Episode 29: Introducing Sarcastic Blue-Eyed Mummy Cat Named Rankle

Il-wey! If you like a mix of baking and macabre and you have a Netflix account, then you have likely already binged watched the first season of The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell this past weekend. If you haven’t, then you may want to rectify this oversight.

Curious Creations is essentially a reality baking show with a loosely structured overarching narrative. Each 30-minute episode showcases three of Christine’s recipes as she welcomes a new houseguest in episode one (“Snacks for Strays”), hosting a birthday party in episode five (“A Cake for Rose”) or laying out an elaborate Halloween banquet (“Halloween Tricks & Treats”). I was not familiar with Christine McConnell prior to the show (she is an Instagram sensation!) but, when I watched the show’s trailer, I was drawn to the series for two reasons. First, her mastery as a baker, sculptor and seamstress, which ticked off my interest in baking shows such as The Great British Baking Show, The Great British Baking Show Masterclass to Zumbo’s Just Desserts and Nailed It. Secondly, for the purpose of this blog, the show also ticked off my interest of mummies portrayed in popular culture – a mummy cat! 

See, Christine has a big heart and has opened up her big mansion to a group of unusual housemates. There’s Rose, a raccoon who was roadkill but was stitched back together by Christine. In the first episode, Christine welcomes a werewolf named Edgar. A tentacle monster by the name of Millie lives in the pink refrigerator while a shy (and huge) yellow-eyed Bernard lives in the basement. And last but in no way least, there is Rankle, a reanimated bright blue-eyed ancient Egyptian cat. A creation of the Henson studio (all of the creatures are Henson puppets), Rankle looks like an emaciated hairless cat wrapped in linen. He is always in a seated position, likely referencing the familiar seated cat statues (such as the black Egyptian cat in the British Museum), and he has a long, straight tail. 

In the first episode, viewers learn more about ancient feline. Rankle relates how Christine found him wasting away on a shelf of an antique shop. He reminisces how in ancient Egypt he was once revered as a god. With a privileged tone in his voice, he states that “jealous humans cursed him and buried him alive.” Years later (my guess is that it was more like a few millenniums) he was stolen from his tomb and ended up in the shop where Christine was able to correctly read the spell on his burial cloth. 

Throughout the six episodes, Rankle has some great lines which drip with sarcasm as he bickers with the others, especially Rose, resulting in many humorous moments. He also does not hesitate to remind the others how important he was in his ancient culture: in one of the episodes, he comments, “my followers would make replicas of me in gold and some still exist.” As a feline mummy, I don’t think it comes as a surprise that Rankle has “catitude” and displays his superiority through his speech. 

For Christine’s propensity to create darkly themed confections, she is always optimistic and positive. For example, in “Gifts for Nosy Neighbors” (episode 2) Christine tells Rankle, Edgar and Rose that she is all for killing her neighbors “with kindness,” to which Rankle retorts that “killing with kindness takes too long”. Christine and her houseguests have chemistry, and Christine’s sweetness – in her disposition and her sweet creations – is a charming attribute of the show. 

If there is any criticism to Curious Creations it is two: first, one would have to have expert skills to replicate Christine’s recipes (maybe having her book as a reference would help, Deceptive Desserts: A Lady’s Guide to Baking Bad! in case you were wondering) and there are only six episodes. 

If you have three spare hours, what are you waiting for? Go watch The Curious Creations of Christine McConnell post haste and then comment which recipe you would want to make, regardless of your baking and sculpting abilities. 

Senebti! 

Cropped Banner image from Netflix marketing materials.