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October 13, 1998 |
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October 13, 1998 |
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Graphics intensive. |
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Contains a very small snippet of dialogue from "Night", the 5th season premiere episode of "Voyager".
The Set-Up: Good Day L.A. is a pretty good example of how truly vapid and horrible Los Angeles local news is. It's a two-hour show, hosted by Steve Edwards, Dorothy Lucey and Jillian Barberie, three rather inane and rambling people who talk over each other, use more hand gesticulations than someone speaking American Sign Language, and seem to like hearing themselves talk rather than their guests. It's strange for a long morning show, in that they sit at the anchor desk the entire time - guests, including Kate, sit at the desk alongside them.
Kate comes on right before a commercial break - the transcript starts with the executive producer telling them to hurry up and wrap.
* * * *
Dorothy Lucey: I'm here! I'm trying to get through this. Because we want to get to Kate Mulgrew. And this far away from my face is Steve going [mimes something]
Jillian Barberie: Kate!
Steve Edwards: Kate, Kate, please come in. Where is she?
Dorothy: Bring some class!
[Cut to a shot of Kate walking up to the anchor desk - smiling, holding her hands up in the air and pretending to be afraid.]
Kate: I'm a little nervous coming to this show.
Steve: We need counseling, Kate, come here.
Kate: I'm coming.
Dorothy: Steve, you're scaring the guests.
Steve: All right, Kate Mulgrew is here.
Jillian: Hi Kate!
Dorothy: Kate, we'll keep him away from you.
[Kate walks past camera, looks right in and does a smart little two finger salute. She walks up to the front of the anchor desk, shakes hands.]
Kate: You're a wild group. How are ya?
CUT TO COMMERCIAL
[Back from commercial, Kate is sitting at the desk.]
Steve: All right, well I'm getting depressed now.
Kate: [laughing] We're weeping! We're weeping!
Jillian: Heavy conversation
Dorothy: And we've already done the entire interview, so thank you so much for coming!
Kate: We're women in the vanguard! [puts her head in her hands]
Steve: [to Dorothy] First of all, you hate when I get into serious conversations with guests. Tell the truth.
Dorothy: No
Steve: But
Dorothy: I just hate when you bore the guests.
Kate: He doesn't bore me at all.
Dorothy: Not you. But believe me, he has bored some of our guests.
Steve: Thank you very much.
Kate: He has? He's incapable of that.
Steve: All right, go ahead, do your intro. Do your silly introduction.
Dorothy: There's no reason to do a silly intro. Everyone knows Kate is here.
Kate: What is better than a serious interview with somebody? Or a serious conversation?
Steve: I'm not serious.
Jillian: You haven't seen this show.
Dorothy: On this show... well you know what, you were here a couple of years
ago, and you never came back. And that's probably why.
Kate: [laughing] You mean I slammed the door, I'll never see those wild people again. Well, it's been a little, a little busy.
Dorothy: [to Steve] You two continue your conversation, how she is too smart...
Steve: Just do your intro, would you please? Please. I'm begging you.
Dorothy: Kate's here. [long pause] Do you want the intro?
Jillian: Yeah.
Dorothy: We already intro'd her.
Kate: She's taken feminism to new heights. [extends arms] I mean way high.
Dorothy: Please, you're the second guest two days in a row to do their own intro. You want your own intro?
Kate: Uh huh.
Dorothy: Go ahead.
Kate: Like outer-space high. [reading off teleprompter] You may know her as Captain Kathryn Janeway, the leader of the U.S.S. Voyager on the series Star Trek Voyager. [leans on her elbow, begins to slide down as if she's passing out]
Dorothy: And now we go to your clip.
*****
CLIP: [a scene from "Night" - the bridge, Janeway, Chakotay, Neelix, Tuvok, Kim, Seven and B'Elanna are there]
Janeway: Your orders are to proceed to the vortex. Use whatever means necessary to fight your way past the Meylan [sp?] freighter. I'll stay behind in a shuttlecraft and destroy the vortex. Tuvok, I'll need a class-2 shuttle armed with photon torpedoes. Tom, set a course for...
B'Elanna: Forget it. [Janeway death-glare] We're not going to let you die out here.
Janeway: Have a little faith, B'Elanna. I'll have a shuttle, plenty of rations. I'll survive.
END CLIP
*****
Kate: [watching] Nobody's commenting on her aging face.
Dorothy: Now why would you say that? Do you know that our executive..
Kate: Because we have to age, and we have to age gracefully and graciouslyin this town that is very tough on women.
Jillian: On women. I mean, you think about the two highest, one of the two highest paid people, Sharon Stone, who's shown a lot, as well as Demi Moore, who's paid hugely, as.. and she's shown..
Kate: As what?
Jillian: As an actress.
Kate: Ah, as an actress.
Jillian: But she's bared her breasts, and Sharon's bared more than that, and their two of the highest and so it's a huge statement. Don't you think?
Kate: Yes. I think it's, a, in many ways, a controversial and, as far as I'm concerned, a rather unfortunate statement. I don't think we should have to bare our breasts...
Jillian: ...to make that kind of money.
Kate: ... to receive huge amounts of money.
Dorothy: Meanwhile, our executive producer has such the hots for you, you have no idea.
Kate: I like him. He's such a lovely man. There he is. [waves off camera]
Dorothy: He's drooling.
Kate: I mean I don't want to sound difficult about it, but...
Dorothy: But this bugs you.
Kate: Bug is not the word. I think there's a...
Steve: Clichéd question: if you were doing what you perceived as a work of art, and it called for you to bare your breasts, would you?
Kate: No.
Steve: Absolutely not?
Kate: I've been there.
Jillian: And you didn't?
Kate: No. Well, first of all, I wanted the thing to have some marketability.
[Kate busts up laughing, so does everybody else]
Dorothy: So this is a whole...
Steve: OH! This is an esteem issue here!
Kate: [laughing] Now we're getting down to the real truth about it. Vanity knows no bounds! [composes herself] No, I wouldn't do that.
Steve: I refuse to do that until I go on a diet.
Kate: But I just want to be, be able to handle the transition with some wisdom. And some laughter. And some integrity. In a town which has proven itself to be rather.. rather difficult in this regard.
Dorothy: But you have succeeded. You've prospered.
Kate: I have had a wonderful career. I have had an eclectic career. I have not had a soaring career. I am no superstar, I'm a not a movie star. I'm a working actress on television, playing one of the all-time great roles.
Dorothy: But isn't there something to be said for just being a working actress, let alone the role that you play?
Kate: There's a great deal to be said for it. And also I think the fact that I've avoided that limelight in that fantastic fashion has saved me, in many ways. I have a fundamental happiness, and joy, I've got my kids. I'm pretty grounded. So it's been very good.
Dorothy: How many kids do you have?
Kate: I have th-three.
Steve: Why did you stutter there?
Kate: [laughs] I always stutter when I talk about pubescent boys. [Everybody laughs] They're great. But it's a rocky road. Who else has teenagers here?
Steve: I did until about three weeks ago. No, just the age change.
Jillian: What did you do with them?
Steve: I hid them. I hid them away.
Kate: Tell me about this. They're fourteen and they're fifteen. And I adore them.
Steve: Forget about it.
Kate: I can't forget about it, I'm their mother!
Steve: No, no, no. You will go through turmoil. You will be scared. You will be awake at night. Wait till they start driving. Hmm? Hmm?
Dorothy: Please...
Kate: [holds up hand] I don't have to wait. She said shaking. Throwing up. I don't have to wait.
Dorothy: Oh no. See, I've got 15, 16 years before I have to start panicking about this.
Jillian: And I've gotta have one before I have to worry, but, I feel all your pain.
Steve: All right, let me give you this piece of wisdom.
Kate: What?
Steve: It ain't easy. How's that?
Jillian: Oh, wow, that's profound.
Kate: [pause; sarcastic] Thanks.
Steve: Even with the best and most loving intentions, because people have to..
Jillian: Steve, you've depressed her!
Steve: ...they have to grow away from you, they have to grow away, it's
important.
Kate: I know they have to separate. Because they're men.
Steve: They must. They must.
Kate: And I have to help them do that.
Steve: They must.
Kate: And I know that there are certain taboos.
Steve: And it'll break your heart.
Kate: [serious beat] And I have to get ready for that.
Steve: Yes. Absolutely.
Kate: Life is a veil of tears. [laughter]
[Sudden cut to video of William Shatner looking at camera, saying "how about, licking my boots?" The three anchors scream with laughter. Cut back to Kate]
Kate: He's so charming.
Steve: You know what? Is our time up here? This has been a non-sequitor but interesting session.
Jillian: I just love her voice.
Steve: What did we do here?
Kate: That was our time? We didn't talk about God? We didn't talk about sex or love or anything?
Dorothy: Religion, politics...
Steve: Just stick around here.
Jillian: Stay.
Dorothy: We did talk about sex.
Steve: We'll talk about sex.
Dorothy: We did talk about sex a little bit. Nudity. We touched on nudity.
Steve: There's more.
COMMERCIAL BREAK
Kate hung around during the next segment for a live remote interview with Lisa Hartman Black about a non-profit dog and cat rescue organization, promoting a benefit dinner the next night. Kate didn't speak until the end:
Steve: Lisa say hello to Kate Mulgrew here.
Kate: Hi Lisa.
Lisa: Hi Kate!
Kate: How are you?
Lisa: I'm great. It's nice to talk to you.
Kate: We worked together a hundred years ago.
Lisa: Oh, fifty.
Kate: You look lovely. You look great.
Lisa: Thank you. Come see us tomorrow night.
Kate: I will try. Good for you.
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