 |
What a long, strange trip it's been: an angst-ridden Nicole
Sullivan ponders her fate on an early episode of Party of Five.
|
"I feel like a
sausage case." - Nicole Sullivan (as Terry) on Party of Five
Although most television viewers familiar with Nicole Sullivan know
her primarily as a cast member of the sketch comedy series Mad TV,
her career is rather extensive, and I've always regretted
not having seen any of her early work. So call the recent
rebroadcast of the Party of Five episode "Private Lives" remedial
Nicole Sullivan viewing. The Lifetime Network, available on many cable
systems in the U.S., began rebroadcasting Party of Five on August
17, 1998, and undoubtedly many astute Nicole Sullivan fans are aware that Ms.
Sullivan appeared in an early (November 1994) episode of the series.
The subplot in which Terry, the character played by Nicole Sullivan,
appears, is mainly about Julia (played by Neve Campbell), who has taken a
job as a waitress in a nightclub. Terry (Nicole Sullivan) is one of
the other waitresses. The owner of the nightclub makes the waitresses wear
skimpy outfits in order to attract customers. After several of the girls are
harrassed by patrons, they confront the owner, who then fires them after they
refuse to continue wearing the uniforms. For those of you who missed it, here's a blow-by-blow breakdown of the
scenes in which Ms. Sullivan appears:
- Scene 2 [7:47]: In nightclub, with other waitresses, after closing time.
They are gathered because the owner of the nightclub is announcing new
uniforms for the waitresses. Total running time: 1 minute, 4 seconds.
- Scene 3 [17:37]: In nightclub, serving drinks. A male patron makes a
lewd suggestion to Julia (Neve Campbell), who promptly throws a drink in
his face. Total running time: 43 seconds.
- Scene 4 [18:20]: Outside nightclub, again with other waitresses. The
waitresses complain about the new uniforms to the owner of the nightclub,
who promptly fires them. Total running time: 54 seconds.
 |
| Ms. Sullivan broods existentially outside the nightclub.
|
Nicole Sullivan's appearances in this episode were fairly limited (not
amounting to more than 5 minutes total), but even so, the essential Nicole
Sullivan shines through: the accent (New York with a slightly nasal twang),
the attitude (always armed with a witty riposte), and the look (classic
good looks with just enough of a difference to distinguish her from all
the myriad blonde-haired, blue-eyed would-be actresses in Los Angeles). If
I wasn't accustomed to seeing irony both in real life and on television, the
fact that a Dean's List graduate uttered the word "ain't" on national
television might even have seemed remarkably ironic (not more remarkable,
though, than hearing her tell fellow Northwesterner Jerry Springer to go "f*ck"
himself during a Vancome sketch). And at times we are left to ponder to
what extent Nicole Sullivan's real life mirrors the life of the character
she plays: just as Antonia, like Nicole Sullivan, has a cat named C.C., here
she plays a waitress, which is how the real Nicole Sullivan supported herself
when she was getting her start in Hollywood.
This recent rebroadcast of "Private Lives" gave viewers a rare glimpse
into the earlier work of Nicole Sullivan (I hesitate to use the word
"formative" since Ms. Sullivan has been acting since she was a small child),
and would have been noteworthy for this reason. But it also stands out as a
piece of well-written drama, as the plot about the Salingers being visited
by a social worker advances effortlessly and fluidly. Nicole
Sullivan's contribution is brief but solid, as evidenced by her interaction
with Julia (Neve Campbell) in the opening minutes of the program. It
leaves us with a rueful sense of loss at not being able to see more of
Ms. Sullivan's early work. Now if only one of these channels would start
showing reruns of Herman's Head...