Melanie's Review
Laurie's Review
Melanie's ReviewBefore the awful events of September 11, I tried on several occasions to watch this episode. Try as I might, I just couldn't seem to stay focused on it from the beginning to the end. This episode just does absolutely nothing to engage my attention. Even today, when I'm home sick and literally have nothing better to do, I keep having to rewind and watch scenes again--because my mind keeps wandering. Picture me as Thatcher in the final concert scene--fast asleep after missing the entire episode.
So, my thoughts are going to somewhat scattershot. No overall themes, just random musings.
I was surprised by how much attention other reviewers have paid to David Keeley. I only recently learned that he was even in this episode (I only knew the name because of the Gross/Keeley music and because I know he had something to do with last year's Stratford Festival). I was rather relieved when Kali said that one should see him in something other than Mountie Sings the Blues to see his talent--because his turn as Earl left no impression on me at all. The only scene that might have impressed me, the scene at the strip club where he threatens Carver Dunn, was just too. . . disgusting. . . yes, too disgusting to leave a good impression. Not DK's fault, I'll agree.
Believe it or not [Melanie puts on the flame-proof underwear] the little bit I heard of Dewey's aborted lyric ("Don't call me for supper if you don't mean to feed me; don't tell me you love me with that gun in your hand.") impressed me more than the Duck Boys' recitation from Two Houses ("There's a house we call love, built next door to hate, and both them got lawns with a white picket gate. Their taxes don't differ and their water's the same.") I know that's not much to judge a song on, but I've never actually heard the final product, and I'm not particularly motivated to go looking for it. Like Frannie, I just don't like country music.
Come to think of it, "Don't tell me you love me with that gun in your hand," is pretty prescient. That's exactly what happened to George and Tracy in the end!
It seems to me that if you've got a viable assasination threat, it would make sense to post an officer or two on the roofs of nearby buildings before your police stand-in gets shot. After all, the assassin might have shot McCafferty in the head, or he might have missed and shot Fraser or one of the fans instead.
Has the question arisen before as to whether RayK drinks? It's not clear whether he took a swig from Earl's hip flask.
Speaking of Ray, here's another example of Fraser not quite trusting Ray's instincts. At least he's willing to admit when he's wrong.
Fraser: Lingo is a...well it's a tenuous connection.Thatcher doesn't have much to do, once she firmly asserts that she isn't going to allow her consulate to become part of a "publicity circus." There were a couple of precious details in that brief opening scene: first, that she "lives danger" (hilariously spoken while licking an envelope, which tells you what her career really is) and second, that she has her own "classified" stamp. Does our Inspector have a fantasy life? Nonetheless, I wonder that they couldn't have written at least one or two brief scenes for her--after all, she ended up with the very publicity circus she had sought to avoid.
Ray: Tenuous?
Fraser: Ummm.
Ray: Look. "If I can't have you, no one will." "If I can't have you, no one will".
Fraser: Yes, but Ray, these letters...I mean apart from being...uh...uh...a testament to the sad and lonely absurdity of man's cruel fate, are relatively benign; whereas this fax is a virtual torrent of mental illness.
Francesca: Ooh! Ooh! Look at this. Carver Dunn; disturbing the peace, loitering. . . .
Ray: Who gets busted for loitering?
Francesca: Fruitcakes.
Ray: Uh huh.
Francesca: He's got a restraining order against him.
Fraser (reading over Frannie's shoulder): Forbidding him to go within a hundred yards of Linda Lawless, singer. Well, it would appear that perhaps I was. . .uh. . . .
Ray: Wrong.
Fraser: Wrong, and that. . . maybe we should uh. . . .
Ray: Pick him up.
Fraser: Pick him up.Turnbull is at his most adorable in this showcase episode. From his unabashed hero worship to his almost sublime attempt to woo Francesca to country music fandom (or whatever it was he was trying to woo her about), he's just too sweet to believe. Pity he wasn't given anything useful to do in the resolution of the crime. For example, he could have been the one to spout off the details of Tracy's career, providing the crucial clue that shifted suspicion to Tracy's own entourage.
DuesiesThatcher: Canada's Sweetheart needs protecting.
Fraser: They feel her life may be in danger while she's here in Chicago?
Thatcher: Danger! As if those pencil-neck geeks in Industry, Trade and Commerce would know danger if it jumped up and pierced their spleen with an ice pick. I know danger. I live [lick, lick, lick] danger.Turnbull: It's called I Won't Be Home for Supper Because They are Gonna Hang Me Tonight. It's a story song that blends the world of horticulture with the world of bank robbery.
Francesca: I'm always on your mind?
Turnbull: I know of a mule.
Francesca: You do?
Turnbull: Different from a donkey, genetically speaking; but metaphorically, very agreeable. Walter Brennan, That Mule, Old Rivers, and Me. Francesca: I was always on your mind?
(Love, Canadian Style)Dewey: It has to be Huey and Dewey.
Huey: Oh yeah? Why?
Dewey: Because all the great acts have two names.
Huey: Like who?
Dewey: Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Milt and Berl.
(Ah. Now I get the joke. Thanks to the transcript, Wolfwalker--that's the first time I saw "Milton Berle" spelled that way.)
Third Runner-Up Nitpick of the Week (maybe)Is it possible to shoot a man with the silencer pressed up against the base of the skull and leave such a. . . neat corpse?
Second Runner-Up Nitpick of the Week:
Why would Tracy record a song while on tour?
Runner-Up Nitpick of the Week
"Vecchio! Mr. Dunn is lawyered up." And suddenly Ray boots his number-one suspect out the door? Asking for a lawyer is not a "get out of jail free" card. The suspect asks for a lawyer, they stop asking questions and keep him locked up until his lawyer arrives. Then they let him talk to his lawyer. Then they talk to him again, with his lawyer present. Jeez. (For that matter, how did Dunn become "lawyered up"? Did Welsh overhear his passing, "Where's my lawyer?" Or did he call his lawyer from a cell phone while riding in Ray's car?)
Nitpick of the Week
Dunn's alibi is a lie! He left Earl's table, Earl immediately lit a cigar and asked for the check, and then was promptly dispatched. No time for Dunn to cross town, much less buy a CD. The proof is in the music--the singer in the strip club was singing throughout that continuous sequence of events.
Interestingly enough, the three runner-up Cringe-Worthy Moments come from the same extended scene.Third Runner-Up Cringe-Worthy Moment
The off-key incompetence of Tracy's bimbo-turned-backup singer at the studio. With a little effort, they could have made that sequence a little more believable.
Second Runner-Up Cringe-Worthy Moment
Immediately following the departure of the bimbo, Fraser proves that he knows more about vocal arranging than any of the professional musicians in the studio. "Well, it just occurred to me that if the song were moved up a minor third it might ease the tempo and release the vocal." Puh-lease. I could have bought it if Fraser had transposed the song to a key that was either easier for him to sing, or easier for him to play on the piano--I usually try to stick to playing the piano in G, C or F. ;-) Then one of the professionals, either Muddy or Tracy could have seen the value of the key change. . . that I could believe.
First Runner-Up Cringe-Worthy Moment
Muddy's un-original "It's a little bit country, it's a little bit rock-and-roll." [Melanie suffers yet another 70's Donnie & Marie flashback]
Cringe-Worthy Moment of the Week
Dunn: I'm sorry I shot you, Mister.
MacAfferty: You didn't shoot me.
Dunn: Oh, that's right.
Unanswered Question of the Week:Did Huey pay up $50 for a song about a mule?
Dief Moment:He found one stack of letters to be particularly offensive. On what grounds, I wonder?
Snack to enjoy while watching Mountie Sings the Blues:A romantic candlelit lunch for two, although I was expecting a couple of hot dogs from a street vendor. With a beverage: non-alcoholic, caffeine-free, sugarless.
Grading:Incomplete. I still can't manage to watch it all the way through.
Laurie's ReviewI don't like country music and I don't like Tracy Jenkins. This ep just didn't work for me. The story didn't grab me, most of the humor fell flat and there was very little chemistry between the cast and the guest stars. The actress who played Tracy can't act at all and it was hard for me to push her fakeness and the music aside long enough to enjoy the rest of the story. Her obsessed fan was plastic and unbelievable, not to mention thoroughly obnoxious. I could be mistaken, but I think every stereotype I have about the country music industry is contained in this ep.
Tracy Jenkins is supposed to be a superstar, filling stadiums with 50-60,000 people, but she has no personality, no charisma and zero stage presence. Basically, she's flat lining. I can't imagine anyone being obsessed with her, since as far as I can determine she has no sex appeal whatsoever. The way Fraser behaved when she kissed him was so unlike him, especially that "I'm never going to wash my face again" look.
I tend to fast forward through most of Mountie Sings the Blues but I actually watched the entire ep this time around, hoping to spot something interesting that I missed in the past, or, miracle of miracles, discover that I might enjoy it. This was not the case. Overall, it's incredibly boring.
There are moments that I like, such as Fraser relaxing in his office, feet up, strumming the guitar. We don't often see this side of him on screen, but I'd venture to say this sort of behavior is typical of him. Too bad we weren't rewarded with these rare personal moments on a regular basis.
Huey and Dewey's bits are enjoyable. Jack and Louis were friends, but we didn't have many glimpses into that friendship - something we just had to take for granted. As the later seasons progress, Jack and Tom's relationship onscreen seems as much about friendship as police partnership. I like that.
The letters from Olga and Vaselina are cute and funny, and when I first saw the ep, I had no idea they were real letters. They're precious! I can almost see them translating literally from their Russian/English dictionaries. Personally, I think the women were probably flattered to hear their letters read during the ep, assuming they saw it at some point. I would consider it the ultimate in acknowledgements. If Olga and Vaselina had appeared on the set, they undoubtedly would have been treated like royalty.
Moments I like:Tracy agreeing to listen to Turnbull's song, only 21 1/2 verses. I like the way he smirks at Earl.
Embarrassed Fraser when Tracy finds him at the piano and asks if he sings, followed by his flustered stammering when she wants him to join in.
Turnbull and Francesca's lunch. He speaks what sounds like fluent Italian, or at least he speaks recipes and menus well. He's also very articulate, which debunks the popular fanfic myth that he's somewhat dim-witted. He IS often scatter-brained though.
Huey, Dewey, Fraser and Ray getting chewed out by Welsh because Dunn managed to evade their surveillance and Tracy slipped away.
Fraser telling Tracy he goes to the lobby of a particular building because of the northern pine tree which reminds him of home. He says, "I often go there if I'm...homesick." This is very revealing and indicates that he misses home a lot more than he lets on.
Turnbull running through the Consulate looking for Tracy.
Fraser ironing his stetson. Is this the only time we see him iron in Seasons 3/4?
Nitpicks:Ray is on duty yet he drinks with Earl. Okay, maybe it was only a sip, and maybe it wasn't, but still. . . .
Duesies:Dewey: We should write one.
Huey: Write what? A letter?
Dewey: No, a country song. I mean, how hard can it be?
Huey: Yeah. Could be fun, huh. We could cut a CD.
Dewey: Watch it go platinum.
Huey: Or we could make some real money. Write some jingles and have the song used in a commercial.
Dewey: No, no, I'm not going to allow my music to be prostituted like that, okay? I'm not going to compromise my principles.
Huey: Oh, please. You don't have any music, or principles.Fraser: Well, it would appear that perhaps I was, uh. . .
Ray: Wrong.
Fraser: Wrong, and that, maybe we should, uh. . .
Ray: Pick him up.
Fraser: Pick him up.
[I enjoy it when they finish each other's sentences]Ray: Forensics got a partial print off the postcard but nothing they can use. You seen Earl?
Fraser: No, I was uh. . .
Ray: Moving like a block of wood.
Fraser: I'm sorry.
Ray: Singing like a bird.
Fraser: Really?
Ray: I didn't tell you what kind of bird.
Fraser: Oh.Dewey: Sir, according to the reports, everybody who knew the deceased had opportunity.
Ray: Including Tracy Jenkins.
Welsh: Who also miraculously slipped through our usually vise-like police dragnet.
Fraser: Yes, Sir. We had, or rather, I had, become momentarily blinded by the bright lights of the music industry.
Welsh: Is that so?
Fraser: Yes, Sir.Tracy: So you don't lie and you don't drink.
Fraser. No.
Tracy: You're a rare specimen, Constable.
Fraser: Oh, I shouldn't think so. You know, not all men are. . .
Tracy: Like my husband Dwight?
Dief Moment:Helping sort the fan mail, and finding one batch particularly offensive.
Grade: C-.
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