I have a special fondness for doll shows on home shopping channels. Much like dog shows and ice skating competitions, they offer a blend of unsettling fanaticism and mesmerising spectacle. Doll shows go a bit further though, since they feature tiny, weirdly deformed human replicas, dressed in unearthly get-ups, that are handled in ways that seem sexual and violent. Marie, like many of the people who headline these shows, seems to move in a world of pilled-up comfort, truly delighted to talk with callers who say things like "I have all nine from the muffin series, and every time I look at them I cry". Last night, she was talking about invisible friends from her childhood.
