Bill Mann

Hit Netflix series thinly disguises PT, Whidbey | Mann Overboard

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— Cleaning Up a Few Details: We have a friend who’s moved to PT and once lived over in Victoria. 

She’s watching the Netflix series “Maid,” adapted from Stephanie Land’s bestselling book, because it’s set in Port Townsend but is actually filmed over in her beloved Victoria. (Not Vancouver, as the Seattle Times recently said).

The depressing story — I was able to watch only one episode — is about a young woman, Alex (played by Margaret Qualley, real-life daughter of costar Andie MacDowell, who plays her spacey PT mother). Alex cleans houses over on Fisher Island (the pseudonym for Whidbey) for some wealthy, cold types to support her little girl after Alex flees her abusive boyfriend. 

If you know Vancouver Island, you’ll recognize both the small Mill Bay and large Sidney B.C. Ferries in the film, both posing as the PT ferry. Port Townsend is called Port Hampstead in this film, but not in the book. 

Maybe, with border restrictions lifted, the actual ferry from Victoria, the Coho, can set sail to P.A. again and bring the Canadians back here. 

— Dishing It Up: We had to ditch Direct-TV recently for a not-uncommon reason: Trees behind our house have grown so high they now block all sightlines to the satellite. 

“It happens a lot around here,” says the local expert, Dan’s Satellite owner Dan Thomas. He adds that Dish Network’s “bird” is higher in the sky by 4 degrees. Good excuse to stop paying evil Direct owner Rupert Murdoch. 

— Visited Sol Duc Hot Springs last week. The restorative destination remains open the rest of this month. 

There are cabins near the springs, and one clueless Yelp reviewer was (unintentionally) funny: “The place would be so much nicer if they’d get rid of that sulfur smell.” Good luck with that. Ask Lucifer.

— MSNBC’s puckish Brian Williams on OAN, the cable station for those who feel Fox News is too liberal: 

“If you should stumble upon it on cable, you can also pick up their signal if you happen to angle your tinfoil hat just right.” 

— More Car Talk credits from NPR: Climate Change Monitor: Jillian Here; Consumer Credit Officer: Noah Wayne Hellman; Director of Auto Security: Boris Karlarm; Catering Director: Russell Upsumgrub; Financial Advisors: Ilgott and Gaines. 

—Seattle now has an NHL team, the Kraken. Tremendous. 

But Seattle is not a hockey town, even though, yes, it sold 20K season tickets. Proof? Until recently, hockey has never even been mentioned on Seattle sportstalk radio stations. The NHL ripped Les Remparts out of Quebec City, which IS a hockey town, a few years ago, and hasn’t given it back. It did restore the Jets to Winnipeg, though. 

— What Is… a bummer Alex, er, Mayim? 

My wife and I were sorry to see the charming, nerdy champ Matt Amodio’s long string of “Jeopardy!” wins finally end last week. No more Amodio Rodeo. At least he’ll be back for the show’s Tournament of Champions.

— Playing, pool: It’s good to see underused tennis courts being converted to pickleball courts here. 

Now, if the growing legions of pickleballers here could regain access to the Mountain View gym for winter play, that’d be as satisfying as us swimmers getting the adjacent pool back. 

The pool, which has been plagued by scores of  personnel and plumbing problems, finally reopens Monday — fingers again crossed. Thanks for their many efforts to city Public Works Director Steve King, City Manager John Mauro, and Peninsula YMCA CEO Wendy Bart. 

— Maritime Suggestion: A guy (guess which party) running for state office in Virginia has a brilliant idea for lowering the rising seas: Take all the big boats out of the water. I am not making this up. 

— My buddy Brad Zigler, out walking his pooch recently, spotted this sign on a doggy bowl outside a pub: “Water For Your Dog — Or For People With Low Standards. We Don’t Judge.” 

— Finally, this headline from The New Yorker’s clever Andy Borowitz: “Trump to Skip 2024 Campaign And Go Straight to Claiming He Won.” 

(PT humorist Bill Mann has columnized at the San Francisco Examiner, Oakland Tribune, Montreal Gazette, and Honolulu Advertiser. Contact him at Newsmann9@gmail.com.)