Back to Billy’s office where’s he’s sensing a pattern he really doesn’t like!!!
Intense Lee: yeah, there’s an element of nervousness creeping through this bullpen [oh boy.. that’s Shakespeare right there!! not!!]
…two agents buy it in two weeks. Same MO!
They try and figure out how Credle and Treloggen are connected..
Lee: Both men were found in a hotel room, beds turned down, and shot with their own 
weapons. Robbery wasn’t the motive, Credle had over 200 bucks in his wallet.
Billy: right. the connection’s there we just have to find it. [come on! this is smk.. Amanda’s the connection
well.. sort of! ] … did they see each other socially?
Lee: nah not that I know of. [LOL Lee is just the social 
monitor here isn’t he? 
]
Billy: Okay, that brings us right back here.
Francine: they weren’t working on the same case together Treloggen… [whooo there you go- two mentions! maybe it’s worth being a dead agent after all ] …had just gotten back from Laos about four days before he was killed. He was just catching up on some paperwork.
Lee: you know Billy, I hate to say this, but this just might be some random run at the agency.
[but nothing is a coincidence on smk right?? errr no wait.. most things are a coincidence on smk right?? oh boy..]
Billy: It just might be.. somebody just might be out there trying to pick us off one by one.. Okay! *cue intense Billy* this unit is on alert as of right now! That means in particular everyone cans their social life till we find out what’s going on.
As usual.. Francine is not impressed with this..
What about Lee?? He doesn’t seem to 
react! Hmm.. What do you think? Do you think Season one Lee would have??
Francine: that’s terrific! Bob Luigi [who is 
he?! ] had tickets for the Kennedy centre tonight. He invited me a week ago.
Billy is not in the mood Francine!!! Ouchie!
Billy: Francine!!!!!!!!!!
Francine: I’ll clean my closets.
[LOL she should try cleaning the toilet! the brush the brush!! ]
Billy suggests they check the computers for Credle and Treloggen’s work history to find a connection.. [3 mentions?? go Abby! ] in the last six months – gosh why limit it to six months? Wouldn’t you go back further given Treloggen had been stationed overseas till recently? ..Okay..
Lee says he’s going back to the hotel to interview the hotel clerk.. the hotel clerk’s description of the woman was not good enough for Lee!
Lee: did you see the description of the women who was with 
Credle? ‘Average’ . Now what is that suppose to mean? Average!
Billy: It means no one was paying attention!
Love how Lee says the hotel clerk’s description of the woman was ‘ average’ .. what Francine likes to call Amanda- often! Interesting choice of words though.. Average- given Lee just said that Credle is no more of a player than your ‘Average’ guy.. could the use of this word again be intentional do you think?? any ideas guys??
Francine: Discretion is the better part of hotel housekeeping.
Lee: hmmm?!!!
ROFL at Billy’s look in response to this one..
oh boy!!! Francine!! 
Very ironic of Francine to say that.. given the original phrase which she reworked was ‘Discretion is the better part of Valour’! Whooo that’s Shakespeare.. No!! Really!!! that really is Shakespeare! ha haa! [ It’s from Henry IV – thank heavens for the internet! ]
Lee: Well I’m gonna find her. I want to see just what kind of woman can set up two of the best agents we have.
[LOL.. why are they always one of the best! and no Lee.. she’s gonna find you!! ]
Aha! and so arrives Billy’s brand new chair! Ta da! What shall we call it..? 😉
I really hope Lee stops home to remove that guyliner (eek.. I even suspect he is wearing mascara.. those lashes are seriously thick today..) and change his clothes first.. and while I am on fashion police patrol here??
Francine’s matchy matchy earrings and Weird Lacey tie with sequins on that ugly ugly shirt?? Wrong.. just.. wrong!!
Whoa! On to Amanda’s…
BJo and KC! I can see that random car in the driveway here!!! are we sure it’s not Amanda’s car? I really can’t see enough to tell.. [sorry this came up in BJo’s third stats post on service above and beyond..]
Anyway, chaos reigns supreme as usual.. the family room is full of junior trailblazers preparing for their camping trip
– okay.. why are there only boys? Can’t girls be trailblazers? if that’s the case.. why is Amanda and Dotty running the show?? LOL… we quickly find that Amanda knows exactly how to cope with Little boys!
Amanda: that’s enough grosser-than gross jokes! Justin! Do you understand?
Seems Amanda is setting up a slide show.. so the boys can find Poison Ivy and roll in it
Gilbert has a question!: If we’re roughing it, why do we take our toothbrushes?!
All the boys cry: Yeah!!!
Amanda: wait just a minute now! You have 
to take your toothbrushes because Junior trailblazers will have to learn how to live off the land… [what is it with SMK and toothbrushes?! I bet someone has done a fanvid on it!] …you will be eating ahhh roots, nuts and berries.. anyway! you’re gonna need your toothbrush… [Junior Trailblazers sound like the extremists in Magic bus.. you know that Lee thought wandered around in Loincloths?! who were they again? The survivors that’s it! ]
We cut to Dotty on the other side of the room vetting what all the boys have packed to take with them camping rofl! what is that huge thing Dotty just pulled out of someone’s luggage?!
Amanda continues: ..because it’s difficult for you to eat those things…if you have only your gums and no teeth [such a mum (mom!) explanation that one!!!]
Amanda points at Gilbert: did you bring your toothbrush?
Gilbert smiles: yes.
Amanda: did 
everybody else bring their toothbrushes?
All the boys moan loudly: Nooooo!!!!
Back to Dotty (to everyone): ugh.. who does this belong to?
ROFL!! I think that is a ancient portable TV!!
Amanda: Oh Fellas!
Amanda is so great with young boys!! Phillip: I told you she’d find it!!!! [Rofl! I love the headslap on that kid in front of Dotty as soon as Phillip says this line!!]
Ouch! It was really loud! I bet that hurt!!!
Someone give that kid a stuntma- err stuntboy award!
Dotty: How did I get MP duty?
[I can explain that Dotty- you’re funny! Oh and see the trumpet on the table?? Looks like Dotty confiscated it earlier! haaa! ]
Dotty continues.. Oh well.. ha!!! unless somebody has a very long extension cord this is not going to do very well in a tent.
Wouldn’t it have been great to actually see Dotty on one of these camping trips?? you know.. where everything she eats is off a stick??!!!! [when does she say that- Weekend? I don’t know! Anyone?]
Amanda: Okay, I thought that we agreed that we’d only bring the essentials.
[Hmmm.. TV? Electric toothbrush? Trumpet? Amanda.. I don’t see what your point is.. ]
At this Dotty whips something out of a backpack in horror.. whoa!!!! that is a knife!!! Dotty: Ohh!
Justin, the kid next to Phillip, turns to Amanda to explain, guess it’s his knife: Bears.
Dotty flatly: Bears?
[I don’t think she wants to go now!]
Amanda is so patient.. and understanding! she moves closer to Justin and bends 
down to his level responding calmly: Justin. There really is nothing to be afraid of okay? We’re all gonna be together.
Justin: what if I get lost?
Amanda: you won’t get lost. We’re gonna be 
on the buddy system. Who’s your partner? Who’s your buddy?
Gilbert: I am!!
Amanda: Gilbert? well you and Gilbert 
just stay together and you won’t get lost.
Justin: Okay
Phillip: What if they both get lost? Gilbert’s got a lousy sense of direction.
[ahh Phillip.. he’s so hesitant to point out other’s negatives.. Not! Oh and there goes Phillip poking his tongue out again.. In the script Jamie is Justin’s buddy and it’s directed at him.. Jamie even had a few lines.. what happened?? Did someone owe Gilbert a favour?!]
Justin: he is not.
Gilbert: Do not!
Phillip: Does too. Both of you do.
[Ugh.. who asked you?! Someone shut Phillip up.. Hooray Amanda steps in shutting them all down.]
Amanda: if they should both happen to get lost, which they won’t, well, you all know what to do don’t you?
Dotty: I don’t.
[ROFL!!! Dotty says this as she pulls something else out of their luggage – headphones?]
Phillip is outraged! lol!: You don’t???
Dotty: I don’t. I mean all I know is that moss grows on 
the north side of a rock and in the middle of an enormous national park what does that tell you? 
[Too funny!! Dotty is so helpful!! Yes that will calm Justin’s fears nicely! I am guessing Amanda gets her outdoorsy skills from her father! BTW I might add.. in Australia, the moss would be on the south side! ]
Amanda randomly ruffles Jamie’s hair and declares: Okay. I’m gonna let the fellas tell 
you. What do you do if you get lost?
All the boys yell: Hug a tree!!!!!!
Amanda: I didn’t hear you!
All the boys even louder: Hug a tree!!!!!!!!
[I think hugging a tree is redundant… if they can yell that loud I’m pretty sure they’ll be able to effectively call for help! ]
Love Dotty’s look here! Like- Amanda! Please! enough! why didn’t you have daughters???!!!
Dotty is not looking forward to this trip at all I think! haaaa
Amanda: alright alright! that’s right.
Dotty repeats to herself: Hug a tree. 😮 I think Dotty might need to hug a tree for comfort!
Amanda having worked them up [LOL] now tries to calm them down again.. I enjoy these scenes! Err so long as they don’t over do it! 😉
Amanda: that’s right you hug a tree because 
most people when they’re lost they wander around and they get even more lost.. but if you hug a tree you’ll stay in one place –
Phillip interrupts: and a bear will come and eat you!!!!
[He play attacks poor Justin sitting next to him! wow. why isn’t 
Jamie getting any lines?? did he lose his voice that day?! ]
Amanda: A bear? Nooo. A bear will not eat you. Now look. If 
you hug a tree you will stay in one place and you’ll have a much better chance of being found.
At this, Amanda starts her slide show.. telling the boys she wants to identify the plants they’ll be seeing on the weekend.. they see a slide identifying poison Ivy.
Amanda in an ominous voice: What is that??!!!
Phillip: Poison Ivy. [to all the boys] .. Now you guys stay out of that stuff.
[Oi who is the instructor here??!]
Here we get another view of Dotty.. Hilarious!!! She’s off with the pixies!
Amanda: right. Stay out of the poison Ivy.
Alright! Now here is one we should all be able to identify..
Bam! We cut to another slideshow instead!!!!
Cool Edit!!!
This 
slideshow is a picture of Amanda out the front of her house.. just what is going on here??
Before I get onto that.. I just want to mention.. Ricky Stout is listed as an actor in this episode.. now.. I’m guessing that is Paul Stout’s brother.. and.. I’m also guessing he is one of these boys.. have you guessed which one?? Check for a resemblance..
I’m guessing Paul’s brother is playing Justin – the one sitting next to him… check out their profiles! I can’t find confirmation.. but to me they look alike.. what do you think?
And hey- what happened to Jamie in this scene? He doesn’t get a single line? boo hoo!! 
Oh well.. He’ll have a moment to shine of his own.. eventually.. Don’t flame me.. but I think Phillip is totally over acting here..err more than usual! Maybe because his little brother is there.. LOL..I think Gilbert is more believable!
***Update!! well my guess was completely off!!! Ricky Stout is nnnot Justin… and.. it is even more fabulously ironic that I thought Gilbert was more believable.. Yep..Gilbert is Ricky Stout! oopsie.. sibling rivalry!! check out the comments – thanks to BJo and Valerie or hunting Ricky Stout down!!! Awesome Teamwork!! 🙂 *****
BTW- this Amanda is quite a contrast to the ‘Amanda’ in the first scene huh!! I’m thinking this is deliberate?? They are drawing the contrast on purpose?? thoughts??
So who was watching the Amanda slideshow?? Hmm I’ll have to come back to that in the next post – ten minutes into this episode and we hardly know anything.[though I’ve learned what poison Ivy looks like ] and we haven’t even seen Lee and Amanda together This episode is different! I’m gonna try to go with the flow..[and yes- not get swept away by the flow right?!] .. hope you are enjoying the domestic antics I’d love to hear what you think!!!!! Bye!!
"Just walk with me.." 
Yes I did notice the heavy eye makeup this ep….in fact, close up it almost looked like eyeshadow too. I do know that fair skinned actors with light eyelashes have worn mascara…David Caruso from CSI Miami wore heavy mascara and my guess is that the harsh lights from the cameras would wash him out and without it he would not look right, because he was a natural redhead with very light eyelashes. It is weird though.. …however, I will take Lee with or without Guyliner…..he makes my heart go flip flop.
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Ok, check these out….still trying to make the resemblance that I see a little more clear.
I think Phillip and Gilbert share the same face shape and nose. I also think their eye shape is the same although it’s not that obvious in these pictures. Ricky’s lip pursing doesn’t help matters either. Phillip has freckles too, but they’re much less noticeable.
I do think the profile of the boy on the couch next to Phillip is similar, but his head and eye shape doesn’t look as close to Philip’s as does Gilbert’s. But hey, that’s just what I see! 🙂
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Hmmm, on the word average…I vote for unintentional. It was used earlier in the scene and the writers just used it again because it was already on their minds.
I agree with the guyliner and mascara on Lee. Why did BB let them do that to him? Do they not look at it while they’re filming and say, “Whoa, cut back on the make-up dude, you look like a lady!” 😉 Thank goodness he’s not always that made up. And Francine’s mega-earrings? I feel for her poor earlobes.
I’m with KC and am pretty sure that is not Amanda’s car in the driveway. It has the wrong outline shape for a station wagon. Back at the King house…what happened to Amanda’s bookshelves? Were they always white? I thought they were brown earlier in the series? Maybe I’m thinking of a different room. That’s a pretty modern-style stool for Amanda to have in her house that is mostly oh so colonial.
I vote for Weekend too for the eating off a stick bit…all I remember is that she says the work “skewered” funny. She pronounces it skoo-ered vs. scue-ered. How does everyone else say it? I pronounce like the latter. But I’m with Dotty on the whole camping thing….give me a HoJo’s and a mint on my pillow and that’s as close to camping as I want to get – bears or no.
The moss grows on the south side in Oz??? Really? Does your toilet water spin clockwise then? Ours up here in the northern hemisphere spin counterclockwise.
Love Dotty in that scene – she is the best part. I want one of those blue JT scarves…then I can tell everyone I’m a Justin Timberlake fan. LOL 🙂
I’m thinking Ricky Stout is Gilbert. Here is a picture of a kid that comes up when you google Ricky Stout. Looks like Gilbert, doesn’t it? link deleted – it didn’t work – check out pic below
What little experience I had as a Brownie when I was young was horrible so I’ve done my best to forget it, but I did experience some boy/girl issues in the area of sports. When I was a kid (around 9/10) I was the only girl to play on an all-boys soccer team. I wasn’t a very good player, but I was better than some of the boys and held my own. There were no girl only teams, so they let me play. I also wanted to play on the boys baseball team, but the first year I was eligible to play, my town started a girls softball league so I had to play that. Boy, was I steamed! I wanted to play with the boys! Not the dumb ‘ol girls slow-pitch softball team (please remember I was 9)! I managed to get over it and I wouldn’t have been able to compete with the boys for more than a couple of years anyway. Nowadays it seems that there are girls’ teams for just about every sport when they’re young. I do see young (5-8) girls wrestle with boys though – not enough young girls who do that to have girl only wrestling meets. Title IX really changed sports here in the US.
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Dotty has a few funny pronunciations, including “nukular” (instead of nuclear)… I wonder whether Bush was a Dotty fan?!?!? 😀
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Too funny, KC!! It drove me nuts when Bush would say nukular!!! He must have been a Dotty fan 🙂
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That pronunciation of nuclear is fairly common around here, in “Fargo” country.
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How does it get pronounced way up there in “Fargo” country? nuke-u-ler or new-klee-er?
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nuke-u-ler. We’s ignernt.
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ROFLMBO!!
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and you are very funny too!!!
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Hey, I’m from Fargo country too, and I carefully enunciate “nuke-u-lar”. The other way sounds like a slip of the tongue to me.
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Hi BJo I just tried that link and it’s not working??
got another one?
So I’m guessing Ricky Stout is not Paul’s brother??? Thanks for responding about that.. I was totally having a stab in the dark at it!
iwsod
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Argh. Just google Ricky Stout. When I did, I got several images, but the first one in the line was of a little boy who looked just like Gilbert to me! And I do think he is Paul’s brother. I know I read that somewhere…may have been on Yuku. In the picture that shows up on the google search, I do see a resemblance to Phillip.
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Let’s see if this works…
It worked!! 🙂
Doesn’t that look like Gilbert? and Phillip?
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too cute!!! definitely Gilbert!!! Well I guessed completely wrong 🙂 but it was fun trying..
Thanks for posting Bjo.. and lovely to see a pic embedded in comments.. I miss being able to do that.. I don’t think wordpress likes windows 8 – hopefully wordpress will catch up eventually 😉
soooo is that Paul’s brother?
All I can find on this kid is this: Birthname: Richard A. Stout. Gender: Male. Birthdate: Thursday 21st June 1973 and Place of Birth: Saugus, California.
Was Paul born in the same place? I don’t know..
I can’t see a resemblance sorry BJo – but that doesn’t mean anything.. I thought Justin had to same profile as Phillip! 🙂
gotta get back to my work here.. will motivate myself that I can respond to al your fab comments after I get some work done! byeeee all!!
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I just googled “are paul stout and ricky stout brothers” and found a pdf for an episode guide that had some some notes for some episodes. For Dead Pigeon it said that Kate Jackson was playing a dual role and that Ricky Stout is the brother of Paul Stout. I also saw where both were born in Saugus, CA somewhere else. Hope that helps. Off to bed now.
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What a great find!!!! thanks Valerie!!!
I must say.. I am so glad to find others are interested in this stuff too – we are a great team!! 🙂
I will edit the post and mention my guess was way off 😉
LOL I still don’t see a resemblance.. but it’s cool that Gilbert is his brother and he got lots of lines which weren’t all wimpy! And he got to stand up to Phillip taking offense at being accused of having a lack of direction 😉 adds new meaning to the scene! 🙂
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Look at those freckles!!!! Cute!
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ITA on the overuse of makeup on BB. But that seems to have been common back then – I remember one of my other TV “boyfriends,” Days of Our Lives’ Jack Deveraux (I believe Jack and Jennifer were mentioned in this blog a while back – greatest.supercouple.ever.), played by Matt Ashford, was often prettier than his acting partner. Another actor on that show, the late Richard Biggs (later to star with BB on Babylon 5) wore a purple eyeshadow that was so painfully obvious that it made me wonder if they let the actors do their own make up – never a good idea, I think because most of them learned to do make up for stage, not screen. Is it possible BB was doing his own make up on SMK?
There was – going off on a tangent, here – a “hair rebellion” on Days in the early 90s, when members of the cast defied the show’s dictates on how they should wear their hair … with the result that they all looked like crap for a few months until they wised up and figured out that the professionals knew better than they did how to make them look good.
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” Is it possible BB was doing his own make up on SMK? ” Now I am really traumatized 🙂
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ugh – no kidding…
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LOL I was a jack and Jennifer fan 🙂
I did learn on Horrible Histories that the Viking men liked to wear makeup to look scary in battle.. and they took particular care of their grooming.. reminded me of our Lee.. 😉
BB doing his own make up? *shudder*
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I guess Amanda couldn’t find any earrings to match her Trailblazer’s outfit 😉
Dotty is a riot!!! Love her reaction to things she is pulling out of their bags!!! LOL
In our town it is women that are heading up the Boy Scouts~I thought that seemed odd, but maybe it isn’t?
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Hi All!!
Thanks for filling me in on the issue of brownies, scouts, trail blazers etc and gender! What a crazy business!
I am soooo glad that the situation for girls in terms of scouts has improved, though I think women still have a ways to go in other areas.. still- why not celebrate progress!
Amanda is so outdoorsy- highlights that women can be outdoorsy and adventurous too!!! Women can be spies and serve their country and have adventures too!!! this outdoorsy side of Amanda only underlines for me the adventurous side to her nature.. and IMHO needs to go in the Amanda thread! but.. alas.. any contributions from me towards an overall character analysis will have to wait till the end of the year or my head will explode.. I feel I can sort of keep up with the episodes but beyond that.. I need to pace myself! but if others want to have a go be my guest!! I’ll happily publish it for you 🙂
I love nothing more than character analysis (ugh.. yes.. I’m not studying psychology for nothing I guess!)
Anyway, I’ve digressed already!
I felt this scene was very charming, and a lovely contrast with the Anti-Amanda.. but it started to feel like it was going on a tad too long.. and I miss seeing my fave couple together! boo! 😉
Cindy – Embroidered broom??? I am soooo glad you came out of that with your sense of humour well and truly intact!!! I wonder if that sort of ridiculous sexual stereotyping refined it??!!! ROFL!! Yes if the dead lady had showed up now that would have been interesting! haaa..
Hey KC! Love the Hot seat! LOL! Okay I’ll take your word for it on the car! My eyes are not that good 🙂
It’s a decoy car the agency likes to employ sometimes to protect their civilian staff!!!
Don’t worry.. you honestly can’t think too much.. we share the load in that department so don’t feel you have to do all the heavily lifting haaaaa…
yeah I do think ‘Average’ was intentionally reused.. will be interesting to see if it comes up again.. LOL you don’t have to like Phillip.. but if you read between the lines- you’ll see he’s not my favourite!!! 🙂 He must take after his father! 😉
Hi Morley! why is that statement kind of scary? do tell! Im not seeing why it’s scary – sorry! Oh wait- do you mean it’s scary because if Lee hadn’t known Amanda so well he might have been suckered and killed too??? Hmm I have a theory about that.. I’ll get back to it!
Agreed! Amanda is a genius at dealing with little boys.. [great training for dealing with Lee!! 🙂 ]
Hi Valerie! agreed!! Just a little too long.. oh well… yeah you’re right it was a nice touch of KJ’s to ruffle Jamie’s hair and include him, even though he had no lines.. I think they must have had a good relationship in RL.. [at least, I hope so!]
Good point Valerie, we didn’t see what Billy made of the trick book – he could have thought it was magic too 😉 haaaaa..
Good call on the front seat of the Desoto KC!!! It was beggin for it!!! haaaa
LASinLA- ‘what if the president comes to visit?’ LOL! how likely was that?? where did you live? the white house? 😉
Hey Jestress! Billy has fabulous facial expressions- agreed!! I think you’ve nailed the description of what’s going on with Billy here.. long suffering.. yes his kids will get there.. eventually! 🙂 rofl at ‘Aw, do I really have to stay home just cause someone’s out killing people?’ too funny!
Good point Jestress, Lee is still learning what’s ‘normal’ as in what we all think is normal! Very true.. Billy and Amanda have broader experience of normal people.. whereas Lee and Francine have maybe had a more worldly, sophisticated worldview- but it isn’t necessarily the normal reality!
I was thinking deep down Lee believes in Marriage – regardless of his outward cynicism.. what do you guys think..? I think his parent’s happy marriage and his uncle’s conservative upbringing would have influenced Lee – whether he likes it or not- and deep down he values marriage.. it’s just when we met him, he didn’t think it was for him.. great for others though.. maybe??
Jenbo I didn’t last long in Girl Guides either.. ugh.. lame!! tee hee.. Amanda is influencing Francine’s fashion?? nooo haaaa!! very strange!
Ah.. I’ll have a go explaining what’s the difference between this and ROTPast Jenbo.. In remembrance, the intended victims always got a warning first – this time, no warning.. and well maybe after ROTPast Billy has changed that policy.. I mean we saw how that turned out.. thank goodness for the bendy knife or Lee might be no more! eek! 😉 How’s that?? did that explain it? 😉
yeah I am not far into this ep and really don’t remember it very well at all.. I am feeling like the episode is going slowly.. yes lots of filling!!! and in the meantime.. still no Lee and Amanda together!! oh well.. I do remember is worth hanging in there because we do get a reward for all this separateness in this episode!
Melissa that is too funny!!! Earrings to match her trailblazer’s outfit???!!! She looks alot better without earrings huh!
Dotty makes that scene.. without her I would have skipped it!
Sooooo now one is going to take a punt on which boy is Paul’s brother??? byeeeeee!
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Iwsod, it wasn’t the statement that was scary, it was the screen cap of Lee for the statement. The more I looked at it the more I thought he looked scary. something about the makeup he is wearing, his hair being so smooth and his eyebrows raised liked that. 🙂 I loved the statement!
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Oh cool! glad asked! It sounded ominous eh! 🙂 I’ll have another look at that screen cap 🙂
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Oh dear. Amanda’s matchy matchy earring obsession has via osmosis rubbed off onto Francine! What an odd combo that blouse is with that funny little necktie. Can anyone explain to me why Billy didn’t can all social activities in ROTP when it was clear agents were being bumped off left, right and centre?!
I have to say I find the Junior Trailblazers bit over done. Reminds me of The Goonies. Too much kids shouting and being obnoxious. Considering its setting the scene for Amanda leaving, her reason for return and the cut to the clip with Anti Amanda it seems a tad pointless in parts. The best parts are Dotty and her confiscation of contraband 😀 as much as I normally enjoy the scenes of home life this one could have been cut in half and still been perfectly adequate. I do wonder whether they needed to pad out the rather ludicrous plot and this was the filler. Just a thought…….
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Oh, yeah, you were curious about what I thought about Lee’s comments on average, Iwsod? I can see why Lee’s frustrated here with “average” as their only description. “Average” is just a comparison and depends on your point of view, but there’s nothing else here to compare it to. I mean, some people might consider brown hair to be average, but maybe others wouldn’t. Nobody even offers a hair color here. I think Amanda (and her double) are a little taller than average, but maybe that’s just me.
I also think that’s Lee’s general problem with deciding what’s “average” behavior. He really doesn’t have much of a basis for comparison, does he? He knows what he does and what the people he associates with do (other spies, the kind of people who hang around embassy parties, etc.), but I think Amanda’s right that he’s not very in touch with the rest of society. I think Billy and Amanda have a broader view of things, and that gives them a better understanding of what “average” can be.
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I have another Billy comment: I love his facial expressions in this scene, especially when Francine is talking about discretion in hotel-keeping. Francine and Lee have knowing looks, and Billy’s looking at them like he can’t believe what his “kids” get up to. 😀
Billy really is the Dad figure around the Agency, the voice of reason and maturity. He always seems to know what his “kids” are getting up to, whether he approves of it or not, and he tries to get the younger generation to settle down and behave responsibly. I think he’s succeeding somewhat with Lee, partly because Amanda’s influencing him, too. Francine, though, is still a wild child. (Aw, do I really have to stay home just cause someone’s out killing people? 😦 )
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Here in the US we have boy scouts and girl scouts. When I was growing up the scouts groups were very connected with the schools and meetings were held at the school. My sister was a cadet scout (older girl scout) and got to go camping, etc. I was so jealous when I saw all of her equipment for the trip. It was pretty cool. It ebbs and flows as to which group is more active. I think it depends on the location. However, I know that the girl scout cookies are big sellers. People I know crave those cookies. They are pretty awesome, especially the ones with the chocolate and peanut butter.
Not too big of a fan of the scene with camping trip prep. It went on a little too long for me. Although I do love Dotty in the scene. Pulling out the knife was hilarious. That Phillip is a pistol. Love how KJ immerses herself in that mother role and even though Jamie doesn’t say or do much she acknowledges his presence. Love his little smile as she ruffles his hair.
Love Billy’s reactions to this somewhat distasteful situation. We didn’t get to see a lot of his reactions in ALSALS when they discovered the trick book. Billy believes in being faithful to his marriage vows and I think he also believes in staying true to the one you love or have committed yourself to. In ALSALS it was seen that these scandals are pretty much par for the course and no one was seemingly shocked by it.
I keep thinking about Amanda and Lee’s visit to that hotel in ROTP. Amanda was concerned about what the manager would think while Lee tried to tell her the guy basically wasn’t paying them any attention. Now he thinks he can get more than an “average” description from this manager. Wonder how the guy in ROTP would have described Amanda or Lee for that matter.
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“Wonder how the guy in ROTP would have described Amanda or Lee for that matter.”
He would’ve described Lee as the back seat of a DeSoto… 😀
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*looking like* the back seat of a DeSoto… 😀
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Love it!!
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Oops! The quote was actually *front* seat… My bad!
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Lee: Well I’m gonna find her. I want to see just what kind of woman can set up two of the best agents we have.
That picture of Lee is kind of scary, just saying…
But I love that line… Lee, it just some average looking suburban woman who can waltz into a high powered govt secret agency and turn everything and everyone (especially you) upside down. Your just lucky you ran into the good Amanda before the bad one could find you, because now that you know her (the good one) you are safe (pretty much).
I love Dotty in that scene. And I love Amanda with all these boys. Having 5 myself, I appreciate any woman who can single handedly handle a room full of young boy crazy energy. And I love the way the have put these scenes together. The contrast between the Amanda’s is stark. KJ must have had a blast with this and it just punctuates what these actors can do with subtlety.
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Yeah, I’m with Cindy on there not being many many co-ed groups like that. I was also a Brownie–for only a matter of weeks before I grew disgusted with all the girly stuff… the only merit badge I got: gardening! 😀 (You can’t keep this farmer’s daughter out of the dirt!)
Re: the shot of Amanda’s house… now that my eyes have been opened (it’s amazing what you gloss over until someone points it out), I’ve seen it in a bunch of eps, including: TGtN, MB, ALaGHitM, W, and BO. I had wondered if it was Amanda’s station wagon at a weird angle, but it really looks like a sedan not a wagon, and it doesn’t have the wide fake wood stripe along the back… Not that I’m overthinking it, or reporting from down the rabbit hole… Cue crazy music–maybe the smurfs jingle?
Billy’s new chair? Hmmm… The Hot Seat?
I love that Lee gets so worked up about the “average” description… I know it’s because it doesn’t do anything to help them find the killer, but I like to think it’s also a subtle (?) forerunner of the fact that Lee will soon view Amanda as anything but average (if he doesn’t already). 🙂
I love Dotty’s “off with the pixies” look–I think she’s trying to figure out how many bottles of Galliano she can sneak into her bags!!! And yes–I caught myself getting all confused over the moss on the north side of the tree in another ep (TLCE)… 😀 (Oh, and yes, I think it was W where Dotty was happy to not have to eat off sticks any more.)
Don’t flame me, either, but Philip routinely annoys me. I know that he’s mostly a sweet kid, but he’s such a brat at times. Ugh… sometimes difficult to believe he’s Amanda’s kid. LOL.
Yes, the contrast between Amanda and “anti-Amanda” is striking, and I do believe it’s done on purpose.
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There really weren’t many coed groups for kids in the 70s and 80s. I remember being really affronted when I was a Brownie (younger girl guide) and realizing all the fun the boys my age were having in Beavers (the younger boy scouts). The guys were learning archery, woodworking, firebuilding, etc. and their scarf could double as a sling (so cool!) and we were taught more ‘proper’ pursuits. I have a badge on my sash with an embroidered broom (really!) and another with a plate and cutlery and another with a frying pan. Yep, we were taught the proper way to sweep a floor, cook and set a table. I don’t think there was a badge with a toilet brush on it. 😉 Our uniforms were a paramilitary brown and we danced around magic toadstools. Actually quite disturbing when you think about it. I didn’t last long in that organization. 🙂
(And don’t get me started how the leaders instilled fear that we would bring Shame on all of Canada if we weren’t in full uniform — what if Lady Baden Powell herself came for inspection and we didn’t have our brown socks on, or were missing our pencil or our square knot wasn’t perfect? Considering she had died several years before, I guess a surprise inspection from her would have been very scary.) Now it is quite different, more relaxed and the focus is on collaboration, leadership and social justice.
I think women were allowed on the male scouting side as leaders due to necessity – not enough men volunteers, but I remember there being quite a fuss when this happened and I think it was in the 90s when girls could go into boy scouts but I am having problems finding a reliable source for that.
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I got a similar line from my mother about keeping my room clean — “What if the President comes to visit???” He never did, and my room didn’t get cleaned too often either.
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I was a Brownie a later a Girl Guide. One of our first badges was Hostess. Learning how to make a cup of tea. Urgh is it any wonder I wanted to join the scouts and go camping?! The one and only time I went camping with the Guides I was 12 and they made us have a siesta after lunch like we were toddlers 😦 thank goodness times have changed…….
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I bet Dotty lobbies for after-lunch siestas. I sure would. 🙂
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Good one LASinLA!!!!! 😆
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Brownies, yes, in UK it is still gender seperated and sort of paramilitary with the uniforms, I had my daughter choose the foreign promise so she did not have to promise to serve the queen. But she loves going there. For me it is still very foreign.
But I just thought, it was my german problem with anything military due to the no such thing as world war two should ever happen again mantra most Germans live by. I still have big time trouble with the poppies arround the help for our heroes time in UK and do not understand why they need a charity for war veterans. Should not the country who sends the soldiers to war take care of them if they are wounded or of the families if they die?
The groups I went to in Germany were all coed. Gender seperated activities or schools seem much more common in UK, although they maybe have their right of existence. In Germany even though there are very little girls only schools they supply the majority of female science students. We still have a long way to go…
But woman leading boys’ groups is just the same as girl serving as ministrants in the catholic church, unless the pope is due for a visit, there simply are not enough boys or men willing to do this work.
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Hi Julia, you are in the UK? and from Germany? that’s an interesting perspective!
I agree.. we women have a ways to go.. I saw a fabulous doco the other week called MissRepresentation- highly recommend it..
One woman speaking of role models said: Girls can’t be what they haven’t seen…
Very powerful.. I feel KJ was fighting an uphill battle in the 70s and 80s in her career, as a woman.. she has my admiration!! .. in some ways Amanda was too.. is
In terms of smk.. I love that Emily was a part of this show.
She showed Amanda that there really was a place for her at the agency and/or in the spy world.. I think it’s no accident that we had a few Emily episodes early season 2.. and then finally Amanda confronted Lee about her role in their work… I think someone had their eye on women’s issues in the smk team – KJ herself? I don’t know.. maybe!.. anyway.. oopsie.. I’ve gone off on a tangent.. oh well at least it’s an smk tangent! 🙂
Great to hear from you Julia! 🙂 byee!
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Maybe we all need some girls only refuge. Amanda does not seem to have any real girl friends, quite odd in my eyes. But she is a mother of two boys and I personally think at some point in the age of the children one can suddenly tell, if a woman has all male offspring.
I remember watching SMK in the basement of the girls only church student housing I used to live the first three years of my studies. (Wow, I am a physicist and have some female only thing in my life too!) Only then I did not know, it was named SMK and we had only one TV, but which program to choose was never a problem on SMK thursdays. During my time there we had this big improvement, that the two phones for the I thing 36 female students could not only be called but also be used to call somebody. My daughters can not picture those days any more…
On the other hand my husband feels there is a lot of trouble for the man in his workplace due to desperate measures to place women often no matter what their qualification. On the other hand, walking through university it still feels very male dominated.
To me, all these issues are related to the fact that a woman can have children only for a limited time while a man can have than at any age. But now that we could freeze everything, this issue should also soon be resolved. (And all children will have 50+ parents…).
Amanda is getting very liberated during the show, but I always felt, that she can only do so because she has Dotty and Dotty has no chance of doing what she might want to do and in real life, this will not work. Parents do get frail and will be exhausted after 5 days with the kids. Taking them of your hands for a full time career will not really work for most people.
Amanda can change, because Dotty does not change nor age. I always felt it as odd, that I had to employ all female staff for household and childcare chores to be able to work myself.
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