citrusy-fangirl

[citrusy-fangirl]

Title: A Spot of Trouble Chapters: 19/19 Relationship: Hecate Hardbroom/Pippa Pentangle Rating: E Tags:  Hicsqueak, Rivals to Accidental Co-Parents to Lovers, Pregnant!Hecate, S1 AU Summary: Epilogue Note: This fic is done! At long last! It only took me like four years, including a solid two of immovable writer's block! I've considered whether I might want to add ficlets in this universe, but I'm not sure, so if you'd like ficlets about Cerys and her life with Hecate and Pippa, feel free to comment.

#the worst witch #hicsqueak #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle #citrusy-fanfic

[citrusy-fangirl]

Title: A Spot of Trouble Chapters: 17 & 18/19 Relationship: Hecate Hardbroom/Pippa Pentangle Rating: E Tags:  Hicsqueak, Rivals to Accidental Co-Parents to Lovers, Pregnant!Hecate, S1 AU Summary: The baby is born. Sort of. Note: TW: blood/pregnancy complications Chapter 17 leads straight into Chapter 18 (and I should probably have posted them together in the first place, lol) so I'm posting them together here. Also, hello after a year and a half to any of you who actually remember the existence of this fic ^.^

#the worst witch #hicsqueak #hecate hardbroom #pippa pentangle #ada cackle #mildred hubble #citrusy-fanfic

[citrusy-fangirl]

I hate it when I've been working on the same chapter for three days and going through multiple versions that didn't work, which is fine as far as it goes because each wrong turn points up something I should be doing to get to the right one, but then I'm faced with the fact that I have been working on this three days and have a total of 936 semi-usable words.

#wip #anyone want to swoop in and Make This Fic Better please

[citrusy-fangirl]

*gasp* Miss Hardbroom!

[citrusy-fangirl]

Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett have been one of the great, if frustratingly under-utilised, professional partnerships of American showbiz. From their early days working together on The Garry Moore Show in 1961/62 where Carol was a regular feature performer and Julie an occasional guest star, it was obvious that the two women had terrific on-stage—and, by all accounts, off-stage—chemistry and soon thereafter they graduated to performing as a duo in a series of influential TV specials. In many ways they were an unlikely pairing, Julie the patrician English soubrette and Carol the goofy Texan cut-up, but it was arguably these stark differences that made for an engaging partnership. Like most of the great performing duos, theirs was a relationship of complementary contrasts with each serving as a foil for the other: Julie the ‘straight man’ to Carol’s clown, Carol the gutsy belter to Julie’s crystalline soprano. Indeed, the opening sequence of their very first TV variety special wittily played up this sense of them as an odd couple who “belong together” precisely because of their contrasting differences. “You’re So London” sings Carol, rattling off a list of things about Julie she admires but lacks herself, before Julie returns serve with a litany of qualities she most envies in Carol. Julie and Carol’s professional collaborations weren’t numerous, alas, but they were memorable and influential. Their first outing, the 1962 special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, is widely regarded as a landmark in the history of musical variety TV. With a script by Mike Nichols and musical supervision by Irwin Kostal, both of whom would come to figure quite centrally in Julie’s career, the show was a ratings bonanza for CBS and went on to win both an Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Music and the Rose d’Or Award at the Montreux Entertainment Festival. Critics were generally fulsome in their praise as can be seen here and here, with many reviews highlighting the charm of the pair’s unexpected chemistry. Columbia also issued a soundtrack LP of the special which racked up solid sales. There was initial talk of Julie and Carol possibly taking their “act” on the road for a cross-country tour in 1962 but Julie’s pregnancy put paid to those plans. After their initial Carnegie Hall special, Julie’s film career soon took off and not too long thereafter Carol’s career also rocketed skyward with the 1967 launch of her long-running comedy variety series. As a result, it would be a full decade before the two women worked together again in the follow-up CBS special, Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center in 1971. Given the pair’s by-now superstar standing, the program came in on a wave of pre-broadcast publicity as seen here, here, here, here, here and here. Once again, the special proved a hit with audiences and critics alike, earning three Emmy nominations and a raft of generally enthusiastic reviews such as here and here. An accompanying soundtrack LP from this special was also released in 1971. Julie and Carol’s next collaboration was a long while in the coming with several ‘nearly-weres’ and false starts. In the mid-70s it was rumoured they would re-team for a TV special with a Hollywood theme to be staged in an old picture palace. There was also talk of a possible Vegas show together. In 1984, the pair reunited for a special benefit concert in aid of Operation California (later renamed Operation USA), a humanitarian relief organization with which both stars have had a long association. Titled “Julie and Carol: One Night Only”, the concert was a gala affair held in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel but, to the best available knowledge, it was not taped and certainly never publicly broadcast. It wasn’t until 1989 that the the pair’s third public collaboration finally came to pass in the form of the ABC TV special, Julie and Carol: Together Again. The show was originally scheduled to be taped live at Carnegie Hall in New York and was already sold out in advance when a scheduling conflict forced a last minute change of venue, and change of coast, to the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Once again the third special attracted considerable pre-show publicity, as seen here, here, here, here and here, and aired on December 13 to strong audience numbers and positive crits such as here, here and here .

Throughout the intervening years, Julie and Carol have appeared together at numerous events and awards shows—for example, each hosted the tribute section at the other’s Kennedy Center Honors ceremony, Carol for Julie in 2001 and Julie returning the favour for Carol in 2003— helping further consolidate their public image as an entertainment duo. Finally, in 2004, it was announced in the trade papers that Julie and Carol would reteam for a fourth TV special, scheduled for broadcast on CBS later that year. Given that Julie, by this stage, could no longer sing, the show was largely planned as a retrospective with the two reminiscing about their work together with clips from previous shows and some new sketch material added. Unfortunately, the special never materialized, possibly due to difficulties getting copyright clearances for the earlier material to be re-used. It’s for this reason that the earlier specials also haven’t yet been issued on DVD. Nevertheless, in interviews over ensuing years there have been hints that this fourth special may still be in the pipelines. The chances grow slimmer with each passing year but we can still fervently hope Julie and Carol get another, possibly final, opportunity to work their magic ‘one more time’…

Sources:

Burnett, Carol. This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection. New York: Random House, 2010.

Church, Carol B. Carol Burnett: Star of Comedy. Mankato: Crestwood House, 1976.

Terrace, Vincent. Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936-2012. Jefferson: McFarland, 2013.

[citrusy-fangirl]

Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett & Roy Castle perform “The Cockney Lesson” on The Garry Moore Show, 1 May 1962

In this delightful musical sketch from the May 1, 1962 episode of The Garry Moore Show, resident comic Carol Burnett invites the week’s two British guest stars, Julie Andrews and Roy Castle, to teach her Cockney. The trio then launch into a comic novelty song titled, “The Cockney Lesson” composed specially for the show by husband-wife writing team, Ken and Mitzie Welch. Ken Welch –– who only recently passed away, aged 92 –– was a longtime friend and professional associate of Carol Burnett’s (Barnes, 2019). He had been instrumental in Carol’s early success, first as a vocal coach and then as a musical writer and accompanist  for her nightclub act. One of Welch’s early compositions for Carol, “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles”, proved such a hit it landed the budding comic her first TV appearance and, not too long thereafter, a regular spot on The Garry Moore Show. Returning the favour, Carol helped secure Welch a position as part of the show’s musical production team (Apone: V6).

As with this song, Ken would frequently collaborate with his wife Mitzie. The pair had been performers themselves in the early days but gave it up to focus on writing and producing when they started a family (Apone: V6). Ken and Mitzie Welch would continue to write for Carol for many years, moving with her when she landed her own TV show, as well as providing material for many other performers including Bob Hope, Barbra Streisand, Barry Manilow, and Olivia Newton-John (Barnes, 2019). 

Ken Welch would also write and co-produce all three TV specials for Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett, including their landmark Carnegie Hall show which was in post-production at the time this episode of The Garry Moore Show went to air (Hoogenboom: 2; Royal: 2-3). One need not strain to hear echoes of Welch’s work for that show in “The Cockney Lesson” with its pastiche Tin Pan Alley sound, call-and-response form, and wry lyrics peppered with pop cultural allusions. Of particular note here is the pointed reference to My Fair Lady and casting for the then-pending film version which allows for a lovely bit of comic business between Carol and Julie.

Because Welch retained copyright to his compositions on The Garry Moore Show, he was able to take them with him when he left (Copyright Office: 78). It is for this reason that “The Cockney Song” was recycled years later in a 1975 episode of The Carol Burnett Show where it was performed as a duet between Carol and guest star, Maggie Smith (“Maggie”: 8). It was even done complete with a tongue-in-cheek final quip from Smith, “Julie Andrews will be livid!" Subsequently released to DVD and, in due course, making an appearance on various video-sharing platforms, the Burnett-Smith version of "The Cockney Lesson” has today become quite well-known. Hopefully now the delightful 1962 original will reclaim some of its long overdue recognition.

References

Apone, Carl. “Music Writer Studied Here: Ken Welch with Revue.” The Pittsburgh Press. 1 July 1962: V6.

Barnes, Mike. "Ken Welch, Carol Burnett’s Longtime Musical Collaborator, Dies at 92.” The Hollywood Reporter. 5 February 2019 https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ken-welch-dead-carol-burnetts-longtime-musical-collaborator-was-92-1182886.

Copyright Office. Catalog of Copyright Entries, January-June 1962. 16: V-1. Washington: Library of Congress, 1963.

Hoogenboom, A.A. "Special Re-Unites Andrews and Burnett.” Herald TV Watch. 10 December 1989: 2

"Maggie Smith Carol’s Guest.” Odessa American TV News. 9 November 1975: 8.

Royal, Don. "Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall.” Showtime. 10 June 1962: 2-3.

Disclaimer: This is a fan preservation project; it was created for criticism and research, and is completely nonprofit; it falls under the fair use provision of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. section 107.

Written Content Copyright © Brett Farmer 2019

#reblogging this to make sure I don't forget to watch it!!

[citrusy-fangirl]

I love their story so much. Their dynamics are just something like that...just wow

[citrusy-fangirl]

Someone in the TGW Fan Facebook group made a poll asking who Alicia should be with and apparently didn't like it when I added the option "Magic Wand Rechargeable" to the existing list of all her canonical male love interests. So I decided to push it a little and added "Kalinda Sharma" once my original option had been deleted. I'm sorry, but none of the male love interests on the show worked out for her and there are reasons why!  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#the good wife #alicia florrick #kalinda sharma #kalicia

[citrusy-fangirl]

[citrusy-fangirl]

1. After a year-plus of feeling guilty about it I am finishing, for some value of the word "finishing", A Spot of Trouble. This means that instead of writing the novel-length rest of the fic that I had envisioned, I'm writing a synopsis of each chapter and then a snippet, in a few hundred words, of what I had intended to write. Given the way both my brain and my life work, it was either that or leave it abandoned entirely.

2. On that note, does anyone want to Britpick some snippets?

#the worst witch #citrusy fanfic

[citrusy-fangirl]

I wish you would write a fic where...

Send me an anymous (or not) summary of the fic you wish I would write. (maybe I will write a tidbit)

#I've been mulling over getting back into fanfic writing #I would be very pleased if this post led to anybody sending me a prompt #fic prompts #fic meme #fic #also does Tumblr let people inbox me here or does it have to be slightlykylie #slightlykylie being my mainblog?

[citrusy-fangirl]

every writing tip article and their mother: dont ever use adverbs ever!

me, shoveling more adverbs onto the page because i do what i want: just you fucking try and stop me

#'she smiled happily' could maybe work if you're trying to emphasize her naivete in a situation she really shouldn't be happy about #or something like that #it's really really hard to give writing advice that is absolutely bulletproof and that always obtains no matter what #this is better than most though #(I also have a quote running through my head from Emily of New Moon) #'she went quickly out of the room - if it had been anyone but Aunt Elizabeth it might almost have been said that she ran' #(pointing up again how all writing advice is made to be broken at some point)

[citrusy-fangirl]

I got Sims 4, several years late, and am trying to make The Worst Witch characters but I had forgotten just how dreadful I am at ever making any Sim who looks like a specific real person. It's amazing how the more you try to make each specific feature match an actual person's, the more they look like a demented Barbie doll whose face is in a fight with itself.

#also I knew how to handle the CAS controls in sims 3 but #the sims 4 ones are beyond me #I tried to make Ada and Agatha but couldn't figure out how to make an identical twin?? #which should be the easiest thing in the game??? #I can make a sibling in Play with Genetics but it won't let me just clone someone #grrrr

[citrusy-fangirl]

All I'm saying is, if a fic refers to characters by their physical attributes instead of their names or pronouns ("he smiled at the older" "the blonde laughed") when we know who the character is, and ESPECIALLY if the descriptions include "ravenette" or "cyanette" or other ridiculous words--

I'm clicking out of that fic so fast my AO3 history won't even register I've been there.

#writing #'read good writers' and 'see how professional writers do it' is the best advice #there is no substitute for reading a lot of good writing

[citrusy-fangirl]

Protective!Hecate

#two of my favorite moments

[citrusy-fangirl]

Close-up of Clare Higgins in “After The War” / 1989 (x)

#okay but this is just such a terrific picture though

[citrusy-fangirl]

I'm not going to get into this in a ton of detail; we have diverging interpretations of Hecate and that's fine. But I do want to note that I am queer and neurodivergent and a mom and this is personal for me as well. And I reblogged your post to respond to it because I've never liked the option of subtweeting people by making posts responding to them but without using names or tagging them. It feels passive-aggressive to me. I think we're both capable of engaging in discussion directly and maturely. I will admit that my main reason for responding was that the tone of your posts about Hecate and motherhood felt very much to me as though you were stating what the One True Interpretation of Hecate's character is, and that anyone whose interpretation was different was conceiving of Hecate/writing Hecate out-of-character. Due to my own personal experiences, I have a lot of feelings about what it means to choose to be a parent in general -- especially, yes, as a queer neurodivergent person to whom these things don't come easily -- and what it would mean for Hecate specifically to make that choice. We don't need to agree (fandom would certainly be less interesting if everyone had the exact same opinions and perspectives on characters!) And if we can all allow space for other people's interpretations to exist and have their own validity, I think that's all we need.

the tragedy of 4x03 Happy Birthday, Indigo Moon is not that Hecate is sad that she never had the chance to become Indigo Moon's legal guardian.

the real tragedy here is that Hecate was so desperate that she challenged a part of herself that she has never had to deal with before - that of being in a guardianship role - even though it goes against every bone in her body.

the utter, gut-wrenching shame that she feels here is that of personal debasement, when she would have forced herself to go against her instincts and "embrace" a maternal role that she never wanted. it was the only way she saw of absolving herself of her deadly mistake in the past, but it would have been a terrible existence for them both. in this moment, she's processing the role she would have diligently lived even though it would only remind her of her crimes constantly, and also mourning the life she would have lost. she would never have been able to have a romantic relationship with an adult in quite the same way if she had had Indigo Moon to show responsibility for foremost.

she knows she could never "make a wonderful parent", despite what the Great Wizard wrote. it's just something people say when they find out you are having or adopting a child; a statement of willing the "good parent" traits on someone. responsible people do not always make good, loving parents. Hecate could never give all of that to any child, and especially not Indigo Moon.

an emotional outburst like this is also very expected, given that Hecate just was faced with her best friend not knowing her - but she still remembers those thirty years of emotional trauma and self-torment. she almost had her best friend "back", but their relationship was changed irrevocably by meeting as teacher and student. sending her back was a sign of so much greater strength, because she acknowledged that motherhood would never have been a good option for her, and that she was not going to give the child the upbringing she deserved. as a consequence, Indigo Moon had to opportunity to give her own child a "magical" upbringing enough that she was accepted into Cackle's.

nothing ever positive could have come out of the Indigo Moon affair, and there was no outcome that would not have hurt Hecate or involved her sacrificing herself in some way. it's genuinely a tragedy in that sense, but never because Hecate wanted to be anyone's mother.