Episode 701T- Night of the Blood Beast


 

Episode 701T- Night of the Blood Beast
(Turkey Day Host Segments)

Reflections: For me, all appearances on the show were preceded by a frantic search for a baby-sitter. I had a regular sitter for the days that I worked (which were the three writing days) but anything beyond that involved a lot of juggling. I enjoyed playing characters on the show but it was really much easier not to. However, the Turkey Day episode was different. My sister offered to let the boys stay with her overnight so I wouldn't feel stressed if things went overtime.

Kids smothered in love at Auntie's, I was free to concentrate on becoming freakish man-woman Mr. B. Natural. I think Mr. B's costume was one of the first that Beez McKeever designed and made. The boots, I recall, had to be spray painted to match the aqua jacket. I especially fell in love with the treble clef belt buckle! That outfit actually made me feel "like a happy king!"

As the season began, I missed Frank. I missed him as a friend and I missed the sweet floppy TV's Frank. So I was pleased when we hit upon the idea that Frank had invited all the guests to the party. And, the fact that Mother Forrester liked Frank more than her own son seemed to me to give the transition just the right note. For as much as I missed Frank, I was thrilled about Mary Jo's debut. I just knew she was going to be great.

Writing for Pearl was fun because of the newness of it and because Mary Jo laughed so hard at ideas for her in the writing room. The scene where everyone is lined up at the table and Pearl prays as if she were General Patton particularly cracked me up, even into the shoot day. In fact, I think I blew one take with anticipatory laughter. Trace was immediately up to speed with Forrester's newfound hen-peckedness, and writing ideas for Pearl and him were abundant.

The matted Kitten with a Whip costume grossed me out, much to the delight of Kevin. The way he swaggered around as that character made me laugh, but I honestly could not look at that costume (which was a rental) with out thinking about the dozens of drunken Halloween parties it had endured and all the damp places it must have been. None of this seemed to bother Kevin and, as I said, he enjoyed my aversion.

I distinctly remember being very disturbed by Pitch's beard, but can't recall why.

Mike and I had a good time playing opposite each other. In one scene, Jack Perkins lays a big kiss on Mr.B. Mike had these big fake teeth in, and instead of kissing, we actually just clanked teeth, cutting my gum slightly.

The whole Perkins-Mr. B romance idea was arrived at quite soon after deciding to have all the Thanksgiving guests. Everyone must have liked the idea a lot, because it actually made it through the whole writing and editing process. I'm glad it did, because Mr. B was my favorite character to play. The only thing I disliked about the character was the spray used to turn my hair lighter. It was paintlike, and after drying would break off in tiny shards and fall in my eyes and sting.

It really was a fun time on the show. The movie was over and we were back writing what we wanted to write, so we wrote everyone in to the show! Jim was even in it as Michael Feinstein's back. I remember thinking, during the final scene where all the guests lay dying, that I was pretty lucky to have such a fun job with so many great people.

Bridget Jones

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