Slings & Arrows 3.4: Every Inch A King
The fourth episode of Season Three of Slings & Arrows airs on Sundance tonight at 8pm. It will also be repeated throughout the week.
Use the comments section of this post to discuss the episode. Any comments I may have will be posted in the comments section as well.
You can view the archives to discuss past episodes and seasons. Future episodes for Season 3 will be posted as they air on Sundance.
WARNING: Comments may contain further discussion of the show, including potential spoilers. Click through only after viewing the episode. Commenters may discuss this episode as freely as they like, though Canadian readers are asked not to post spoilers for any later episodes.
By the way, did you know that the show is co-created and co-written by Susan Coyne (Anna), Mark McKinney (Richard), and Bob Martin (Terry from Accounting in Season One)? That’s hot.
March 12th, 2007 at 1:45 pm
The big A.L. and I have had our own dialogue about this today, here are some of the highlights and I look forward to your review:
Me:
I LOVED how Anna didn’t even BLINK when Geoffrey told her that one of the drugs Charles was using was heroin. Barbara’s been narcissistic and annoying, but now she’s getting egregious. Ellen seems to be realizing that too. Richard is such an interesting character. He’s SO insecure and lost and susceptible to random validation (whether credible or no) that he should be frustrating, but Mark McKinney makes him so lovable and endearing. And I have to say, I think he was right, from administrative standpoint, though not an artistic one, to move Lear to the smaller venue and to move the well-performing but heinous EAST HASTINGS to the larger one.
AL:
I am in COMPLETE agreement with all your commentary. Especially your comments re: Richard. And yes, the choice to move EH to the mainstage was the right one, although nearly masked by his idiocy over the project in general.
IF Charles pulls it off, he will only do it once, and he will really die at the end. They’ll either have to hold up or drag off his corpse for curtain call. That’s my current prediction.
Didn’t you LOVE Geoffrey’s reaction to Charles conversing with the ghost!
March 12th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
Oh, I have to disagree with you both. I think Richard’s decision to move the play was completely motivated by his own investement in the musical rather than by practical or financial considerations, and it follows nicely in the arc of the season. Geoffrey is King Lear.
Charles is, of course, also King Lear, a connection that’s been made for us a number of times by various characters. But Geoffrey is also King Lear. Consider…
In the first episode, he was on top of the world. But he decided that he didn’t want to be bothered with producing the musical, so he gave it away to Richard. Richard has become a huge success with the musical, and is now so high and mighty that he can command Geoffrey a little to disquantity his audience. And so he heads off, his ghostly fool in tow. I have no idea what’s going to happen in the last two episodes, but it doesn’t look good for Geoffrey. This is the tragedy of King Lear.
If it were a comedy, it would end happily. Now that Charles can see Oliver, Oliver can hold book during the performances, feeding Charles lines when he gets forgetful, and right in front of an oblivious audience, except for those audience members with one foot in the grave as well. So it won’t work for the Sunday matinees, but the rest of the performances should be fine. But then Oliver fades out just as Charles gets to Lear’s last great speech. But oh, he does it himself and fulfills his dying wish! But all of that is probably not going to happen now. It will end badly for all.
Hey, if Charles can see Oliver, does that mean Geoffrey’s not crazy? Up until now, they’ve left open whether or not Oliver is really a ghost or if Geoffrey is just hallucinating. But now we have another person who can see him. I loved the scene in the therapist’s office when Geoffrey was “pretending” to talk to Oliver. “Oh, you’re good at this.”
I agree with you that Barbara is way out of line. But at least we finally find out what she’s famous for. The Lizard Queen indeed.
I agree with your prediction. IF Charles does it, he will only do it once, and he will really die in the end. I don’t think this will happen though. I don’t think Charles will play Lear.
Who will? Jerry is useless. What kind of understudy for King Lear is relieved when he doesn’t have to go on? Maybe Frank will get to do it. (He’s Sophie’s dad in real life; how’s that for layering.)
March 12th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
If Geoffrey’s not crazy does it mean that HE’S got “one foot in the grave”???? And while Richard’s motivation’s for moving the play are obvious, I DO think it’s the “right” decision for the festival and actually for Lear which has some of the pressure taken off of it now. But I see your correlations very clearly. And the idea of Oliver prompting Charles is GENIUS. I’ll now think the show missed a terrific opportunity if they don’t do just that…..
March 12th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Hmmmm, that’s a good point about Geoffrey. If he’s not mad, why can he see Oliver? I hope he doesn’t have one foot in the grave. Okay, how’s this… Oliver really is a ghost. Charles can see him because he has one foot in the grave. Geoffrey can see him because he’s mad. It’s not a hallucination, but a madness that lets you see things that aren’t apparent to most people. It’s the flip side of Geoffrey’s creative genius.
And you know you’ll never get me to admit that preferencing East Hastings: The Musical over King Lear is the right decision, but I am prepared to admit that I’m not being quite rational about it either. So maybe you’re right. But even if the decision is the right one, we can agree that Richard made it for the wrong reasons.
March 12th, 2007 at 3:42 pm
Agreed! :-)