I read both. Fun reads. Well, not fun, maybe. Good. Good reads.

I was hoping that Mr. Smiley's final phone call to you represented some redemption on his part, that maybe he was just a little green in his line of work. It was just a tiny hope, based on prior info, but I like redemption stories, so I held out that hope anyway.

But your subsequent paragraphs shot that down. Oh well!

This is clearly a case of somehow training yourself not to take any of it personally, that it's just a crazy business. Reading this tale helps me understand why there is so little imagination in current productions. Seems like you were fortunate to get it produced at all, given all the cluster munitions of mediocrity surrounding you.

Aside: I read somewhere through coverage of the WGA strike that writers not being allowed on sets was becoming a trend.