Today's one of the saddest days. Ms Day has left us, but she did have a long life and she's left us so many memories.
I've been making today by watching all things Doris, and I've put off watching her series for a while, now, and as my day of remembering, and celebrating her, this episode is one of the last things I'm going to see today.
The reason I said it's bittersweet is Ms Day had recently celebrated her birthday, and watching this - remembering when I was a 'young man', and I, too, wanted to do something similar (no, I didn't do what her son's did, and watching them do it - no spoilers - gave me palpitations, thinking; 'what would I do in this situation?''
This series would mark Ms Day's final professional appearance, and seeing her transition from the 'girl singer' and her early film appearances, through her wonderful (and very funny) late 50's-early 60's comedies into a character who's now settled, is truly a joy.
Ms Day's character, here, is closest to 'Abby', the widow she played in her last film,
With Six You Get Eggroll (1968), which was a 'quieter'-type of comedy than her previous ones. The humour's there - it's just more gentle, and I guess that's just a reflection on a level of Ms Day's maturity at this point in her career, and in her life.
This series first year is sort of an 'anti' I Love Lucy-type of show, whereas one would actually laugh out loud at some of Lucy's zanier stuff (and also Lucy and Desi kept their private lives - and problems - or of the spotlight), when Ms Day started work on this show, it was right after the death of her husband, and get finding out here left her in final tatters, so even though she didn't play up on this, we - the viewer - knew of her pain and the difficulties she was facing at this time, and watching this - especially moments like the one in this episode where she says she wishes 'Steve', her (recently deceased husband) were there to see their boys taking her out on their first date, she stares into space, and was she totally acting at this moment, or was she - even a tiny bit - lost in her memories of her real loss.
I don't know.
I do know as a fan who wasn't yet born when this series first aired, I'm touched by her, and this series, and this 'birthday' episode were the perfect way for me to say, 'thank you'.