I’ll jump right in!!
The credits have a few additions!! We now have scenes from ACM kid and this episode to enjoy… a few have been removed – maybe one day I’ll do a frame by 
frame comparison.. hmm.. but .. not this day! At least it seems all is well again in the Stewart household – and they can quit the prank calls to Warners!
Hurray!
Anyway – the opening shot is a dirty puddle? hey.. see that puddle? dump the box in it! splat!! Yes yes, these manly men are obviously unloading their weapons stash to take down a local despot.. or.. are they..
Haaa… a box is opened and we see a huge AK 47 hairdryer????!!!I just love the look bandana guy gives the guy in the hat… like hurray! my salvation has arrived! No more frizz!!
These random army types – who live in the jungle, seem to be inordinately obsessed with the styling of their hair..
We get to see them for two minutes!! (far too long.. where are Lee and Amanda??!!).. the only dialogue being a ‘muchachos’ or whatever and an ‘amigo’ .. I think what they were really saying was:
Jim : Whooo arrrrrr girlfriend! what is this?
Carlos: hush sweetie! I needed to do something about my curls! This jungle humidity is a nightmare! I can’t wear this bandana forever: it’s starting to give me a headache! It’s ok for you.. you can hide yours under a comfy hat!
Jim: Fine! What could be more convenient than a sit-under hair dryer in the jungle… just what us Super troopers need at the end of a long day fightin- then a bomb goes off and ends the dialogue..) …..
This dialogue was originally planned for the opening 2 minutes while showing the hairdryer and men being blown up… Err no not really.. but this would have been more interesting! The producers chose instead to dub it with cheesy music .
Whoo ok, cut to agency.. no sign out the front yet.. let’s see when that appears…
Ah still paging special agents!
Lee and Billy do a walk and talk down the corridors of spy headquarters – my how it’s grown since last week! Ohhhhkkk.. those dentures look like they are good shape given they were just blown up in some guy ….. Do people really walk around carrying a silver tray with a dead guy’s dentures for all the world to see down a corridor?
Lee says the teeth were a gun runner called Lamar… RIP Lamar..
Hmm Billy still has the cardy, still casual Billy.. but Lee is a snappy dresser now.. looking more expensive than last week.. Doesn’t he look cute when Billy puts Lee’s department on the case of weapons smuggling?? ( Lee has his own department? err is that Just a department of one?! ) Billy says an attack is due in 5 days – err how do they know that? Lee seems to think gun running is beneath him, and this is all an overreaction.. Ahhh so already we see Lee questioning Billy’s decisions.. feels like home to me.. haaaaaa! A portion of a list was found on the gun runner’s body – and the name Harriet Rosemont and her address in the Betsy Ross estate.
LOL.. Billy carries those left over teeth into his office?????!!!!!! 
Uh oh.. Francine is back – drat.. why did they keep her?? ( fyi – I LOVE to hate Francine!! she is lots of fun! )
Errr.. excuse me while I gag here…. ok.. now I think I can type this sickening sentence:
Francine: Billy it was after 6 o’clock, Bumpy Holcomb would already be on his yacht by that time half way through his soup course.
Lee: Bumpy?
Francine: to his more intimate friends, yes
Lee: argh I’ll never know what you see in that guy, he’s hardly your type.
Francine: He’s got the money, looks, power, house in Rio he is exactly my type.
(Holcombe is the director’s last name .. cheeky!)
Poor Billy looks a bit downcast by this! wishing his life was that glamorous?? Nooooo, probably wondering why he needs to hear this.. get on with it Francine.. He seems to be going for the Colombo look this week.. I wonder when he gets his make over!
Francine has found out a Betty Bodine from the Betsy Ross estate tried to put a call through to congressman Holcombe about ‘ dangerous hairdryers’ . Billy sends Francine over to suburbia to check out Betty and Harriet… ahhhh sweet revenge!
It’s good to see Lee isn’t jealous one bit. excellent! Although, I don’t like hearing him talk about what is Francine’s type though! In the words of Amanda last week Lee : what do you care?!!!! and.. worse.. he watches her leave the office a looong time.. no no 
nooooo it is almost like they want us to believe there is a little spark of something between those two.. You see the look Francine gives Lee when she realises he is looking into her folders? she closes them and guards them against her.. they may be trying to say there is a spark – but.. there is also definitely some competition.. I am really glad they don’t take this Lee/Francine thing any further..and this idea is very quickly forgotten ( and I shall never think about it again!! ugh!!)
How sad and telling that Lee is surprised when Billy says he has a visitor downstairs- I don’t think he has much of a life outside of work and hot dates he can pick up and dump when he likes.. Billy is already fond of Amanda huh? hmm.. or maybe just the effect she has on Lee!! hehehe.. I must say Billy has 
exceptional vision to see Amanda on that tiny tv across the room! (I’m surprised Lee didn’t pick up the tray of the dead guy’s teeth and just happen to carry it downstairs to see what Amanda wants- just to bug her!)
The look on Lee’s face is priceless when he sees her.. Like oh!!! do I have to go see her???? don’t do this to me Billy! I actually think Lee may be a little afraid of Amanda- he doesn’t quite know what to do with her, nor does he want to! I think that is why he surprises her – to get her off guard, so he can feel some control here… she isn’t suppose to just turn up and demand to see him.. Lee will decide where and when!
ahhh I love this first season banter..
Lee: Hi!
Amanda: don’t do that!
Lee: Say hi?
Lee is soooo dismissive, and it is clear that Amanda is no dummy, she sees this, but she doesn’t let it stop her. She ignores it and just continues on – good for her! Don’t give Lee what he wants!
Love how she ignores his telling her in three different ways they were not on a case together (I think he was trying to convince himself!) .. “right.. anyway“… and off she goes determined to do what she came here to do. His reaction is brilliant, he looks away and then resigned he looks back and fakes a 
smile.. sucked in Lee… You deserve it.. she saved your life and this is what she gets??!! He should count himself lucky it wasn’t me that saved him, or I would have been reminding him of that every time I saw him!! heheee
When Lee tells her the agency doesn’t need her, and she says she will consider other attractive offers- Lee says Great, turns and starts to walk over to the elevator..
The moment Amanda is behind him, you see Amanda’s face downturn? she is really disappointed but won’t show it to this guy.. deep breath.. and then she gets right back in there – no my skills speak for themselves (90 words a minute!) yeah Amanda good for you!
I love how this ends… Amanda completely turns the tables on Lee, and takes back control.. He winds up being caught by surprise at her response to his brush off at the end – yeah espionage is highly overrated! .. love the paperwork into the chest and her closing the door on him, and he is taken down a peg.. She may be interested in serving her country, but she is no dummy and she has to support her kids.. so if you don’t need her, she will go get another job.. ha!
Lee: And I’m sure you’d be much happier in an air-conditioned office instead of casing some dive with me.
Amanda: No doubt. As far as I can see, espionage is highly overrated. Good-bye. (She pushes Lee into the elevator and closes the door.)
Amanda: They don’t even pay overtime.
I love how as Amanda closes the door on Lee, at the last second before the door closes completely she very nicely says into the crack “ goodbye” ( same as she did when pirate Lee said he couldn’t tell her where he lives – and she said sweetly ‘good. Goodbye.’ ) haaaaa.. such brilliant delivery!! By the time she has closed the door on Lee, Amanda appears to have convinced herself agency work is beneath her – just love the way she says they don’t pay overtime and she turns to leave – like she feels she deserves better than that so pha! –goodbye!
Ahhh prop guy! Love the Betsy Ross Estate sign.. it looks like they just leaned it against the hedge there in front of some random house for a moment! 
We see a car turn in.. I can only guess it was Francine on her way.. but no!! She pulls up in front of the Bodene’s with a different car!! random!!
Ahh Fearful Franny (of small children apparently).. what is she wearing a kaftan? bizarre!! and blue eye shadow??!! was that in fashion then? I love her line in response to Mr Bodine. Not ‘do I look 
like I sell cosmetics?’ but… “do I look like I sell?”!!!! that is a great line.. she sells nothing buddy! Sums up her character doesn’t it.. she is simply awful – but has a very high opinion of herself!
Ahhh yes, Honeycutt typewriters. Amanda’s being leered at session with Warren Davenport.. .. I mean errr job interview! (how convenient that she rambles to Lee where she is going!) EWWW this guy is such a creep.. the tone of his voice is funny as he reads her attributes.. all excited about driving her own car and college.. but oh no.. 2 small children.. drat.. oh it’s ok.. she’s divorced! ahhh thank goodness things have improved for most women since then!
Amanda deals with it remarkably well, like this is not the first time for her.. poor 
Amanda. A job is a job and if he likes her in blue – ‘ you would look delicious in it’ (ewwww) and thinks ‘everything looks tiptop”(double ewwwww)..well she doesn’t feel she can rule out the job for that reason.. argh! this guy is gross! 
Notice Amanda is the one to bring up her office skills- this guy had no interest in them! [I love that she exaggerated slightly to Lee her typing skills!!! by adding an extra 10 words a minute]
Lee is Mr King? whooo hoooo..Like that!Lee shows up and bursts in…
Lee: Well, ha ha, there you are, you sly boots. I thought it was agreed, Babycakes, no job until the triplets are in nursery school!
Amanda (simultaneously): What are you talking about?
(Amanda and Lee are babbling at the same time, Amanda wondering what he is doing, and Lee playing his cover. Warren looks at Amanda’s files, then looks at the weird scene, with a look on his face to match.)
Lee: You know, the little woman is so gosh-darn eager to earn some pin money. But I told her, the first four years of a child’s life are more important than a new roof. Come on, Cookieface, it’s two o’clock, feeding time.
(Amanda turns around and shrugs to Warren.)
Amanda: I swear, I don’t know what is —
Lee: Uh, Timmy, Tammy, and Tommy are very hungry. (He pushes his babycake out the door, then pops his own cookieface back in.) Bye.
( I love how he does that! LOL!!)
Back with more to come on this ep in a few days!! 🙂
"Just walk with me.." 
#2019rewatch This is such a great episode and it really does make a perfect 2nd episode for the series, since it takes the premise of putting a housewife in the spy world and flips it on its head. For me though, this was the first episode, because 6th grade me wasn’t so great with premier dates & I didn’t see The First Time until 30 years later. It totally got me hooked without necessarily knowing the back story.
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#2019rewatch
Smanyb, expanding on your thought….I had been thinking over the brilliance that Dotty’s character, in particular, adds to the show. If you think over and isolate her lines in this episode, and think about her world and perspective and comments….they really are quite fabulous! Having a widowed, live-in mother was a perfect idea to allow for some truly awesome moments. I love how Dotty charmingly meddles in Amanda’s love life (her comments about Dean always make me laugh – like a registered nurse! Ha!) , and then the hilarious confusion she brings to the parking lot scene, and the epic “you have no idea” lecture she gives in the tag. Having Dotty makes Amanda’s character so flexible with schedule and how she’s able to pull off agency business. Dotty’s character is key to this glorious show!
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#2019rewatch
Amandarambler, great observation – I agree. Dotty served several important functions on the show. On the surface she was comic relief, and Beverly’s crack timing was fantastic – she really had some of the best lines on the show. She also allowed Amanda to be a single mother without the perception that she was a bad mother by leaving her children for missions, since they were in good and loving hands. Finally, she was very effective as a (I can’t think of a phrase other than c–k block)… um, in keeping the romance from going too far to fast. I feel like Dotty and Francine could have had a secret club, with meetings to brainstorm the best way to interrupt at the worst possible moment.
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#2019 SmanyB – Tag! You are it! I’ve nominated you to pick the the next episode. 🙂
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I never really appreciated Dotty’s character when I was a kid. It wasn’t that I didn’t like her, I didn’t “get” her. Watching now as an adult and Dotty is hysterical and a necessary character. Beverly Garland is absolutely perfect. One of my favorite Dotty lines from last episode is when she asks “clams again, dear?” And on this episode she confesses that she confides her secrets to Dean. ROTF!!!
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Same. Back when it first aired, I was concerned she would eventually figure things out. Or maybe she’d know and just play along pretending that she didn’t.
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The phases of my life have all been a variation of the women of SMK. In my 20s, I wanted to be Amanda – beautiful, romantic, fearless, adventurous. In my 30s, I got feisty and became snarky like Francine, more impatient and less tolerant of other people’s BS. Now that I’m in my mid-50s, I am mostly Dotty, worrying about my kids and generally a lot more aware of things than my kids think I am, although I still have more than a dash of Francine’s snark still in there.
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I’m 51 and I still want to be Amanda…. ❤️
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#2019 – very cool. I am glad it hooked you. It must have been such a treat to finally see “the first time”
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#2019 rewatch
Somehow the month is drifting by and I haven’t commented nearly enough on this episode! It is one of my hands down favorites, the perfect mix of Amanda being sassy and sensible and Lee being exasperated and heroic.
My question though is always” “If Lee doesn’t understand suburbs, why is he so intimately aware of what addresses make up the Betsy Ross Estates?” Also, how many times can you get the phrase Betsy Ross Estates into a brief conversation? (Spoiler alert: five times).
From the insane plot line to Lee and Amanda’s scenes at the Agency and again at and after her job interview, this episode is really everything the show set out to be and reminds me so much of the fantastic old comedies where the male and female lead rip up at each other with machine-gun delivery of funny lines. Truly BB and KJ at their best.
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#2019 rewatch. So much goodness packed in episode – the first 7 minutes (well, 6 ish if you take out the theme song), are absolutely hilarious.(I think the 7 minute mark is Francine muttering “Children, this case is nastier than I thought.”
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#2019rewatch
Then we have Lee doing the exact opposite! He purposefully invents imaginary children to pull Amanda into this case: “… no job until the triplets are in nursery school! … Timmy, Tammy and Tommy are very hungry.”
Outrageous fun that pulled us into this marvelous tv series. So glad you found time to join in the fun, Cindy!
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#2019rewatch
This is a great episode. So many funny, funny moments!!! Kate Jackson is fabulous in this episode. Every single delivery. And their chemistry is just off the charts immediately in the entryway. (Mrs. Marsten must have been out to lunch and took her desk with her. 😉) Well, really the whole cast does such a fabulous job in this episode. Except Francine’s BLUE eye shadow was so loud I almost had to turn the volume down on the TV. 😂
Iwsod, you had me rolling: “LOL.. Billy carries those left over teeth into his office?????!!!!!!”
Maybe Billy was so casually dressed in these earlier episodes because he really had a double life as a dentist. This would explain so much carrying of the denture tray. 🤔😂
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How satisfying would it be to send Francine undercover for a job interview at Honeycutt Typewriters? Her response to that pervert’s deplorable treatment of women would probably put him in traction for weeks!
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Hi Everyone!
Here are the links to Morley’s fan fiction vignettes for this episode.
Lee’s: Scotch Thoughts- There goes the Neighbourhood
Amanda’s: Window Reflections- There goes the Neighbourhood
Please head over to Nedlindger’s forum or fanfiction.net to comment 😎
Thanks!
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So my random thoughts outs TGTN 🙂
Ewwww Davenport……epitomising some of the sexual harrassment practices women used to put up with. She should wear blue? Um…..isn’t she actually already wearing blue?! Thank heavens Lee rescues her, close call there 😦
Ooooh the infamous Lee in Plaid scene. Aside from the obvious eye candy I love this scene. The conversation about lying and sneaking is one of my favourites. Do I detect a hint of disappointment in Amanda’s face when Lee says she’s NOT having an affair?
Lee doesn’t care who gets the bed? But then stakes his claim of it immediately? Bad boy Lee, don’t say one thing and then do another.
So they go to break into Franks house. Boy no wonder light pollution is so bad, they don’t even really need torches 😉 house it lit up like a Christmas tree.
Love the scene with the garden flamingos, so funny. Who knew they could be so lethal 😉 Doesn’t Amanda know first aid as a den mother? She’s not trying to give poor frank any first aid, he’s bleeding and she’s not even attempting to put pressure on the wound!
So ladies how would you feel working for a company whereby breaking company policy results in your and your husbands untimely death?! No wonder Harriet is drinking so much vodka!
I love the scene in the kitchen, Lee normal *snorts* yeah right pal. I love how he throws down the gauntlet to Amanda about solving the case and she goes ahead and does it 🙂 Where does she find time to hang new curtains etc. I guess back in the 80’s had no Internet to suck up all your spare time LOL Love the awkward hand shake…….they sooooo wanted to give each other the “normal” goodbye kiss spouses do 😉
Love Lees rather sheepish “rescuing…..you” whilst tugging at his collar. Lose the tie pins Lee and you might be able to breath easier 😉 Tweezers above lipsticks? Surely not…….
Ouch hairspray right in the eyes!! Very clever Amanda, no wonder Lee pulls the face he does, it makes me wince when I see it too!
Well done Amanda for not dropping everything to go out with Lee. Wise move, always keep them wanting more 😉 Lee ought to be concentrating more on the road than the ring but given hes probably contemplating his exposure to domestic life, with Amanda no less I shall forgive him. His thoughtful mood seems a far cry from the strop in the kitchen about making daiquiris and wanting a divorce 🙂
And I shall leave it there, all in all a great episode 🙂
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LOL on this episode! When Amanda first heard that interviewer say she’d look “delicious” in her blue color, why didn’t she just leave, & call the Better Business Bureau to complain of sexual harrassment?! There’s no reason ANY sane woman would put up with that! Why they wrote Amanda’s lines so silly in this one is beyond me! Ok, the funny stuff-Lee’s line about “their kids”-gee, Amanda looks fantastic for someone who’s had 3 children,right?! Also, it would have been hysterical if just once Francine actually HAD to babysit Amanda’s kids,or anyone’s, for that matter! Who’s with me on this?!
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Isn’t the agency underground? So Lee would have taken the elevator upstairs to talk to Amanda.
This is one of my favorite episodes. Thanks!
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I think it’s in season 4 where Francine tries to warn Amanda that Lee and her once had something and he dumped her. Does anyone remember which episode that is?
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*shield your eyes Redgold! *
It’s in episode 13.. promises to keep..
Francine says to Amanda: :” I have reason to know that in his heart he is a confirmed bachelor who is never satisfied with just an hors d’euvre he has to have the whole buffet!”
Soooo much good stuff coming 😀
Great to hear from you Jo! bye
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Thanks!
Hey, should I have included some sort of a Spoiler Alert warning on my post?
If so, Sorry, I’m new on forum posting. Still kind of clueless to many things! LOL
Hugs,
Jo
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Hi Jo ( and hi Everyone! )
Don’t worry it’s ok to not to put a spoiler warning for season 4 comments- there are no rules about it on this blog – therefore, there’s no guarantee to people that reading this blog you will be kept safe from season 4 spoilers.
At the same time, there is a regular visitor to this blog who we know has not yet seen season 4 – so I just give a warning a spoiler is coming if I say anything which is very specific about a season 4 episode ( like how I quoted Francine’s dialogue) or if I make a comment refering to a season 4 episode title, I don’t elaborate too much on the scene I am referring to- or I try and give a spoiler warning.. hope that helps.. 🙂 .. hopefully soon we’ll have those lovely season 4 dvds and no one will be unspoilt anymore!!! 🙂
byeeee!!
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I love how Billy sends Lee to talk to Amanda when it was Billy that offered her the job 🙂 Yeah, I love how she doesn’t need any references her skills speak for them self (I wonder what Billy’s recommendations would have been…probably not anything to do with typing LOL). But, I am glad that Lee saved her from that horrible man!!!!
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This is one of my favourite episodes. Amanda just refuses to succumb to Lee’s charm and good looks. Lee has no idea what to do with it. Great recap! Looking forward to the next part!
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Ha Ha! Love this so far. You always make me laugh.
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