Time for a bit of Murder between Friends!
LOL..
I currently have a love hate relationship with this episode because I’ve been transcribing this episode for ohhh about two years for Operation Sandstorm! It’s a great feeling when it is done.. but with writing the blog too, it was all a bit much.. I won’t be transcribing another for a while! Though I suspect that after we’ve walked through the episode I’ll be plain loving it again! 🙂
This episode opens at Amanda’s –the Pitt family are running past as usual! I’m starting to suspect they are Russians.. 
Dotty is calling out ingredients to Amanda.. seems they are in the kitchen making a shopping list.
Dotty: We need Eggs, Milk, Butter, Bread ah-
The boys come rushing into the kitchen interrupting.
Jamie (at the same time) : Hi Mom.
Phillip: are you gonna mix everything into goop again?
Amanda: I thought you liked that goop!
[Are we suppose to know what this goop is?]
Jamie: it looked funny.
Amanda: What???
Dotty laughs: you’re too young to be a food critic!
ROFL- Love those Dotty pronouncements!
whooo there’s another Cracklin Critters sighting!! You guys notice the conspicuous packet on top of the refrigerator? Also in ship of spies and in DOA-[ in DOA LASinLA explained this is a melange of the Crispy Critters and Cracklin Oat Bran brands.. cool!]
Jamie: Hey Mom, can we get a wizard whopper?
Dotty: A what?
Phillip: It’s the neatest! It’s magic!
Jamie: and you can’t whop wizards without one.
[Harry Potter didn’t have one!]
Was there a well known wizard doing the rounds in 1985? anyone?
Amanda: Sweetheart, a wizard whopper is pretty expensive.
Phillip whines (yes whines): but everyone else has one.
Amanda: well you don’t want to be like everybody else do you?
Jamie and Phillip together: yeah!!!
drat.. that one doesn’t work anymore Amanda! Love how Dotty rolls her eyes in response to Phillip and Jamie here! 
Amanda: ohhh hhaaa.. I’ll think about it.
Jamie and Phillip: Yeah!!
Amanda: Okay! Outside and be careful!
The boys head outside.. and Amanda continues with checking her shopping list and her coupons. Ahh this is a nice throwback to this line in Spiderweb of Francine’s: It’s what I’ve suspected of her all along, the woman is a coupon clipper! She’s bargain shopping at a furious rate.
I like it when they have continuity! Dotty is pouring a tea for herself and Amanda.. clearly the tone here is one of financial stress!
Dotty: Do we have a wizard whopper coupon in there?
Amanda: Mother.
Dotty: What?
Amanda: you know what, it really is frustrating. I work and I work, and I don’t know where the money goes!
At this, we have a one shot of Amanda.. and can finally check out the hideous shirt she is wearing.. I can tell ya Amanda.. your money is not going on clothes I would wear! Gah! Please don’t leave the house in that outfit!! There must have been a coupon for ‘ugliest shirt ever’ when she bought that shirt!!
Dotty: Amanda, let me tell you something. You have been with IFF quiet some time. I think you ought to ask for a raise. You deserve it.
[There has been some wonderful lead up to this whole situation.. I love how this whole issue of Amanda, employment and money doesn’t just come up out of the blue- it underlines for me that the writers were really wanting this to come to a head in a significant way]
Amanda: You know what? I have an appointment with Mr Melrose this morning. I think I will ask him for a raise, I think you’re right.
Someone commented in Burn Out comments of how Dotty heard Mr Melrose’s name in that ep- seems she hears it again! I’m not familiar with what is ahead: but for now, Dotty seems to know Amanda’s boss is Mr Melrose.
BTW- Amanda already had an appointment with Mr Melrose? what was that appointment going to be about? [rhetorical question!]
hmm we’ll see..
Dotty: Of course I’m right, I’m your mother!
LOL Dotty does say this tongue in cheek I love how Amanda just responds with a chuckle.. does this line of Dotty’s remind anyone else of the Mother of the year contest? Dotty should have been nominated!
On to IFF. Uh oh.. well this ain’t good!
In the bullpen, a crowd of unknown people are standing with their hands raised, being held at gunpoint.
Billy is in his office, guarded by a gunman. [who is probably patiently waiting for Lee to come beat him up!]
In the IFF hallway, we see many military personnel, held at gunpoint by another g
unman.
But wait! Here’s Mr gorgeous Black jumpsuit! Lee and Francine are armed with guns. Lets see if this jumpsuit squeaks! It’s just so good that Lee had time to change out of his suit before the place was taken hostage- what luck!
Lee whispers: synchronise your watch. We have to be dead on.
Lee quietly: twelve straight up? Mark!
Francine: we have thirty seconds to neutralise the hallway.
Lee: alright, once we hit the bullpen we’ve got 4 seconds to get Billy.
Francine: if he’s still alive.
Lee: yeah.
Oh noooo this is all so horrible and scary!!! the agency is under siege?!!! Only Lee and Francine can save the 
day!!! ahem.. 😉
They wait a moment, check around the corner, and see the bullpen being held up by the gunman.. bing! We hear the elevator arrive..
Then Lee says to Francine: now!
Lee and Francine rush into the hallway just as Amanda exits the elevator to find she is being held up by a gunman! Love how she quickly turns and tries to get 
back in but the elevator door closes too quickly! Lee and Francine see this. Amanda stands still with her arms up. [LOL Amanda is a fabulous distraction! ]
Then, Lee quietly grabs the gunman who is holding up Amanda from behind quietly making him unconscious.
ROFL that really does look fake! haaaaa.. [sooo does Lee really knock him out? or is that pretend?] Lee rushes over to Amanda, who by now is frantically pressing the elevator button to get out of there! ROFL She is too funny!!!
I can’t help but think.. putting Amanda through all this??
She really does deserve a raise!
He grabs her, and brings her along with him. Amanda explains the elevator button to Lee: Broken!!!
Lee crouches along with Francine and Amanda next to the bullpen, readying themselves to storm it. Time to tackle the bullpen and get to Billy now the hallway guard has been taken out- err are all those people in the hallway cut outs? or real people? cos they are so motionless and quiet it is just weird! I guess they didn’t move so the baddie in the bullpen wouldn’t know there was help coming?(but he has his back to them?!) I don’t know..but it is funny seeing everyone still standing there with their hands up now the guard is gone! haaa..
Francine: we only have 20 seconds!
Amanda: guns?
Francine: where’s the target?
Lee gets out a folding mirror, holds it up to sneak a look at his hair.. no no!! I mean at the bullpen.
Lee: five degrees right of the computer terminal. [5 degrees? oh purlease!] We go in five.
Amanda: what do I do?
(Lee counts looking at his watch. Not answering)
Amanda concludes to herself that she does: …Nothing!
Lee : Now!
Lee and Francine storm the bullpen, Francine takes out the gunman, while Lee heads straight for Billy’s office. Literally!
He dives, crashing through the glass window, landing on the floor in Billy’s office with a roll. At the same time, Billy grabs the gun off the gunman guarding him, who had been taken by surprise by Lee.
Taking cover behind a chair, Lee aims and shoots the gunman, hitting him.
Billy rises not looking worried: Okay! We’ll do it again tomorrow.
Next time, try to come through the door!
Knowing this is all a big set up this all seems a tad clunky but oh well.. smk gave it a good go..
Lee puts his gun away: I thought it was a nice touch! You said you wanted realism.
Realism? rofl!!! too funny.. Lee just broke some guy’s neck out in the hallway and shot someone. I really hope they aren’t going for realism – or tomorrow it should be Lee’s turn to play bad guy Is it just me or is it hilarious that Lee and Francine are the only two people at IFF who are training to deal with a takeover?? I mean those two security guards there in the hallway? they wouldn’t need any training in this would they?
nahh.. they just lay on the floor face down and wait for Lee and Francine to rescue them! That’s the plan!! whahaahaaa!
Francine enters the office.
Billy walks around his desk, past Lee and out into the bullpen, where everyone begins to move again. The baddie who Francine shot comes back to life too. [he has five lives 😉 ]. Everyone begins moving again – it seems everyone knew this was a drill.
Out in the hallway though, Amanda is not getting up and is thoroughly confused. Amanda seems to be the only person who didn’t know it was a drill 
I get this is part of the gag and all – but this is pretty darn mean of the agency to do this to Amanda – she isn’t being paid enough to deal with this stress!!!
Before I finish- here is a meme I created from this part of the episode.. there’s a gif version of it over on Neds. I felt Lee looking in the mirror deserved to be teased!
What do you make of all this?? do tell!!! byeee for now!
"Just walk with me.." 
I’ll start by saying I’m just as gullible as Amanda. I totally fell for this, just like I fell for Lee being a burnout. I’m not proud of it, but I was 14 and thought I had a chance with Lee Stetson. Just more proof that teenage brains are not capable of good judgement. 😉
Now, back to the beginning of the episode. LOL – the Pitts are Russians! Brilliant!
You know, I remember wracking my brain trying to figure out what the heck a wizard whopper was when I first watched this show. Only being 14 when it first aired, I was still young enough to be fairly aware of what was out there in the toy market. But I could never figure out what the heck it was. I always figured it was just a fictional toy. Does anyone out there know any differently? But it bugs me that this is what they came up with. Is it a hammer you can use in a Whack-a-mole version with wizards popping up out of holes? A burger made out of wizard meat? Or the weapon to kill the wizard to make the meat? It’s all so confusing.
I like Dotty’s haircut in this episode. Her hair seems much shorter than in BOut. That shirt on Amanda! It’s like that took that ugly white shirt (from OOADP maybe?) and put little pieces of colored tape all over it. Their wardrobe must have really been on a shoestring budget. It’s the confetti ice cream shirt!
I wonder if this time Amanda made sure she heard about the appointment with Mr. Melrose from said Mr. Melrose himself. Wouldn’t want to have to pretend getting shot to death again now would she?
Looking back on this dialogue here it is so totally cheesy it is hard to watch – thank goodness for the tasty LS eye candy.
I wasn’t that impressed with Lee in his jumpsuit in YODT, but here in this one, I’m totally diggin’ it.
Ok – here’s a question. If this had been real and not a drill, does Lee let Amanda get back on the elevator? Or does his most recent experience in BOut make him take her just in case. She does come in handy and he knows he can trust her.
Love Lee’s entrance into Billy’s office – so real! But I agree, this totally stinks that Billy used Amanda in this way. He could have told Amanda but kept Lee and Francine in the dark, couldn’t he? Grrr. Me no like Billy right about now. Love the meme!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Lee’s automatic response – to grab Amanda and pull her to safety – is significant. My guess is that if it were anyone else, they’d be left to fend for themselves, potential collateral damage. That would be “standard procedure.” But even though this was just a drill, Lee instinctively acted to protect Amanda. I wonder if that will come up in the debrief that must follow such drills?
LikeLike
What you just wrote made me think. Often Lee and Amanda interact on cases alone, away from the eyes of the rest of the Agency. Here the way the work as though they are an extension of one another was there for all too see, even though it was a brief moment. Yes, Lee just moved to her and grabbed her and Amanda just went with it, no questions, no hesitation. They moved as one.
LikeLike
I have this fantasy of Lee and Amanda standing in the middle of the bullpen, holding hands, and Lee proudly proclaiming, “We’re a couple!” – only to have everyone in the room simultaneously respond, “Well, duh!” I don’t think they’re fooling anybody.
LikeLike
Yes! LOL
LikeLike
I have also always thought that the appointment that Amanda mentions with Mr Melrose was made by Billy so that Amanda would arrive at that time and be part of the training mission.
LikeLike
Good thing Amanda has an aversion to guns and wasn’t carrying any whipped cream or hairspray otherwise those ‘baddies’ would be a hurtin’!
LikeLike
Imagine if she did? What would have been the reactions of the people at the Agency. I bet the only one who would have been able to work with her innate reaction would have been Lee. Maybe she should of, maybe then Billy would have put in for that raise for her. And she would have immediately been given training for use of unorthodox weaponry. Maybe she even would have been put in charge of teaching the class and made a full time agent. actually I think there is a fan fic for that too.
LikeLike
“Was there a well known wizard doing the rounds in 1985? anyone?”
Well, the Wizard of Christchurch aka the Wizard of New Zealand got his wizardly start in 1984… but I’m not sure he would have been known outside of Christchurch/New Zealand back then… 😀 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wizard_of_New_Zealand or http://wizard.gen.nz/
“we have thirty seconds to neutralise the hallway.”
How about neutralising the “baddies” in the hallway? I don’t think the hallway itself did anything wrong…!!!… unless it still smells of the bean burrito fiasco (see Swissmiss’ meme at Ned’s if you’re wondering…). Just say “Febreze!”
Love the eyes of the colonel(?)/general(?)/bigwig in the Bullpen doorway who watches them sneak in…
Uh… is it just me, or was it not necessary for Lee to “shoot” the “baddie” in Billy’s office? The rifle stock was in perfect placement for Billy to incapacitate the man with a swift shove… if you get my drift… then again, maybe “baddies” think ahead and wear anti-rifle stock-protection-devices aka cups.
Hey–at least Billy gets a good line in the next segment… 😀
LikeLike
haaa thanks for the link KC! I must say ‘educator, comedian, magician, politician’ is a rather disturbing combination of career 😉 haaaa!
Hmm you think the bean burrito was used as a weapon to neutralize the hallway? 😉 [gas masks! stat!]
oh yes it was completely unnecessary for Lee to ‘shoot’ the baddie.. it was a hugely contrived set up to get the audience’s interest from the moment the episode opens.. Only.. err it’s not the opening scene.. sooo that doesn’t really work! LOL.. and heck.. Lee in Black jumpsuit watching the grass grow? I’m riveted! 🙂
LikeLike
Hah–I didn’t know this until now: he’s apparently the first man in the modern world to be appointed by a government as an Official Wizard. (Appointed by Prime Minister Mike Moore in 1990.)
I love my country!
Hobbitses and official wizards!!!
LikeLike
What exactly does an “Official Wizard” do?
LikeLike
KC, I was going to mention the Wizard of NZ but then thought it might be a bit too obscure. What was I thinking?! We specialise in obscure on this site!
LikeLike
Ah, we’re just helping to edumacate each other… 🙂
LikeLike
Hiya KC! this is the comment of yours that had two links and was held in moderation. It’s the two links.
Let’s see how we go from now on and do let me know if there is any problem and we’ll work it out 🙂
I am trying to make this sentence bold by putting two asterix on either side
playing with the new toy!
bye!
LikeLike
Ohhhhhh…. I was really confused ‘cos my comment that had the first use of the asterisks in it (two instances) also got stuck in moderation and I unstuck it myself. I forgot I’d even posted two links here. I’m so lame. 😀
LikeLike
I love the idea that during a siege Francine and Lee have the time and opportunity to break away and get changed. Most important. As is the the mirror for checking his hair LMAO! Good call with the meme IWSOD.
It’s kinda cute that Lee grabs Amanda and sandwiches her between himself and Francine. Protecting that which is most important to him?? He could have just told her to hide up the corner but drags her across the hall. Considering everyone else is standing in plain view I wonder why….
The whole watch synchronising thing……why? And who runs a drill to that level of precision? Surely the key to a successful rescue is not the time taken but the lack of casualties…….really when you study this “drill” is really is ridiculous.
Anyone else think Amanda’s shirt looks like she’s covered in those little tags that are used to mark important pages or places where signatures are required in legal documents?!
I must actually watch this episode….am dying to listen to see if Lee’s jumpsuit squeaks 😉
LikeLike
“Anyone else think Amanda’s shirt looks like she’s covered in those little tags that are used to mark important pages or places where signatures are required in legal documents?!”
YES! Sign here!!! Ugh… 😀
LikeLike
OMG, yes, Jenbo! I was going to say the same thing about those tags on Amanda’s shirt but didn’t because I didn’t know if they were invented back then. Didn’t they come after the Post-it?
Love the idea of Lee keeping Amanda next to him instead of France cuz she’s more important 🙂 And that you noticed they had time to change in the middle of an office seige! ROFL!
LikeLike
Hi Jenbo, that shirt that Amanda has on reminds me if one I had back in the late 60’s that I called my eyelash shirt……it had all of those different colored pieces of material that had fringe on them….. Amanda’s blouse kind of reminded me of that…..oh how styles change…Thank God the did…it was ugly. And yes, they do look like post it flags.
LikeLike
There’s that Mr. Melrose mention to Dotty again. So funny when this crops up later on. It was after a couple of passes through the seasons that I actually noticed it and it was like an a-ha moment.
I remember first seeing this scene and thinking ‘what is going on now?’ I know they have to be calm under pressure, but Lee and Francine just seemed a bit too relaxed and calm, as if it was just another day at the office. Love how Billy sits there as cool as a cucumber. Also love how Amanda says “guns?” We know how much she doesn’t like them and then to have to come face to face with them, but she is a trooper though.
Lee and Francine are just the best agents ever! They’ve got those one-of-a-kind exceptional skills that allow them to be the only ones who can handle this dire situation.
LikeLike
Maybe this is a specific training exercise for Lee and Francine and of course Lee would need to practice the unaccounted for surprise presence of Amanda in his training since it so often happens in his daily life.
I haven never heard of a Wizard Whopper, but in my imagination I think it must be like that Simon Says thing that you would play with other people. The one that had lights that would light up in an ever increasingly difficult pattern and you had to hit it just like the machine did?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_(game)
LikeLike
Hiya Morley – thanks for the link. Simon says.. never heard of it!
I thought later that maybe the ‘wizard’ was a little nod to the wizard of oz that was thrown in there..
I think Lee at some point tries to give the wizard a whopper..whahahahaa.. we’ll get to that soon! 🙂
[sorry your comment went into moderation Morley.. everyone does if they post a link.. BJo or I get to them asap.. and lucky you I slept in this morning! 😉 ]
LikeLike
Used to love playing with Simon! Thanks for the trip down Memory Lane!
LikeLike
Simon Says was fun, but I liked Merlin much better… (Hey–wizard reference!)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merlin_(game)
LikeLike
And I am also assuming Lee didn’t really take out the ‘baddies’. Although that is one way to reduce staffing (they are facing budget cuts, don’t you know?)
LikeLike
On a roll today aren’t yah Cindy! ROFL!
LikeLike
Oh, and it must be real comforting to everyone else working at the agency that the only person Lee and Francine seem to be taught to make sure they get out alive is Billy.
LikeLike
Apparently, he is the boss (Shh! don’t tell Lee).
LikeLike
Oh my gosh you are cracking me up this morning Cindy!!!! 🙂
The scene is truly ridiculous and deserves everything it gets! 😉 tee heee..
LikeLike
LOL!
LikeLike
So true and so funny,
and when I think about how I really liked this scene, when I first watched the series. Obviously without this discussion I completely dismissed logic while watching. Now I sometimes whatch the random agents doing nothing and never to be seen again in the background at meetings in the agency and can not concentrate on the story anymore….
I can not believed I missed all the fun discussing Burn Out, but I am back from a once in the lifetime amazing trip to Australia and this is the sacrifice I had to make and I will try to catch up. Even though we had a internet dongle with us it was no use most of the time and when it sort of worked sending an email was most of the time the only thing that worked…
LikeLike
Whole think kind of silly. You think at some point after Amanda arrived Lee could have whispered to her it’s just a drill. I know when Lee is in work mode he doesn’t care about much else, but considering there is no actual danger that doesn’t wash.
LikeLike
And I am assuming that since Amanda’s being called in was work related, she’ll get paid for her time and travel. *rolls eyes*
LikeLike
Yeah, and why was Amanda being called into work that morning if there was a drill going on. And even if it was a spur of the moment drill Billy must have know she’d be coming so why not warn her. Hmm, must’ve been need to know.
LikeLike
Maybe I’m giving Billy too much credit, but I always thought he was testing Lee and Francine, injecting a surprise into the middle of the drill to see how they would react. I could say the same thing for Amanda, but I think she is tested enough by real baddies.
LikeLike
That is what I thought too, Melissa.
LikeLike
That’s true Misty! Amanda could have gotten a little pro-active and clocked one of the pretend baddies with her purse for real 😉
rofl! Great point about them only focusing on getting Billy out alive! whahahahaaaaa!!!! Ahhh when you stop and think about it – this opening is just hilarious!!
BTW- Misty hang in there – the next post covers the ‘appointment with Billy’ and what that was 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, Misty…bad Lee!
LikeLike
I know, I know, this whole scenario totally over the top. I remember thinking more than one person should be able to help clear the bad guys, since they were so many people and only a couple of bad guys.
Poor Amanda. Yet, she’s so used to things like this, she takes it like a pro. I bet no one else in the agency spent their first year being kidnapped, shot at, drugged, or confused with a “taller” agent 🙂 … and still a civilian! lol
LikeLike
taller agent? whahahaa I love it!!! A very good point! Amanda is Amazing!!! and Billy doesn’t even think of finding $$ for a raise? epic fail Billy.. oh err oopsie.. that’s in the next post..
LikeLike
So true! Amanda has been through more PTSD-inducing events and should be a raving basket case! But no she carries on as usual and is rewarded by being used as a hostage. At least Billy lives through this… 😉
“taller agent” ROFL!
Great gif/meme Iwsod!
[typo edited by iwsod 🙂 ]
LikeLike
ROFL!! Love your take on scenes in these shows! Keep it up!!
LikeLike
Hi Molly! Wonderful to hear from ya! Hope you are well and great to hear you are enjoying our journey!
Thanks for the encouragement!
Does anyone remember seeing this opening for the first time, and thinking it was for real?? what did you think? I am wondering if after the beginning of the Mole, and Odds on a Dead Pigeon if any of us believed anything that was extremely weird in the first five minutes of the episode haaaa..
bye!
LikeLike
You know, if Lee would stop jumping through plate glass office windows, there would probably be enough in the budget to get Amanda her raise.
Loved your meme, by the way!
LikeLike
That was exactly what I was thinking Cindy. Also, I’ve always wondered why they need to pay two guards to stand all day outside the doors to the bullpen. I think they might just be able to “double” Amanda’s salary on those two savings alone!
LikeLike
Hiya Cindy and kiwismh! Great points!!! and soooo true!!! If Billy had been valuing Amanda more as an employee he could have easily found the money by cutting back on these darn drills! whwhwhaahahaaa..
Yes the guards are rather expensive and well trained doorman aren’t they?! But I’m just relieved they didn’t fire them and make Amanda open doors for people.. you know with that guest pass of hers and everything [hate that flippin guest pass!!!]
Looking forward to hearing what you make of the next part and Billy’s response to Amanda’s request for a raise..
LikeLike
Those guards are useless. I don’t think they were even there when Walt shot up the office in If Thoughts Could Kill. 😛
LikeLike
Maybe that’s why the Agency got them? Blame Walt!
LikeLike