ext_241005 ([identity profile] paulcurtis.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] the_gneech 2007-03-09 06:17 pm (UTC)

"The Physiognomizer"

There is a brilliant moment in an episode of the old-time radio series VIC AND SADE: Vic (the father) is trying to work at home because he thinks there will be more privacy; unfortunately due to some streets being blocked-off, the neighbors (and eventually, random strangers!) are taking a short-cut through the house. Vic is increasingly impatient, but maintains a polite veneer throughout the proceedings. At one point, Mrs Keller strikes up a conversation with a man on his way to the pool hall:

Keller: How've you been?

Man: Oh, I'm fine!

Keller: I understand you've had the shape of your head changed.

Man: That's right! Doctor did it with a hammer and two flat rocks.

Keller: Didn't it hurt?

Man: Oh, it hurt awful! You could hear me yellin' a block away! Doctor thought it was great; he screamed too.

Keller: Looks good though.

Man: Sure does! Course I can't wear a hat...

(All of this is transcribed from memory, so I may have a couple of words wrong, but you get the idea. V&S is hard to describe; in format, it was a daily soap opera, but instead of being melodramatic, it was a good-natured, slightly absurd slice-of-life. The conversation here is more overtly bizarre than the typical V&S script, but the whole series showed a uniquely skewed vision of suburban life in the 30's and 40's. I've always wanted to BE Vic, but I'd have to get a wife & kid from somewhere...)

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