Princess Mine
By Darby Harn, first published in Strange Horizons
A TV critic begins to have trouble telling the difference between her own, real life, and the lives of the characters on television.
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Plot Summary
Jenny, a TV reviewer, finds a 'ghost season' for "Princess Mine." She calls it a ghost season because it's the third season of a show with only two seasons. Apparently, the lead actress died by suicide before filming for the third season began, but she is clearly on the screen in front of Jenny. Jenny reviews the season but mixes in parts of her personal life. "Princess Mine" is a show-within-a-show. The main actress' name is Frances, and she plays Sharon in the show. Both Sharon in the show and Frances in real life got famous off of playing a sci-fi character Princess Mine in years past. So, Frances is almost playing an alternate version of herself. Jenny has trouble differentiating between Frances and Sharon. The episode is strange. It consists of Frances getting a text from Dylan, an old flame in real life and the show, to get dinner. Frances goes to the hotel to meet Dylan, but doesn't go in, and goes to a bus station instead. At the bus station, Frances gets into a conversation with a man and his child about her life as a former movie star. The episode is weird and surreal, with other crossover in Jenny's life (both Jenny and Frances are depressed, Frances says she's writing a book about a TV critic.) The story ends with Jenny calling her mother and watching the end of the episode.
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