Aha! we are up to the part with the rope!! 
Poor Amanda with the rope..I feel sorry for her- but it is sooo funny!!!!! tee heee.. 
Lee and Amanda both grab their respective ropes to swing across a large pit.
ROFL!! Notice how short Lee’s rope is??? and how Loooooooong Amanda’s rope is?? tee heee.. that’s not a good sign!!! 
Amanda to Lee: it’s an awful long way.
Lee: ah there’s nothing to it, you just grab on tight and swing. Go on. (Lee nods to Amanda to encourage her to go.. )
Amanda leaps with the rope and does really well! 
Only.. she forgets to let go at the other end!!!
[ROFL!! Lee didn’t tell her to let go!! ] and as the rope swings back.. well she swings back with it! 
Amanda has an extra reason to be terrified. she swings over the pit towards the rest of the class, then she swings back over the pit to the other side? and there are the rest of the class again still watching on – man, they move fast!! 
Amanda yelling in terror while clinging to the rope is hilarious.. there goes KJ with her terrifically funny facial expressions again! 
Amanda yells: What am I doing wrong? !!
LOVE Lee’s response…. such an smk classic isn’t it Lee 
mumbles to himself: almost everything… haaa!!
Lee swings on his own rope to the other side of the pit.. hoping to help Amanda.
This line of Lee’s is hilarious!!! I think I like it, because he says it with affection! Here is Amanda at her most silly looking and Lee still likes her- well at least that is what I’m getting out of it! 🙂
I have a theory! I think that KJ very much decided to take her inspiration from I love Lucy for this episode!! 
I found a picture to back it up! Anyone know this episode? I don’t know I love Lucy very well or have access to it – anyone help here?? but.. she is iconic.. and I’ve suspected KJ’s Amanda character is inspired by her at other times too.. that tenacious desire for her life to be more than a housewife.. constantly being knocked back, constantly getting into trouble, but not giving up and keeping going!! And.. KJ does great physical comedy gags with her fabulous facial expressions – anyone else ever thought about this?
So Lee gets to the other side of the big pit and immediately makes moves to help Amanda, but he stops short, realising there is nothing he can do to help her! (Oh Bless him!! ) 
[you know how top agents are: prior training doesn’t show ahem???! ]
We watch Amanda slooooowwly slide down the rope- hilarious!!!!! Poor Amanda… this is very embarrassing! 
but I’m ok with this- and I don’t think this was completely out of her character for her to do this! It is not 
down to clumsiness or anything, she just doesn’t usually have to ‘swing with a rope and let go’ very much in her day to day life 😉 [she isn’t Jane, and Lee isn’t Tarzan 😉 ] It is very funny to see her slowly slide down the rope with that look on her face! Well done KJ!! 
I love the look Lee gives Amanda when he realises she is going to go down into the pit! he can’t quite believe it.. but at the same time, he can 😉 this is Amanda! 🙂 
I love how we see Lee’s foot in the foreground, as Amanda slowly disappears all the way into the pit – just hilarious!!! wouldn’t you love to see the outtakes of this scene??!! 
As Amanda disappears into the pit, Lee has a little smile and shakes his head.
Lee mumbles to himself: Amanda. [AWH!!]
It looks a little like Lee finds Amanda and her hopelessness here kind of endearing AWHH!!
So while this is a bit of a humiliating moment for Amanda, I still find it hilarious and in character!! I think this is my favourite gag in this episode! What do you all think of this?? Anyone dislike it?? unable to laugh at it?? or have you felt that way previously? I think the first time I watched this I wasn’t finding it funny at all – I was all wrapped up in feeling bad for Amanda! Now I’m LOL’ing all the way through taking these screen caps!! 🙂
Next thing we see the group running and avoiding grenades. Hand grenades? Yep.. Live Hand Grenades!!!!
[This is only the preliminary level of training! LOL! what’s the next level? how to survive actually getting hit by a grenade?! Or how to tape your leg back on and then run 5 miles while still lookin good and catching the bad guys??? ] Ahhh there is Lee and Amanda together again – at the back of the pack.. awh! Lee 
can be seen reaching out to help Amanda a little.. I am sure he stayed at the back to make sure she was ok! awh!!! ( as surely he would have been up the front near Francine at the very least!!)
Can someone confirm this for me?? I’m too busy to check! and maybe one of you just knows!! Was there something in the script about this scene? where Amanda sticks her butt in the air? and Lee stops her – saying she was ‘about to get her *explosion* blown off’ if this was for real or something?! I think that would have been funny! tee hee..
On to the shooting class.. I can only assume they get 
lessons in how to shoot.. but all we see is Amanda with a shotgun failing dismally.. yes yes.. we get it.. Amanda is not good at all the typical spy stuff.. this is starting to feel like 
overkill.. and watching Francine look disapproving at Amanda in front of 
all the other recruits is not funny! Francine’s perm? now that’s funny! – yes.. I am protective of our Amanda! 🙂 I think it’s unfair Amanda has to deal with a pre-existing testy relationship with Francine while training- no one else has to deal with that!
I shall finish up there for the moment.. How are you finding this episode so far?? Byeee!
"Just walk with me.." 
I have thought before about the whole Magic Bus fit Amanda vs the struggling to keep up Class Act Amanda. Wonder if her work at the agency was leaving her without as much time for Fitness With Dave weekdays at 8? She spends more time typing reports and waking up in booky joints wearing a straight jacket then she used to….
Maaaaaayyyybe Mrs. Marsden is really following Amanda through Station 1 and “intimidating” her.
Honestly, I do just think she is so intimidated by all of Station 1 that’s why she flubs up so much. And I think that also is why Lee seems so much more endearing towards her – he knows what she really can do in the field better than anyone. I mean, she’s not really in the field with Billy and Francine a lot, and she has wanted training for soooooo long…don’t we all have instances like that where despite our abilities we fail?
(Maybe it’s just me. 😂)
LikeLiked by 1 person
What I am really enjoying is how much walking through these shows frame by frame allows me to appreciate the acting and chemistry of BB and KJ, which really, really, surprisingly stands the test of time. In the same way that HD can really show up all sorts of production flaws and so on, going frame by frame probably has the potential to highlight bad acting or a lack of chemistry between the stars. But it demonstrates how good they were instead…
So even though I always found myself cringing for Amanda as I watched this episode, I’m loving walking through it on the blog just in order to really admire their (BB/KJ) achievement. It’s really a shame the show ended after 4 seasons…
LikeLiked by 1 person
So true — and I was just explaining this to my husband yesterday about why the show has endured despite the uneven plots, etc. The screen shots reinforce what great actors they are and the rare chemistry they shared. (I am slowly making my way through Babylon 5 — brilliant show, BTW, BB’s character is quite different from Lee — even has different mannerisms — but the chemistry he has with his love interest on the show is merely average compared to what he had with KJ.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I looked at the picture of Lucy again and I was wrong….this was when she missed the cruise ship and it left without her and she had to he flown to the ship by helicopter …see the name “Bell”? That was the name of a helicopter manufacturer . So funny watching her suspended by cables over the ocean.
LikeLike
Ohh well that’s really cool Gruvy Granny! Lucy did the swinging gag a few times? well for me that supports my idea that KJ was going for an I love Lucy moment even more!! LOL!!! Amanda does swing on her cruise – only it’s off the side of a lifeboat – and they weren’t going for funny!
So great to hear you are an I love Lucy fan! Well you’ll be able to pick up on other instances which are like I love Lucy! Please let us know!!!
I just think overall KJ is a lot like Lucy because of their over the top and hilarious facial expressions.. but if you can share with us your insights that would be awesome!
Byeee!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You are right IWSOD about Amanda swinging on a rope on her cruise, I had forgotten that….can’t wait for that episode…some swoony stuff coming up.in SOSPIES.yipee…Lee in a white tux…..Oh swoon…be still my heart
LikeLike
I am an “I LOVE LUCY FAN”….and I believe the screen shot you have is when Lucy and Ethel were spying ( oh that’s funny) on Ricky when he went to the sexy neighbors house….they got into a painter bucket (something used for cleaning Windows in high rises)….pretended to be painters so they could see and here what Ricky and the neighbor were doing….Lucy was great at all the antics and KJ has a lot of Lucy channeled in her facial expressions and in all of the predicaments she gets herself into.
LikeLike
I love this part of the episode, great physical comedy. I don’t know anything about I Love Lucy but will bow to your superior knowledge IWSOD and assume KJ is channeling Lucille Ball.
I like how Lee seems sort of resigned to Amanda not doing so well but that he doesn’t seem to hold it against here. Unlike Francine who with every sigh and roll of the eyes is filing these nuggets away for ammunition at a later date 😦
You asked IWSOD about the original script. The rope scene has Amanda swinging over water rather than a pit and she ends up letting go into the water after billy instructs her to let go! I prefer the sliding down out off sight gag more. With regards to the scene with explosions they were supposed to be doing a commando crawl under barbed wire and Amanda starts to rise, butt first in panic at the loud mortar bombs and Lee pulls her back into the mud lest she gets it blown off! That would have been a good scene to watch 🙂
I like Julia’s observation that this indeed isn’t training it’s a selection camp. Which hadn’t occurred to me at the time. Poor Amanda she’s still not getting her training 😦
LikeLiked by 1 person
“And.. KJ does great physical comedy gags with her fabulous facial expressions – anyone else ever thought about this?”
Yes, yes, yes! She has a very expressive face–and eyes–and uses it so very very well!!!
“just hilarious!!! wouldn’t you love to see the outtakes of this scene??!!”
Are there any outtakes anywhere???
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well I guess I think the “almost everything” scene very funny and personally I am not too bothered if she is doing badly at something that requires practice she does not have. But I see she that is a weekness of the episode, she asked for training and they obviously send her to a selection camp.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yep. Definitely overkill. I think that is why I am irked at the episode (but watching it again with y’all is helping). Maybe KJ was channelling Lucille Ball for this episode, but it still doesn’t sit well with me. Now if Amanda’s shot had hit the target but lower than the heart (if you know what I mean), that would have been hilarious to see Lee and Francine’s look at that.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The shooting part has always reminded me of the fact that Amanda doesn’t like to shoot. She’d rather use brain than brawn to defeat her “enemy.” I don’t think it’s here to “dumb down” Amanda, but to remind us that she’s not comfortable with this part of being a spy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
If it were just the shooting alone, I would totally agree with this. And (I am getting ahead of myself here) But I can’t help think how competent she was at the survivor camp first season (Magic Bus) — she did a zipline and kept up with Lee running (I can’t recall how long that run was) and how good she was at driving (Magic Bus, Dead Ringer, The Mole). Wow, she really let her skills go since meeting 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Debilyn, I agree, Amanda not being able to shoot is not dumbing her down..(the dumbing down parts are still to come! IMHO) I felt it was starting to feel like overkill: – yes! Let’s see another thing that Amanda is bad at..
It’s a matter of balance – and personal preference- but I agree with you that it is in character for Amanda not to be able to shoot.. but by then I was over the same old schtick: – Amanda messes up… Francine scowls.. Amanda is out of her element.. Yep.. move on! I don’t need reminding Amanda doesn’t have spy skills. You know? but.. this is just my experience of it!
Don’t get me wrong – so far I’m enjoying this episode! I think the parts I find truly annoying are coming 🙂 tee hee.. but there is lots of good stuff to make this a very worthwhile and enjoyable episode!
Glad you are walkin with my through it! 🙂
Hope everyone’s Christmas preparations are going well!! [ Or whatever holiday it is you will be celebrating! ]
Iwsod
LikeLiked by 1 person