And just because here are two screencaps of Ashley Jensen. The first is from Takin’ Over the Asylum (1994).

This is from the Ugly Betty episode “Burning Questions” (2008).

Mad Men - “New Amsterdam”

We discover why Pete was described as being good with people when we find out how well connected he is on his mother’s side. Is he a bit dim as well as ambitious? He failed at both attempts to be in control. I think this series is about the struggle that men and women face in a world of changing gender expectations. The fact that Pete’s importance comes via his mother is continued through to his wife getting her own way. He thinks he should be the boss but he isn’t.

Don’s boss looked like Colonel Saunders.

The scenes between Betty and Glen, Helen’s son, were creepy and sad. I’m not sure she should have given him the lock of hair because that seems inappropriately encouraging.

I have decided that January Jones is not a smoker.

This series feels like reading a novel or watching a (really long) film. I have no idea how much is made up on the fly and how much is pre-planned.

Girls grow up faster than boys do
Girls grow up faster than boys

Girls grow up faster than boys do
So, baby, I’m old enough for you
Once you used to date my big sister
Now, baby, she’s too old for you

Won’t you take a look at me now
You’ll be surprised at what you see now
I’m everything a girl should be now
36-21-35

I don’t really know where to start but any analysis of the words ought to leave a skeezy taste in your mouth.

However, what really gets me is that this is a Goffin and K…, thank goodness, not King but a Goffin and Keeler song. Gerry Goffin is a lyricist and so he is responsible for these words and those of “He Hit Me (and It Felt Like a Kiss)”. I understand the background to “He Hit Me” but to translate the complexity of a troubled relationship into a three minute pop song is sometimes beyond the scope of talented wordsmiths like Goffin. I do rather wish he hadn’t bothered trying.

Anyhow, Keeler co-wrote the theme to the charming Bewitched starring the equally charming Elizabeth Montgomery.

PS On the other hand:

I can recall the time
When I wasn’t ashamed
To reach out to a friend
And now I think I’ve got
A lot more than
A skipping rope to lend

He made pool interesting.

He could do mean-spirited very effectively.

This film hasn’t been on TV for years but when it was I was terrified that one day I would end up like Joanne Woodward’s character.

Jamie Lee Curtis is a lovely actress and so is Lindsay who was as endearing in this as she was in Mean Girls. This is better than the Jodie Foster version because I don’t remember that being nearly as funny as this one is. It also kept its “walk in another person’s shoes” message from being treacly particularly through some great performances from the entire cast.

My only caveat is I don’t like what Tess did to Stacey’s test.

Titan A.E.

A terrible waste of voice acting and some stunning animation. I don’t understand why the plot isn’t the most important thing for a film that can’t be improvised and so developed that way. To hear the directors talking on the commentary that they didn’t know how to plot Akima’s journey from jettison to slave ship so they didn’t bother is mind-boggling.

And that music…

Humphrey Bogart - a poster from a Karsh exhibition featuring this photograph used to hang on my wall

James Cagney - he is not like the others

Charles Boyer - he had the most beautiful deep set eyes and I find the manner of his death moving

Steve Cochran - I couldn’t find a photo to do him justice compared with his on-screen presence - I love him in Come Next Spring

Clark Gable - he is so handsome in this photo - he really was a stunner without a moustache

Cary Grant - at any age after he hit his thirties he was gorgeous

Paul Newman - at any age he is handsome but in profile he was unbelievable

Conrad Veidt - there was something commanding but at the same time soft about this man

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton on SNL.

Sarah Haskins in Target Women:Birth Control

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Some meat and fish has sneaked in from my pre-vegetarian days. I had my first Krispy Kreme doughnut about three months ago. I am very unlikely to ever try the alcohol drinks not scored through but I have no objection to them. Carob chips and Lapsang souchong should have their own “tried once” marker.