Some Time, Some Station   Remember WENN       Pratfall
Thanks a Lottery! Work Shift
You've Met Your Match Past Tense, Future Imperfect
And If I Die Before I Sleep The Sunset Also Rises
Hilary's Agent At Cross Purposes
Birth of a Station All's Noisy on the Pittsburgh Front
The Follies of WENN

the even longer awaited fourth season

caution: spoilers


Where to begin with perhaps one of the most anticpated WENN installments in history? Perhaps our most pressing questions from last season: Simple enough. The initial gunshot from "Happy Homecomings" didn't hit anyone. "My orders were to shoot," Victor says. "No one said I had to be any good at it." However, a second shot forces Betty to play dead, once she clues Victor onto her plan. We are almost led to believe that the third hits Scott, as Victor says, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to shoot you." It actually hits Pruitt right in the Sumatran silk suit, although the wound is not fatal. Jeffrey Singer. However, Jeff was not working for the government. He compares it to the buddy system. So I suppose it's no coincidence that both returned to WENN the same day. She was a Czech refugee working for the Nazis. She discovered Victor's secret identity and threatened to squeal if Jeff didn't marry her so she could get a job as an actress in America. The letter was a fake--a monologue known as "The Missive of Farewell," found in the Modern American Monologues book Pavla took from WENN. Hilary never received the real letter, written in their code from "Magic." There may be more to this question than revealed in "Some Time, Some Station," but from what we know, once the amnesia passed, he was the old Victor Comstock.

We open with the "Wenn last we met. . ." sequence (as if any of you missed "Happy Homecomings." The first question answered is "Who got shot?" (see above) As Pruitt is fit to be tied, Victor wanders off. He resumes his position as station manager, but as far as he's concerned, it's spring 1940. Scott says they must bring him back to reality slowly, as they believe Victor the victim of mind control.

Much chaos and fainting ensues as members of the WENN staff encounter the resurrected Victor Comstock. And another side of Betty ("Bobcat Betty") surfaces as she attempts to interrogate Pruitt. (Betty's other noticeable defference is her abrupt change of hairstyle.) Jeff and Hilary battle it out as he attempts to explain the truth. Hilary nearly electrocutes Mackie and engages in a water fight with Maple.

Victor's reappearance leaves Mr. Foley dumbstruck, Maple in awe, Gertie screaming for joy, and Mr. Eldridge with his classic line: "Where the hell have you been?" We also finally get some evidence to support Scott's story from "Who's Scott Sherwood?" as Victor does remember him from the George and Dragon pub in London. However, Victor calls him Scott Sherman every time, to which Scott replies, "Close enough."

Once several major mysteries of the last season are explained, WENNers are left with our original great debate: Victor or Scott. The closing scene was beautiful! Betty realizes that her Victor is home to stay and is his cognizant self again. Scott, however, is left wondering, with a pained, bewildered expression to melt the hearts of Scott fans.

I, for one, love this episode, doing it's best not to be predictable. It has been so long since I've seen some semblance of the "real" Victor that I forgot just how much I liked the guy. And for some reason, every time Victor addresses Maple as "Miss Experience" I laugh hysterically. Character-wise, Hilary and Mackie give absolute stand-out performances. Only Melinda Mullins could scream lines with so much alliteration and not get tongue-tied. I think we have a very promising season ahead, folks!


When last we met. . .Scott Sherwood was trying to interest Pruitt in Mr. Eldridge's Swiss Lottery ticket. After a quick review of Happy Homecomings and Some Time, Some Station, we arrive at the morning of September 2, 1941. Betty enters the apparently empty WENN studios, but she runs into Scott Sherwood, who was lying in wait. He wants to talk about the "something" he said to her at gunpoint. Betty, however, tries to rationalize everything and can't even bring herself to say "love."

Meanwhile, Mr. Eldridge enters with the morning paper, matching the published winning numbers to his lottery ticket. He stares in disbelief as he discovers he's won 70,000 dollars. Hilary, of course, immediately has ideas on how to use the money: the Hilary Booth Center for the Performing Arts. Betty is dismayed to discover that Victor must leave for Washington for R&R, but Scott is only too happy to see him go. In his absence, Victor leaves Betty in charge of WENN. Things are going relatively smooth (it is WENN, after all) until Betty receives new orders from the new controlling stockholder of WEN Enterprises: Mr. Eldridge is being forced to retire.

The staff holds a farewell party for Mr. Eldridge, and his wish is to use some of the money for the benefit of WENN. Everyone has ideas, but no one can agree on anything. Mackie also announces that he will be leaving to play Polonius in Hamlet. Betty later recieves even more information from the home office in Boston: the budget is being cut (again) and "a woman's work is never done. . .by a woman." Scott is once again station manager.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Hilary still haven't worked anything out. He tries to get her to read the letters from London she always marked "return to sender." Hilary does look at them. . .seconds before turning them into a bonfire. Mr. Eldridge, who has lost his lottery ticked again, runs into the studio followed by Betty and Scott, believing the ticket was in the pile of letters. They see the fire, and Mr. Eldridge comments, "Easy come, easy go."

In the station manager's office, Betty finally has some good news: yet another investor has bought the controlling intrest in WENN and has restored things to normal. (In other words, the old impossible budget, no retirement age, and Betty as temporary station manager.) Mr. Eldridge's accountant nephew, Harry, arrives to tell his uncle his wishes have been carried out. He only needs the lottery ticket, which amazingly, Mr. Eldridge still has. Of course, Harry believes there are much better investments than a tiny Pittsburgh radio station.

As Scott and Betty leave WENN for the night, they pass Mr. Eldridge cleaning the windows. Betty says he doesn't need to do that, but Mr. Eldridge replies that he wants his station to look good. Betty and Scott pass, oblivious to the fact that Mr. Eldridge wasn't kidding when he said "his station."








Remembering WENN

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