Well, for one thing Lee seems to have rewritten the Sharona/Trevor thing so that Trevor doesn't look like such a creep. Trevor says that, after Sleeping Suspect, he cried his eyes out for 3 week, got a job, after time paid his debts back and then sent money to Sharona, but according to real t.v. life, about a year after sleeping suspect, Fat Tony had to threaten Trevor in order to send Sharona back child support (which he apparently had to send).

Also, Lee wrote it like Randy had a thing for Natalie, which he never did. I doubt Randy thinks their relationship is a searing /people can feel the heat/ never gonna happen thing. For instance, in Wedding, when Natalie made their room arrangement clear (seperate rooms), Randy said, "I should think so."

I also think that Sharona, by time and her remarriage to her husband, minimized the flirting/interest in Lt. Disher. I doubt that the flirty relationship she had was similar to the one she had with her mechanic or grocier (if it is she needs some help). Sha also knew Randy was interested in her by the time of Paperboy, and I can say that since she knew he was interested, if she wasn't she wouldn't have played Randy like that. That's just kinda trampy if she did...anyway...that's it. Any other thoughts?

I can't address everything in your post point for point, but I can give my thoughts on some of it.

I think that this is a matter of interpretation. Another viewer might see the same interactions between Randy and Natalie and see some attraction, and the interactions between Sharona and Randy as being something other than attraction, maybe more like a teasing brother/sister thing. In either case, neither is right or wrong and can't be proven right or wrong unless it is without a doubt addressed on the show. It's really sort of impossible to say much of anything is 100% fact when it comes to people's feelings and attractions. There have been moments with Natalie and Randy when I thought maybe they were flirting or there was some attraction and moments with Sharona and Randy that seemed like they were attracted to each other. It never bothered me in either case, as long as it doesn't get out of hand and the whole show starts to become soap opera-like.



I think that matters of teasing, flirting, attraction, friendship ect are all a bit more complex than this. A person who flirts or teases more than one person isn't a tramp necessarilly, and for that matter, Randy had attractions and flirtations with other women then and still does now. If he hasn't settled down or made a commitment to one specific person, there is no reason why he shouldn't and the same could be said for Sharona or for Natalie. If Randy never came right out and said something to Sharona (and I can't remember him ever doing so) and she never agreed to entering into an exclusive relationship with him, then she isn't doing anything wrong to flirt with other men for any reason she wanted to. As to whenther she was playing Randy or not after Paperboy, he denied ever writing that ad with any interest whatsoever in her. Even this, though, is an example of how two people can view the same set of circumstances and form different views of them.

The "searing /people can feel the heat/ never gonna happen thing" was Randy's reminiscing and Stottlemeyer commenting on his Sharona relationship. Not Natalie. Wasn't it?

Yeah. That part was definitely Randy's view of his relationship with Sharona, not Natalie. Randy and Natalie are more like siblings in a way. No perceived heat there.

Just started the book a few days ago...haven't had much time to read it. As Lee puts it if anything is different in his book than as on the current show it is not his fault...blames on writing and release of book could be several months in the making so if there is any hint of attaction between Disher and the ladies it may be all in his head...but would make for interesting reading!

Goldberg states that he considers the events of these series to be in a parallel reality to the show itself-connected to it but not part of it. So things may have changed over there; maybe Fat Tony never ask his New Jersey friends (could Tony Soprano be one of them?) for a favor in that version of reality. Or maybe it did and Trevor's blocking it out for whatever reason. I'll get back on this when I've read the whole thing.

Okay, I transcribed the scene in the book (conversation only).

Randy: Sharona and I had this erotic tension between us. A hot 'will they/won't they thing.

Stottlemeyer: More like a 'will never happen thing'.

Randy: It was palpable

Stottlemeyer: It sure was.

Natlaie: So, it was sort of like the relationship we have.

Randy: It is?

Natalie: A 'will never happen thing."

Randy: Right. But it's searing. People can feel the heat.

I'm not making the claim that Randy and Natalie are being portrayed as having any sort of an attraction relationshp kinda thing, what I'm saying is that Lee, through Natalie, made it seem like Randy thinks they do which is out of character for him, in this case. If Randy were talking about his past relationship with Sharona he would've said "Right. But it was searting. People could feel the heat."

Also, as for Disher and Sharona, both Jason Gray-Stanford and Bitty Schram have, in print, said tha their characters were being led into a 'something' happening thing. Because Bitty left, that never happened, but that isn't supposed to erase the (maybe not hot or erotic, but definately warming and kinda cute) banter that was going on between the two of them...sort of an early relationship between Sam Malone and Diane Chambers from Cheers.

I'm virtually certain, he's referring to Sharona and not Natalie with that last line. He wouldn't necessarily use the past tense. We could ask Lee.

I like that. A searing "never will happen thing." SO Randy.

I think he was adressing sharona in that last line not natalie.

it was obvious randy had a thing for sharona, their relationship was always flirty and cute, while natalie and randy are like siblings in a way

I think he was too... else wise when Natalie said "Sorta like what we have" Randy wouldnt' have responded with "Is it?" like that. He would have just agreed with her and said something like "exactly." Seems clear that Randy doesn't feel like he has that connection with Natalie.

Oh, how exciting, a literature discussion! May I join? Thank you.

I have not read the book but thanks to the part being posted…

I would have to say Randy is addressing Natalie! Here is why…

When they say:

Natalie: So, it was sort of like the relationship we have.

Randy: It is?

Natalie: A 'will never happen thing."

Randy: Right. But it's searing. People can feel the heat.

I think Randy is agreeing with the “will never happen thing” by saying in his own special way that it is “searing.” Nothing between Randy and Natalie is searing, that’s just a fun way to word things.

But the fun thing about literature is that a lot of things have double meanings, (just read Shakespeare, that guy is dirty) and that could also be the case here. Maybe it means the ‘will they, wont they’ thing with Randy and Sharona and the ‘will never happen thing’ with Randy and Natalie is implied by just one quote.

Fun stuff.