11/15 Season Three, Episode 8: Reach for the Sky-Scarecrow and Mrs King

Lee checks a corridor and finds it clear.
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Lee:  C’mon.
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They start walking down the corridor..
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and a guard appears at the other end readying his gun to shoot!!..
Lee:  Amanda, get back!
3.08 REACH FOR THE SKY.avi_002199199_thumbThey rush back around the corner for cover as the guard shoots at them.

Lee shoots and kills the guard.
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What do you make of Amanda’s facial expressions here??
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Has Amanda seen Lee shoot and kill anyone before? Surely I must be just having a mental blank here.. Is this a first? (ah we started having this discussion with the previous post-feel free to continue it if you wish!)
At this point, Amanda can’t see the guard is dead- though I guess with that many bullets she could guess if the shooting has stopped that the guard is dead..
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The look could be fear because of all the shooting etc. and it could also be a reaction to this in your face experience of Lee taking someone’s life.. This is the reality of being an agent.. and maybe it ties in with the scene in Over the Limit?? where Amanda couldn’t shoot and kill someone??

3.08 REACH FOR THE SKY.avi_002215548_thumbThey even have to walk past the dead guard on their way down the hall.. and they hesitate for a second next to the guard. It seems significant.. [though lol there’s no blood on the guard! tee hee]
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Interesting too that Lee holds Amanda’s hand as they walk past the dead guard.

Lee:  C’mon, Amanda.
Lee arrives at a new door and starts coughing.. hmm guessing this is the room! Smile
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Amanda tries the handle-
Amanda:  Locked.
Lee lines up the door.. and quickly glances at Amanda..
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I guess this is a little look to say you better move?
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Amanda hides behind Lee as he shoots out the door lock. [Swoony!]
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Funny though, when it cuts back to the door – I don’t see any bullet holes whahahaah!! [that might explain why the guard has no blood- this gun doesn’t make holes!! whahahahah!! Winking smile ]
still it’s pretty swoony how Lee protects Amanda.. so I don’t mind one bit!
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In Lee goes.. they collect Billy and get out of that room..lots of coughing going on by everyone..
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Tetra Monoxide coughing!
[Interesting Amanda was left outside on her own? with no gun?? Amanda used a gun in Utopia Now.. Anyone open to the possibility this episode is before Sour Grapes?]
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Out in the hallway now..
Lee:  Billy, are you alright?  Huh?
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whoooo I love how throughout this moment, Amanda so naturally has her hand on Lee’s back – almost comforting him!!!awh!!!
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Billy:  Damn it, Lee.  I told you to stay out of this.
3.08 REACH FOR THE SKY.avi_002256389_thumb[1][rofl.. how’s that for a thank you! whahahahaa.. now you know how Amanda felt those times she saved you and got nothing but attitude haaa]
Lee:  I know.  I know.  Look, Canaan and his cronies are in his office.  Now, can you walk?
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Billy nods.
Only now does Amanda move her hand from Lee’s back.. how sweet, I never (consciouslyWinking smile ) noticed that before Smile
LOL..Billy nods but… no he can’t walk yet!
Lee:  Amanda, help him.
Amanda:  Yeah.
Lee:  Now stay put and out of trouble.
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Amanda:  I think we’ll stay with you.  It’s the best way to stay out of trouble.
[this is a new response.. lol! she has a point! Winking smile such a shame Lee didn’t say stay close, very close.. (guess the ep??!!) me like!! especially with the uniform!]3.08 REACH FOR THE SKY.avi_002269469_thumb[1][whahaha! Good call Amanda! Again Lee doesn’t argue!! Smile ]
Lee:  Alright.
Amanda:  C’mon, sir.
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Lee starts heading down the corridor – cue 3.08 REACH FOR THE SKY.avi_002281481_thumbthe super dramatic music – he kicks open the double doors leading into Canaan’s main office and boardroom.. it’s empty – except for a single Cyclops die left in the middle of the board room table.. [see! another one of those cool/ visually interesting frames- I think the director is in love with that die! Smile ]
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Canaan and his ‘cronies’ (love that word) have left – lol they’ve even taken away Zorbel..
It’s kind of ‘lucky’ for Lee.. because I can’t see them not killing Lee if he came in with one gun.. just bursting in there would have gotten him killed..
Seems to me a rather dangerous thing to do with Billy so out of it – I would have thought they would try to sneak out of there.. it’s almost like Lee knew they wouldn’t be in there and it was commercial break time!! whooo Winking smile tee hee
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Lee holds up the mysterious die –  duh duh duhhhhhhh!! How will they stop mysterious Cyclops?!
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Lee has his eye on Cyclops!!! Winking smile whahahaha Keep an eye out Lee!.. (too many puns?!) you never know where you’ll run into Daisy the neck snapper..(Or as Valerie brilliantly put it the Daisy Dispatch! guys I hope you know.. I don’t know that I would have gotten this far in the walk without you!!! you guys keep me wonderfully motivated!!!)
Hurry up and get out of that magical hidden floor you three!

Okay this post is short and sweet violent haa haaa.. My level of busy has shot up another level.. so thinking smaller posts will keep the walk going – besides I’m guessing there is plenty in this post for us to dissect, discuss, ponder.. or just plain drool over – am I right? do tell!!! byeee for now everyone!!

31 thoughts on “11/15 Season Three, Episode 8: Reach for the Sky-Scarecrow and Mrs King”

  2. And another little tidbit from the script :
    Apparently Billy and Lee were going to race off to confront Canaan in his office. Billy “racing” anywhere is probably problematic given he has been drugged and is not what you would call “race fit” at the best of times. 😉
    Anyhoo…
    He and Lee turn and race down the corridor, Billy grabbing one of the guard’s guns as they do. Lee shouts to Amanda :
    LLEE : “Amanda. stay put. Out of trouble.”
    AMANDA : “How? There’s no place here that’s out of trouble.”
    With that, she runs after them.

    Hmmm, I like the script version better.

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  3. Here’s the guard and uzi scene in the script :
    ANGLE – MOVING WITH LEE AND AMANDA
    As they round the corner and find themselves facing two armed guard standing outside a room marked W-12. In an instant they are drawing down on Lee and Amanda
    LEE : “Amanda… look out!”
    Lee throws himself on Amanda…
    “Lee throws himself on Amanda”… really?!!! Now what editing numpty decided that we didn’t need to see that piece of SMK goodness! 😡 kiwimsh not happy with that edit!!
    Oh, okay.. maybe it wasn’t such a hot moment… the script goes on :
    …knocking her to the ground while he draws and shoots. One guard goes down and the other moves for cover while spraying the wall above Lee and Amanda with automatic rifle fire. Lee fires again and the second guard falls, wounded. In a second, Lee’s up, runs to him and kicks his weapon away, while Amanda hurries to the door. It’s locked.
    And then instead of firing imaginary bullets into the lock, Lee gets out his lock pick and… well, of course they’re into the room in a jiffy.

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    1. Hey, kiwismh, that’s verging on smu* for SMK. Exciting stuff….
      And I prefer more elegant approach (lock-picking) to the shooting out the lock approach.

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  4. I agree with what’s been said about the violence aspect of this show and what was allowed to air and be seen during this time period. Today I still get surprised as to what is said and shown on regular TV. I’m always asking myself if they can show that kind of stuff now. If you remember back to Dynasty with that Moldavian massacre season finale where everyone got shot up at the wedding but when it returned for the new season only 2 people (minor characters) had died. And this show ended being more about Lee and Amanda than about the spy biz.

    I also agree with what has been said about the touching between these two, especially what Kiwismh says about the new level of familiarity and their continually developing relationship. For both of them their touches have sort of grounded them and given them each some type of assurances about themselves and the other person.

    From the beginning Lee has always been concerned about Amanda’s safety and physical well-being, especially since he feels so responsible for her. So besides the ‘stay in the car’ routine he does things physically to keep her protected usually it involves putting himself between her and the danger. And it definitely involves charging to her rescue. Lee has also been concerned when Amanda has been emotionally distressed about something that has occurred in the course of a case when she has seen the more seemly side of the spy biz. He has gently patted her hand, hugged her from the side, given a full on hug, or completely engulfed her in one of those swoony, to die for, gently rocking hugs. ( I need a moment……)

    Amanda has done the same for Lee. She has charged in at times to help protect or save Lee and she has definitely offered touches to comfort, reassure, and even explain something to Lee. And there have also been those moments of joy and happiness where these two hug each other without any thought of what it means other than shared happiness.

    But now there seems to be even more meaning behind the touching and because they have been so close and comfortable, and in tune with one another there is no thought to it, it just happens, it just is. What’s so great is that they are both accepting of it and there is no need to explain it or question it.

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  5. Lots of L&A touching in this scene isn’t there – hand holding, back to back contact when Lee “machine gunned” the door, the hand on the back.
    They’ve always had a degree of physical contact – hand holding, hand on the back – since the beginning but now it seems to have moved to a whole new level of familiarity.
    As well as a means of communicating comfort and friendship, maybe for both of them it’s also safe way of expressing their growing feelings (even desire?) for each other at this point.
    What does everyone else think?

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    1. Oh yes, I agree with you kiwismh. When Lee is “shooting” the door 😉 , they start off by touching shoulders, but with the recoil of the gun, lots of other parts touch. Parts that have not touched before and normally do not touch unless you are a contestant onDancing With the Stars or are in some kind of a very close relationship, IMO. I do think they are safely expressing a growing desire (yep, I would use that word here) for each other.

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  6. Love the powerful grip of Lee’s handhold with Amanda as they leave the dead guard. Once again he is doing everything he can in the heat of the moment to comfort Amanda and impart his strength to her (swoon). I never noticed this handhold before. Thank you so much, Iwsod, for your wonderful pics which give so much enjoyment by allowing us to savor the moments that flit by so quickly in the video.

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  7. It’s an interesting question indeed, Iwsod. Does Amanda’s look say “Holy cr@p, we just got shot at by a guy with a machine gun!” or “Holy cr@p, this wonderful, kind man I’m falling in love with just unflinchingly killed someone right in front of me!”?

    Talk about having trouble reconciling your personal life and work life!

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    1. Like this 2Goldens. I like your second explanation. I think it is a reminder for Amanda of the brutal necessities of the job. I think she also notices that Lee takes a moment after he has killed the guy. Lee can and will kill in the line of duty but she can see that it is something he will only do in an emergency situation and/or as a last resort.

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      1. Like this, Kiwismh. And to your point about Lee only killing as a last resort I’ve noticed, in this scene and I think in others, that before Lee returns fire, he gets a look on his face like “I really wish you hadn’t made me do this.”

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        1. I agree with Kiwismh and 2Goldens!
          Lee does not kill with ease.. and is very aware of a person’s humanity.. even a baddies’ .

          It’s one of his qualities which means I can swoon over action Lee – like in the banner- and be perfectly comfortable with it!

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          1. I know they only did it because CBS didn’t want the good guy shooting people, but I think having Lee use hand to hand combat rather than shooting so often has also added to his character and made him more appealing than the typical James Bond spy.

            Something my aunt also pointed out is Lee/Bruce’s expressions when he’s in a gunfight. He doesn’t look like a hardened professional who’s used to being shot at — he often looks tense or flinches as he sees a shot come near him, which again adds to the character’s humanity and is a testament to BB’s great acting.

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    2. I think Amanda has always been aware that Lee was trained to kill. I do think Lee uses that skill as a last resort. But I think it affects her here in a whole new way. Firstly because I guess this is the first time that she has ever been with him as he has had to use deadly force, but I think it brings her awareness of who he is and what he does to a whole new level because of their growing relationship. It is one thing to know that a coworker is trained to kill, it is another to know that a close friend is, but to know that the man that you are beginning to give your heart to in a significant way is trained to unflinchingly kill people and you have just seen him do it… that is a whole other level of reality.
      There is a lot of the revelation of the reality of their new situation in this episode. The are working with applying the reality of their skill sets (call me a cab). he reality of Amanda’s job and how it affects her home life (the conversation with Dotty), even her using her intuition and joining Lee on a “Me” case that has been turned int oa “we” case. Now this.
      But they are ready for it, because there aren’t shock waves coming from this. They seem to continue to move on with what they have to do. Lee knows how this has affected her so he firmly grasps her hand as they move to find Billy. And then she knows how Billy’s situation will affect Lee and comforts him with her hand on his back. I kind of think that hand also is telling Lee that she is still with him, even with what he has just done.

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    3. I think her look could be saying both, 2Goldens. I also think there is a little bit of fear in her eyes. She trusts Lee to keep her safe from harm, but we’re talking machine guns here. I would think that machine guns to Amanda might be a different level of threat versus a regular hand gun. I wonder if she’s worried what else may be around the corner and are they going to find Billy and make it out alive.

      Then again, maybe she is just thinking, I’m falling for flippin’ Rambo!

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  8. This shooting scene always seems so silly, even for SMK. Like Dorothy’s death in WOTSTW, the complete lack of blood is ridiculous. In this scene the guard should be a mess and there should be some blood splatter on the walls. Gruesome I know but this episode has a cartoon-like quality about it that irks me.
    Oh well, I will just have to imagine the blood and guts.
    I also imagine Amanda handling it but not having an easy time of it.

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    1. I suspect the general lack of blood is due to the 8-9 timeslot in the 80’s. Anyone remember the A-Team? That was part of the humor, I think, that there would be all this crazy violence yet no one would get badly hurt! Thinking back, I can’t think of when I’ve seen blood in SMK apart from a bloody nose or lip. I just watched Spiderweb with its violent starting scene in the restaurant, but I don’t recall seeing blood. The most blood I ever remember seeing is when Lee was “shot” in T3FoEmily. And of course that turned out to be fake so I guess the folks who censored that sort of thing were okay with it. I would think there must be bloody scenes somewhere, but I’m not thinking of them — rather just the suggestion of them like Amanda looking at her hand after finding Mr. Bodine in TGTNeighborhood.

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      1. Oh, I guess we do see some blood in TLChristmasEve — probably a necessary plot point if we are to take the whole episode seriously!

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      2. Yeah, I know. It wouldn’t be so ridiculous if Lee had shot him with a hand gun, but he pumped about 20 bullets into the guy with that Uzi. Probably better if they had just not shown the body at all and maybe concentrated more on the reactions of L&A.

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    2. Kiwismh, I wonder if the bloodless violence was attributable to the time slot or to a conscious decision by the producers to just not go there? SMK as a whole was certainly not going for all-out realism in any sense. For me it’s one of the reasons I still have such a soft spot for it all these years later and why I think it’s so popular down here in the rabbit hole. It’s an innocent, happy fantasy. 🙂

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            1. Me four! (Learjet you’re me three!)

              I find the lack of sophistication and realistic violence charming – while simultaneously poking fun at it for it..
              It’s teasing the show and comes from great affection!

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        2. Oh don’t even get me started on what NCIS shows on some episodes. CBS has changed and not for the better. I really miss shows like SMK & Hart To Hart that knew how to write suspense and mystery without being disgusting about it.

          And they aren’t boring either. I don’t remember seeing ANY blood on Remembrance Of Things Past and by the time I was done the episode I wanted to check behind every door with the way that psycho kept jumping out from behind everything. I felt like I had to catch my breath after that helicopter scene on The First Time. I have been moved to tears on five eps — multiple times — and only once was I crying from tears of joy. (I was moved by Long Christmas Eve, but it was still gutwrenching in a good way.)

          I would give anything to have series like these back on TV.

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So what do you think??? :)

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