Tea: The Skank-Ho Drink
I and others have made jokes about how the normal beverage of choice of coffee for Elly Patterson does not come out on occasions when Elly is talking about Connie Poirier’s sordid love life. aprilp_katje referred to it as “the skank-ho drink” in her excellent FOOBar comic strip.
So, when I saw today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse, I about fell out of chair laughing to see the punch line of the strip. It’s as if Lynn Johnston is admitting that our jokes about tea being the drink for talking about someone’s trashy love life are correct. Elly is on the verge of finally telling us who the infamous “’Allo?” girl is, and then offers Anne Nichols tea in preparation for the event.
As for the rest of the strip, Elly’s description of Connie’s Montreal trip is interesting. She mentions that Connie did not tell Phil that she was coming to Montreal to him and she mentions Connie’s visit to Phil’s apartment and the “’Allo?” girl. However, she does not mention Connie going to the Jazzy Club to see Phil play, which is the real place where Connie considered herself to be rejected by Phil. Are we to presume that Connie did not tell Elly this story? It is certainly her emphasis in this post-Montreal strip. However, wouldn’t Phil have told Elly about the Jazzy club? Or are we to presume from this strip that Elly hasn’t spoken to Phil about Connie’s visit and is lying about Phil’s opinion of her visit to Connie? That’s the way it appears if I take today’s new-run into account.
The first panel of the strip is pure nonsense. Anne hasn’t seen Connie lately. First of all, when does Anne ever see Connie? They haven’t been in a strip together in any of the strips in the last year. In the modern strip they were together briefly before Elizabeth’s wedding and also at Elly’s 50th birthday party.
The add to the ridiculousness, Elly’s explanation for Anne not seeing Connie is that Connie is too embarrassed because of her trip to Montreal. Does that even make sense? Would Connie presume that Elly would tell Anne about her trip to Montreal and paint such a poor picture of her as a man-chaser, she would be embarrassed in front of Anne about it? We saw Connie’s supposed embarrassment in this strip, and it wasn’t true embarrassment, because she was bringing it up with Elly and talking about it. Connie sends Lawrence over to Elly’s place when she is entertaining men at her place, so it’s hard to imagine the Montreal trip would embarrass her.
On the plus side, it seems pretty clear that sometime in the very, near future, possibly tomorrow, we will finally find out the identity of the “’Allo? “ girl. Maybe Elly will even point out that Connie was at the wrong address, but that may be hoping for too much. In the original strip, Phil lived on 271 Rue des Fèves and in the “’Allo?” girl strip that address is now 114.
So, when I saw today’s new-run of For Better or For Worse, I about fell out of chair laughing to see the punch line of the strip. It’s as if Lynn Johnston is admitting that our jokes about tea being the drink for talking about someone’s trashy love life are correct. Elly is on the verge of finally telling us who the infamous “’Allo?” girl is, and then offers Anne Nichols tea in preparation for the event.
As for the rest of the strip, Elly’s description of Connie’s Montreal trip is interesting. She mentions that Connie did not tell Phil that she was coming to Montreal to him and she mentions Connie’s visit to Phil’s apartment and the “’Allo?” girl. However, she does not mention Connie going to the Jazzy Club to see Phil play, which is the real place where Connie considered herself to be rejected by Phil. Are we to presume that Connie did not tell Elly this story? It is certainly her emphasis in this post-Montreal strip. However, wouldn’t Phil have told Elly about the Jazzy club? Or are we to presume from this strip that Elly hasn’t spoken to Phil about Connie’s visit and is lying about Phil’s opinion of her visit to Connie? That’s the way it appears if I take today’s new-run into account.
The first panel of the strip is pure nonsense. Anne hasn’t seen Connie lately. First of all, when does Anne ever see Connie? They haven’t been in a strip together in any of the strips in the last year. In the modern strip they were together briefly before Elizabeth’s wedding and also at Elly’s 50th birthday party.
The add to the ridiculousness, Elly’s explanation for Anne not seeing Connie is that Connie is too embarrassed because of her trip to Montreal. Does that even make sense? Would Connie presume that Elly would tell Anne about her trip to Montreal and paint such a poor picture of her as a man-chaser, she would be embarrassed in front of Anne about it? We saw Connie’s supposed embarrassment in this strip, and it wasn’t true embarrassment, because she was bringing it up with Elly and talking about it. Connie sends Lawrence over to Elly’s place when she is entertaining men at her place, so it’s hard to imagine the Montreal trip would embarrass her.
On the plus side, it seems pretty clear that sometime in the very, near future, possibly tomorrow, we will finally find out the identity of the “’Allo? “ girl. Maybe Elly will even point out that Connie was at the wrong address, but that may be hoping for too much. In the original strip, Phil lived on 271 Rue des Fèves and in the “’Allo?” girl strip that address is now 114.
posted by howard at 11:19 PM
13 Comments:
One can only wonder how these poor stupid women manage to consider Elly their "friend" when she is practically bursting to dish on them when their backs are turned. I'm not sure whether this was what Lynn did to her "friends", but if so it certainly bathes her in a rather harsh light.
And yes, why would Anne ever care or know Connie's whereabouts? They have never (and will never) be shown to be associates. Their only connection is a certain sheet-shaving purveyor of smutty gossip...
I'm with you on the tea thing: as soon as I read the final panel I laughed in a way that I never laugh at the actual punchlines.
However, she does not mention Connie going to the Jazzy Club to see Phil play, which is the real place where Connie considered herself to be rejected by Phil. Are we to presume that Connie did not tell Elly this story? It is certainly her emphasis in this post-Montreal strip.
I'm still not quite sure what this strip was supposed to mean. Connie says that she showed up on Phil's doorstep, which implies that it was his residence, except that, from what was shown in the old and new strips, Phil was unaware of her visit other than when she turned up at the club. Unless somewhere off-panel she or Allo Girl told Phil about her visit to his apartment, Phil was blissfully ignorant of the full extent of Connie's stalking. The other possibility is that Connie is using poetic licence to describe turning up in the public venue which happened to be Phil's workplace as his showing up on his "doorstep".
However, wouldn’t Phil have told Elly about the Jazzy club? Or are we to presume from this strip that Elly hasn’t spoken to Phil about Connie’s visit and is lying about Phil’s opinion of her visit to Connie? That’s the way it appears if I take today’s new-run into account.
If Elly spoke to Phil at all it would have been because she rang him to find out his opinion. If he found out about the visit to his apartment at all, it could have been Elly who told him. We know she didn't call him immediately after Connie rang her from Montreal to ask about Allo Girl, otherwise he would have known Connie was in Montreal and not been as surprised when she turned up at the Jazzy Club.
Elly’s explanation for Anne not seeing Connie is that Connie is too embarrassed because of her trip to Montreal. Does that even make sense?
What makes more sense is that Connie realized how stupid she looked and is waiting for her new hairdo to grow out.
ITA about Connie and Annie never having been friends before. In the originals, and possibly elaborated on in Lives Behind the Lines or one of the other anniversary collections, the impression was that they didn't get along very well as both looked down on each other's lifestyle. That worked better when Connie was supposed to be a staunch feminist rather than a desperate man-hungry skank-ho who would happily sell her only child for a chance to get her MRS.
Well, whatever happens Lynn can say that she has expanded this storyline considerably. I'm sure it never attracted as much comment in the first place, so if the amount of discussion generated by the newruins is going to be a measure of success of her experiment, she can say that she has succeeded. It hasn't improved on the storytelling in the least and has added even further confusion and inconsistency, but at least it has been more fun to snark than the reruns.
She mentions that Connie did not tell Phil that she was coming to Montreal to him and she mentions Connie’s visit to Phil’s apartment and the “’Allo?” girl. However, she does not mention Connie going to the Jazzy Club to see Phil play, which is the real place where Connie considered herself to be rejected by Phil. Are we to presume that Connie did not tell Elly this story?
It's just another lapse in logic; Lynn is so focused on telling us who Allo Girl is that she ignored what really bothered Connie. It would have been better for Elly to say "When she got to his place, she met this girl and when she finally got to see Phil, he wouldn't tell her who she was."
Maybe Elly will even point out that Connie was at the wrong address, but that may be hoping for too much. In the original strip, Phil lived on 271 Rue des Fèves and in the “’Allo?” girl strip that address is now 114.
Ugh, I wish Elly would point out that Connie was at the wrong address, but she says, "When she went to his apartment, a woman answered the door." Grrr.
And the premise that Anne is concerned about Connie is silly--they move about in their own compartments and don't interact. But I'm with Anne--I'd rather get the revelation of who 'Allo girl is without the interruption of tea and another day.
The other possibility is that Connie is using poetic licence to describe turning up in the public venue which happened to be Phil's workplace as his showing up on his "doorstep".
This was how I read "doorstep" from the way the arc appeared in the collection, since it didn't have that oddball "I don't know who the girl is" phone-call strip.
FDChief,
I'm not sure whether this was what Lynn did to her "friends", but if so it certainly bathes her in a rather harsh light.
What Lynn did her “friends” back when she was living in Lynn Lake was to take stories they would tell and turn them into comic strips. In her CBC interview back in 1980, she made a comment about how people began to be cautious about what they would say around her. Given that, Elly’s gossiping about Connie seem mild in comparison to real-life Lynn.
forworse,
The other possibility is that Connie is using poetic licence to describe turning up in the public venue which happened to be Phil's workplace as his showing up on his "doorstep".
That’s what I would think too. However, modern Lynn Johnston may be thinking about Phil’s apartment being the doorstep, since we are about to discuss the identity of the “’Allo?” girl and the Jazzy Club has not been mentioned.
We know she didn't call him immediately after Connie rang her from Montreal to ask about Allo Girl, otherwise he would have known Connie was in Montreal and not been as surprised when she turned up at the Jazzy Club.
Good point. I guess the real question is whether or not Elly has actually spoken to Phil. She seemed to be completely unaware of Phil’s continued relationship with Connie back in November when they were talking about Christmas gifts.
What makes more sense is that Connie realized how stupid she looked and is waiting for her new hairdo to grow out.
You are absolutely right. We’ve already seen that Connie dyed her hair back to blonde. How long would it take for the poodle perm to grow out?
That worked better when Connie was supposed to be a staunch feminist rather than a desperate man-hungry skank-ho who would happily sell her only child for a chance to get her MRS.
Given this description of Connie, I can see that for Anne, Connie is more of a person to gossip about than a person who is a friend.
DreadedCandiru2,
It would have been better for Elly to say "When she got to his place, she met this girl and when she finally got to see Phil, he wouldn't tell her who she was."
It may have been better, but it wouldn’t have made sense with Phil’s surprise on seeing Connie at the Jazzy Club. Lynn would have to have rewritten the Jazzy Club dialogue, if she went that way, moreso than eliminating Connie’s cousin.
aprilp_katje,
Ugh, I wish Elly would point out that Connie was at the wrong address, but she says, "When she went to his apartment, a woman answered the door." Grrr.
The implication then is that Connie went to the right address and for all we know, we about to be told “’Allo?” girl is Georgia.
But I'm with Anne--I'd rather get the revelation of who 'Allo girl is without the interruption of tea and another day.
It’s been awhile since we had a cliff-hanger in For Better or For Worse. You should enjoy it. Lynn could be in straight reprints next week, for all we know. After all it will be Early Spring.
It’s been awhile since we had a cliff-hanger in For Better or For Worse. You should enjoy it. Lynn could be in straight reprints next week, for all we know. After all it will be Early Spring.
You're right--it's just that it's frustrating from a FOOBAR-planning standpoint. I can't address this current development until Monday at the earliest. Tomorrow's will be a one-off.
From a FOOBAR standpoint, I suppose it depends on how precisely you plan to end the story to coincide with Lynn's final new-runs. That could be tricky. The most I can see is 2 more weeks of new-runs after this week so Lynn lines up the dailies between April 5, 2010 and April 6, 1981. I would be surprised if we get that many. I just don't see Lynn doing 3 straight weeks of new-runs when she has a long vacation to Thailand coming up. I can easily see her going to straight reprints in the dailies by next week, since she will have satisfied her Early Spring requirement and she will have satisfied her promise to you to discuss the "'Allo?" girl.
Then there are the Sunday strips, which are likely to be mostly new-run all the way through June, unless Lynn goes back in time for some unreprinted ones from 1980.
Will FOOBAR's end correspond to the dailies or the Sundays or something else? Decisions. Decisions.
Will FOOBAR's end correspond to the dailies or the Sundays or something else? Decisions. Decisions.
Probably shortly after I know for sure we're in [daily] reprints for the duration. :)
I wonder if Lynn will officially announce when that is happening, given the disparity between the reprinted dailies and Sunday strips. She has announced things before, but usually it was "Don't tune out. There's still new material." I could see going to straight reprints with the hope that the newspapers don't notice.
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