So on to Amanda’s.. If someone wants to go into detail on the differences in the script please feel free – but I’ll just note briefly that the script on smkland (a revised first draft) had this next scene at Amanda’s before we saw Lee arrive at the agency (in the last post)..
Amanda’s family are in a hurry, Jamie’s eating breakfast, Phillip’s packing his school bag.. Amanda’s rushing around..
Phillip: Mum, you promised to take us to goofy golf tonight. [Is goofy golf for real?]
Amanda: right sweetheart.
Phillip: Yeah!!!!
Dotty’s rushing around too.. trying to get the laundry on – and no longer happy: Great. the one night they play Casablanca at the revival theatre.
[whooo Casablanca!!!! whooooo!!! 
]
Amanda: well I’m sorry mother but I did promise the boys.
[Here’s an idea.. Dotty go see her movie and Amanda do goofy golf with the boys.. why does Dotty have to do what the others are doing? I don’t get this family sometimes! then again.. But! God bless Dotty for mentioning Casablanca here!!! why?? errr you’ll see ]
has that box of critters got a product placement thing going on? I swear we’ve seen them before! ship of spies?
Dotty: Okaaaaay I’ll try to go another night.
Amanda gives the boys lunch money
[haa!! as she hands over the $ see the camera jiggle?!] Amanda doesn’t have time time to make their lunches since (Amanda): IFF asked me to come in this morning.
Dotty yells to Amanda in the hallway: you haven’t had your breakfast! [lots of yelling in this scene!]
Amanda: well I’ll get something later!
It seems Amanda has decided today is dress like Alexis Carrington day – [A random pic I found on the net of Alexis!] I have thought before it might be trekkie day…but I now prefer to think Amanda is aiming to take on some of Alexis’ qualities!!
I know we’ve seen this Amanda shirt a few times now..ALSALS, LOTP, OOADP… and ugh.. I’m over it!! I want this shirt gone! I’m making a fashion arrest. Amanda- Go home and change girl! Oh wait.. you are home! Don’t leave the house in that!!! [or it’s going to be a baaaad day!! ]
Amanda grabs her coat and purse and heads back into the kitchen as Dotty adds: I hope they appreciate all the sacrifices you make.
Amanda: I’m sure they do mother. [Noooo I don’t think so! what do you think?and yes.. question are not rehtorical!]
Dotty: It would be nice if they showed their appreciation by giving you a raise!
[seems to me Dotty got cut off there.. and.. ha! the script also has the additional line:’.. or maybe a promotion!’ here.. they must have cut it!]
Amanda: I’ll talk to them about it mother.
Dotty: Maybe if you were just a little more aggressive [LOL the script says ‘assertive’ I think assertive is much better!]
Amanda: Yes mother. [Hmm rushing out the door is the perfect time to have this discussion! ]
She grabs Jamie’s school bag and hurries the boys along.
Jamie asks about the clubs for goofy golf and Amanda says they’ll rent them..
Uh oh it’s ten to.. they’re going to be late!
Now Dotty is really in a tizz.. the washing can wait! Dotty: Ten to!!!!! I was suppose to be at Emilio’s five minutes ago..
Amanda: Mother his prices are just outrageous.
[ROFL!!! I love that they gave Emilio’s another mention!! I know why it’s so expensive there!! They are trying to recoup the cost of the repairs that Lee and that killer caused- was it 
Carlos? in Fearless Dotty! ]
Dotty: well what am I saving for?! Until my daughter grows up and has kids of her own?!
They kiss each other byee..
Amanda: yes mother you’re right. [and it’s her money!!!]
Dotty: Okay boys!!! let’s go!!!! let’s go!!! (yells to Amanda from the hallway) don’t 
forget to eat your breakfast Amanda it’s the most important meal of the day! [Love how Amanda mouths Dotty’s parting words.. she’s heard this before! ]
Amanda yells: Yes Mother~!!!
Slam!! front door closed behind her family, Amanda hasn’t time to eat her breakfast.. but she does have time to fit the word ‘ mother’ into her conversation about 10 times in 2 minutes.. guess that is what thinking on an empty stomach does to you..
Amanda grabs a left over bowl of cereal- she can’t bring herself to eat it though! Then.. she sees an orange, grabs that and rushes out to work.
Sooo were Dotty and the boys on foot? I’m confused.. I thought Dotty was late..
Anyway, I find this scene an interesting way of setting up future storylines involving Amanda’s finances.. which yes I won’t go into detail on – we’ll come back to what we learn here in future episodes!
I think Amanda’s position at the agency now, in the end stage of season 2, is particularly convoluted.. seems confusion reigns.. and it’s getting closer to her starting to be treated like an agent by the agency.
I have always been confused at how Amanda can work for the agency.. and not be on permanent staff. I mean how does she know what she’s going to get paid? what kind of a way to raise a family is that? I’ve never liked how the agency just uses Amanda so conveniently up to now- and well I guess Amanda accepts that is the case.. Here? It seems they called her in at the last minute (her working seemed to be unexpected) I’m with Dotty – she needs to *Ahem* ask for a raise or at least get some permanent hours sorted out.. Hard to not jump ahead here I know!! but.. I think we can all acknowledge these weird unpredictable hours or having no idea how much money you will make is not ideal! Or do you see it differently? do tell!
There is an interesting little addition in the script in this family scene – Dotty responds to Amanda’s complaints about the hairdresser saying: ‘you’re not the only one in the family who can get a new hairdo!’ rofl!!! guess when this script was written.. KJ’s hair had been cut! [which could back up this episode not being earlier]
Okay I shall finish up here for now.. Got any feedback, thoughts, questions or insights you’d like to share??!! feel free!! byeee for now!!
"Just walk with me.." 
Just wanted to mention.. this blog post came up as a random blog post.
So interesting to see the foreshadowing here about Amanda and needing a raise – all this before Murder Between friends. cool!
Also this exchange is funny:
Dotty: Maybe if you were just a little more aggressive
Amanda: Yes mother.
Dotty is telling Amanda she needs to be more aggressive – so what does Amanda do? she just agrees with her to humour her haaaaa I missed this when I watched this last! 🙂 err I haven’t read through all the comments.. so hopefully I haven’t forgotten someone else noticed this first lol.. byee!
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I’m confused…I thought Emilio’ s was a bar??????? Now it’s a beauty shop?
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I find that line about the hair-do being cut from the script very interesting! Do you suppose it was a sensitive issue?
In Godorsky and Playing Possum we hear that Amanda does transcribing for the agency. I would think that, plus typing up Lee’s reports, could give her a pretty core set of hours. The stuff we see is just the “window dressing”!
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Hi Julia, Yes I never thought about things like Amanda’s work conditions the first time I watched smk either! I suspect I was never suppose to 😉 tee heee.. but I do!! Well.. I don’t like to see Amanda get taken advantage of.. and I agree with you Julia, this work situation needs to be resolved.
Seems from the start the agency has used Amanda and cared very little for her safety – if not for Lee Amanda would have been left to die a number of times.. and she didn’t get the training she needed ( you know- like how to hit! 😉 ) so from the start I have felt the agency is pushing the limits here.. but I know the majority of people will just watch smk and enjoy it – good on you if this is you! But.. my mind doesn’t work that way! tee hee.. and while the way her employer treats her is not centre stage when I watch the show.. it is a nagging issue!
I think the show begins to deal with this over the coming episodes – thank goodness! but I’m really glad that I am not alone in feeling this way- thanks Julia!
Thanks for pointing out the turned boxes Happy Camper – lol!! that’s bizarre!
The stuff we see is just the ‘window dressing’ Raffie? tee heee.. and I thought that was what Amanda was in Affair at Bromfield Hall! 😉 I don’t know if the haircut was a sensitive issue.. I posted over on neds in the media thread that I wondered if KJ cut her hair at the time she was divorcing her second husband.. you know a fresh start and all that.. and I saw some clips of the movie ‘Adam’s rib’ the other day – anyone know it? Katharine Hepburn- and she has Amanda’s hair don’t!!! KJ did love HP.. maybe she tried out her look to spur herself on to bigger and better things!! with this in mind.. I begin to mind less and less about the hair don’t – plus we have so much fun with it- If she hadn’t cut it we would not have had it to have fun with 🙂 just some random hair don’t thoughts!
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Not much more to add to what’s already been said other than the fact that an orange just would not be enough breakfast for me. Gotta have some coffee in there somewhere and something with some more substance. Also, I was pretty much done with that white outfit by the end of the episode. I don’t think it was flattering and it was just wrong.
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Jeez Louise……..Amanda it really isn’t necessary to insert the word mother into every single sentence!!! I agree why does Dotty have to go play golf? Has to go camping even though she doesn’t like it, always being saddled with boys at a moments notice……I think she gets a raw deal sometimes.
I always assumed Amanda worked ad hoc hours. Perhaps she’s on something similar to what many employers are doing these days in UK and offering Zero Hour contracts. Essentially it’s a contract to be on call for work as and when required. Personally not a fan as I feel it’s a cheap way of having a work force without having to actually pay them all the time……but. I digress. I wasn’t under the impression she had core hours just as and when she was needed.
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I suspect Dotty feels it’s her “duty” to help Amanda with the boys (can we assume the boys were quite little when Amanda and Joe separated?). Amanda doesn’t need her mom to be quite so involved anymore, but recognizes that it gives her mom a sense of purpose.
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About those Cracklin’ Critters (yes, I think they were also in SoS): I get the impression that tv shows of this time weren’t allowed to use regular products in the show without paying royalties, so they invented stage products. (That might be wrong; I haven’t done any research). This one seems to be a combination of Crispy Critters and Cracklin’ Oat Bran. Also look closely at the items on the counter by Philip and Jamie in the opening credits — the brand names look like they are changed or obscured. DH has football cards from the early 80s and the logos on the players helmets are erased. Must have been a lot of angst about brand ownership. Weird. You would think companies would like the free advertising.
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It is weird to me too. I notice on food network shows that the host usually covers the brand name of the product when picking it up or the back of the box is usually turned toward the camera. Maybe the food companies are concerned with being associated with certain chefs or TV shows without their consent? Especially nowadays where that can really ruin a brand.
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Good point.
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I think product placement is a lucrative income stream for shows, so they are unlikely to provide free advertising by showing product packages.
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Back in the early 80’s the UK had 3, yes 3, television channels. (Two of which (BBC 1 and 2) I think routinely stopped at midnight – imagine that!) Anyway because of how the BBC was funded with licence fee (and still is) advertising in shows was forbidden. All these kids shows using old cereal packets to make stuff with had to be debranded before being shown on air! If SMK had been made by the BBC no product placement would have been allowed.
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Sounds like NZ telly back then! TV1 and TV2 (brought to us by TVNZ)… with the Goodnight Kiwi/TV Kiwi at the end of transmission for the night.
(BTW the music is a version of a Maori lullaby: Hine E Hine.)
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Awww. That’s cute. I remember staying up late with a friend to listen to “The Star-Spangled Banner”, which was the station sign-off then. It seemed sooo late, when even the TV was off for the night!
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Very cute. 🙂 And also completely backwards in its portrayal of a kiwi (the bird–after which NZers are nicknamed)… which are nocturnal and flightless –> live in burrows in the ground, not in nests in trees (or satellite dishes–LOL!). But Goodnight/TV Kiwi is a much-loved piece of Kiwiana…
Sigh. Homesick…
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Back before the advent of cable we only had a few stations here in the US as well. However, living in Detroit and just across the river from Canada we also got a Canadian station as well. But at some point, I think it was later than midnight, broadcasting would stop. The national anthem would be played and then you would see a test screen until broadcasting began again, probably around sunrise. Now it’s just non-stop TV viewing.
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BJo, thanks for sharing the info on Goofy Golf! If .. no when I get back to the US, I am going to Florida for Disneyworld… and goofy golf! 😉 I would have liked to see Amanda try and play goofy golf while on hallucinogens 😉 teeheee I see the website says to ‘bring your whole family’ – well! that explains why Dotty had to go too! 😉
awh BJo, thanks for responding about my Alexis find! I was giggling away to myself when I found that pic! Glad you enjoyed it too.
I think you are on to something BJo, Amanda and Dotty have been through a lot together.. they’re relationship is really interesting! They’re close relationship is central to the whole show I think. Amanda would have been Dotty’s rock when Dotty’s husband died. I wish we knew more about all that..
I think Lee appreciates Amanda, but may not fully grasp the sacrifices she makes – not really understanding family so much.. but Billy? He should- but he is also her boss, not her dad.. so maybe it’s up to Amanda to be assertive on this.. but.. I will hold off on this all till we get to Murder Between Friends and this all comes to a head.
Sounds like alot of you see Amanda working some regular core hours, and some variable hours on top of this. Fair enough!
For me, whether it is all hours variable or only some – a more stable set up would be very valuable for a single mother… again – I think this is all dealt with in Murder Between Friends.. so I’ll leave my opinion as it is and we’ll come back to it later 🙂 love that ep!
Hello Morley! Interesting ideas! I think alot of these questions about the internal dialogue of Amanda and her work- is revealed in Murder Between friends.. I see it as answering alot of your great questions.. so I’ll hold off (sorry!) answering.. Generally though, it does make sense that Amanda would be questioning these things.. we all have to take a look at our choices at various intervals and decide whether or not they are still working for us.. or if maybe there is a better way.. Amanda’s entering that phase maybe.
Rofl! Grasp away at straws if you like Morley haaa! I tend to stick reasonably close to the production order.. and only move back or forward an episode.. (as the eps were filmed more than one at a time sometimes)
True. living on a variable income is doable. but it is not ideal – and it is worth investigating whether her role at the agency could be made more official – I see Amanda at this stage of the show, moving forward with her confidence in herself, and her career.. and it is time other people did that too – the agency needs to acknowledge Amanda is worth more than what she’s getting from them at the moment with this unofficial parttime/casual typist thing she has going on.. assertiveness is (IMHO of course!) exactly what’s going to be needed- and Amanda asserting herself will naturally be part of her now beginning to see her own worth, and beginning to require more of the agency in return for what she gives. drat. I wish Murder between friends was next! 😉 but I guess this whole quasi- professional thing is simmering away in the background as Amanda mentally processes it and prepares herself for that assertive conversation she will need to have with Billy..
I agree Morley, Amanda loves the adventure of the agency. – but Amanda is also responsible.. so her character would balance that with life’s practicalities- at the end of the day adventure doesn’t pay her bills.. or she needs to find a way so that it can 😉 I wish blogging paid mine. rofl!
Hi Cindy, I think you are right about Beverly mispeaking ‘aggressive’.. later in the episode this is referred to again! we’ll see!
I agree Debilyn, Billy has always been able to see what Amanda brings to the agency and value her.. though I don’t think that translates into improving her work conditions – not if she doesn’t ask for it… and not with budget constraints! we don’t want LaRue to come back now do we? 😉
Kgmohror how are you? great to see you stop by!! Wow.. I didn’t know BG wrote a memoir.. After hearing that snippet – I’m not sure I want to read it! A bunch of BG filling in the gaps really.. and it’s in print and she can’t go back and edit it! KJ told no one about her Breast Cancer.. so BG filled in the gaps because she wasn’t happy with KJ. for whatever reason.. I won’t go off about it – I am happy you shared that with us-all good! It’s very interesting.. at the same time.. her comments make me cranky! and I naturally want to defend KJ… soooo I’ll just move on! her opinion is her opinion 🙂
Thanks LASinLA about the info on the Amalgamation of the two cereal brands! Fascinating!!! I think things were slightly different back then.. now it’s insane!
Jenbo- Hand Model? Haaa! I guess those who love BB’s hands will notice the difference.. or not care and just enjoy! haaa! tee heee..
agreed Jenbo- I didn’t enjoy the Lee/Francine banter.. though I did like what it showed about Lee .. I find this episode starts off a bit slow – again like OOADP did.. but.. it gets very goooooooood! eventually!
ROFL Jenbo! I’m with you!! this insert ‘mother’ into every sentence is irritating!!!
You’re right..Dotty does get a raw deal sometimes! Hey you know what- Amanda treats Dotty the way the agency treats Amanda haaaa! LOL!!! though one is work.. and one is family! but.. I am looking forward to seeing how Amanda and her mother’s relationship changes as we progress..
As always – I’ve enjoyed hearing your thoughts everyone! ready for the next scene?? 😉
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In the interest of fair and balanced reporting, I was reading Beverly Garland’s iamb entry today and it lists both Kate Jackson and Martha Smith as her “very good friends.” (No mention of BB at all, oddly enough). So who really knows? Celebrity memoirs do tend to skew to the sensational. Anyway, just wanted to add that nugget of info -like you, I’d hate to think there was friction on the set, a’la Remington Steele or Moonlighting.
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Awh! that’s very kind of you kgmohror! I didn’t know there was friction on the set of RS.. If you get over to Neds sometime.. I’d be interested to hear more.. all news to me!
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I just watched SOS and the Cracklin’ Critters are in the grocery store scene. Interestingly enough, there are recognizable name brands on the shelves behind — Crispix, Product 19 (which I don’t see anymore, but remember eating in the 80’s), and Chex. There are also, however, many boxes that are turned backside-out on the shelf. Too funny!
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I agree that her work schedule is probably odd, but I do think she must have some regular hours. Since she apparently does typing regularly for them (implied in Spiderweb), she must have regular hours.
I think Billy appreciates Amanda in ways others don’t right now. I do believe he wants to use her more, but may be constrained by budget issues (which have been hinted at more than once).
I believe Dotty is one of those mothers who is always telling you what to do/say. They do it out of love, but they can drive you to distraction. 🙂 I had a good friend in high school who had one of those.
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Budget issues, or maybe The Agency was a trend-setter in the way many workplaces are now… workers just serial numbers, and since Amanda wasn’t even an agent (though eminently capable) she was nobody… –> lucky to get whatever she got. :p
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*mumbles under breathe embarrassed*, I still tell my 30-something to not text while driving every time she leaves…..*red shamed face*
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I think ‘assertive’ is a better word choice. Maybe BG messed up during filming and the powers that be decided ‘aggressive’ was close enough. I found it hilarious that while Dotty was exhorting Amanda to be more aggressive (assertive), Amanda was very passive and resigned with her responses towards Dotty. Guess she’ll practise being assertive later. 😉
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In Beverly Garland’s memoirs, she relates (well, complains) that at a certain point, they started enforcing a strict “stick to the script” policy – to the extent that if an actor inserted even a “the” or “an” or some other innocuous word, they’d get called on it. This episode must have occurred before that change. I got the impression that Ms. Garland attributed this to KJ trying to rewrite the scripts in rehearsals. Anyway, Beverly found it irksome, because she felt it detracted from a natural delivery of lines.
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Sounds like you’ve read her memoir, kgmohror. Would you recommend it?
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To be honest, I only read the bits about SMK and Remington Steele, which were available in preview on Amazon. The book itself is out of print, so only available for something like $25 used. Must be considered a collector’s item!
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In the bits I read, she came across as much fonder of BB (he lists her as a mentor on his imdb page) than of KJ. She even insinuates that KJ faked her cancer “scare” to get out of the series. Since I believe Ms Jackson subsequently had a mastectomy, that seems unlikely.
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No way! (about the cancer “scare”) Guess there was no love lost between BG and KJ. Makes me think these two were both VERY good actors.
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Well, she did say KJ was very hard working and passionate about her craft. I think Bev was more protective of Bruce than really hostile toward KJ. She related that Kate used to come into rehearsal and “steal” BB’s lines, and good old easy-going Bruce would just grit his teeth and say, “Yeah, all right.” She described Bruce as a “very, very bright young man.” My guess is he treated her with respect as someone who had a LONG career in Hollywood and was someone he could learn from. His own long and diverse career certainly bears that out.
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Very true! I wonder if he didn’t defer to KJ since she was already a “star” from Charlie’s Angels and he hadn’t yet reached that point? Should we take this over to Ned’s or are we done with it?
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I think that’s the whole story.
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Sorry to run off track.
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Two thoughts. Maybe after all that work that Amanda has done to focus on her professional life and persona, there are still doubts and pressures and here they are coming from her mother. She has had affirmation from Lee, but her mother wants her to be more and ask for more and expect more… does that make Amanda continue to doubt herself too, and maybe ask herself why she continues this work wit the Agency?
Second… maybe this episode is an earlier one, maybe they put the mention of the haircut in the script to explain or introduce the new do (don’t). Maybe they cut it because they decided to air it later? I can grasp at straws, right?
As far as living on a variable income and work schedule. That is how we live. My husband is self employed and we do not have a fixed income. Sometimes it is great and he has to work crazy hours and sometimes it is kind of lean and you never know from one day to the next. Yes it makes planning and budgeting difficult. But I think my husband does it because he likes the variableness, it is never the same old, same old. Maybe Amanda likes the job (and the people she works with, ah hem) so much she doesn’t want to change for something more dependable (she had dependable with bookends)?
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From the perspective of a middle-aged woman who lives with her mother, I have to say that the relationship between Amanda and Dotty works remarkably well. I would expect there to be some friction with Dotty still wanting to “mom” Amanda, and some differences in how they might handle the boys (grandmas are notoriously easier on young ‘uns than their parents). All in all, they seem very compatible.
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Yes, Amanda does seem to really value her mother’s opinion about a great many things. She seems to not let any of her mother’s quirks or mothering of her bother her. I’m guessing Dotty was Amanda’s rock throughout the divorce and helped her through – they are very close.
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I agree. Amanda and Dotty do seem very close. Makes me wonder how long before her divorce did her father die? If it was fairly recent, some of their closeness may come from the fact they leaned on each other heavily during that time.
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Check this out! Maybe the first one was in Virginia in 1984? 😉 http://www.goofygolffwb.com/ Too bad there are no pics of SMK from DOA – they must not be fans. 😦
Ok – how old is Amanda? Does she still need her mother to tell her to eat her breakfast?
LOL – Alexis is borrowing Amanda’s clothes! I guess it’s only fair since Amanda stole her hair don’t.
I agree iwsod, I don’t think the Agency appreciates Amanda’s sacrifices. They’ll take all they can get and then some! Besides, Billy is the only one who can partially relate!
I do think Amanda’s work schedule is somewhat odd. But it does seem like perhaps she has some regular core hours – don’t we see her do some desk work in some prior episodes? I wonder if she’s made a lot of overtime from earlier cases – and got a bigger than usual paycheck for going to Europe a couple of times earlier and the money is starting to run out? Come to think of it, she should qualify for a lot of hazard pay working with Lee and all the sticky situations they’ve been in!
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I guess I just assumed Amanda works some set number of hours a week (e.g., 20 hrs), doing filing, typing, etc. when she’s not on a case with Lee. It’s apparent from the opening of this episode that Lee still works alone to some extent, so while he’s out keeping the world safe for democracy, Amanda is back at the office in the secretarial pool.
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It never bothered me when I first watched the show, how Amanda was used by the Agency but now it bothers me big time. Expecially if I think who it will be, that finally makes her the offer of a full time job. (But this is real life, I guess, workwise one should never trust the judgement of people one has become close to, for some reason (because nobody likes change?) people close to you tend to hold you back to where you currently are).
I do like Billy, but if I think to much about this issue I can not like his behaviour one bit.
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I used to work casual for our city at the local RCMP detachment and the hours thing actually makes a lot of sense. I never had set hours. Sometimes they needed me a lot, sometimes they didn’t. I didn’t even know week to week whether I’d be at RCMP or at a different city office. For three weeks I had 8 hour days five days a week. Then I was basically filling in for people who were sick. Eventually they start hiring people full time, but I left and switched jobs before that happened.
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