45-12-06 Rainy Day Fun in Kitchen

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade is trying to entertain her Thimble Club ladies on a weekday only to have oceans of interruptions and guests in her kitchen.

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This episode has the same spirit and style of the older episodes, probably due to the fact that there is a lot of interaction between Rush, Vic and Uncle Fletcher. Rush actually gets some lines in this play.

Trivia:

+ Sade says Vernon Korkell came by (the day before) to read the gas meter. Mr. Gertner was also there the day before to check on the water. She also mentions the Brick Mush man was there the day before as was Mr. Erickson, checking on the back porch.

This sounds a whole lot like episode 45-11-27 Parade of Interruptions which is dated 10 days before this episode. I'm not saying someone along the line that the person who dated this episode (either in the official Vic and Sade logs or whatever) got this wrong -- but this seems like compelling evidence that it could be wrong.

+ Mis' Appelrot tries to give an essay to the Thimble Club ladies about "The Big Trees of California."

+ This is one of the few episode where it is mentioned that it is raining outside. Other episodes include 42-07-xx Thunderstorm and 44-08-01 Rotten Old Overshoes.

+ Uncle Fletcher rode over to the Gook house in the back of Mr. Gumpox's wagon, scrunched down, with a tarp over him as he tried to avoid the rain. This created steam and he talks about it almost the entire episode.

+ Mr. Sprawl has a whistle he got at the Ten Cent store. He calls it a "siren" and says it will be used for getting his daughter's attention when he wants soup or nuts with chocolate smeared on the outside. He blows it in the kitchen, twice, alerting and disturbing Sade during the Thimble Club meeting.

+ Jimmy Custard arrives and he is more confused than ever, referring to Vic, Uncle Fletcher and Mr. Sprawl all by the wrong names - he even thinks Mr. Sprawl is the "lady of the house" and calls Sade, "Mr. Montgomery."

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45-12-03 A Slow, Dull, Tiresome Evening

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Sade comments that the evening is slow - but then all at once, people call and come over, making her change her mind.

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Even with everything going on, there really isn't much if anything here to get a smile from.

Trivia:

+ Rush reads aloud from a volume of Third Lieutenant Stanley. The Third Lieutenant is attacked by counterfeiting natives and oddly, is wearing a yellow uniform.

+ Ruthie Stembottom calls and the the couples make a date to play "500."

+ While talking on the phone with Ruthie, Sade refers to Fred as "Fred" - something she hasn't done in more than a year and a half.

+ At the same time Ruthie calls, Jimmy Custard (still thinking Sade is "Mrs. Emerson") and Mr. Sprawl (Mis' Harris sent him over while she went downtown - again) come over. It must be noted than Custard came to the front down and rang the door bell and Mr. Sprawl came to the back and rang the door bell. This is the first time in "Series 2" where anyone rang the door bell.

+ Jimmy Custard has a iron-bound notebook. According to him, all City Calistoker have to have them.

+ Someone calls for Fat (Jackson) on the telephone. This running joke began with Dottie Brainfeeble and has lasted through "Series 2." The person calling for Fat mistakes Sade, this time, for "Isabelle." Sade continues to issue warnings to the caller that she will call the telephone company, but apparently, never seems to follow through with the threat.

+ The Gooks live at 414 Virginia Avenue.

+ Jimmy Custard thinks Mr. Sprawl is the son of Vic and Sade!

+ When Fred Stembottom calls up and asks what kind of ice cream he should bring, Vic and Rush say "caramel" and "tutti-fruiti." Despite being told a squillion times over the entire course of the show that Fred doesn't like either of these flavors, they persist.

+ Sweet Corn McBlock calls Vic to borrow a couple of bucks.

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45-11-21 Jimmy Custard, City Callestorker

STARRING: ART VAN HARVEY, BERNARDINE FLYNN, BILL IDELSON AND CLARENCE HARTZELL

Confused Jimmy Custard, the town's calistoker, comes to visit the Gooks and take statistics just as they are about to leave the house. Sade's patience finally runs out (ish!) and they leave the disoriented statistician to Uncle Fletcher as they depart.

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The term calistoker/calistorker doesn't seem to be defined on the internet but there is/was obviously a common municipal job known as the calistoker. It seems to be much more than a census taker but how much more can only be known by doing research that I can't find.

There's an interesting book online called, Tales from the City Calistoker; in it's very first paragraph in chapter one and in many more after that, it refers to Jimmy Custard but not in a Paul Rhymer or Vic and Sade way. What I get is that either Rhymer used the name "Jimmy Custard" in his plays as a joke about calistokers or calistokers became known as "Jimmy Custards" after Vic and Sade.  And I really don't know which one is true - but I suspect one or the other must be true.

Unfortunately, not much else can be found on the internet concerning the subject but I do find it most interesting.

At any rate, the Jimmy Custard in this episode is far crazier than Uncle Fletcher and when the two are compared, you realize that Fletcher isn't crazy at all.

Trivia:

+ The episode begins with Rush reading from a Third Lieutenant Stanley novel. Of course, he's being harassed by six counterfeiters.

+ The Gooks destination is the Stembottom home; we can assume they are going to play "500."

+ Sade notices that Mis' Donahue has now put up a curtain and a light in her attic and vows to ask her "what's going on?" Recall the earlier episode where Mis' Harris was alerted to strange activitity in the Donahue attic.

+ Someone calls the house for Fat Jackson and accuses Sade of being "Adeline."

+ When Jimmy Custard arrives, the Gooks and Uncle Fletcher are all in the living room; Custard simply walks in without knocking.

+ Custard confuses Rush with "Mr. Gook" on two occasions.

+ Custard is wearing another person's hat as there was a mix-up at the Bijou between a man and a woman and himself. Each got the wrong hat.

+ Earlier in the day, Mis' Harris refused to allow Custard entrance into her home because she didn't believe who he was.

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