Episode 143: Vague and Drunk and Impossible

Monday, January 16, 1967

Note: The episodes’ official numbering includes skipped numbers for pre-emptions, in accordance with their numbering system (so that one could look at the number of an episode and know what day of the week it aired on). I have elected to number the episodes by what episode it actually is, but I will note the official numbering also.

This is the 143rd episode, but the official number is 146 or 11.

My name is Victoria Winters. A painting has caused great concern among those at Collinwood—particularly for one, who is the subject of the painting—and another, the man who painted it.

Laura causes Sam to drop his cigarette onto the newspaper as he’s falling asleep. 

 Liz interrupts her. 

She calls Laura’s name, but Laura doesn’t respond. 

Liz touches her shoulder. 
Laura has gremlin face.

Sam wakes up and tries to put out the fire with his hands, which is not a good result. 
Maggie comes in and puts out the fire, covering it with a rug or blanket and stomping on it.

Liz asks Laura what’s wrong. Laura comes out of her trance and passes it off as being lost in thought. 

Liz thinks the expression on her face was frightening.

Maggie wraps Sam’s hands in cold, wet towels and calls the doctor. She tells him it could have been worse.

Sam thinks Laura burned his hands. 
Maggie thinks it’s just that Sam fell asleep with a lighted cigarette by some newspapers. (She seems more reasonable, you have to admit.)

Sam wonders what he can say to convince her. He says Laura told him she’d see to it that he stopped painting.

Liz tells Laura they need to take a look at where they stand. Liz doesn’t think she is making good progress with David. His nightmares are growing worse.

Laura blames the painting. Liz doesn’t think that’s the whole answer.

Laura thinks she needs to spend more time with David. They need to take the painting away.

Liz doesn’t understand why he painted it; it’s not even his style.

Laura says she went to see Sam. “He was vague and drunk and impossible.” And he started another similar painting. He needs to stop. He’s ruining everything and she hasn’t much time.

Liz wonders what she means by that.

Just that she hasn’t been able to do what she set out to do.

Roger arrives home, and they bring him into the conversation.

Roger thinks Laura and David are getting along well.

Laura blames the painting.

Roger says he’ll get rid of the painting, and he’ll stop Sam from painting more.

There’s a knock on the door. It’s Maggie, wanting to see Laura. Maggie tells them Sam burned his hands.

Maggie tells them her father is convinced Mrs. Collins started the fire.

Laura says that’s absurd. 
Roger says he’s going to talk to Sam, and he goes off to do so.

Liz assures Maggie they’ll find answers, sooner or later.

Roger arrives at Sam’s.

“Your wife burned my hands,” Sam says.

Roger thinks this is absurd.

Sam says she has some kind of hypnotic influence.

Roger wants him to stop accusing Roger’s wife of impossible things.

Roger goes to destroy the new painting, but it has a hole in it. Sam says the fire was nowhere near it.

             Cast, In Order of Appearance

Victoria Winters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alexandra Moltke

Laura Collins  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diana Millay

Elizabeth Collins Stoddard . . . . . . . . . .  Joan Bennett

Sam Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  David Ford

Maggie Evans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Kathryn Leigh Scott

Roger Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  Louis Edmonds

Fashion by Ohrbach’s

Directed by Lela Swift

Written by Malcolm Marmorstein