Julia
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We should enjoy food and have fun.
It is one of the simplest and nicest pleasures in life.
Times are hard, and I am all about thisJulia Child opinion.
Remember that scene inMulanwhen they light the signal fires to show that the Huns are invading?
That is internet lesbians when theres any kind of queer woman romance on a show.
The signal fires were lit, and many a Tumblr dash was filled with Sarah Lancashire GIFs.
I was mainly familiar with Julia Child from the kind-of-okay movieJulie & Julia.
If memory serves, the Meryl Streep parts were good?
So this show and its premiere episode!
We begin in Oslo, 1961.
Everything is cozy and warm.
It is, how do you say, dispiriting.
I know people smoked a lot in mid-20th-century America, but damn.
Another cozy thing about this show is all the overhead cooking shots.
Things are sizzling in pans!
It is very satisfying, made even more so by Julias cheery and joyful presence.
Am I selling Sarah Lancashire too hard?
SHES JUST SO GOOD IN THIS.
Julia is going on WGBH to promote the recently publishedMastering the Art of French Cooking.
Paul isthe Oompa-Loompas inCharlie and the Chocolate Factory.
WGBH joined PBS in 1970.
Everyone loves public-television history!
Hes a lot but also exactly what youd expect from this time period.
She neglects to even mention the title of her book but has a lovely time confusing the host.
Alice advocates for Julia to her overconfident, shut-her-down, white-men-in-their-30s co-workers.
Avis, Julia, and Paul go to dinner to celebrate.
The restaurants are frequently beautiful, and Julia et al.
Eat well and enjoy life, she wrote, grabbing more Cadbury Mini Eggs from a bag.
Did Paul watch Julia on TV?
Of course he didnt!
TV is his nemesis, despite doing absolutely nothing to him!
He doesnt even cling honestly to his principles, though; heliesand pretends he watched it.
Avis catches him out and yells at him.
I hope my 18-year-old self feels very supported by this weird continued loyalty to a divorced and fictional couple.
Julia says shes fine with Paul not watching, butis she???
Get your act together, Paul.
Apparentlylarger beds came on the market in the 1940sbut didnt really become popular until the 1950s.
My mother said a king bed was necessary for a happy marriage, which feels right.
(What if Pauls parents were killed by a TV, and thats why he hates them.)
Julia wakes up covered in sweat and goes to the doctor.
He tells her its menopause in a kind, compassionate way and offers her recommendations for support and information.
He tells her his wife has her cookbook and walks away.
Its evident Julia is stricken and that thismeans somethingto her, particularly regarding her options for biological children.
After she leaves and calls home but doesnt tell Paul (get your communication together, Childs!
), she runs into a friend with a baby.
This friend (Dorothy) is played by the woman who played Cathy onThe Office, a.k.a.
When Alice says its a no-go, Julia takes her to see the naysaying men.
She offers to pay for a trial episode, and they can take it from there.
Paul doesnt want her to do it.
Its a complicated situation with Paul.
He loves Julia very much, but she clearly is scared of telling him things.
We end with Julia buying a TV!
TV 1, Paul 0.
