This week.. Scarecrow and Mrs King takes a little detour! Instead we have an episode of Scarecrow and Lady Farnsworth 
LOL! I find this episode to be very different to the usual episode of SMK (well.. it’s SLF!).. What do you think? To me, it feels like Amanda’s character is on the sidelines for this episode – watching Partners Lee and Emily at work.. and Amanda accidentally bumbles her way into their work and tries to keep up with them, failing dismally.
A special thanks to Mrs Vanderhosen for transcribing this episode, and to Petra at smk-land.com for making this transcript available to us all 🙂 You’re a life saver!
I see this episode as being before Brunettes are in – I am pretty sure this is the last one I would view that way. Hooray! So I revisit it with this interpretation: if you see things differently, feel free to share! Different perspectives are very welcome! Of course if you agree – well I’d love to hear that too ha! This ep has lots to offer though! Some very funny moments and disguises.. oh and: Lee in a tux!!! 
The episode starts at a lab somewhere.. we see a screen with a plane on it.. and two men in white coats behind computers..
( why they need a white coat for that is anyone’s guess! Oh I know! It’s smk shorthand for: Scientist! )
Check out this guy in the foreground.. he must have neck and back pain with his computer monitor set up to 
be aiming at the ceiling!!!! weird!! (Haaa.. he even rubs his back as he gets up off his chair!) The two scientists prepare to finish up for the night.. one of them reassures the two security guards they’ll be finishing up soon.. [LOL there is that ‘Absolutely No Admittance’ sign again – what ep did we see that? savior? Hilarious! ]
Love how the scientist gives the two security guards the run down on this top secret plane and what it can do. Mach-6, radar invisible!! Top secret stuff!! tee heee..
oh purlease!!! We do get a lovely smk pun though, as the scientist brags to the security guards that ‘ no heat seeking missile is going to take her out’ – one of the 
guards pulls out his gun: and takes out the other scientist.. [‘stealth’ bullets are used by the security guard! these bullets don’t 
make bullet holes and seem to conceal any blood from bullet wounds.. amazing! No blood in this scene at all.. ahhh smk and family safe violence.. it isn’t like that these days! ] So, the two security guards kill both the scientists.. and 
stealing the plans to the airplane – so they can sell them for a minimum of 100 grand a page- Why are 
they are taking photos of the blueprints to the plane? When they can just take the folder of information with them??? LOL!! Usually people take photos so no one will know they have taken the info- but err the two dead or injured scientists on the floor are a bit of a giveaway!
Great edit here to the next scene.. we cut from the baddie snapping pics of the top secret plane, to Jamie snapping a pic of Amanda! 
Haaa.. Phillip is playing the clown behind Jamie trying to get Amanda to smile [hey great continuity!! Is it One Flew East where Jamie is discussing his interest in photography with Lee and Lee offers him some expertise?]
Seems the boys and Dotty are off for a trip to the beach (with ‘the Morrisons’ – according to the script).. my goodness they go away a lot.. Uncle Herman’s last week.. and this week? the beach.. You would think Dotty would question if Amanda really is a spy.. LOL!
Wait a minute!! Nooooooo!!!! the headband is back??!!! argh!!!!!!
Phillip (along with his little friend from the Morrison family) teases Jamie about the big sharks at the beach.. My goodness he is full of beans.. maybe Phillip should cut down on his sugar intake
They are all very sweet as they say their goodbyes and I love you’s!!
With Dotty and the boys gone, Amanda puts her mind to her paint job… and who turns up right on cue?
Amanda: whoooo burnt sand!
Lee: sounds like what I’m drinking!
Oh Lee.. a very funny line! but very cheeky!
BTW- I got curious! if you are wondering if ‘Burnt Sand’ exists as a colour?..it does!!! check it out! ( Yuck!!!)
Amanda: What are you doing here? [Hey, Amanda doesn’t say hello – maybe she’s learning from Lee ]
Lee: Morning. [Lee ignores Amanda’s query.. it’s only her house… her coffee.. but.. Lee smiling and showing some manners is hard to resist! ]
Amanda smiles in response.. she can’t help herself.. (can’t blame her! I’d love to find this in my fridge in the morning too! )
Lee continues: …Uh, you wouldn’t have any half-and-half?
Amanda: I ran out this morning. What are you doing?
Lee: Coffee break. I like my coffee black, just not this black.
Amanda: Uh, why don’t you try the milk? It’s better for you.
Lee: Milk?! (Lee is unimpressed with milk..)
Amanda: Mm-hmm.
[Amanda is much nicer than I.. by now I would have taken the coffee off him and told him to go out and get his own coffee and then knock if he wants to come back in..]
Lee: Okay.
Amanda: Uh, you need anything else?
Lee: No. I’m fine.
Amanda: Would you like some sugar?
Lee: I’m fine. I don’t take sugar.
Amanda: Uh, how about the morning paper?
Lee: Nah, no.
Lee grabs his coffee and takes a seat in Amanda’s kitchen..
Amanda: How ‘bout telling me what you’re doing here?
I have no idea if anyone else feels this way, but for me- I see this as the beginning of a deeper issue at play here throughout this episode: Boundaries!!! There was a time when Lee would not have set foot in Amanda’s home.. nowadays? he enters without asking, he is complaining about her coffee, her lack of half and half ( which we don’t have in Australia BTW- but having lived in the US I know it – IMHO yuck!!) – I think our Lee is comfortable enough with Amanda that he is now taking her compliance for granted.. Lee and Amanda are at an awkward point in their journey- Lee hasn’t accepted her as his partner, doesn’t acknowledge her contributions, and yet – it is expected she will drop everything and have no limits when it comes to what Lee needs for the job- Amanda has few of the perks of being ‘agency’, with all the costs.. Of course, if you don’t see this episode as before brunettes you will probably see things very differently – maybe this is Lee settled into the partnership now.. and so he therefore takes Amanda for granted maybe? Let me know what you think! We’ll keep an eye on this issue as we progress! but.. I think this episode is great foreshadowing for Brunettes are in.. ie. this fits well with being before Brunettes and Amanda making a stand! but.. I’ll get back to all that!
Also, as is the case with Bromfield Hall.. this viewer is ready for their relationship to be clarified and move beyond this!!
When Amanda asks Lee if he would like sugar or the morning paper do you think she is making a point? I like to think so… as it is quickly followed by ” how about you tell me what your doing here” and she had asked twice with no flippin answer! .. What do you think?
Now.. the next part of the scene?? the ‘I need you’ thing?? I find this a little random..it feels a bit like ‘fan service’!! I would really love to hear your thoughts on what you think is going on !!!! maybe you can help me make sense of it.. but..
This post is long enough already.. so I will need to finish up here for now.. As always, thanks so much for stopping by and reading – and thanks to those of you who comment, share their thoughts and are such an encouragement to me to continue! I’ve been battling the flu.. so I’ll do my best to post again soon!
I do hope you are all well and enjoying 2013!
Two weeks to go until Season 4 of Scarecrow and Mrs King is released in the USA!! Byeeeee
"Just walk with me.." 
Yes, in the minority again…not one of my favorite episodes, though I still love any episode of SMK with a pretty high baseline. 😊
I am in the camp of let’s get a move on the relationship/character development department! I watched this in revised order, so before Brunettes, and it’s much more fitting.
One could say it’s really where it belongs. Even with the revised order, early season 2 is overall not my favorite phase. But many, many awesome moments.
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Yeah, pretty much any time Lee says “I need you” it’s fan service and they used it in promos for the week. Ah well. I just wish that ever time didn’t culminate with Amanda looking silly and flustered. By now she’s been through this enough to know that Lee is just trying to charm her into doing something for him.
This ep definitely feels different than the usual SMK and obviously is a vehicle for Jean Stapleton as the guest star, but I’ve always enjoyed it. It’s always reminded me of a Mission: Impossible episode.
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Ah! thanks for confirming re the fan service Barb! sounds like you remember well when the show first aired. I pretty much missed it!
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Looking at the still picture of Lee at the refrigerator, Amand seems to have a picture of a dog stuck on the door. Could this be our infamous “Pinto” from ‘Fearless Dotty’?
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lol you might be right! that is one cute little dog! 🙂
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Ah lovely to see how computer graphics have improved 😉
I delight in telling my children how hard done by I was with a black and white TV and no remote control! Anyway as usual I digress……
Dear me the Amandaband is back. I thought we’d seen the last of it 😦
I can’t quite believe how often Dotty and the boys go away, they’re hardly ever home! Why can’t I get my family to leave so often, I could have back to back SMK viewing then 😉
Amanda seems really discomforted by Lee appearing in her fridge. Her smile seems a bit fake and she totally needs lessons in sarcasm from moi. The tone of asking if he wanted the paper wasn’t obvious enough 😉
Can anyone explain what half and half is? I’ve no idea……we just use milk here.
We have a phrase here called taking the p!ss. Means overstepping the mark, taking advantage. This is Lee in this scene. One might assume his next comments are said that way to grease the wheels after barging in….
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Half and half is half milk and half cream. I use it in my coffee.
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Jenbo–it’s funny that taking the p*ss has a different connotation… I’ve always known it as making fun of someone–aka taking the mickey. 🙂 It’s like a step beyond pulling someone’s leg–when you’re taking the p*ss it’s a little more sarcastic or belittling, and more-or-less implies an audience 🙂
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Then again, p*ssed itself has a completely different connotation here to what it does at home. 😀 Here p*ssed = angry, while at home it can mean angry, but more usually means drunk (p*ssed as a newt, if you’re really legless). No wonder English is such a difficult language. ROFL!
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It can mean that too so you’re not wrong. We English like to recycle our language as often as possible LOL
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I would be your co facilitator for that Sarcasm 101 training course at the agency, Jenbo.
I see that whole part as Amanda being sarcastic with Lee (but not too upset to have him standing in her kitchen either), but he’s oblivious and her tone is a bit too good natured.
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Just saw you are not feeling well. Hope you feel better soon. Conny
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Hiya Conny! thanks!!
Don’t worry all is well and your comments will show up now – there is a delay if the comment has to go through moderation – moderation is needed if you use a different email address – the site thinks you are posting for the first time.. but it is no problem for me to approve your access 🙂
Don’t worry, I’m always at the very least monitoring the site – so all is well!
Lovely to hear from you! Mini novel? Noo! Your comment is fine Conny no problem 🙂 byeee
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Hi and I just changed my email address at Manage subscriptions and hoping all is working I was at cjbscout@yahoo.com but changed it to scout810@hotmail.com. I am only putting this in the comments because I have not a post since this one and thinking okay you are busy and it is not because I changed e-mail address. Hope all is okay and will get the next installment of three faces of emily. Sorry to have written a mini-novel, Conny
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Hope that you are on the mend 🙂 Actually I liked this episode…Emily was hilarious and IMHO Lee was having to learn to be flexible with Amanda’s role in this other than window dressing. My kids laughed and laughed at Lee’s and Emily’s get up in the paint store.
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Also I think that it was Jamie with the camera in ‘Times They Are A Chang’in’.
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First of all, Burnt Sand is a TERRIBLE colour. Looks more like “week-old overcooked yam”, but I guess that name does not roll off the tongue. 🙂
This was I think one of two episodes in the first three seasons I had missed when the series was first run (though for some reason, I had remembered Lee asking for half and half for his coffee). I was surprised when I got season 2 DVDs that Jean Stapleton was in more than one.
I was not a fan when I watched it, but I will watch it again to keep you company, ISWOD. 🙂
Now, if I view it with the thought that “Three Faces” should come before “Brunettes…..” Yeah, that has possibilities. The major issue I had with SMK (don’t get me wrong — I love the show) is Lee’s character is so mercurial and all over the place with his treatment of Amanda from episode to episode. This has largely been resolved by watching the shows in the production order rather than airing order (was there any thought to when the episodes got aired or was it pretty random?).
Ciao for now!
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hiya!
Cindy, Burnt Sand looks like vomit to me! the worst colour possible for a dining room 🙂
Maybe you remember Lee liking half and half in his coffee from a fan vid? This is an episode you could skip and it would not affect your overall understanding of the show IMHO – but it would be a shame. as there is lots of fun in this episode!
Sounds like you haven’t seen this episode many times Cindy.. so you may have some fresh insights to share with us all – thanks for watching it along with me! 🙂
Yes, I too have struggled with Lee’s mood swings 😉 the changed order helps reduce it – I am not a believer in the ‘he treats her badly because he loves her’ theory.. So I’m happy to see Lee growing and moving on from his moodiness with Amanda – maybe I’m imagining it but I have the impression that after this episode it is much much better! 🙂 Lee’s moody.. but he doesn’t take it out on Amanda – now that is a man I can cheer for!!! 🙂 Go Leee!!! that and a tuxedo? I will be swooning so much I’ll need to keep my keyboard on the floor to post here 😉
While this episode is not a favourite – I agree with Debilyn – Emily is hilarious!!!! I laugh everytime she says ‘ Falcon Ving!’ – I would have loved to have seen Amanda pulling off operations like this one day (we learn in All the world’s a stage that Amanda did some acting in College also – although there is no mention of it in this episode -Hmm!) .. maybe we will see this in the reunion movie! you never know 🙂 studio execs could look at this episode to see how funny a mature woman playing a cover can be – Emily is the star of the show in this episode- the only thing that can compete is Lee’s tuxedo.. oh yeah and his houseboy disguise ohhh can’t wait to get to that!
I hope you are all well! the blog is on a go slow at the moment.. but feel free to chat amongst yourselves about any of the episodes!
12 days till Season Four is on DVD!!!!!!! (in the USA) byeeeeeee
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I have taken a page from your book and any dumb Amanda moments I will attribute to her not ventilating the rooms properly when she was prepping for painting (I remember being pretty woozy from paint fumes whenever the mood struck my dad to repaint the house) and the fact that her glorious headband was tied just a little too tightly. 🙂
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My youngest’s favorite episode. She and I giggle a lot over it. There is just so much fun here – at which Jean Stapleton shines! Emily is one of our favorite characters. I wish we had seen her more often. She is both mother and friend to Lee, whether he realizes it or not.
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Happy 2013!!!
That’s a good point with the “I need you thing”. It feels for me too like a “fan service”. Really something for the trailer.
I hardly can’t remember this episode, so I’m looking forward to your posts.
Get well!
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