Red Herrings

I was at a Maundy Thursday service tonight, singing in the choir, and as I looked through the congregation in the area where the teenagers sit, I saw the side of a girl’s face who had the dangling section of hair like April has in her current do. I got quite excited until the girl turned her head and I realized it was dangling because all of her hair had been brushed over in that direction of her head. In other words, she did not have matching dangling hair like April. I will be diligent though, to see if I spot any other persons with April’s unusual hair style.

This has been a strange week so far in For Better or For Worse, where Lynn Johnston appears to be changing plotlines no longer every week, but instead every day. In tomorrow’s strip she introduces the idea that George Stibbs’ house is not suitable for Mike and Deanna (a fact which should have been apparent from Day 1), and introduces the idea that Elly is going to look at it, which will then lead to their eventual purchase of the property, and selling their place to Mike and Deanna. I suppose the Red Herring in this business was the idea that Mike and Deanna would consider the Stibbs’ property for themselves, after John Patterson spent the better part of the last year drooling over it. I am sorry, Lynn Johnston, but your red herrings are far too easy to spot these days. (Note: Don’t take too long getting rid of Warren Blackwood. We have figured out he’s a red herring.)

Not only are the red herrings easy to spot, but I frankly didn’t care which house Mike and Deanna ended up going into. The reason for this is plain and simple. One house, 8 people, 2 dogs, 1 cat, 1 rabbit. All sorts of comic possibilities. Full House took this joke for 9 seasons, and Lynn Johnston has only done one panel of one strip since Christmas Eve, 2006, with all the Pattersons there. I am not sorry to see a promising premise end, when the author has no idea what to do with it.

Things we didn’t see:
a. Dr. Patterson and Deanna Patterson commuting to work together.
b. All 4 animals interacting together, as was described in the Pets letters.
c. Elly and John enjoying their grandchildren.
d. Mike at home alone writing novel #2, after everyone else has left for their perspective days at school or the office or the daycare.
e. Elly getting chastised by Moira Kinney for working Lilliputs’ after the fire, and leaving her grandchildren with Connie Poirier.
f. A visit by the Sobinskis.
g. Elizabeth, Mike, and Deanna interacting.

There were so many possibilities and it’s almost too late to do them.