Episode Report Card Niki: A | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Booklovers
By Niki | Season 2 | Episode 2 | Aired on 10.30.2000
Suddenly, we're looking at a close-up of Jake's tightly grinning mug. To borrow a line from Road Rules's Holly: "Back the fuck up!" Suddenly, Jake's head is a Polaroid, and it's being pinned up on the board, along with his recommendation. We follow with a montage of other singles, each getting photographed by Judy. The board is filing up fast. And hey! There's Crusty!
"Thank you so much!" Judy says to the phone. "For what?" Lily asks her headset, from behind her desk at Pages Alive. Judy thinks she's being modest, and Lily figures out that she's talking about Crusty. She doesn't sound happy to learn that Crusty was there. Jake's bartender and Tiffany come into the bookstore with the party supplies. The bartender spots Jake smiling on the bulletin board, but Tiffany's back is to it. The bartender pulls her out of there pronto, before Judy can even get off the phone. Lily is still feigning enthusiasm over Crusty's appearance, and when Judy informs her that Crusty's coming to the meeting, Lily announces that she "should come to. To support [Judy]," she adds, but I don't think that's her real motive. Judy is truly touched and says it means a lot to her that Lily will be there. They hang up, and Lily makes a big display of looking stressed.
Pre-party montage. Judy checks her watch and paces the empty store, looking anxiously toward the alley. She strides purposefully toward it, but when Will sees her in the doorway, he tells her not to come out yet. He promises to be done soon. Judy's face falls. She pulls out a cigarette and starts puffing heartily. I didn't know people could still smoke on TV. The camera focuses on a close-up of the ciggie's ash as it burns down, and we hear a barrage of voices naming their favorite books. John Irving books are mentioned twice! Good, because he's underrated. The camera slowly zooms in on the board then slowly pans it, back and forth, up and down. Then we start to get shots of individual pictures accompanied by the person's voice-over, explaining their choice of book. Each portrait then blends into a black-and-white clip of the person, talking about how hard it is being single, and how it's the last thing they ever imagined for themselves. It's a really nice use of the confessionals, and knowing a little bit about the lives behind all these pictures only serves to heighten the tension and anticipation and excitement and hopefulness that's about to spill out as the party gets underway.