Before we find out who is at the door..
Here is the script notes on this scene provided by Kiwismh (thanks Kiwismh!):
Lee interviewing Amanda re her past with Joe.
Lee: Oh…say it’s criminal psychology. I’m trying to make the pieces fit. Joe’s wanted for murder, but from all you’ve said about the guy, he’s this mild mannered lawyer…
Amanda: He is. He’s your basic nice guy. Don’t use this case as an excuse to pry.
Lee: Pry? What makes you think I’m prying?
Amanda: You do it for a living…
Interrupted by knock on the door
_____________________________________
What do you think of the script change?
I’m really glad they changed it. This makes Lee seem petty as it hints Lee is asking these questions now for maybe selfish reasons.. and it makes Amanda seem narky to give him that comeback – character wise, it all seems a bit off to me! but YMMV. What do you think? Sometimes scripts give us further insight.. sometimes.. it can be removed for a good reason 
this is of course totally a matter of opinion which you choose to see this change as 
Do tell!
Back to the episode!
Uh oh.. I see a baseball cap silhouette.. uh oh. Shamba?!
Shamba: Hello?!
Lee: Oh no.
Lee turns back to Amanda.. not happy Shamba has tracked him down! and now!! of all times!!
Amanda on the other hand is thrilled with this interruption!
Amanda: Saved by the bell.
Amanda gives a cheeky little smile.. she knows she has a reprieve here! for now!!
Anyone else love that she says ‘saved by the bell’ and it’s a lovely little shout out to the episode ‘saved by the bells’ – where Lee committed treason to save Amanda? (swoony!) whooo and we saw the goldfish behind Amanda.. whooo!!
Lee points at Amanda to warn her as he gets up to open the door..
Lee: We don’t know each other.
Amanda: Oh.
LOL Amanda seems shocked to hear this.. but then the penny drops quick as a flash- Lee is thinking of the case and protecting Amanda- not trusting this Shamba dude..
I love this line ‘we don’t know each other’ right after they were simultaneously demonstrating how close they are and how well they know each other – while also seeing that there is much Lee still doesn’t know about Amanda!
Since they need to act like they don’t know each other with Shamba around – here’s yet another barrier keeping Lee and Amanda separated for the moment! It seems to me that the tension between Lee and Amanda is building toward something big in this episode.. which we are so far yet to see I figure.. can’t wait!!
Lee gives Amanda a last, silent serious look..
and he then opens the door to Shamba – Lee’s countenance changes suddenly to super friendly and happy
Lee: Ah Inspector, come on in…(Lee chuckles)
…Inspector Asam Ali Shamba, this is Amanda King…
…She’s the ex-wife of the man we’re after…
…She’s been very co-operative and, er, she’s also given us a couple of good leads.
Lee seems to want to paint a positive picture of Amanda for Shamba.. maybe to separate Amanda from any guilt by association with Joe. I sense Lee is concerned about how Shamba will treat Amanda – He is very closely watching both Shamba and Amanda – If Shamba tries to ‘interrogate’ Amanda – I think Lee is ready to give him a right hook… so Lee is on high alert – but trying to seem casual… how will Shamba treat Amanda?? – Lee watches very closely..
Amanda: Hello.
Shamba: Hello.
Think Lee is okay with the handkissing??
Look could Leatherneck have given Shamba a guide to how to treat women in America?? I think that might have been more relevant than the restaurant guide! I’m not sure what to make of Shamba and women.. it is a little old fashioned and all but why do I also feel a bit ick with the way he zones in on women, touches women and looks at them so (too) intently?!
Amanda: It’s a good hat.
Shamba: Thank you.
[I wonder if Amanda sensed Lee’s tension here – especially how concerned he was before opening the door – I think this is why Amanda compliments the hat! It broke the ice nicely!]
I enjoy just watching Lee watching Shamba and Amanda in this scene! Lee seems very pleased and relieved with how this introduction.
and maybe a little proud of how Amanda conducts herself? (she manages to cope with hand kiss/weird hand hold fine without showing any discomfort). thoughts guys?!
The scene ends here..
Oh yeeaaaahhhh this episode has bad guys!!! How could I forget?!
On to a fancy mansion.. have we seen this mansion before? it looks familiar.. but.. lol maybe I saw it in an episode of Columbo
Ahhh back to Prescott.. guess he had a break from tailing Amanda..
Prescott: Mr Foster, we didn’t expect Joe King to get this far…
[Now every time I hear Joe King’s full name.. I think they are saying they are Joking! rofl!! If someone says ‘you must be Joe King’ in this episode I think I will loose it!! ]
…You may have to offer to speak with him. It may be the only way to get him to come back in. …Sir? Sir?
Ohhh this is flippin hilarious!!! Mr Foster is so busy with his baddie tea that he isn’t listening to Prescott! whahahahaa..
Mansion? Antiques? Artworks? Tea sipping?? This guy must be a really bad baddie!! [If he had the baddie telephone.. it could be defcon 5!]
…He does trust you, and he did call from Estoccia when he suspected.
Foster: Luckily for us. Now we don’t know. But now we don’t know what kind of proof he got out. If I offer to speak with him, we’re connected. It would be impossible, well, at least difficult, to kill him.
[Does that mean Joe called Foster from Estoccia and never got through to him?]
That tea strainer/tea cup prop is brilliant! What a crack up!!
The dialogue? meh.. seems pretty ‘weak’ to me…
Seems Joe was tricksy to even make it out of Estoccia, the baddies thought they’d trap him there..
Evil Foster notes – Bonus! the manhunt misdirects attention away from them, and on to the murder.
I’d say Foster’s attention is focused on the tea strainer! 
[Sorry! couldn’t resist..]
Foster: …You know, I think I’m right about staying out of the office. If he comes there, you can deal with him. [ohhh so Foster is with the EAO also..]
Prescott doesn’t seem thrilled with this delegation of ‘dealing’ with Joe!
Prescott: Suppose he decides to come out here?
It’s tea pouring time!!!
I guess this is the baddie version of a tea pouring ritual.
Let’s discuss our evil plans.. and all the ways we can be nasty and hurt innocent people while protecting our own fat bank accounts.. let’s have a herbal tea.. it’s Fair Trade! Muahahahaa!!
Foster: Oh, I doubt he’ll find it. My address isn’t public but if so we can claim that he attacked me. (how lovely.. not!)
Foster hands Prescott a cup of tea.. whooo now this is a baddie tea party!
[Does Foster have a hip holster?!]
…Your friend did a very nice job over there. How did he manage the fingerprints on the gun?
Smug Prescott: Used an inside man. Switched the handgrip from a gun Joe King used and put it on the murder weapon.
[whooo this must have been that gun we saw Joe pick up and drop in the opening scene]
Foster: Fast thinking. Maybe he can help us here?
Prescott: No. No contact while he’s over here.
[Ahhh seems we are to assume this is referring to Shamba.. further evidence Shamba is up to no good maybe..]
Foster: Yes, well… Well, let’s talk about contingencies. If King is arrested before we get him, we’ll need leverage.
Prescott: Well, there’s his family.
Foster: I agree, that’s where he is vulnerable. Can we get to them?
Prescott: Well his ex-wife works for a Government production house – International Federal Films. I’m having it checked out; [whooo!!! a Government production house huh! I think that IFF should have gotten Colleen and Bart to head to Estoccia and report in! could have been fun to have an overseas couple checking in from time to time! ] …and her two sons go to school. [I take it back.. that is not tea they are drinking.. it is some form of evil kool-aid]
Foster: His two sons….
[Foster repeats this like this is the best news ever.. ugh.. Prescott nods]
[At this moment Foster in the foreground takes a sip of the evil tea – but to me it seems the evil tea cup is empty?!]
…Let’s be ready to move decisively. Best thing to do would be to kill him but we may have to get more— elaborate.
Ugh.. too much bad guys!! and no the tea sipping only made it slightly interesting..
When I really stop and think about what they are suggesting – these two refined men having a seeming civilised conversation are positively evil here.. This is some of the lowest tactics we’ve seen from baddies on smk. Right up there (err maybe I should say ‘Right down there’ with selling women.. creeps..
I think it is ironic (and flippin hilarious) that Amanda’s kids lives could now be at threat and it isn’t even anything to do with the agency (and being with the agency may actual save their lives!)
Okay guys.. I’ll finish up here for now.. these baddies give tea drinking a bad name.. Any thoughts on the episode so far you’d like to share? byee for now!
"Just walk with me.." 
I’ve never gone back and watched this scene knowing what I know about Shamba from later in the episode. It is fascinating to do so. Knowing who he really is and his relationship to Joe makes his fascination with and his staring at Amanda make so much more sense! Wow!
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All of a sudden I find this baddie tea-party funny. Is this the equivalent of a “couple of drinks” with a G-rating???
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haaa that must be it! snigger
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Imaginary tea-sipping baddie Foster reminds me (visually) of Grandpa Munster… all he needs is a widow’s peak, some fangs and a cloak… (well, and some bushier eyebrows) Too bad he’s not as amusing as Grandpa. 😦
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I think Amanda is taking the opportunity to lighten things between her and Lee. The conversation had got pretty intense between them. Amanda was suddenly in the position of having a conversation about an issue she isn’t ready to discuss with Lee, or maybe had hoped to avoid ever discussing with Lee. To me, she is relieved to have the interruption but I think she is also trying to communicate to Lee that things are ok between them. Maybe it’s a “give me time” signal she’s giving him.
To me this discussion could be the catalyst for her to have that internal conversation with herself that I’m not sure she’s had yet – ‘Am I really ready to have a relationship with Lee? Because if I am, then we will inevitably end up sharing a lot more personal information. Am I ready to go down that path?’
She must realise by now that Lee has essentially been courting her. Looks so far like this episode might be about Amanda having to examine and make peace with her past and her present. She needs to do this before she can move confidently and happily into her future.
Shamba is being polite and gentlemanly in what I guess now is an old fashioned sort of way. I don’t get any creepy or improper overtones there.
These tea-sipping baddies can’t cut it with the tea sipping baddies of S1 and 2. Meh… yawn… so not scary. They should come across as more menacing given what they are discussing – may be it’s the actors just not able to be as convincing as, say, Hollander in SAAB.
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Yes, agree Amanda needs to make peace with past and present. I think she needs Joe to come back to get closure on the marriage. We think of Lee as having all this baggage – yes he does have emotional baggage because of his childhood and the loss of his parents, but he doesn’t have the type of romantic relationship baggage that Amanda is carrying from her failed marriage.
That tea infuser ball on a chain cracks me up.
And congrats to kiwismh. Great bowling 😉
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Learjet said : “And congrats to kiwismh. Great bowling.”
And the Aussies were “knocked for 6” in the end 😀 (Video at Neds.)
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Well said, kiwishm, I was thinking the same. I felt the SBTBell comment indicated that Amanda knew she was being squirmy and needed a break — sorta like a boxer who is having a bad round and needs the rest in the corner to regroup. (Hmm, does the expression SBTBell come from boxing??) Not that I think Lee is pommeling her in anyway. I think that Amanda’s marriage has a dual interest to Lee, but Jestress makes a good point about the reasonability of the line of questioning. Speaking of line of questioning, earlier we were comparing Lee’s interview techniques between Spiderweb and Wrong Way Home. The quote SBTBell is also used in Spiderweb, isn’t it? (although not in the same context… actually a reversed context because Lee was the one doing the squirming at that time in Spiderweb!)
I totally dislike the scripted version with the reference to prying. I don’t see it reflecting so badly on Lee (although I guess if one believes he is prying, this calls him on it) but I do think it makes Amanda, well, yes, narky. Defensive. Down-right rude. And definitely an “unloving” response. But I don’t think she meant it that way. I think she felt cornered, and I think the feelings that kiwishm summarizes is all coming into play, so she lashes out with an offensive attack which actually feels terribly defensive. Nope, definitely not a fan of that scripting and very glad they changed it. (Wonder if I’d be saying the same thing about the Burn Out slap if it had been scripted and then removed! Perhaps I should have more faith in BB and KJ to pull off the difficult script. Or perhaps the faith is that they will remove it if it just doesn’t work!)
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Hi guys.
Yes I agree with you Raffie – Amanda needed to regroup.. it was all very sudden and painful for her.. and I agree about Amanda’s cheeky saved by the bells with a smile – I think it was a way to let Lee know that in spite of Amanda’s refusal to answer – they are okay. There is no tension there because of it.. she isn’t upset with him for asking..
Yes some see Lee’s question as reasonable, some do not – how you view this will influence how you view the scene playing out.. this difference will be interesting as we progress.. I wonder if it will factor in later..
Great call on Spiderweb and Lee’s squirming Raffie 🙂 yeah it would be interesting to search whether saved by the bells was used elsewhere!
Gotta run.. I’m too darn busy and during such a fab episode.. this stinks.. cricket? what’s that? Australia? never heard of it..
But.. I will just add – I didn’t say Shamba was creepy- I wouldn’t go that far.. he stares too intently and holds the hand a bit too long for my liking.. and he’s at it again coming up in the next post.
gotta run! byee!
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Yes yes and yes.. all sounds spot on to me.. totally these baddies lack the gravitas of an ex bond baddie (Hollander) – it was like – oh yeah they are thinking of taking Jamie and Phillip?? umm that is one of the worst things a baddie has ever said!! I’m suppose to be fuming!
[when I was giggling a the tea sipping]
Bye!
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I have to think a bit more about the happy relieved look on Amanda’s face as she says she is saved by the bell. I could understand her thinking it, but she said it out loud to Lee with a smile on her face. Why? What did Lee think about that?
I think that Shamba is definitely checking Amanda out… but not in a leering way. I think lots of people in this episode are checking others out because they may or may not be what the other presume them to be. Just as Lee is intently watching Shamba.
And I too find it extremely ironic that Amanda’s children are at such risk only now when their father comes home and brings the trouble with him.
And these SMK baddies and their tea are hilarious.
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I don’t think the hand kiss and intense look Shamba gives Amanda are so weird . . . at least, no more weird than anything else Shamba has done so far, which would make it fairly normal for him (at less he didn’t wish her any pregnant wives!). I think Shamba is still playing the part of eccentric tourist, but like Lee notes, this seems like an act. Shamba probably has hidden depths and motives, although it’s not clear what those are yet. Part of his intense interest in Amanda may be because of those motives. I’m sure Lee and Billy aren’t the only ones who have realized that Amanda is significant to this case because she was married to Joe. Prescott and Foster are interested in her and the boys, too. And Foster’s intense stare at his teabag is far creepier than Shamba’s intense look at Amanda. That teabag had better watch out . . . As Prescott says, the joking has gone too far. 😉
A book never written:
Going Too Far by Joe King 😀
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Great pun work there Jestress!! 🙂 love it!!!
yeah Shamba doesn’t look at Amanda weird. I’d agree.. but I thought the stare was a bit much with Mrs Marsden.. and it’s coming up again..
I think its on purpose (lol even if other people don’t even see it 😉 ) it adds to the question mark over whether he is a good guy or a bad guy – because his treatment toward women (IMHO) is borderline..
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We also have to remember when the show was filmed and standards of what was acceptable were much different – – 🙂 Shamba is pretty benign compared to other characters in other shows. My girls were horrified watching MASH at all the sexual harassment going on which was laughed off as ‘boys being boys’ – and looked at me incredulously when I told them this was actually a very socially forward show of its time. And I always have a hoot watching old Fred Astaire movies — if they were filmed today, he would be a psycho killer that stalks poor Ginger Rogers and there would not be a happy ending (In one film, he sees a poster of her character, falls madly in love with her, decides he’s going to marry her, follows her all over London and even crashes into her car so they can meet. How our concept of romance has changed. LOL!)
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I enjoyed this comment from days ago cindy! 🙂
I see your point.. and MASH really is appalling at times..
the Fred Astaire thing? I think that could still work today – it can work if it is to the point of farce. You know when something is so over the top you can’t take it seriously (a bit like the tea sipping baddies in this ep).
Heck I thought the plot of Pretty Woman was atrocious.. but what do I know?!
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I’m with you on the Pretty Woman bus. 🙂 Don’t even get me started on that 50 shades of Twilight stuff.
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I tend to think that some women are overly sensitive today. No wonder many men are left wondering how to pay a woman compliment without being labelled sexist.
I used to work with a lovely chap who was very happily married, from a farming background. He would occasionally compliment me by say, “You’re worth breeding from.” On paper that looks awful but the nature of the gentleman and the way it was said was not in any way uncomfortable for me – in fact I took it as the good natured, cheeky compliment it was meant to be.
I have known other guys who are lecherous and sexist, but they are easy to pick and you just put them in their place or ignore them when they say something inappropriate.
Women these days needs to relax a bit and get better at discerning what is a well intentioned, good natured, harmless compliment and what is sexist bs.
If no doubt, just ask yourself, “What would Lauren Bacall do in this situation?”
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LOL love it.. yes context is everything..
But I would also say there are things best not said today that were fine 50 years ago.. like every generation.. times move on.. and this doesn’t mean guys can’t be cheeky and fun.. but it does mean they need to care whether their comments are perceived with the meaning they were intended to have. guys don’t have to be blockheads, and the dumb bloke excuse gets overplayed IMHO.
both gender I guess contribute 🙂
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Hmmmm. I like the filmed version we got rather than the scripted, but I am still on the fence with Lee’s subconscious motivation (I think he truly believes he needs to know because it is relevant but unless Amanda said she was tired of Joe constantly saying his dream was to assassinate an African head of state and gave him the boot, I don’t see how why they divorced pertains here)
I was never bothered by Shamba kissing Amanda’s hand. I’ll have to go back and check the scene again, but I think it might of been the lack of evil bad guy background music that put me at ease.
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I think Lee is trying to build a picture of Joe’s character and possible motivations. Amanda is the best source of info for that. Also, how someone acts during a stressful and hurtful scenario like divorce could be very telling about their underlying character. I see Lee’s line of questioning as relevant. Just my 2 cents. What do others think?
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Yep! I agree with you.. I’m pretty much seeing it the same way you did 🙂 sorry I can’t elaborate but great explanation here! 🙂
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