Show205
After an absence of four consecutive episodes, the sexy, sultry confidential secretary extraordinaire Ms. Della Street is back on the job! DellaFan is happy. She is the main reason I watch the show.
+Della was a Single, Career Woman Before the Women's Liberation Movement of the '60s; the character is relatively overlooked when contrasted with Star Trek's Lt. Uhura, another trailblazing character. Mike Bedard 3.23.15
Virginia Field is looking awfully good for a 46-year-old woman. I'm suspecting she had a "life-style lift." Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 12/14/2013.
+ In 1964, 65tosspowertrap? Billie Burke was 55 when she played Glinda The Witch of the North. Perhaps some people don't wrinkle much. IMDB says "Columnist Walter Winchell dubbed [Field] 'the most beautiful blonde in the world'". Submitted by DyNama, 3/14/2014.
+ Compare what she looks like in this episode to what she looked like six years earlier in TCOT Prodigal Parent. I'm not criticizing her. I think she looks terrific. Submitted by 65tosspowertrap, 4-25-14.
In the previous show, “Woeful Widower”, we heard but never saw the victim. In this show, we see but never hear the victim. And one of the main characters, Simon Weatherly, doesn’t appear at all. DOD 02/25/21
That's entertainment? I can't imagine watching people read Shakespeare from lecterns, no props, no costumes, no action, for very long.
I’d say it is entertainment, indeed. Shakespeare’s language is beautiful. Those who attend such a reading would almost certainly be quite familiar with the works, and look forward to hearing their own favorites. I would enjoy going, or even being a part of a company like this. Without the intrigue, perhaps. Rickapolis 02/25/21
I think the dialog in this episode is well-written. I especially like the character of Guy Penrose (Tom Conway).
+ I liked the script too. Conway was great. I also liked Victor Buono as a weird hybrid between Frank Morgan as the Wizard of Oz and Bob Keeshan as Captain Kangaroo! Submitted by catyron, June 7th, 2018
I love the line Ramona says at the end of the episode: “We live in a pagan society...but is it really so wrong to kill a critic?” It's interesting she refers to society as pagan in 1964. Submitted by DyNama, 3/14/2014.
+ My reaction was quite different. Although it was perfectly illustrative of her character, and in some ways a welcome antidote to the tendency for the show - particularly in later years - to become sanctimonious, the glib reaction to it - both onscreen and off - seems a clear violation of the Television Code ("The condoning of crime...in a frivolous, cynical or callous manner is unacceptable...The presentation of murder...shall not be presented as justifiable.") For all the daring things that PM did that got noticed, this seems to be one that didn't.
A little shocked, Notcom 061419.
On the bus to Santa Barbara, Mr. Penrose seemed to know a lot about Mr. Kramer. Can we assume Penrose got the information from Mr. Everett? Kramer was said to be a part-time drama teacher yet he had his own office. Not bad for an adjunct. Submitted by H. Mason 3/25/15
When talking to Perry, Mr. Penrose said: "We call ourselves the Company of Four for good reason. See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil."
Perry said: "That's only three."
Why did they need four reasons to call themselves the Company of Four? Was each reason supposed to represent a member? Submitted by H. Mason 3/25/15
Exactly what happened between Kramer and Ramona? In one of his reviews he supposedly compared Ramona to the mythological figure Medea who was responsible for several deaths including her two sons. Did Kramer try to say Ramona had an abortion? Kramer lost his job as a Broadway critic because of something he wrote or did possibly involving Ramona. That would seem to be a motive for him to kill her. After many years Ramona still held a grudge against Kramer for whatever he did. Submitted by H. Mason 3/25/15
As the troupe enters the hotel in Santa Barbara, Fossette spots Kramer and mutters "beast in view". This may be a reference to a very popular mystery novel of the same name by Margaret Millar that came out in 1956, and was anthologized on "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" just a month before this episode aired. Margaret Millar was married to Ross McDonald, author of the Lew Archer novels. DOD 1/18/18
In football parlance, John Sylvester Fossette called an audible. Otto Gervaert, 2/25/21.