New York City - 1986
A naked woman is standing, hands out, arms straight. She's just there,
seemingly emotionless. Another woman is working a camera. She's intent,
focused. She works with the light, gives instructions, adjusts the angles of
the camera, anything to help get a better shot. She moves a spotlight over
the length of the woman's body, highlighting each feature in turn. It's
obvious that she loves this body in an intense way. Perhaps she even loves
the woman herself.
Then we notice that she's running the light over pictures of the same woman
in different poses. She has photographed the same woman many times. It seems
this woman is her only subject.
The photographer leans in and kisses the model softly on the neck. She's
smiling, but the model isn't. The photographer gently moves down the model's
body, kissing each body part, caressing it almost like she just did with the
spotlight. The model falls forward in ecstasy.
<Titles - Still no decent theme song>
Alice wakes up with her arm around Gabby, post-coital and snuggly. Gabby is
late for work so she jumps up and rushes to get dressed. Alice asks if
they'll see each other later. Gabby plants a kiss on her and promises to
call. It all looks pretty rosy - nothing like the doom and gloom Shane
predicted. Alice hugs her pillow and looks contented as Gabby races out.
Jenny wakes up with Tim's arm around her. She looks really uncomfortable. It
doesn't look like she slept much. She kisses Tim gently and gets out of bed,
peeling his arm off her as she goes. She sneaks around towards the bathroom,
backtracking to give him another quick kiss on the shoulder as she leaves.
Marina is serving at The Planet, speaking Spanish to a customer. Jenny is at
the counter, openly staring. She asks to speak to Marina privately. Seems
she's still pretty pissed off from the dinner party. Marina says yes and
continues to give her staff directions, in Italian this time, while Jenny
looks on like an angry deer caught in headlights. Marina, ever the hostess,
asks Jenny if she wants coffee. She almost touches Jenny as she speaks but
Jenny pulls back sharply. Uh oh, Marina is thinking as she gently rolls her
eyes, it's going to be one of those conversations.
Bette is giving a presentation to the board of the CAC. The slide she's
showing is of a graphic gay male BDSM painting. It's obvious she both loves
and slightly reviles the work. It excites her. The board isn't thrilled.
She's pitching an exhibition called "Provocations" which she's hoping to
procure from the Peggy Peabody collection for the CAC Spring exhibit.
Franklin, the head of the board, says their biggest money spinner,
"Impressions in Winter" is usually in their Spring slot. Bette says they've
shown that collection for five years straight and she thought they should
wow their public with something different.
Apparently everyone loves the Impressionists. Bette argues that she was
hired to create a new profile for the CAC, so if she isn't allowed to do
that then what is her purpose there? Franklin declares that her purpose is
to do what’s best for the CAC and that "Provocations" is not worth the risk.
The impressionist exhibit is apparently too important to their revenues.
Then he reveals he's gone over Bette's head and booked the show already. He
instructs her to follow up on the details. She's furious.
At first reluctant to go to Marina's office for their chat, Jenny agrees
when Shane and Alice turn up. Alice asks Shane if she can tell her what's
going on. Shane either can’t, or won't.
Jenny tries to break it off with Marina. She says she wants the safety of
Tim, when obviously just being in Marina’s presence makes her uncertain.
Marina asks if all she wants is to be safe. After a deep breath Jenny says
yes and declares again that she's going to marry Tim. Marina wishes Jenny
well, but with a smile that clearly says "you'll be back".
Alice is deliriously happy. She starts singing "hey Gabby you’re so fine,
you're so fine you blow my mind, Hey Gabby!" and Shane quite rightfully
requests she lay off the 80's pop so early in the morning. In a cute late
reaction, Shane is also horrified that Alice is back with Gabby. Alice
protests that the girl really has changed. So Shane drops a bombshell - she
saw Gabby all over Nadia on Thursday at Milk. She'd prefer not to go into
the details, but Gabby certainly wasn't behaving like a kept woman. Alice
looks stunned.
Lara the sous chef is hard at work in the country club kitchens when Dana
walks in. (OK, I know she's a celebrity, but who let her back there?) Lara's
so glad to see her she loses concentration and almost cuts off a finger.
Dana panics (so cute!). In an attempt to make Dana feel better Lara makes
light of the wound and explains casually how she has wounds on every finger
of that hand. Dana almost faints with delight when Lara suggests she should
kiss it better.
Dana finally gets to the asking out part - or at least three words in when
Lara immediately says yes. Dana's immediate instinct is to take her
somewhere expensive, but Lara insists they shouldn't start out that way. The
implication that Lara fully intends for there to be something started is not
lost on Dana.
Lara suggests a place, says she'll take care of the reservations and all
Dana has to do is pick her up at eight. Hopefully our adorable-yet-hopeless
Dana can handle that much. This woman has it so completely together, and
Dana really so doesn't, that warning bells are already sounding. But hey,
romance first. Lara thanks Dana for asking her out and Dana nearly knocks
over a waiter as she tries to casually retreat from the kitchen.
Bette has a drinks meeting arranged with Gina, the curator of the
"Provocations" exhibit. Bette explains to Tina that the board turned down
the concept, but that she hasn't given up. In fact, after the meeting she
cancelled the booking for the impressionists exhibit. Both Tina and Bette
know she's playing with fire with her job. Bette prepares to leave and kiss
Gina’s ass, a job made more difficult because Bette once got a show in
competition with Gina which may or may not have had something to do with the
fact that Bette slept with the female sculptor concerned. In any case, Gina
probably still holds a grudge. Danger! Danger!
Night time at The Planet. Kit is laying down some funky tunes. Tim is there
trying to call Jenny on his cell to tell her he's had a bad day and is
relaxing with a few beers. He asks her to come and join him. Marina is
off-duty and dressed to kill. She asks Tim if he wants to play pool. He saw
her last shot from the previous game and declines, saying he's no match for
her. She replies that he won't know unless he tries. Cue collective lesbian
sniggers.
Alice arrives at another bar. She parks herself at a table with a
cosmopolitan and waits. Gabby does show up but she’s accompanied by an
entourage, including Nadia, the chick Shane saw Gabby doing the nasty with
at Milk. First Gabby gives Alice a chaste peck on the cheek then proceeds to
ignore her and drawl horrible comments about other women in the bar,
including Shane. She laughs at a flyer that's been distributed with "Shane -
Heart Breaker" written on it. Obviously the handiwork of Shane's stalker,
Lacey. Alice just smiles and puts up with it.
Tim's phone rings while he's taking a shot. He asks Marina to answer it.
It's Jenny (of course, who else?) Jenny is stunned when she hears Marina's
voice, so she barely hears Marina's explanation before she hangs up in a
rage. Marina informs Tim that Jenny sounds pissed. He goes back to
concentrating on his shot and wins the game. Marina just looks amused.
Tina watches Kit dancing behind the DJ station and drinking beer. She looks
worried.
Jenny storms into The Planet. The first thing she sees is Tim and Marina
having a conversation, their hands on each other as they talk. If we didn’t
know Marina better it could actually look like flirting. Tim spots Jenny and
walks over, but before he can get to her she goes all dizzy and faints,
falling heavily to the floor. The last thing she sees before passing out is
Marina’s face.
Jenny wakes up with Tim and Marina standing over her. Tim helps her up and
walks out with her just as Bette walks in.
Tina spills the beans immediately about Kit's drinking. Bette, who already
looked upset, now looks even more so. It turns out her drinks-dinner didn't
go ahead because she got caught in traffic for fifteen minutes so Gina was
already gone by the time she arrived. She says they’ll reschedule for
tomorrow. It sounds fishy.
On their bed, Tim starts taking off Jenny's shoes. He asks what went wrong,
why would she faint? She spitefully claims it was low blood sugar, caused by
not eating the dinner she was at home making while Tim was out flirting with
Marina at the Planet. (Talk about projecting!) Tim looks incredulous and
tells Jenny to sleep it off, whatever it is that’s bugging her.
The next morning Tina and Bette meet Alice and Shane at The Planet for
breakfast. Alice has a poster-sized version of the Shane flyer. Shane tries
her best to hide under her hoodie, causing Bette to quip that she looks like
the Unabomber. Dana arrives and jokes that there's a giant billboard of
Shane on Sunset. Shane gives her a look that would fell a bear. Alice
smiles, getting some kind of perverse pleasure out of Shane’s problem.
They discuss Dana's upcoming date. Alice (predictably) asks what she's going
to wear. Dana says she was thinking of wearing a blue sundress, which
elicits howls of protests from the whole table. Alice is particularly
snipey.
Shane reveals that the true cause of Alice's bad mood is because Gabby is
acting up on her again, treating her like shit. The whole gang reiterates
once more - Gabby has to go. Tina and Bette come up with the perfect "I'm
too good for you" speech. Alice must stand up for her dignity and boot Gabby
- or as Bette puts it, tell her to "step off, bitch!"
Bette gets a phone call from Gina telling her that “Provocations” has been
given to MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). That’s where Gina was when she
was supposed to be meeting her. Bette assumes it is probably in retaliation
for the bad stuff from their past. Tina commiserates and asks if there is
anyone who can override the decision. Bette says only Peggy Peabody herself
could do that. Lo and behold, Alice has the scoop because she’s been
eavesdropping at LA Magazine. She informs them happily that Peggy is in town
and staying at a hotel in Santa Barbara. She goes on to say her magazine
wants her to do a story on the 45-minute orgasm, but Bette is already
dialling. She's on her way to Santa Barbara to save her career. Franklin
already knows she's cancelled the impressionists, so she can't afford to
fail and be left without a spring exhibit.
Lacey the stalker just won't quit. She's standing on the path distributing
flyers telling mothers to lock up their daughters and protect them from
Shane. Shane approaches her and asks what the deal is, what did she do that
was so wrong? Lacey reveals she's been abandoned by so many people in her
life, and she doesn't understand why Shane went off with some woman after
being with her. Shane explains how she doesn't do relationships. Lacey
starts to cry and Shane melts. We can see this is going to end badly - Shane
is going to sleep with the psycho again. They start making out.
Bette is on the freeway headed for Santa Barbara. She looks contemplative,
and for once isn't talking on her mobile phone.
It’s Thursday at eight pm. Dana walks towards Lara's apartment. She's
talking to Alice on her mobile phone, reassuring her that she's wearing
unpatterned pants. I guess pinstripes are out again. It's a sick
preoccupation Alice has. Frankly it seems Lara wouldn't care if Dana turned
up in sweaty gym clothes.
Finally Dana hangs up and Lara comes out. She looks magnificent, but
overdressed compared to Dana. She says as much, feeling instantly like a
geek. Dana says no, she's the geek for letting her friends tell her what to
wear. Lara offers to go change, but Dana babbles that she looks beautiful,
which instantly wins Lara over and she kisses Dana to stop any further
babbling. It's one of those soft kisses Lara seems to do so well. Dana is
entranced. As are we all. (Pick me! Pick me!) They finally head off on their
date. We don't see any of it, more's the pity.
Bette arrives and is informed by the concierge that she needs a code word to
see Mrs Peabody. She tries Shazam! The concierge is unimpressed and hands
her a pen if she wants to write a note. Suddenly the woman herself appears
and Bette manoeuvres herself onto the elevator with her. Peggy Peabody
thinks Bette is an art dealer, Mrs Reynolds, that she has arranged to meet.
She won't allow Bette to get a word in edgewise to say who she really is.
They get to Peggy's apartment and Bette is offered a drink, just before
Peggy checks her answering machine and finds out Mrs Reynolds has cancelled
her appointment. Bette finally gets to explain who she is and why she's
there. She charms her way into a dinner invitation. Peggy and Bette start to
talk about art.
There's a knock at Alice's door. (It's Thursday, is anyone else surprised
she isn't at Milk?) She has her hair up in little cute pigtails. Gabby walks
in bearing flowers and a bunch of really bad excuses. Alice tells Gabby she
knows about Nadia. Heck, half of Hollywood knows about her and Nadia. After
an initial denial, Gabby comes clean and promises not to see Nadia again.
Alice almost falls for it, but pulls herself together and launches into
Bette and Tina's pre-prepared dumping speech, complete with "step off,
bitch!". Her delivery isn't as good as Bette's, but Gabby gets the idea.
After a few petty parting jibes Gabby leaves for good. Alice goes back to
her chart and starts drawing a new line.
Tina drops by Jenny's studio to talk to Jenny. She asks about the dizziness
and offers a friendly ear in case Jenny ever wants to talk about anything.
For example, Marina? Jenny is shocked, she thought it was a secret. Tina
tries to explain about the gossip grapevine, how two people can just look at
each other and the next minute everyone knows about it. She's suitably
tactful, but Jenny is stubborn and hard-headed and tries to deny it, saying
that all the rumours are lies. Finally Jenny takes off towards the house and
leaves Tina to feel like she's just made everything worse.
Bette and Peggy are talking about art like a couple of sorority sisters
talking about boyfriends. They're more than a little drunk and captivated by
each other's knowledge. They talk about a special photographer who they both
love - this week’s obscure tie-in to the opening prologue. The woman
photographed the same model for 12 years until she died of a drug overdose.
Peggy asks Bette what her favourite one of the photographer's works is.
Bette describes the piece as only someone who lives and breathes art can do.
Peggy reveals that the work she bought that week is Bette's favourite, and
Bette starts to cry when she looks at it because she's never seen the
original before.
Shane is at Lacey's apartment. She's sitting on the windowsill smoking,
wearing only underwear. It looks as if she actually regrets what she’s just
done, which would have to be a first for Shane. Lacey sighs happily. Shane
says she has to leave. Lacey starts to object but Shane reminds her of her
promise, that this time she'll let Shane leave with no strings attached.
Time will tell if Lacey is over her obsession.
Jenny leaves her house on foot, off to confront Marina.
Bette has experienced Stendahl's syndrome (dictionary meaning: “Dizziness,
panic, paranoia, or madness caused by viewing certain artistic or historical
artefacts”) Peggy says she's jealous, she's never experienced it. Her
admiration for Bette is obviously growing.
Peggy talks about passion, art, emotions and feelings. The divine merging of
art and the senses. We hear Peggy's voice and watch Jenny as she walks
towards The Planet. Are we supposed to think Jenny and Marina are a true
merging of passions and emotions? Unlikely. Maybe just passionate and
unyielding, and Marina certainly is a work of art. At this point its all
about appreciation.
Bette has exhausted Peggy Peabody. The two of them look almost spent, like
talking about art is better than sex or something. Bette finally gets up the
courage to ask about "Provocations", if there's any chance Peggy will
override Gina's decision. Peggy wishes she could, but she asks how would
Bette feel if she was hired to do a job and her employer overruled her
decisions? She can't do that. Bette does understand, only too well, and
finally gives up.
Jenny has been crying. She looks for Marina in The Planet. It's closed and
empty, but Marina's office light is still on. Jenny sneaks through the door
and asks Marina why she would tell other people about them. Doesn't she
understand that she can't hurt Tim?
Marina doesn’t deny she told anyone about their affair, but she says that
people have just figured it out from the way they are behaving. Jenny is
confused. She says she feels completely dismantled around Marina. She whips
off her shirt and stands there, uncertain, with a goofy grin on her face.
Marina just smiles and obliges, getting what she wanted all along. Despite
her confusion, Jenny looks totally happy as Marina makes love to her.
<fade to black>
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