The Goldilocks Rush

   Trixie looked at her reflection as she checked her makeup, displaying some degree of puzzlement. She'd been cast as Goldilocks for a TV production, but her natural golden locks had been stuffed into a platinum blonde wig. Why? Because the station was going to use some stock footage taken on location, for scenes showing Goldilocks enter the house of the three bears. 

   Through a snafu, the actress doubling for Trixie in those scenes was a platinum blonde. Despite the fact that this was going to be broadcast in black and white, the director felt her hair still needed to match that of the other girl. And really, who would notice her hair when this was going to be the first Goldilocks to be be dressed in a Creek Bend bikini? It was an odd show, for sure. With sponsorship by the Creek Bend Bikini Company, the production could afford to hire a movie starlet like Trixie Hope, but on condition that she also wear the product. When Trixie signed on, she thought this was going to be for the kiddies, but her wardrobe suggested her audience wouldn't be quite so limited. On the other hand, she spent much of her time in front of the camera so dressed, so this was prettymuch business as usual -aside from the wig.

   KLOR had some professional production facilities, but locally-produced programming had been of fairly minor interest to viewers which preferred reruns of Space Patrol. Maybe a good-natured comedy show built around a beautiful girl in a bathing suit would help widen the viewership for original programming. Of course, this would raise the bar a bit for expectations of future shows with similar visual appeal. Other stations did well with original programming, their viewers more interested in new material than old reruns. Creek Bend was a unique location in so many ways. The number of annies who lived there was what most people knew about the town, since it boasted a higher count of annies per capita than any other location. With that in mind, a new twist on the Goldilocks story seemed a perfect idea to the station manager.

   It was more difficult for Trixie than she imagined. Aside from the final scene, she would be doing all her shots by herself. This meant exposition was going to be provided almost entirely by Trixie as Goldilocks talking out loud to herself. Still, everything was going fine until the shot where the chair she was sitting in gave way and she hit the floor. The break went as planned, but she twisted her foot in the process. She wasn't seriously injured or anything, but it did make it difficult to walk to her next mark. Her final scene would have her sitting in the baby bear's bed, fortunately, but the camera crew was having difficulty getting the scene where she moved to the bedroom to check out the accommodations. Trixie hobbled through the door as best she could, but soon she was hopping from bed to bed and making sounds of discomfort. 

   "Trix," the director called cut again, "is there any way you can get through this without moaning?"

   "I'm sorry, but I'm doing my best. Maybe you should write in that I hurt my foot."

   "I think we'll have to. We have to finish within the hour so the film can be edited in time to go on tonight." He paused and looked around at his crew, then back to Trixie. "Okay, we'll make the limp part of the scene, but it means re-shooting the part where you walked into the bedroom."

   "Alright," Trixie hung her head, "I don't want to, but I will."

   "The only other option is to ice your foot down again."

   "Do you have to do it all in full shot? Maybe I can wrap the ice pack around my ankle and then you can just shoot me in medium."

   "That'd work except for two things. One, full shots were requested by the sponsor, since you're wearing their product. Now I might be able to get around that with medium full shots that would keep your feet off screen, but there's no way to hide your feet when you crawl into each bed, so you'll still need to take it off for those shots."

   "Was it their idea that I be barefoot in the first place?"

   "Don't knock it, Trixie. If you'd hit your foot that way while wearing heels you would have twisted it worse."

  "Yeah, I guess you have a point." Trixie hopped over to the first mark. "Let's just get this over with. I can get through it faster if we just write-in the ankle."

   The next few minutes passed quickly enough, thanks to the practiced speed of the camera crew brought in from C.B.I.P., a move which proved essential in getting the production assembled on time. Another break came from the fact they were shooting it more or less in order, so as to cut down on the amount of editing required. Trixie rubbed her foot as she waited for the next scene. It was much better now, and would be back to normal by bedtime. She was rather unsure how the TV special would come out, but she did her best. The sore foot allowed her to do some physical comedy by playing up her discomfort during filming. That at least made the scenes more interesting than they were written, which was pretty straight. In fact, the new scenes were so funny that they made the opening feel rather dry. Time didn't allow for the earlier scenes to be punched up with more jokes, so hopefully a slow build would come across as appearing planned in advance. This raised the bar a bit, in terms of making the climax more amusing, so the crew took a break as the actors mulled over how to throw in more gags. Time was short, though, so there'd be some ad-libbing once the cameras were rolling again.

   Trixie was at least allowed to relax during this, since she was already snuggled up in the baby bear's bed and would remain there until chased out for the big finish -now clad in a night gown which, had she been able to change earlier in the scene might have allowed her to wear the ice pack all along. The actors were allowed to make up the scene on the spot, since they were working from such a familiar plot. Trixie pretended that her foot was still in pain and hobbled around as the bears gave chase. The bears in question were a real family, and they came from a circus background. This allowed for a wild slapstick scene of the three falling all over each other and continuing to trip as they struggled to back to the feet. This realistically gave Goldilocks time to slip out, despite her hopping about on one foot. The camera crew burst out in laughter at these antics. Under normal conditions, this would ruin the take, but the station manager had an idea. When the film was cut together, it would be broadcast WHILE it was being viewed by a live audience. This way, their laughter would be recorded and cover the chuckles of the film crew.

   For this to work, the film would have to be screened on the stage normally used for the local kiddie show. The projector would beam the show onto a huge wall opposite rows of seats which normally housed local children and their parents. It was the same screen which ran cartoons shown for Mr. Sam's Treehouse. Now the challenge was to get the film processed and edited on time to go on that night. Things weren't usually this slapdash, but the shooting of the film had already been scheduled for earlier on the same day that a planned program had to be dropped from the line-up. It was cutting it close, but the director assured the station manager that the film could be put together in time to go on. And this guy should know, having cut his teeth on B westerns.

   One complication this immediate release offered was that there was no time to record a soundtrack. This, too, had been taken into account. Mr. Sam had a house band which scored his show. It was a small orchestra, with barely enough pieces to qualify as such, but it was a practiced group that knew how to improvise and create a professional sound on the spur of the moment. The band was already in the practice of doing spot scoring for silent cartoons which sometimes popped up in Sam's library, so this would be right in track. Although this all may sound rushed and crude to the outsider, it was more or less business as usual for everyone involved. The live aspect of it all even added a sense of freshness the show might otherwise not carry. Trixie stayed on hand to warm up the audience with a comedy routine she'd practiced during the time the film was being processed. Simone and Gail even joined in. It was right down to the wire, but it was working just fine.

    There wasn't time for printing title cards, either. This was solved by writing the opening title cards on boards carried in front of the camera by Simone and Gail, alternating minimal information which included the show's title, star, sponsor, and director. While the show was being screened, the control booth was buzzing as a full credits list was being created, this to be super-imposed over the broadcast when the film itself had finished and the band played out the clock.

   When it was all over, the station crew was exhausted. Trixie stayed through the show to hand out autographs to the audience members as they left. When she had a chance to rest, she sat reclined against one of the seats and twirled her foot. It was all better now, particularly since she'd had a chance to ice it down again while the show itself was being run. The show came off better than it really had any right to, and the audience enjoyed it tremendously. Gail had run through a quick news report during the aftermath of the showing, but was glad to see Trixie was still around after the job was done. Gail took a seat close by.

   "You're a real trooper, Trixie."

   "When you do it long enough, you don't really think about anything else but getting the next scene done." Trixie stretched. "After this, though, I think I could use a rest."

   "Will you have tomorrow off?" Trixie smiled at the question.

    "No, I'm shooting a two-reeler with Dixie tomorrow. How soon will we know if the ratings for the Goldilocks show were worth the rush?"

   "Not for a while yet, but we've already gotten calls asking for a re-broadcast soon. I have a feeling it went over rather well, indeed."

    "Good news for the Creek Bend Bikini Company. They may sponsor more of these shows."

   "That's going to be interesting. I wonder what story they'll want to do next. Little Red Riding Hood?"

   "If they do that one, I know the perfect couple to play it." When the idea was run by Roger and Crissy, Mrs. Ralphwit showed less reluctance than she usually did when asked to do a little acting. A fun little show for local television might be the best way to test the waters, and it would let the couple work together. Roger didn't think much of the idea, but he could picture Crissy as Little Red Riding Hood. With a hood and caplet over a matching Creek Bend bikini, Crissy would be quite adorable. But then, Crissy was always adorable. When the couple had been talked into taking part in a Thanksgiving play, Roger thought he looked ridiculous in his Pilgrim uniform. Crissy, though, she was as cute as could be in her outfit. Every brush with acting only seemed to confirm that the studio head was right in thinking that Crissy would be a natural.

   After hearing about the hectic circumstances of the earlier production, however, now known in the business as The Goldilocks Rush, Crissy felt sure she'd better leave that sort of thing to the professionals. And really, Daisy Poise would look just as darling in the same Red Riding Hood outfit. When it all came together, though, it says something about Trixie's work ethic that she was still a part of the production. Her youthful features were hidden under a white wig in order to play Grandmother, but somehow that only added to the sense of fun. What's more, Trixie had already agreed to play the lead in the Cinderella episode they were planning next. Once that one was in the can, though, she was going to go on a long vacation far away from any cameras or shooting schedules. 

   Trixie didn't have quite the vacation she expected. She drove her little trailer to a picturesque spot in the woods, only to spot a family of wild bears foraging around. Yep, there were three of them. Trixie turned right around and drove back to town. Maybe she'd go to the beach instead.