Firstly… A huge thank you to the Magnificent Kiwismh for transcribing this episode – Kiwismh we salute you!! 
In all honestly, it’s been at least 4 years since I’ve seen this episode.. and I’m looking forward to us discovering together all the little gems this episode has to offer! I don’t even remember what ‘wrong number’ is referring to! [hopefully it’s not the number 666! stay away from that bank account number! 
]
On with the show!
This week.. get to find out where we are..
Before we find out what episode this is!
We hear some dramatic drums beating.. whoooooo and an army jeep crosses the water way.. well.. there are birds chirping.. so I guess this isn’t really evil countryside?
The jeep stops and a guy with a big gun gets out. whooo.
Another person gets out wrapped up from head to toe- it’s a mummy!!
The mummy unwraps itself to reveal it’s really Francine! [Put the wrapping back!]
She takes a swig of water..
LOL so she’s in a reeeeally hot place huh.. it doesn’t look hot to me..
Some men approach Francine.
Francine smiles sort of..
and puts out her hand to shake the leader’s..
instead, the leader kisses her hand.
(how weird.given the end of the last ep had Lee doing that to Amanda!) But this gets an actual smile from Francine.
The leader says something in a foreign language..
Then Francine reveals the US rifles in the back of the truck.
Aha! I always knew Francine was really dirty!! haaa..
She has agreed to exchange the rifles for a discount on the latest Yves Saint Laurent collection! 😉
One of the men check the rifles are the real deal.
Once this is confirmed, the group aim their guns at Francine.. double crossing her.
And disarming the man who she arrived with.
So who here seeing this for the first time thought Francine had betrayed her country and sold the rifles to supplement her wardrobe budget?
lol.. it never crossed my mind.. but no sure why not!
The baddies lead Francine and the other guy off at gunpoint.
We cut to a rather clean looking, grinning man.. He’s a little teapot. Short and stout… See his handle? 😉 He must be a tea sipping baddie!!
He’s off to the side happily watching all this unfold..
What a pose.. What fashion sense! He looks to me to have had agency training
Me thinks he may be the puppetmaster here- he looks far too smug! Head baddie material for sure!
The group approach him, and at this moment, Francine presses the button on a little button – looks like a car alarm button!
It sets off an explosion in the truck – a big boom boom!!
Francine and the other guy take off..
Francine is heard to speak the local language.. whooo she’s the real deal! So proficient!
The baddies shoot the guy accompanying her.. and Francine is surrounded.. 
the head baddie removes her headscarf
– umm is this suppose to be a big reveal? whatev..
Francine is looking worried-she’s in big trouble!
– hey good on Francine for getting all messy and dirty for the sake of her job too! I mean I’m guessing this is her job, and not some side project to increase her salary
Phew! Four minutes into this episode and we finally see Lee – back at IFF talking to Billy…
Lee: Anybody killed?
[Whoa… Lee is still dreaming about gray stripes from the looks of things!]
Billy: Just our local contact. The KGB sprung a trap. Took him out with an AK-47.
Lee: It was bound to happen Billy. Abernathy’s been trying every trick in the book running guns to those hill fighters. They get him?
[whoooo was Abernathy the dude? I’m guessing the dead dude was the ‘local contact’? So where’s Abernathy? ]
Billy: I don’t know. You’d better do a nose count.
Lee: All right, I’ll run an overseas ops tally. I tell ya, I don’t envy Abernathy one bit. That whole country’s a shootin gallery… [love how Lee says ‘shootin’ and not shooting!] …The Russians are trying like hell to win a cupie doll.
Billy smirks away..: Cupie doll – that’s funny.
And Lee heads into the coat elevator. And the scene ends..
I don’t think they’ll be laughing when they find out who else was involved- Maybe Francine is the cupie doll?!
Short and sweet explosive today.. I don’t want to have to split the next scene! So is it Cupie? or Kewpie?
I find this opening a bit of a yawn.. 4 minutes of yawn.. there must be good stuff right around the corner! why did we even need to see it?! anyone?
"Just walk with me.." 
Wrong Number, yay! One of my favorite episodes! At least I think it is – it’s been a while. Not quite as long as you, iwsod, but long enough.
You know, this may sound really, really odd, but I’m not sure if I knew this was Francine when I saw this episode for the first time. I’m not sure if I thought it was Magda or if it I just didn’t make the connection given the outfit and lack of makeup and heels. What on earth would Francine be doing in the middle of Afghanistan selling guns?
Who is teapot man? He looks familiar.
I’m not sure how far I’ll get tonight – I’m pretty tired, but I don’t want this whole episode to go by before I make a single comment!
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A BJo binge?? whoooo hooooo!!!
Hiya BJo- just do what you can.. the main thing is you relax and enjoy 🙂
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Aaaah, late to the party! XD You have to excuse me – was celebrating my birthday all weekend, at Fantasy Filmfest Nights. Sorry, Francine, how COULD I miss the start of one of YOUR episodes. XD
Now, this is one of the episodes I consider “Francine-episodes” (the others are “Life of the Party”, “Fast Food for Thought”, “Suitable for Framing” and “A Matter of Choice” – just in case you were wondering ;)). I agree with everyone else here – I really like that we’re finally seeing Francine in action again and I also like the look. I’m always wondering about her slightly worried/anxious look when she’s caught: Is she really worried? Or is she just pretending, trying to make the bad guys underestimate her as “poor, weak female” while in her head, the little wheels are already turning as she’s trying to come up with an escape plan?
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wow..Hi Knell! I just figured she knew she was in trouble.. because she is in trouble!
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Well, yes but honestly? With her track record for getting in trouble she shouldn’t be surprise. I mean – she ALWAYS gets in trouble when neither Billy nor Lee are around, right? Drugged by Mrs. Welch, locked up in a freezer with Amanda, dispatching agents to South America instead of ordering coffee beans … 😉
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lol… Maybe in that way she’s more like Amanda than she realizes. 😉
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Bwahahaha! Don’t tell Francine that!
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I am so glad that Khell gets what might be happening inside Francine’s head. Keep giving us glimpses Khell, it makes the story so much richer.
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Forgot one thing. When I first saw the title of this episode I immediately thought of a phone number. Back in the day when we had different kinds of phones it was easy to dial a wrong number. And just now I’m remembering an old Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster movie called, “Sorry, Wrong Number”. Not sure if there’s a connection there. Will have to research that one.
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I still think the titles have something to do with the underlying theme of the episode, I mean the part of the plot that we all pay attention to, you know Lee and Amanda 😉 Maybe its just me doing mental gymnastics, but I try to make it work with each episode. Ok, so maybe I am a contortionist.
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I always thought the same thing too, valeriejw.
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I agree with what some have said about seeing Francine on a mission. It’s nice to see her not doing the administrative office stuff. What I don’t like is that when we finally get to see her in full agent mode, she gets caught. At least she knew there might be a possibility of trouble.
A kewpie doll started out as an expensive type doll based on an comic strip character and they were originally made out of bisque. They were based on a baby-like cupid. Eventually they were made out of less expensive materials. It did become an idiom that meant you won a modest prize at a carnival, not necessarily a doll though. I think that the bisque ones are worth a lot of money today. There is a restaurant that started here in Michigan called Kewpee Hamburgers that was named after the doll and has it as a sort of mascot. The guy who founded Wendy’s used to eat at one as a kid and it inspired him to go into the burger business.
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Thanks so much for that info. Now this comment makes perfect sense. I love tidbits like that!!!
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‘Anyone killed?’
‘Just our local operative’
This is not very humane or compassionate conversation- probably realistic though
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So now they don’t have a local operative in that part of the world. Um, shouldn’t that be a problem for the Agency, even if they don’t care about the guy personally?
Sheesh, Billy!
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Afghanistan remains topical today, has it has throughout the centuries. The reference about the “Russians fighting like hell to win a cupie (kewpie?) doll”, is that they’re putting a lot of effort in for not much of a prize. Hopefully he wasn’t referring to the country itself (which would be an insult Afghanistan and its people) but to the fact that Afghanistan has worn down, overwhelmed and spat out invading armies for centuries.
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I guess what makes this episode resonate more for me is the Afghanistan angle. Unlike the Russians and the Iron Curtain, this still feels current. this is one of my favourite “unlikely favourite” SMK episodes.
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cool Learjet! I love to hear of people’s unlikely favourites!!!! I’ll look forward to hearing why you like it! 🙂
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cough cough …Someone, please tell me there’s a fanfic about this at Neds … cough wheeze cough
Sorry, ignore that, mods.. Just some spring allergies. 😉
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That was supposed to be in response to Lee&Amanda
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LOL
If you find one, pleeeeeaaaaase tell me, Sara – pretty please? 🙂
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Hi Sara, darn allergies!
I have no idea if there is a fan fic about this at Neds.. You can post in the fan fic thread at Neds and ask for a recommendation I am sure.
If anyone can recommend a fan fic about ‘the five days’ that they’ve enjoyed – can you please share it over at Neds for Sara and L&A?
And discussion about it can continue over at Neds – Thanks!
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Will do!
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Perhaps she told her mother she was doing ‘”bedside bluebell” duty. Well, I can dream can’t I… that Amanda got to spend some more quality time in Lee’s bedroom.
And with that magnificent dive into the gutter, I shall say goodnight to all… 😉
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I was surprised it was Francine the first time I saw the episode but, I am not particular good with faces. In my defense, I did think s/he looked familiar before the reveal. 🙂 And I agree with others, I was also stunned at how beautiful she is without her full on Francine warrior make-up.
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I also was surprised when I saw this first. Probably because i dont usually pay as much attention as i should to the opening segments ☺(and not because I dont know that Franchine is a highly trained operative who can morph ìnto a man like creature when fighting )
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warrior make up. lol I’m tempted to publish that tribal image of Martha again!
I must have been spoiled before I ever saw this ep.. so I never got to experience the whole whooooo that’s Francine?!
I guess it would have been quite a reveal – sooo she’s not all talk huh.. she can rough it up in Pakistan with the best of them!
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Oops, Iwsod, back to Station 1 for you. We’re in Afghanistan this week. Close, but not quite the same as Pakistan… then and now.
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LOL Station 1 wouldn’t help me! 🙂
okay. Afghanistan it is 🙂
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It’s a Kewpie doll, but what the reference means in this episode is beyond me.
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I think that that they may have been targets in shooting galleries ( if thats the right word) – but i could be wrong here
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Well, a Kewpie was an actual doll, so really creepy if they used them for shooting targets or named targets after them . . .
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Maybe they were given as prizes for shooting competitions in fun fairs? I dont know why but i do have some association in the back of my mind (perhaps from this programme )
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You’re right, Michele. The prize for winning those shooting games at carnivals was often a kewpie doll. Maybe it still is? I haven’t been to a carnival in a long time. I found some of those shooting games a little tough, unless you spent a lot of time there. Someone with a lot of skill might have a collection of kewpie dolls. I took Lee’s comment to mean it’s more about the fighting than the prize (to the Russians).
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I kind of like the no make up, mussy hair look on Francine. And I like seeing her out there doing something. She is the real deal, I think that is what we are supposed to get from this. She can do it and use all those languages she knows.
Lee looks like he got the rest and relaxation he needed…
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I like Francine too. Gives us a view about that fully trained agent she always refers to. She really can do it. 🙂
Her ‘dress’ reminds me of her striped dress she wore in TFT. Anyone?
He really does but after 5 days bed rest he should look good especially with such a nice supervisor at his bbedside. I hope he enjoyed those days… 🙂
I always wondered what Amanda told her mother during those 5 days
‘I’m going to the office’ (aheeemmmm yeah, ‘Lee’s home-office’) or did she tell her about some ‘scouting for a documentary about the interior of bachelors apartments and their lifestyle’? Just imagine Dottie’s reaction to this… 😉
Ohhhhh, so sad, we’ll never know… 😦
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I guess I wouldn’t think Amanda needed an explanation as I didn’t assume she spent every moment of those five days at Lee’s.
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I agree. And she had already told her mother that she was visiting Mr. Steadman (or whatever name she decided to pick) in the hospital. It would make sense that she would continue to visit her sick friend. After all, “He is such a nice man.”
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re Francine: exactly!
ha haaaaa love how you just slip that in there Morley 😉 I wonder what he will be like with Amanda when we finally see them together again?!
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I also like seeing Francine like this – I kind of feel we’re seeing more of the real Francine, which is normally buried under her “armour” of sophisticated dining, dating, dubious clothing and jewellery choices and make-up. (But I think she remembered her hair products because no-one’s hair has that much body without some “assistance”.)
Also think the earthy, desert colours suit her. The remind me of what she wore in UN when she was driving around in the jeep looking out for L & A.
And her make-up is fairly normal for someone in the 2nd decade of the 21st century, although it might be considered non-existent in the mid-80s 😀
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haha… Well, you should see mine. Especially in the heat. In fact, the “assistance” is probably needed to keep it under control (if her hair is anything like mine.)
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Maybe it’s just me, but I think that’s a cute look for Francine. The first time I watched this, I didn’t know it was her until I saw the blonde curls. The baddie dressed in tan, the ‘puppetmaster.’ He reminds me a little of Jepard and a little of Tucker. Maybe it’s the smug grin?
I rewatched this (after not having seen it for decades) about a week ago. This isn’t one of my favorites, but there are some interesting moments and I’m looking forward (as always) to the perspectives of this group. 😀
lol… Yeah, those gray stripes need to go back to bed. 😉 A tux would be too much at the office, but you’d never hear me complain. 😉
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Smug grin is spot on Sara! 🙂
Oh wow. it had been a long time since you’d seen it! Yeah I’m looking forward to exploring the ep with everyone!
lol gray stripes central.. aie! You know, it’s been too long since we saw Lee in a tux! booo!
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why did we even need to see it?! anyone?
That’s not fair, Iwsod! You’re asking questions we’re not allowed to answer – at least not yet! No, no – not fair! pouting 😉
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Sorry L&A if you weren’t certain that I didn’t know what’s ahead- lol here’s your proof!
Lol if I ask a question u can’t answer you can always tell me that on a need to know basis I don’t have a need to know- ha!
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O.K. 😀
So, we’ll see later, Iwsod, I promise. But for NOW you (or all of us?) don’t have a need to know.
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Roger that! 🙂
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