the puppies are stolen, Scooby has to rescue them and bring them back, while the others try to figure out who replaced their beloved Great Dane buddy with a snarling impostor.

Switched to Remember WENN after lunch. Hilary becomes "The Diva Who Wouldn't Die" when the wife of a sponsor (Rue McClanahan) convinces her to host Betty's new gossip show. The show is a disaster when Hilary can't find any news to report, and all the gossip ends up being about her. To Hilary's horror, it turns out that the trade-off for that gossip show was killing her off on her signature soap opera "The Hands of Time." Hilary Booth doesn't go down without a fight, and she'll do anything she can think of to keep her character alive and on the air.

Hilary and Betty are also central to "Behind Every Great Woman." Hilary claims she's sung onstage before, then refuses to rehearse when Betty and Scott create a musical program around her. Betty ends up singing for her...and the response is so strong, Hilary and Scott insist that she keep right on singing. It's not until the arrival of an even snootier diva, Ruth Geddy (Donna Murphy), when the others finally draw the curtain on the deception and bring Betty into the spotlight.

Put on Ladyhawke after WENN ended. Wisecracking thief Phillipe (Matthew Broderick) is recruited by noble knight Etienne of Navarre (Rutger Hauer) to help him kill the Bishop of Aquia (John Wood). The Bishop had wanted Etienne's beloved with Isabeau (Michelle Pfiffer), so he cursed them both. She turns into a hawk by day, and he becomes a wolf at night, with them only meeting briefly during the change. Phillipe isn't overly happy about Etienne wanting to murder the Bishop out of revenge, and neither is Isabeau. Drunk monk Imperius (Leo McKern) insists that the curse can be broken if they face the Bishop together on "a day without night, and a night without day," an eclipse in three days' time. 

Rose loved this deeply romantic fantasy adventure when it ran frequently on cable in the mid-late 80's. I didn't get it then, but I certainly have a far greater understanding of what they were going for now. Pfiffer in particular makes a gorgeous and haunting enchanted lady; Hauer is a bit stiffer as her beloved knight. Though Broderick's asides can be funny, he and they often come off as a little too modern for fantasy set in medieval Italy. Still, this is worth checking out for the performances and gorgeous filming in Italy alone if you're a fan of swoony 80's sword and sorcery films like Rose.

Oh, and it finally started raining somewhere around 3 - 4 PM. No noise this time, just lots of showers. It's been raining off and on ever since. 

Spent the afternoon working on Hilary and the Beasts. A few months later, shortly after Easter, Hilary wanders in the newly-blooming garden. She ends up at the hot house where Mackie stole the rose that caused all the trouble. Troll is there, pruning roses. He once again points out the theft; she insists there's thousands, and she only wanted something beautiful. Her own garden wasn't growing in January, and they couldn't afford roses. He finally admits that he'd been married before. His first wife walked away when he was forced to marry another woman. Hilary asks who would marry a hideous troll, which he doesn't exactly like hearing. They end up arguing, and she stomps out of the hot house in anger and tears, certain that her beloved Jeff would never behave like that monster.

Broke for dinner and Match Game '75 at 6:30. We're now at the last episodes of the year, the ones where Richard sat next to his then-girlfriend Jody Donovan. Brett and Gene are more interested in joking about an older gentleman who owns a hotel in Encino (leading to a fresh round of "Gene and Brett in an Encino hotel" jokes).

Finished the night with The Love Boat on Paramount Plus. "The Return of the Captain's Lady" (Pat Crowley) has Vicki hoping for wedding bells, but she finally admits to Captain Steubing that she's not as available as he beloved. "Love Ain't Illegal" has a secretary (Phyllis Davis) falling for the more honest partner (Robert Mandan) of a business, while his duplicitous partner (Dick Martin) clears out the till. "The Irresistible Man" (Linwood Boomer) is supposedly attacked and left in a closet, but while the ladies swoon, Doc and the girl who actually loves him (Patricia Klous) question his claim.