Back to Lisson Lanes bowling alley, and the agents in the backroom are still struggling to find the baddies’ hideout..
The local Balalaika restaurant offered no leads..[BTW, I was just reading a book last night and it mentioned someone learning how to play: the Balalaika! I had no idea what it was!! 
]
Hey- they are all wearing the same clothes- soooo they stayed the whole night there to check one restaurant? err.. did they sleep? and if they stayed there all night, why don’t the men without beards look like they need a shave?? (do they have shaving facilities for agents?? rofl!!! they really do believe in looking good and catching the bad guys 😉 ) We were robbed of scruffy unshaven Lee!! Robbed!!! [Is it matter of choice where we see Lee unshaven? anyone remember? ]
Yuri has a good idea: we only checked the DC book. What about the suburbs?
You would think one of the locals would have thought of that one! LOL! No instead it’s the agent from Russia! Agent Lunsford searches the Washington suburb phonebooks..
Suddenly there is a knock at the door.. it’s Amanda! Back like she promised!
Amanda to the room: good morning.
Everyone: good morning. [I love that everyone responds to her, in spite of the fact that it is not a good morning!]
Amanda: I put mother and the boys on the train to Vermont.
Lee: Amanda we’ve come up empty here….
…You should have gone with them.
Amanda: no, I said I would come back so I came back. I know I’m your only source of information.
In response? Lee just looks at her silently and smiles 
Wow wow wow!!!!! 
The long silent look of admiration that Lee gives Amanda here?? speaks volumes! Lee’s respect for this woman’s bravery and loyalty just went up a few more notches..
it’s like a milder version of what is to come in Burn Out! Wow!!!
I am feeling dizzy here.. hang on a moment.. 
phew.. that’s better! I’d stay in Washington DC and risk being vaporised by a nuclear bomb so Lee would look at me like that too!!! 
Yuri: she’s quite right. This is not time for sentiment, Lee.
Amanda: thanks just the same anyway!
That look from Lee is worth more than a dozen ‘sweethearts’- as it is genuine!!! I love that this is not them playing a cover, but Yuri still thought Lee was being sentimental over Amanda being there- he was!! And he wasn’t trying to hide it.. I guess an imminent nuclear bomb makes you throw caution to the wind just a little.. Is it just me or is playing the cover for Yuri’s sake pretty much forgotten now Francine and the others have showed up? No more deliberate ‘honeys or sweethearts’ boo hoooo! Oh well.. there is a certain thrill to knowing Lee and Amanda are acting normally, and yet Yuri is not questioning their closeness squeeeee! Errr.. back to finding the restaurant!
Lunsford: got a balalaika restaurant in Catonsville.
Great! Amanda turns to leave.. and Lee assumes Amanda should not come with them! double boo hoo! (Although I put it down to Lee’s concern for her safety so it doesn’t bother me! I guess this also confirms to Yuri Amanda is a civilian.. not an agent.. )
Amanda: Right.
Lee: Amanda!
Amanda: Hmm?
Lee says quietly: No
Amanda: No What?
Lee quietly again: No
Amanda: I have to go. You don’t know where the bomb is. I may have information somewhere in my memory. I have to go.
Lee smiles at Amanda: ahh come on let’s go.
[Hey! she bravely turned up this morning! the least you can do is take her with you!! 😉 Sweet that he tries.. but great that she goes with them She does actually have information that will ultimately save the day – knowledge about dishwasher wiring! LOL!!! ]
Lee, Francine, Yuri and Amanda leave.
Back to the funeral home to be reminded that Billy has been captured and that Kreschenko is one crazy and determined Baddie! Muahaha!! LOL!
Check out the music that’s playing here! whooo!! Billy tries to reason with him, but well.. he is too crazy And I bet he is crazily regretting removing Billy’s gag! Krazyenko err I mean Kreschenko is prepared to die for his country.. rah rah.. ROFL!! Love the evil crazy close up on Kreschenko here!! 
the crazy bomb timer is started.. the crazy display shows a countdown at 1:59:46 – uh oh! Less than 2 hours till crazy detonation ;)! Don’t worry Billy! Lee and Amanda are on the job and they’re not crazy!! Hey, does anyone else get the sense that Kreschenko is crazy? 😉
Big close up on Billy to end this scene – duh duh duhh!
Lee, Francine, Yuri and Amanda arrive at the Balalaika.. This place looks familiar! Anyone recognise it? I’ll have to keep an eye out for it in upcoming episodes.. I don’t have time to hunt for it! but if you recognise it do tell! 
[Hey! Francine let Amanda drive her! I am surprised after what happened in A Class Act more evidence that it was all just a bad dream? ]Lee approaches a 
staff member of the restaurant: Uh, excuse me. We’re looking for a woman by the name of Svetlana.
Yuri: we think she works here as a waitress.
Guy: yeah? Well you think wrong. Now if you’d asked me about a Debby or a Doris, I could help you. But Svetlana? Don’t know.
A passing waitress overhears and interjects: Ah he doesn’t, but I do. I’m Svetlana.
Guy: she’s crazy, her name is Debby.
Woman offscreen: Butch, we need you! [There’s a guy called ‘Butch’?? is his last name Cassidy? we could be onto a clue here! Actually, given his work uniform, and how pretty it is, I can see why he might over-compensate ]
Butch leaves and Svetlana continues: don’t mind Butch. Heh, you should see him when he’s in a bad mood.
Lee: yeah
Yuri: you said you were Svetlana?
Svetlana: well, actually, my real name is Debby but there are these two guys you know, and –
Francine interrupts: their names?
Svetlana: Um I call them Barky and Anatoly, I don’t remember their real names.
Anyway it was just a joke. Barky said he liked the name Svetlana so I said he can call me that.
Yuri: do you know where we could find them?
Lee: yeah, it’s very important.
Svetlana: ahh well, Barky did mention a place to me. They said they really hated it there. What did he call it?
( we see Amanda waving her hands around encouraging Svetlana to give information) It’ll come to me. It’s just not coming right now.
Lee: don’t worry about it, take your time. [Go Lee! He’s doing well at being patient here! Wow.. Lee is growing! Remember how he pressured Marianna in The Legend of Das Geisterschloss and freaked her out?!] Uh did you by any chance uh go out with this Barky?
Svetlana: well, he asked me to, but, um, I didn’t really want to. (Amanda smiles at her encouraging her)
Lee: if you don’t mind me asking, uh why?
Svetlana: this is gonna sound kind of silly but he reminded me of my biology teacher from high school. He smelled funny….
You know, like that chemical that they float the specimens in.
Amanda: formaldehyde.
Everyone looks at Amanda surprised at her knowledge! I love that Amanda was the one to know this – though, IMHO most people know what it is don’t they??
It’s interesting to note the reactions to Svetlana from Francine and Amanda during this questioning – it hightlights Francine’s weakness, and Amanda’s strength!!
When Svetlana is a little shy or self conscious to give an answer – Francine just stares coldly at her, she’s unrelenting! Whereas Amanda smiles reassuringly…encouraging her to speak up.
Also, when Svetlana says the guy reminded her of her biology teacher: Amanda can be seen physically recoiling in empathy, while Francine just glares at Lee.. A great little window into the differences between these two characters.
Svetlana: Odessa! That’s what Barky called it. Odessa apartments or something.
Francine: On it! (and she leaves to track down this information.)
Lee: well thank you! You’ve been very helpful.
Svetlana: sure, anytime! Say hi to Barky if you see him.
Lee: yeah, believe me I will. (they walk away from Svetlana)
Francine returns: Okay, here it is. I have Odessa drycleaners, Odessa Stationers and Odessa Funeral Home.
Lee at the same time: funeral home! Cold!…
His mother’s death.. formaldehyde….
It’s gotta be the funeral home.
Amanda: yeah.
Lee to Francine: look, get a hold of the white house. Tell them it’s a condition four.
Francine: got it (and she leaves – I love how Lee gives the orders.. lol.. I guess he is in charge now? ) Amanda and Yuri head for the car, with Lee following..
Lee: uh wait hold it, Amanda!
Amanda: Hmm? [I love how Amanda responds Hmm?? she did that just before also – I think she knows very well that Lee is going to try to get her to not go with them! ]
Lee: Amanda?
Amanda: yes?
Amanda reaches the driver’s side of her car and turns to listen to Lee.
Lee: Where do you think you’re going? [what kind of a way to talk is that? I’m glad Amanda doesn’t give in here! ]
Amanda: I’m going with you. This is my car. [Good call! I love how Lee gives Francine an order and she’s on it.. Amanda? she argues! ]
Lee: Amanda this is too dangerous. Call a cab. Get far away- [I guess Lee’s gruffness is him trying to 
push her away huh.. so in his mind, she is further from danger.. Awh!! but this is a false logic – as Amanda points out so perfectly – and hilariously!]
Amanda interjects: Look…
…you said that bomb could go off at any moment right?
Lee: yes.
Amanda: Well…
… I could never make it to Vermont to be with mother and the boys….
… And if it does go off, I don’t wanna be sitting in a cab
alone with the meter ticking.
Amanda doesn’t wait for an answer, she just gets into her car. Lee is stunned for a moment! LOL!! 
Lee sighs, shakes his head, gives Yuri a look ( who has been watching this whole exchange very intently ) and Lee gets in- can’t argue with that Lee! Their fighting now is just plain cute.. it doesn’t infuriate me as much now Lee is more open about caring for Amanda!
Is that the best line of Amanda’s this episode or what?? And to think the script is very different.. I think it’s the ‘meter ticking’ part that makes it hilarious! without it.. not funny! The script takes the sentimental route – I prefer the way it’s played here! good decision!
Another good decision? Off Lee, Yuri and Amanda go to the Odessa Funeral home.. leaving Francine behind hurray!
Okay, I’ll leave it there for now!! Thanks for reading!! Love to hear your thoughts!! byeeeeeee…
"Just walk with me.." 
After Amanda’s fashion faux pas (pink, red & padded) the previous day, she sure knocked it out of the park with that beautiful Icelandic wool coat. Perfect for keeping her stylishly warm during the “Cold” War era.
No need to debate over Amanda’s 2 great comeback lines. Love them both and say, “Keep ’em coming!”
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It is fun to see the Burn Out reference while we are walking through Burn Out. It is a mini moment of the same kind isn’t it. I love seeing that smile.
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Does anyone think that Betty Grable’ s er…I mean…Francine’ s blouse in this first screen shot remind you of a pajama top????? ROFL… 🙂
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Only if they are incredibly ugly pajamas! ROFL! Fashion police need to be constantly vigilant 😉
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I never realized what ugly clothes Francine wore until I started following these posts….sad part about it is that she thought she was a fashion diva…lmao
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A mini Burn Out! Oh that describes it so well? Lee’s look of admiration (and perhaps a bit of something else) is beyond swoon worthy! I have now taken two hours to get to this point in this episode because I am going between the posts and the scenes and am enthralled! (Obsessed is probably a better word, ha ha!)
You know, I always took the “It’s Amanda” line and look between Lee and Francine as showing that Francine deep inside is softening towards Amanda. She may not consciously know it, but I always felt it was there in the whole trajectory of the show. I hated that there weren’t a couple of more seasons to watch the growing relationship and maybe friendship between the two women.
And two sets of SMK DVDs iwsod?? Hah! You’re no the only one. I got the DVDs and then downloaded them from iTunes too. Watched my husband’s very confused face when the bill came, “but I thought you had these already?” Shakes his head and sighs. Poor guy figures I’ve lost it but it keeps me out of trouble soooo….. He should only know *wicked grin and a twinkle in the eye*!
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Amanda may have her faults (she’s a little too puritanical for me at times) but she’s loyal and will do her duty when required. I don’t think Amanda would have ever considered leaving the mother and the boys as she knew she had a responsibility not just to Lee and her work colleagues but to trying to ensure Washington is safe. She’s as much an agent as the rest of them. Thankfully though she’s not wearing 50 shades of grey like Francine and the other agents LOL
Ooh loving the look of admiration from Lee, she sure is a special woman. But let’s not get sentimental here 😉
I am lmao at the screen shot of Kreschenko. Scary. Maybe he needs to join Overactors Anonymous 😉
I think Amanda’s line about not wanting to sit in a cab with the meter ticking is the best line from the whole episode. She’s a do-er, she’s not one to run away and most importantly if the brown stuff hits the fan she wants to be with people she cares about aka Lee. And damn if it was the end of the line I think I’d want to too 😉 She delivers the line brilliantly, fast, punchy, no messing about as if to say c’mon Lee times a-wastin’ 😀
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Hi, the Balalaika changed in Italy/Rome is in “a lovely little affair”.
Byee
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HI Claudia!!!!! I hope you are well! sorry what do you mean here? Is there a Balalaika restaurant in Rome?? Can you explain this a bit more please? 🙂 Great to hear from you!! Hope life is good!
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🙂 Sorry, I think this is in the Warner Studios. They changed the “Balalaika” place in “Rome”, only seen in the beginning of “a lovely little affair”. Hope this make sense! Byeee
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Hiya Claudia! Ah thanks for sharing that!! I will try to remember to keep an eye out for this when I get to A lovely little affair – if I don’t.. can you remind me please? Well spotted!! thanks Claudia!!! 🙂 Hope you are well!
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LOL – it’s recycling SMK-style. 😉 I just had a closer look at the “italian” restaurant in “a lovely little affair” and guess what? They really used a shot of “playing possum”. You can even see the waiter (Butch), the 2. waitress in the checkered skirt (not Svetlana) and the blackboard saying something about “Russian…”. Not to mention Amanda’s car and passengers in front of it.. Oohh oohh what was it with time and space in SMK-Land? 😀
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It’s interesting that you think the “meter running” is the funny line in that conversation! I’ve always laughed out loud when Amanda says “This is my car!” Something about the delivery of the line . . . It makes me laugh every time.
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Hooray!!! Julie great to see you here!! I love to hear what others find funny because – you are so right- we find different parts of things tickle our funny bones the most 🙂 it’s fun to try and guess at what others may find particularly funny 🙂
Yeah silly Amanda! expecting to go in her car?! tee hee.. Did you read the script Julie? it’s quite different.. I was thinking if Amanda had just said ‘ i don’t want to be alone in a taxi’ – it wouldn’t have been funny.. to me at least! but.. to add that the meter would be running? genius! 🙂
Great you have found your way here from yuku Julie – I hope you will feel most welcome over here in this little smk corner of the blogosphere! 🙂
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Francine’s hair reminds me of Lucille Ball’s in I Love Lucy (maybe she should dye it red!!! HaHa)
Lee definately has leadership abilities by ordering Francine around and her following. In the beginning Francine didn’t seem to like that she was in charge ( and in Reach for the Sky isn’t she left in charge when Billy goes rouge and doesn’t handle it well?). Which seems weird when she is Billy’s assistant.
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I am seriously bummed. I had a quiet time with 3 sick littles this evening to finally sit down and watch Playing Possum, and my DVD is no good. Season 2, disk 2 won’t play! So I had to console myself and watch Three Faces of Emily and Ship of Spies instead. 🙂 Like they say, when life hands you lemons…
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Oh bummer! Anyway you can get it replaced?
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Poor Paula!! but.. Ship of spies?? ohhh I can’t wait to get there!!! ( and beyond three faces of Emily!) I don’t hate it.. but it is not a favourite.. I’ll get to that! 🙂
When life hands you lemons.. hmm didn’t smk in sudden death have something to say about that?!
Yeah hopefully they can replace it with another copy for you! I’ve bought two sets of dvds for each season.. I’m so tragic! but I thought – well what if they aren’t selling them in 10 years? and one of my discs gets scratched??!! Tragic!!
If you are in the US Paula, there are lots of places you can watch playing possum.. maybe someone can direct you – being out of the US I don’t have access to them – but hope you get your replacement soon! 🙂
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
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I’m glad I’m not the only one who thinks like this! I did that with the X-Files- I bought the Blu-rays, but couldn’t bring myself to get rid of the DVDs. The packaging is different! The menus are different! Husband just shakes his head.
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Yes! “Matter of Choice” = scruffy Lee! Not my favorite episode by any means, but the scruffy Lee keeps me riveted 🙂
You raise a good point about cover vs not in the bowling alley meeting room. I never put together that Lee could be walking a fine line here between keeping a cover for Yuri and not appearing to Francine and company that he is falling for Amanda by using endearments. That certainly explains some of Lee’s reactions (and doesn’t BB do this well? I love how well he handles subtlety and double entendre), but I agree that we are seeing genuine concern and affection from Lee. We just had to muddle through Class Act for this reward!
I definitely don’t mind Lee trying to keep Amanda out of the fray. I know they are partners by now, but he is definitely starting to care about her and furthermore, partners or not, she remains an untrained civilian.
I never thought about the point that they leave Francine behind. I guess it was either that or stick her in the cargo section of the station wagon once they find Billy, LOL! Can’t you just picture Francine riding back there with her knees under her chin? Boy, that brings back memories from the 70’s when we kids were always carted around in the back of those things by carpooling moms.
I *love* how you compared Lee’s appreciative look at Amanda to his feelings in Burn Out! I feel like subconsciously I’ve noticed this all along but never brought the thought to the surface, because when I read what you wrote, my mind shouted “OF COURSE!” Yes, it’s a little mini-Burn Out, a littl foreshadowing of even more to come. It’s just so great to see Lee treasuring Amanda and what she is bringing to the investigation, rather than patronizing her, feeling sorry for her (a la Class Act), or barely tolerating her.
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hiya Raffie! Happy New year!
Yeah scruffy lee is one of the only things I remember about ‘ Matter of Choice’! 🙂
I would have loved to have seen them tie Francine to the roof racks 😉
Yes- you’ve put it beautifully.. Lee was walking a very fine line with how his relationship with Amanda was viewed by others – though I think once the urgency of it all went up a notch, no one was worried about anything other than stopping the bomb.. so that helps 🙂
It is wonderful to finally have some Lee and Amanda friendship – without the enjoyment being diminished by Lee’s treatment of Amanda. or her portayal as being dim witted! 🙂 It’s the SMK I fell in love with 🙂 Glad to hear you are enjoying the different vibe too!! hooray!!
Oh cool! glad you liked the Burn Out reference – there’s another one coming in the next post! 🙂
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