Original Commentary

Caleb has always been very, very egotistical. He cares about himself, and about vaudeville theatre, and that's pretty much it. He wouldn't have many ideas for a date because he ignores the rest of the world. His desire for Sofia was driven by a mistaken belief that women were in very short supply and that he'd better get one before they were gone. -Terrence

Modern Commentary
One of the things that I wish I had found the occasion to mention is that Caleb is that great. He was the best performer at the Minerva Theatre. He could do your routine better than you.

He's got the talent to back up the ego, which is why he still has work. - Terrence

Original Commentary

Caleb can't do anything besides vaudeville, pretty much by definition. It would've been interesting if the comic followed him instead of Brisbane, when the Minerva Theatre closed. It wouldn't've been uneventful, but I'm sure it would end up centering around the relationships between the other cast members - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Back then I wrote alternate commentary: "I'm sure by the end of the night, Caleb was up to six flaming torches. He just didn't want to brag. At least not right then. I'm sure this isn't what Sofia was expecting, but it's, unfortunately, what she should've been expecting." - Terrence

Original Commentary

To answer the question, "What did Sofia expect when she came to see Caleb?". She was happier back when she was in the Minerva Theatre, and has a tendency to romanticize the past. Sometimes it's best to leave the past alone, rather than be disappointed by it - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Caleb has, in fact, not adjusted well to the Minerva Theatre's closure. Moreso, he hasn't adjusted to the change from Unlike Minerva to You Say it First.

Unlike Minerva had a bit of magic to it. Not a lot. Not, like dragons or wizards. But there was a little bit. Caleb was part of that magic and its loss has affected him.

Brisbane came to the theatre to try to get some of the magic but he got Kimberly instead. I think he got the better end of that deal - Terrence

Original Commentary

What Caleb is saying essentially boils down to "Well, you're a woman". Isabel and I had a discussion earlier - what would Caleb and Sofia do? Well, Sofia is emotionally vulnerable and has had more to drink than she probably should've. Caleb...is too stupid to say no. - Terrence

Modern Commentary
With lines like that, you understand exactly why none of the other women in the troupe were interested in Caleb. Dude isn't even trying to sweet-talk her.

But Sofia spent a day traveling here to see what happens and she's not about to stop now. - Terrence

Original Commentary

On one hand, Caleb is fairly athletic, and can imitate just about any physical act that he's seen. On the other hand, he's very egotistical and there are a few things he hasn't ever seen. There are very few characters for whom we'd answer the question "Is he or she good in bed?", but Caleb seemed like an obvious "no". (And no, that isn't a call for tagboard discussion...)

The whole encounter was a letdown in every sense of the word, especially emotionally. Neither of them are big on learning from mistakes, but I'm sure she realizes that the whole thing was a bad idea - Terrence

Modern Commentary
It was disappointing. In retrospect, it was entirely reasonable to realize that Caleb is a self-centered idiot and had neither the knowledge nor the inclination to please a partner.

But it was untapped potential. Anything could have happened. It could have been great. Maybe deep down you expected this, but could you live your life never knowing and just wondering?

I mean, obviously you can. There are always a million things you don't do. Even if you stay home and watch TV there's like 400 channels and you're not going to watch all of them in a given half-hour.

But you know how I mentioned how there was a bit of magic back in the Minerva Theatre days and Sofia could use a bit of that right now.

Unfortunately, Caleb isn't exactly giving magic away right now. Not unless he's on stage. - Terrence

Original Commentary

The gentleman in the first three panels is Dr. Paul, the veterinarian who Sofia had pursued unsuccessfully. The large man in the last two panels is Lola's adopted son Jerry, tying this arc with the previous one (in which he called and probably made plans to come visit). I was expecting him to have a larger role. He may show up again. After all, we did give him a name - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Sofia did not take the whole five-or-six-day weekend that she intended. Perhaps if things went well, she would have stayed around but they didn't. She got the first boat back. Brisbane didn't ask questions.

Jerry didn't volunteer to help Sofia move. She just dragged him into it. I'm not sure they have a truck or anything. She's just getting him to go with her and she'll take it from there.

I wish we had done more with Sofia and Jerry. At least, like, imply that they tried. We just didn't have anything for him

I wrote back then (but didn't include in commentary for some reason: "When we were first discussing this arc, Isabel mentioned Sofia meeting Lola's sons, and I suggested they start trying to one-up each other, carrying larger and larger amounts of Sofia's stuff. However, it's not the kind of thing you can do for more than one comic, and I'm sure neither Brisbane nor Lola would put up with it for too long." - Terrence