Undeniably, the entire plot should have been the bringing of the brides to Seattle from Massachusetts. The entire charm is plain to see here with the brides having to sleep on a mule boat, and the exterior shots of the brides in their nightgowns and even fully dressed on the boat.
But right from the start there are glitches. Why would Bridget Handley's character, who worked at cleaning out fire engines, object to riding in a mule boat? Suddenly she is so pristine? Much of the so-called plot of Stempel and Bolt being adversaries should have been removed. In essence, since the appeal of the show was the brides, it should have either been straight up men versus women, or something with Blondell keeping the guys away from the brides. I would suspect Blondell wasn't eager for such excessive filming or wouldn't agree to it or she was felt uninteresting to a younger audience if she had so much airtime, however it played out.
Still, had just someone like Elaine Joyce been held on to as a third bride with Handley and Biddy, she would have made an ideal balance. She is clearly viewed here in several background crowd shots.
Also noticeable is Vic Tayback, good ol' Mel Sharple from Mel's Diner.
The show strangely goes from whooping and hollering for the brides to suddenly being enchanted by them, back to whooping and hollering.
Looking over upcoming episodes, it appears Big Swede stays around and so does Mitzi Hoag as Miss Essie, the schoolmarm. Does he toss her over or something? In the first episode, the shy Swede held her hand and sought to get a kiss from her, much to her genteel objection.
And also looking over upcoming episodes synopsis, there are just too many outsiders coming to town. The focus should have been on those courting in town, but this jeopardizes the attention from the main leads to suddenly have these characters steal the spotlight and make viewers go, 'hey, why don't they bring so-n-so back?' But it was apparent what the attraction for the show was in the beginning and where it should have stayed; on the brides.
But right from the start there are glitches. Why would Bridget Handley's character, who worked at cleaning out fire engines, object to riding in a mule boat? Suddenly she is so pristine? Much of the so-called plot of Stempel and Bolt being adversaries should have been removed. In essence, since the appeal of the show was the brides, it should have either been straight up men versus women, or something with Blondell keeping the guys away from the brides. I would suspect Blondell wasn't eager for such excessive filming or wouldn't agree to it or she was felt uninteresting to a younger audience if she had so much airtime, however it played out.
Still, had just someone like Elaine Joyce been held on to as a third bride with Handley and Biddy, she would have made an ideal balance. She is clearly viewed here in several background crowd shots.
Also noticeable is Vic Tayback, good ol' Mel Sharple from Mel's Diner.
The show strangely goes from whooping and hollering for the brides to suddenly being enchanted by them, back to whooping and hollering.
Looking over upcoming episodes, it appears Big Swede stays around and so does Mitzi Hoag as Miss Essie, the schoolmarm. Does he toss her over or something? In the first episode, the shy Swede held her hand and sought to get a kiss from her, much to her genteel objection.
And also looking over upcoming episodes synopsis, there are just too many outsiders coming to town. The focus should have been on those courting in town, but this jeopardizes the attention from the main leads to suddenly have these characters steal the spotlight and make viewers go, 'hey, why don't they bring so-n-so back?' But it was apparent what the attraction for the show was in the beginning and where it should have stayed; on the brides.