Amanda fiiinally hangs up on Dotty.. The tension Amanda is feeling here is IMHO palpable. She wants to focus on the case – maybe more specifically she wants to focus on helping Billy.. It feels to me like there is a storm a’brewin between Amanda and Dotty..
Lee, while not happy to be kept waiting by Dotty’s nagging, deals with it quite well.. [Especially given he is a little frustrated because he can’t find Zorbel- old Lee would have taken that out on Amanda!!]
Amanda: Was he up there?
Lee: No! Just a sales office. You didn’t see him and the elevator didn’t stop on the way down.
Amanda: Maybe he went down the stairs.
Lee: Well then he’s still up there somewhere.
Amanda: Thirty-nine floors. (I guess that’s 39 plus the penthouse yes?)
Lee: I’ll bet that sales woman and the penthouse were just a front. Maybe we can find a connection there.
Ding! out Zorbel comes from the elevator.. pausing to check his watch (whooo another reference to time/clocks/watches.. what does it mean?!) and let Amanda have a good look.. haaa..
Amanda reacts to his arrival, and quickly grabs Lee to prevent him turning around to look. haaaa [Nice excuse Amanda! 
Especially since she points like Lee should turn around and look! haaaaa]
Amanda: Oh, Lee!
Lee: What?
This pic is begging for a meme!
Amanda: Shhh!
Zorbels walks away..
Amanda: Okay, come on. We’ll lose him.
Whahahaa.. she is totally enthused and on the case.. Amanda rushes to follow Zorbel but Lee stops her..
Lee: Now wait, wait. Easy, easy! He’s probably just heading back to the bank.
Amanda: Right.
Lee: Now I’m going to take a look at his apartment.
Amanda: Okay.
Lee: You grab a cab.
Amanda: Ohhhh!!! [she’s not impressed- and Lee knew she would
n’t be!]
Lee: Get on back to the agency. You take my computer key card and you start tracking down who owns this building….ahhh, leases, parent companies, subsidiaries –
[Lee gives Amanda his key card?.. such trust!]
Amanda: You know, this is what always happens.
Lee: wha-
Amanda: -I always have to go back to the agency.
[Love it.. Amanda really wants things to progress.. she’s really not happy with the old way of doing things!]
Lee: We’ve got to divide the work.
[I think Lee is being realistic here.. it’s not about holding Amanda back for him.. Amanda has her strengths.. and weaknesses!]
Amanda: I agree with you, let’s divide the work load. You follow the paper trail…
…and I’ll follow Zorbel.
Lee looks at Amanda with a little smile for a moment..
and then responds: You think you can break into Zorbel’s place?
[lol!! I love that Lee is not fazed by this conversation. Check out the body language – he is totally challenging her.. I think it’s a bit flirty!!! what do you think? ]
I think he finds it kinda amusing that Amanda is so enthused.
Interesting that at first he put it to her that it was dividing the workload- I think Lee wanted to avoid confronting Amanda with this truth- she can’t do this! I wonder if this is a little bit of Amanda learning to find her way in the spy biz.. now she is being taken more seriously (by almost everyone except Francine) she might grapple with how she is going to do this and find her place you know?? I mean other than being Lee’s partner.. what are her strengths? where can she contribute the most? it is only natural she would test these sorts of things out. ]
Amanda answers: No.
Love Lee’s smile here.. He is very patient with Amanda here..
Lee: Well?
Amanda: Call me a cab.
Lee: You’re a cab.
Love how Amanda has already started turning away from Lee to call herself a cab…
when she responds: (deadpan): Thank you.
(Amanda knows she’s beaten! and walks off to find her cab! 
)
ha haaaa! She kinda deserved that one! I’m glad Lee got a punch line!!! Anyone not love this line??!!
Great delivery by KJ and BB here!!
And what classic movie was it from? I don’t remember- anyone??
I love how Lee watches Amanda leave with a smile.. tee hee..
Amanda arrives back at IFF, and ugh.. runs into Francine storming down the hall..
Uh oh.. Amanda is walking like she has a purpose.. well that just won’t do!! Francine doesn’t think Amanda has any purpose!
Amanda doesn’t even look at Francine.. why did Amanda go in there? why didn’t she just go up to the Q Bureau??!! Was she headed to the magical ‘operations’ section?? You would think she would have tried to avoid Francine. When was the last time we saw the Q bureau? did we see it in Sour Grapes? nope.. Utopia Now? nope.. and this ep?? well.. so far.. nope!
Francine: You’re back?
Amanda keeps walking down the hall and Francine struggles to keep up with her.
Amanda: Just passing through Francine.
Francine: So I’ve always thought.
Whahahahahah You are sooooo nasty Francine.. –but.. that’s a fabulous knock down -kapow!!!!
Poor Amanda!! but she can cope with Francine..
I think it’s so fabulous that Francine thinks she is soooo important and has all the power.. and Amanda is a little nothing – but in reality – Amanda is the one who is truly ‘In the know’ here- haaaaa suffer Francine!!! Francine knows something is up.. but I don’t think she knows exactly what’s going on with Billy. I want to see her face when she finds out!!!! [reminds me of Remembrance of things past when Francine found out that Lee wasn’t really dead and Amanda had known all along..]
Francine should know from that – that Amanda didn’t give away her secrets.. but..then.. underestimating Amanda is a hard habit to break
Amanda has no patience for Francine here.. ( yipppeeee)
Francine, finished with insulting Amanda, she expects Amanda to answer her question- ha!: Listen, have you seen Lee? I haven’t seen him all morning.
[anyone else love that Francine asks Amanda where Lee is??!!!! In a sense it’s an acknowledgement.. whether she likes it or not – that Lee and Amanda are close]
Amanda: Francine, I can honestly say that at this moment I do not know precisely where Lee is. [that’s the 100% honest to goodness truth! ]
Francine: Amanda?
Amanda: Honestly.
[Amanda is being nagged today huh! by Dotty and by Francine!!]
Francine: Amanda?
Amanda: Honestly.
[whahahahaa KJ’s delivery here is fabulous!!]
Francine: Listen to me,…
…I have debriefed seven of the KGB’s top men, alright?…
…The cleverest liars on the face of this earth…
…I can tell when somebody is speaking the truth from a mile away.
Yeah but she didn’t crack Rollo! Ewwwww.. Oh and Francine has forgotten how Mrs Welch completely deceived her! (and Amanda saved her ) ..… Francine gets KGB agents.. but she doesn’t get idiots, housewives and Amanda!
Amanda: Francine,..
…do I look like a clever liar?..
[Hooray for Amanda!!! what a brilliant tactic!!!! Francine you can’t be giving me any credit can you?!!!]
(Francine gives her a look up and down)
Amanda starts walking away as she finishes adding: …Then you should be able to tell I’m telling the truth.
[and she was! Literally.. but.. well.. she wasn’t being completely truthful!]
Love how Amanda doesn’t wait for Francine to respond. She just walks off and leaves her.
I love that this time – Amanda leaves Francine catching flies
I think deep down Francine knows Amanda knows something she doesn’t – but she just can’t bring herself to admit it to herself – or Amanda!!!! whahahaaha!!
Francine lets out a big sigh like – ughhh!!!! that woman!!! 
Suffer Francine!!
Okay all- I’m going to stop here..Three great punchlines in this section!!
Lee and Amanda are so cute together! Even when they are disagreeing/fighting.. it’s clear they are just really enjoying each other – even when they are fighting!!!! That work and personal combination between them is a lot of fun for both the characters right now..
And I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the Amanda/Francine fight here too – whoo Amanda’s getting fiesty!! Go Amanda! Challenging Lee, clashing a little with Dotty and definitely defying Francine I’m liking this!! Any thoughts you’d like to share about this episode so far?? byee for now!!
"Just walk with me.." 
Love Lee and Amanda’s interaction here, they’re so adorable and Lee is beyond swoonworthy thud! And go Amanda! Her complete exasperation and ready comeback to Francine is awesome 🙂
Oh boy, ‘like’ buttons!! Yeah!
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When I watch the scene with Amanda and Dotty on the phone, I also get the sense that Amanda really doesn’t want to be having that conversation about Jamie’s play in front of Lee. She sees that Lee does not want to be kept waiting. I think Amanda wants to focus on work alone now that Lee is back with her. She wants to be a good, professional agent, and maybe she’s a little concerned that Lee might go back to his old way of thinking about her if he catches her checking in with her mother too often. I don’t see anything wrong with it or think it’s a big deal at all, but for Lee who has no kids, Amanda may think it’s may be a bigger deal. So I think the tension Amanda is feeling is not because of Dotty, but because she got caught talking to Dotty about her son’s school play while she was supposed to be watching for Zorbel. I’m glad Lee doesn’t accuse her of not paying attention – good on you, Lee! I think that also sends a small message to Amanda.
Haaa, love all the touching as Amanda pulls Lee out of the way. And love how Lee just lets her do it. So close and comfortable with each other are these two!
Yes, I love Amanda’s pointing out how Amanda always does the office work while Lee gets to do the “spy stuff”. But Lee is so right, she is not equipped yet to do this type of spy stuff. Good for Amanda for speaking up, but also for realizing she’d be in over her head. Love the look Lee gives her though right after she asks. Too cute. He is toying with her and she knows it! I’m in the loving the call me a cab line! It’s one of my favorite moments of the season 3.
Love Francine’s passing through line here too! She is too funny! It’s not very nice, but it makes me laugh. It’s just too ironic that Francine has no idea just how much Amanda knows and doesn’t know. And I don’t think that Francine has much of a clue about just how close Lee and Amanda are getting and how much trust there is between the two of them.
Oh gawd….you had to bring up that Rollo creep, didn’t you, iwsod!! Where’s the brain bleach!!
I love that Francine realizes Amanda just bested her! LOL!! Take that! Now who’s just passing through now??? Francine is still trying to figure out what the heck just happened. Sort of like Dr. Glaser in the damn duck episode. And Amanda didn’t even have to ramble – it only took a one liner!
Amanda is really starting to come into her own. She is learning new things, allowed to do small assignments on her own, and has earned some trust and respect from Lee and Billy. Maybe even a tiny bit from Francine, albeit fleetingly and grudgingly. I think Amanda is starting to feel confident and really enjoy her work in a way she has never before. She’s making real contributions and is taken seriously. And in her personal life, things are looking good too – she and Lee are friends and are becoming pretty close. She all but told him that she has feelings for him in the tag of UN, and he didn’t go running away. Life is pretty good for her right now.
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Yeah, Rollo was a creep but a likeable creep in his own way. The actor who played the role actually did a really good job and put some thought into it I think. I always appreciate a good performance even if the character is icky.
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Actually, I’m not sure what’s creepier…Rollo, or the fact that Francine had to do what she did. Or that Billy asked her to. Blech! Let’s just say that I fast forward through that scene. Every. Time.
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Nice point, BJo. I like the idea of Amanda doing a little professional self-admonishment about how it looks to be caught on the phone talking to family (and it’s not a cell — Amanda had to have initiated the call!) when one had a job to do. She is starting to appreciate the position Lee has had all along, that this is not a job for an amateur, and that there are professional standards. We’re definitely starting to see a meeting of the minds here between Lee and Amanda.
Lee’s expressions and demeanor in their “argument” here reminds me of his look at her when she wants to read the manuscript in Double Agent — his amusement and affection is written all over his face.
And I’ll randomly throw in that I do love Francine’s zinger about Amanda just passing through — I laugh every time!
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I quite like Francine’s outfit here, aside form the blingy brooche. Typical puffy 80’s blouse and high waisted pants, but nice muted colours and quite elegant compared with some of her fashion felonies this season.
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Hiya,
I was looking up the script and it is different, both for the scene with Lee and also with Francine. There is also no “call me a cab” line in the script. For both scences I find the filmed version much better. Actually the “call me a cab” moment is one of my favorite funny lines, ever. I wonder who’s idea it was.
AMANDA
Same old story . Go back to the
Agency, Amanda.
LEE
We’ve got to devide the workload.
Think you can break into Zorbel’s
place?
ANANDA
(beat)
You’ve got a point.
(beat)
This time.
Back at the Agency:
As Amanda enters; running right into Francine. Amanda
tries to duck out of the way, but Francine spots her.
FRANCINE
(challenge)
You ‘ re back…
(beat)
But you’re probably just who I’m
looking for.
AMANDA
Somehow I doubt that, Francine.
FRANCINE
You know what they say…’where
there’s smoke, there is Fire .’I
specifically asked Lee to stay
close .
AMANDA
Smoke? Fire? Which one am I?
FRANCINE
(stern)
Where is he?
AMANDA
Lee?
FRANCINE
Stow it, Amanda . I want answers.
Don’t forget ,I’m in charge of
Investigations.
AMANDA
Then you ought to know.
FRANCINE
Know what?
AMANDA
Where Lee is.
Amanda steps off leaving Francine burning.
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Thanks for sharing MarA!!!!
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Thanks MarA. The filmed versions of both those scenes are soooooo much better!
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Agree. The scripted versions are pretty bland. Good for KJ!
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I love these exchanges. The call me a cab is so funny. But I love it that Amanda accepts her role and that Lee is actually dividing the work up along logical lines based on their strengths. Maybe Amanda is responding a bit out of her old defenses. She says this is what always happens, I have to go back to the Agency. It wasn’t that long ago that Lee was telling her to go home. But now, he has brought her along and accepted that on this me assignment it would be much nicer having Amanda along, and now he is giving her part of the job to do. I do think he is being genuine there, and I think Amanda realizes it after a beat. I do love that smile he has on his face as she walks away. He is smitten, I think, he finds her cute and he has a true affection for who she is and how she responds even on the job. He isn’t shaking his head here, he is taking her in and enjoying it.
Amanda sure is taking Francine on here. I know she is deflecting her, but she isn’t running for cover or making a fool of herself with silly babble. That was a mind to mind exchange. They seem very much like equals when I watch this. I know Francine is the acting boss, but like you pointed out, Iwsod, Amanda is the one of the two of them that knows what is going on and is a part of the investigation.
Amanda must feel like she is on the edge or at a crux point in each important point of her life right now. With her mom, professionally as highlighted by these interactions with Francine, and relationally with Lee which encompasses both her heart and her professional life. Plus, her boss is missing.
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Like this, Morley. A lot. Actually, I think our comments are similar. Except you said it much better!
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There’s just so much to like with Lee and Amanda in these episodes. I’ll say it again, it’s Grant and Hepburn-esque. And it’s so good that Lee isn’t leaving her out making sure to divide up the work. He is just patiently waiting for Amanda to realize that she won’t be able to handle the breaking in aspect of this case. And once Amanda gets it she moves on. So awesome these two.
Did Francine honestly think her little tirade was going to work? Francine was also kept out of the loop in Burn Out and tried to say something about it to Billy and he shut her down. It’s funny, back in SBTB (I think), even though Francine was in the know she still had to go to Amanda to see if she knew where Lee might be. Didn’t she begrudgingly admit that she knew that Amanda might hear from Lee before anyone else? Maybe I’m mixing something up there. I love how Amanda plays it here. Let the zinger go and hit the ground running. Francine never knew what hit her. That should be a warning to Francine not to push Amanda too far.
I’m amazed that things between Amanda and Dotty haven’t come to a head sooner. Amanda has kept some weird hours and given some strange explanations, with Dotty seeming to accept them all. I can only imagine how quickly my mother and I would have had it out. What episode was it where Amanda got blamed by Dotty and the kids for something that happened at home. Amanda wasn’t in on the family meeting. My brain is tired.
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I’ve always harbored a strange fantasy that Amanda is not the first spy in her family and that by now Dotty knows full well what’s going in with her. Dotty just doesn’t think that Amanda has a need to know that. 😉
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PS. Maybe that means that none of Amanda’s dreams in DOA were too far from the truth? Hmmm…
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Yes, I definitely think Dotty has long since figured out that Amanda is not in the film business, and probably suspects the type of business she is in. It must be hard for Dotty when she gets left with the boys’ care at the drop of a hat – she is pretty accommodating but I think there are times like this when Dotty probably wants Amanda to come clean and let her know what on earth she is doing that takes her away from her family so much and at odd times.
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Very interesting!!!
I’ve had a little theory for a while that Dotty’s mother, Amanda’s grandmother was a spy – there are a few times where Dotty hints that Amanda is just like her 😉 though Dotty can’t quite understand why that might be 😉
Yeah I’m thinking at this point Dotty isn’t buy it anymore.. but what’s she going to put it down to?
What other explanations could there be??
Hmm.. it’s not bud marcher or an affair..
I’d love for Dotty to figure it out but I think I will say that her conscious mind cannot accept it – so it doesn’t matter what Dotty experiences, sees or hears she will never figure out Amanda is a spy!
Now, her unconscious mind?? hmm.. maybe the knowledge is in there somewhere!! 🙂
I think the giveaway was when Amanda left IFF the film company to go work for a security company installing security – what would Amanda know about that?! lol..
They hire secretaries to do that do that?? hmm???!!
And then.. to top it all off – her boss gets topped off!!!
Dotty has got to wonder what the heck Amanda is involved in.. whaahahaah.. But like I said – she just can’t cope that that chain of thought – anything but that!! [why I don’t know- because it seems too unrealistic?? I don’t know!]
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Iwsod, I like your theory about Amanda’s grandmother having been a spy!
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I’m glad you brought up those times in past episodes where Amanda was in the know and Francine was in the dark. This here is just another one of those times, but now, Amanda doesn’t care that Francine doesn’t know. In fact, on her own she makes a lie of omission to keep her there. She’s definitely a more mature “civilian auxiliary” employee 😉
Yeah, I’ve often wondered how Dotty never really seemed to question Amanda and her work hours. I always chalked it up to Dotty being sort of a clueless without much common sense. That and Amanda had a pretty good cover story when she was a dog walker/pet sitter/plant waterer. It gave her an excuse to be on call all the time. The episode you’re talking about is the damn duck episode (ITCK), I believe. Dr. Bain fell and broke his foot on one Phillip’s skateboards because it was fixed because Dean had time to fix it because Amanda was at work (Lee’s bedside bluebell). Is that the one?
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Love this scene – I have a feeling BB & KJ had some input into the dialogue here. I must check the script but no time now to do that – later….
Oh, and if anyone (KC, hint hint) wants to make a naughty meme, the pic under “You grab a cab” is screaming out for one. Next stop… gutter. 😉
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Of course I immediately had to go take a look. there are a couple there where it looks like his hand is somewhere.. but.. it isn’t!!
with that line of dialogue though it gives it a whole new meaning 😉 I’m still trying to forget the Lee in his light blue dress pants getting err searched by Bracken in Burn out.. gah!!!
Kiwismh I think you should take up Memes! Sounds like you think in pictures too 😉 and I love your nark! 🙂
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Would love to have more time to think about memes but sadly a 7-day a week job, house renovations, and 3 cats suck up most of my waking hours. 🐱
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The “call me a cab” schtick is from “Singin’ In the Rain”, spoken by Gene Kelly and Donald O’Connor.
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This is one of my favourite moments in the whole series. Thanks Valerie for the origin – I looked it up and the whole quote is:
Don Lockwood: Cosmo, call me a cab.
Cosmo Brown: OK, you’re a cab.
I think the slight modification they use in SMK is better. And it’s all about the timing. And the deadpan’ness. It’s one of those lines you can’t reproduce (I know – I’ve tried to explain to someone how funny this is.
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I love it too.. it’s very much like a lot of the clean gags in airplane!/Flying High – word puns galore.. love t!!!
Thanks the detail learjet!
I like to think it’s funny because of where Lee and Amanda are at now – this is cheeky fun.. and I love to see this between these two 🙂
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Just when I thought Lee couldn’t get any more swoony……
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Thanks Valerie!!!!
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Does anyone have access to the script for this episode? I’m curious about whether the “call me a cab” dialog was scripted or if BB and KJ were ad libbing. Either way, I love this little exchange.
Poor Amanda. Between Dotty and Francine she just can’t catch a break. Clearly her patience is wearing thin with both of them. More indications of the work/home juggling act that she’s doing. Interesting though that the men around her (Lee, Billy) are being generally supportive but it’s the women (Dotty, Francine) who are creating the stress for her. (The female work/home dynamic is currently a big issue for me at work right now, so please forgive me if I seem to fixate on it in this episode.)
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2Goldens – about scripts – if you look on the right side of the blog in the Blog roll, you can see the link to Petra’s SMK-land. This web-site has scripts for most episodes which you can see if you sign up. It’s a great web-site for SMK ‘resources’ 😉
(I hear you on the female work/home dynamic!)
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Thanks for the tip, learjet5! 🙂
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