Poor Amanda- she’s a nervous wreck driving this car! Seems she’s picked up Dotty and the boys..
Well that’s what she gets for using an agency car for personal business – Good call Cindy!! If Amanda is picking up the kids now, I guess that means it is mid afternoon? where has the rest of the day gone? weird..
Dotty: This is a loaner?
Amanda: Well, when the station wagon had to go into the shop, IFF arranged for me to drive this. [Amanda’s telling the truth! tee hee]
Dotty: Oh, well the film companies certainly like to show off, don’t they?
Aha.. I love to see Amanda talking with Dotty about her work – Dotty always comes out with stereotypes about film people!
I think Mr Mike should have given Amanda a loaner but.. I guess this way is more fun! 
Notice Phillip and Jamie don’t have seatbelts on? neither do Amanda and Dotty for that matter – you would think that would be on top of Amanda’s concerns list.. I guess the car has no seat belts? is that legal?
Amanda [anxiously]: Jamie, what are you eating back there, sweetheart?
Jamie: Granola bars, mom. You said I could have them as after school snacks.
Amanda: Sweetie, they’re a little messy, why don’t you wait till we get home to finish it. Philip, do you still have your muddy feet on that newspaper I put down for you?
Phillip: Yes, mom.
Phillip to Jamie: Geez, I didn’t know riding in a big car would be such a drag!
haaaa! You know Phillip, I suspect Amanda would agree with you on that!
Amanda arrives at the driveway to their home…
Dotty: Careful with the turn. [eh?! hooowww annoying!!
]
Amanda: I will. Here we go! [Lookout everyone! Amanda is turning!!! ugh!!!]
Ohhhhh nooo!!! she runs over Jamie’s bike!!
Amanda stop apologising! Jamie should have put it away, you don’t just leave it in the middle of the driveway all day while you are at school! ugh!!
LOL! When Amanda runs over the bike – the car doesn’t even move like it went over a bump or anything!! hehehee.. these English cars must have amazing suspension 😉
What does Phillip say? ‘ You 86’d the muffler mom! (mum in Australia!)’ what does 86 mean? is this an american saying? We don’t use that saying..but I am guessing it’s busted!
Poor Amanda is getting more and more stressed about this car!! Deep Breath Amanda!
Amanda takes the car immediately to the shop for a new muffler.. without telling Lee 😉 I can understand 
why… too funny how the guy comes out with the old one in his hands and asks her if she wants it!! – huh!!????? !!!!! as if!!! Yes thank you.. so helpful to know where the old muffler has been put.. ahem… Right- there!!!
oh and notice the shout out to the producer Michael S. Mclean??? Amanda went to ‘Mclean’s Muffler World’! See the handwritten note on the skip? ‘Little Joe’s trash’ – Hmm.. could it be set decoration guy Joe Kroesser?? Maybe.. can’t be sure!
Back to the baddies.. and it seems they are now hanging out in an old warehouse (love the old stock footage here!)
The baddies have checked the tyres and no sign of what they are looking for.. why didn’t they just straight away take the whole car?! – rather than put all bets on the drugs being in the tyres?
Leaving it on supports like that is beyond me too.. (then again so is a lot of the plot in this one!) that would have taken time and meant they risked being discovered.. surely it would have been faster to just take the car.. hmmm.. then again, these baddies aren’t too bright!
The phone rings and Falcone answers.: Yeah? You what?! No, stay where you are, I’ll send Benedict!
Falcone hangs up and turns back to Benedict and continues: Your slick partner, Petronus, just lost his tail on the car. Go meet him.
Benedict: Where?
Falcone: He’s at that deli you clowns like. That broad is just a housewife, so she’s probably in her neighbourhood. [Would just a housewife be driving Mario’s car???!!!] I want the two of you back here in an hour and bring that whole damn car! Go on, move it!
I don’t get why this dialogue is there..yawn! who cares that Petronus is at the deli! Why is this here? The only thing I can think of is- it reminds us they know where Amanda lives- (sort of! ) and it demonstrates Falcone’s increasing frustration with not finding the drugs.. anyone??
So the baddies are looking for the car.. we find Amanda coming out of ‘Steve’s dry cleaning’ – man.. does everything in this town have a person who owns it?? This could be a shout out to Steve Hattman – producer! 
Anyway, the baddies have found the car while Amanda was inside, she interrupts them trying to break in.. Amanda mumbles to herself: Oh, no, I don’t believe this is happening. [me neither Amanda!]
Amanda moves towards the car, and Petronus surprises her with a knife warning her: Nice and quiet, lady.
Poor Amanda! she just can’t believe it!! When things have gotten worse, then then go ahead and get even worse!!
Petron
us warns her they just want the car.. and if she cooperates no one will get hurt. These baddies are pretty dumb- They finally ask Amanda for the keys to the car – since they can’t break into it! Amanda quietly hands them over.
[ This must be very upsetting for Amanda.. the last time she saw that jacket this close up Lee was being very sweet to her on her back porch! 
]
Amanda seems upset, but calm as she stays silent and still and lets them take the car.. After they drive off she lets out a big 
sigh.. and spots a phone booth.. uh oh.. time to tell Lee! I love the struggling with the dry cleaning – such a great touch! with all that’s going on, Amanda has to hang on to Dotty’s dry cleaning too!!
Amanda struggles into the phone booth to call Lee..
Don’t worry Amanda Lee won’t be long.. he’s actually very close! LOL! see the car parked on the other side of the street? you can see it’s front left tyre – I think that’s Lee’s car!!! parked there ready to film the upcoming scene!
Well.. before Lee picks up the phone.. I shall stop there! Short and sweet wins the day at the moment! I have been very busy with my studies so am sorry I haven’t been able to respond as much as I would like – but I’ve been enjoying reading your comments and I hope you are all well!!! I thought there would be more comments about this much loved episode.. are you all waiting for a few rather swoony moments to share your thoughts?!! tee heee.. Okay- well bye for now!!! Back with more soon..
"Just walk with me.." 
I love the ‘drag’ line by Phillip to Jamie – I think it is one of my favorites of his. He definitely got the better lines between the two of them. And Dottie’s face is fantastic when Amanda runs over Jamie’s bike – hahahaha! She really was such a great actress! I don’t think she ever ‘missed’ in any of her scenes.
I also wonder if that dialogue about the deli the ‘clowns’ like was supposed to reinforce the fact that these baddies are Mafioso vs. foreign enemies? It just sounds so cliché mafia. Doesn’t every block in NYC have a deli on it? I think this is the only episode where the baddies are Mafioso right?
Iwsod, I can’t believe you noticed Lee’s car in the picture! I definitely think you are right! What a catch! You are so good at getting all those lovely details! And I’ll say it again – what a tease you are to stop right there!!!! Can’t wait for your next post!
Like Rachael, I knew what Phillip meant when he said 86’d the muffler too, but have no idea where it came from either. I read the link Jenbo provided, but I think I like the AT-6 explanation from Raffie5 the best. Don’t know why!!
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I’ve read just that 86 could possibly rhyming slang for nix but it’s just a theory. Link suggests it was in relation to a speakeasy back during prohibition. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=86
Fascinating stuff, I love the origins of colloquial language 🙂
Given how long Amanda’s driveway is I do find it a tad unbelievable that she wouldn’t have seen the bike but lets not reality get in the way of SMK land shall we 😉
Back in early 80’s in UK seatbelts weren’t compulsory, I remember my parents not wearing them. Mind you I also remember me and my brother bring driven to school in my dads rally car which didnt even have a back seat! One of us sat on the exposed metal at the back whilst the lucky person at front had the bucket seat. Clearly things were waaaaaaaaay more relaxed back then. Rather glad things have changed LOL
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Amanda’s apologizing over driving over Jamie’s bike really irks me (I cannot wait for the end of doormat Amanda!). My daughters laughed and said they could only imagine what my response would be if I drove over one of their bikes they had left carelessly on the driveway. Nice to know that SMK-land does not have bike thieves either. I am sure a bike left out here would not be there when we got back.
Offering the muffler (or other replaced part) has always struck me as hilarious (does anyone ever say – “yes, that old muffler was like one of the family, I’ll take it home to make a shrine to it”?), but companies do that to show the part was actually replaced rather than fraudulently billing for work that wasn’t done.
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What I can’t understand is why she didn’t run over it that morning when she backed out to take them to school?
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You’re right! Maybe it wasn’t Jamie’s fault at all and they have a poltergeist that likes to move objects around. It would explain a lot. 😉
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HeHe 🙂
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Well spotted Melissa R!! [ actually we haven’t seen the other Melissa in ages.. maybe I should just call you Melissa?! 😉 ]
Oh yeah! she would have run over it in the morning! haaaa.. oh wait.. and it rained that morning so Amadna drove the boys to school – so the poltergiest moved the bike out into the rain!!!! that is one nasty poltergiest! I guess Francine must have sent it Amanda’s way! 😉
Debilyn, Rachael and Raffie – I 100% agree with you all about the dumb baddies! I might complain about them.. but I wouldn’t have it any other way! plus, I really enjoy paying out!! narky!!!! 😉
I too find season 4 takes itself just a bit too seriously when it comes to the baddie hierarchies!!! At the same time, I really enjoyed the clever spiderweb baddies.. so hmm.. maybe balance is best – as you say Debilyn! 🙂
Hi Rachael! How are you? Hey thanks for finding out about seatbelts! I love these random facts!! 🙂 and… Go Aussie!!!! we were first to legislate it?? too cool! 🙂
Hi Raffie, thanks to you too for your historical research on ’86’! – that is very cool!!! I love little factoids like that.. and especially liked the ‘AT-6’ phonetic play!
I was wondering – do you think this is why they called Maxwell Smart ( in Get Smart) Agent 86?????!!!!!
It kind of makes sense and I could totally see his code name being a big pun on being broken! roflmbo!!! 😉
A deeper understanding brings even more humour to these things! tee heee!
Thanks for your contributions guys you’ve all given me a great big laugh this morning – when I needed one!!! Work is pretty stressful right now – so lovin the SMK goodness that’s being spread around!
BJo told me I’m a big tease for stopping my post when I did – haaaa!!! [Why thank you Bjo I take it as a compliment! 😉 ]
well I promise I will be back with more soon!
OH and thanks for confirming with me Raffie that you think Lee’s car is eavesdropping on Amanda in the phone booth!
Bye all!!!
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HEYY!!!! I’m still here! 🙂 I’ve been way too busy. 😦 But I’ve been reading all along. Sometimes I actually get to watch the episode when you’re blogging it!
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ROFLBO Melissa!!! You have totally got me laughing in the middle of my studies here! haaaaa.. I had to stop what I’m doing and respond to you!! haaa!!! that’s what you get for not saying hello! 🙂 tee heeee!
No worries you are still Melissa! Apologies for even thinking of calling MelissaR ‘Melissa’! 🙂
Glad you are still stopping by to read! and sometimes getting to watch the show! but don’t stress about commenting: when you are able to – it’s lovely to hear from you 🙂 I completely understand that RL is priority and sometimes SMK time needs to take a backseat! 🙂
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I’m glad to have been of service! 🙂 As you were….
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I agree with raffie – sometimes the dumb baddies are just fun! Glad someone did the research on the “86’d” expression. I’ve heard it before and got what it meant based on the context, but I never knew the origin.
About the seatbelt thing, here in the U.S., the buckle up campaign got it’s start in the 80’s. The main reason is probably because the car is such an old model. Seatbelts weren’t always a requirement. I did just a little research and found that the modern belts did not come into play until the late ’40s, early ’50s. They were offered as an option until the first seat belt laws came into effect in the 1970’s. As a matter of fact, Iwsod, you might find this interesting:
“The world’s first seat belt law was put in place in 1970, in the state of Victoria, Australia, making the wearing of a seat belt compulsory for drivers and front-seat passengers.[10]”.
Of course, at the end of the day, they probably just didn’t think to focus on using them for the scene (if indeed the car had them).
I can’t wait for your next post. I love the interaction between Lee and Amanda at the phone booth. 🙂
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hiya! I just noticed in this pic from the first post on this ep: https://justwalkwithme.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/2-18-car-wars-avi_000115181.jpg
You can actually see the seatbelt over Mario the Meatball’s shoulder!! It’s just not being used 😉
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I couldn’t help but think, during this scene with Patronus, “It’s okay, Amanda! It’s just Kramer!” I can’t buy that actor as a baddie. He’s too ingrained as Kramer, to me.
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LOL, I think you’re right, iwsod! That does look like Lee’s car.
I really enjoy having some dumb SMK baddies in this episode. It’s a classic example of SMK’s shameless use of stereotypes. By S4, the baddies and the plots got more serious and some of the quirky SMK humor was lost. I can’t help it — I laugh every time I see Amanda come out of Ned’s and see that car up on blocks. It *is* ridiculous, I completely agree! But it really appeals to my goofy scene of humor.
That deli reference cries of a deleted scene to me. Any other theories?
Regarding “86’d the muffler”, that’s not an expression you hear in the US every day either. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard it outside of SMK, but maybe I have and the context has conveyed its meaning (as it does here) so it just didn’t strike me. So I googled, because I love questions like this. I found two explanations. One is that in diners way back when, codes were used by the waitresses when placing orders to the cooks and conversely. An 86 meant something was a “no go” because they were out of it. The second explanation seems more likely to me in the SMK context. The US Navy used an Allowance Type coding system (whatever that means, but the acronym is relevant) to inventory its parts. Parts ready for the scrap heap were labeled as ‘AT-6′, which of course phonetically sounds like ’86’.
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I miss the over-the-top, silly baddies, too. It was definitely a part of early SMK humor. Not that I don’t appreciate the smarter baddies, but it’s just fun to have the occasional “campy” stuff.
I do hear about things being “86’d” every now and then, especially when I’m around older folks in their 70’s and 80’s.
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