Hi Everyone! Phew! After walking through the roller-coaster Stemwinders- are we ready to move on?
I have no memory (thanks to no memory) of No Thanks for the Memory! Anyone else have no memory of No Thanks for the Memory?!
Well.. I am curious to see what Lee and Amanda are like after the major events of the Stems! Sooooo on with this episode!
Huge thanks to Janet who has transcribed the dialogue for this episode and shared it with us all – Janet – We Salute You!!!!!!! Take a bow!!! 
Thanks also to Learjet for formatting the dialogue – you’re a gem Learjet!
The episode opens with a daytime vista of Washington DC..
We move on to a country road. Uh oh.. bad things happen in the country! 
We see a car moving along.. and we hear a foreign accent..
Guy with accent: “Did you ever compare an American candy bar to a Soviet Zota fudge log or a Pulzati toffee brick?…
(We see a sign as the car continues on)
Inside.. we find two men. One with a candy bar continues to talk… (okay Janet identifies this guy’s name as Zhmed!): There is no comparison… None at all…
…Here you’ve got real chocolate, honest to god nougat…
[Uh oh! More Russians??!!!!! Does the reference to Soviet candy mean they are Russians?
What is ‘Pulzati’? sounds Italian but I don’t know..
His accent could be Russian..
I wonder if this is one reason why unfinished business was put third in airing order. It does seem a bit – really? again??!!! Hmm maybe the fifth and fourth can be switched.. you know I have no idea what is the fifth episode in airing order of season 4?! and.. I don’t want to know.. not just yet! As you can see Iwsod has trouble focusing. Come on Iwsod focus on smk and what is unfolding..]
Dmitri: Cripes Zhmed, you are driving me up a wall.
[This doesn’t seem to put much of a dent in Zhmed’s riveting discourse. And sticking with the puns – how can Zhmed drive Dimitri up the wall – Dimitri is the one driving 😉 ]
Zhmed: It’s no wonder they eat over 10,000 tons a year. Oh look! You will find this interesting: the classic Baby Ruth was not named after the American baseball player, Babe Ruth….
[On and on Zhmed goes. He doesn’t seem to need any encouragement, and Dmitri is over it!]
…Most people think so. In fact it was named after the American president Grover Cleveland’s daughter, Ruth. Now what is so very interesting about –
Dmitri: Shut up! You have not stopped yammering since we left Canada!.. 
(LOL I think they just went around the same corner again haaa! my my.. no wonder this drive is so tiresome 😉 )
…They were right about your memory. Your mind is one gigantic junk pile of American trash. 
[LOL the memory is no bad thing.. but does he have to always share it?!]
Zhmed: I know. Everything goes in, nothing ever comes out… [Looks like there is plenty that comes out 😉 ]
(Suddenly Zhmed seems sad)
… Ya zamoltchu
[What does he say? anyone?… Hmm this Zhmed seems to have been brought into the US for that memory.. maybe he is the Russian expert at Memory, like Ernie was America’s expert on faces (and the road runner).. he certainly seems to be a quirky character..]
Dmitri: English. Speak English! No Russian ever, not even in your sleep. Never forget that you are working. If he hears one syllable of Russian while we are working in the field, Tolst will tear your tongue out. I mean it.
[Ah okay. They definitely Russians speakers!
Phew! Probably best Zhmed stops talking so much!]
Zhmed: Okay. But my English is lousy. Who’s ever is going to believe I’m from Finland? It’s nuts… [LOL his English seems okay to me! I’d believe he was from Finland no problem ha]
… Did you know that twelve point two percent of Americans speak a second language and of those that do-
Dmitri: Zhmed do it!…
[Frustrated and distracted, Dmitri takes his eyes off the road] 
…Just do it! And don’t start yapping those numbers-
Zhmed: Watch it! 
Zhmed points at something..
Dmitri turns to look.. and we cut to the wide shot.. and a random bush that is suddenly in the middle of the road!
rofl!!!
[I’ll go with Janet’s description here:]
(Car hitting barrier and becoming airborne,
rolling and landing on roof, skidding along road.
Another car approaches from opposite direction with a single driver who stops and gets out, running to overturned car.) 
Clagjanet in the transcription adds: There is no way this guy is not BB’s stunt double normally – look at that hair!
LOL!
He finds Zhmed half out of car, mumbling and groaning in pain. 
Driver: Don’t worry! I’ll call an ambulance.
Zhmed: The driver… I think is bad. 
Driver: Do you live around here? Can I call someone?
Zhmed: Here are my papers. 
(he takes a blue book out of his shirt pocket and hands it to the guy..sort of! He kind of passes out before the guy can grab it..)
The scene ends here.. Just what are the Russians up to with this walking American facts memory bank?!
Moving on, we find Lee’s corvette pulling into the magical IFF garage.. the shot zooms in on the front door of IFF. Oh my goodness.. Listen to the heavily romantic music!! Cue the romance!!! rofl! For a second I thought it was the start of Days of our lives or at least a Danielle Steele telemovie!
But no.. We cut to Amanda writing in the Q bureau. 
[LOL check out the computer on Lee’s desk – it’s not exactly ergonomic is it!]
Amanda gets up and sticks a note on Lee’s computer. [Ah the age before post it notes!]
At that moment, Lee arrives..
Amanda: Hi!
Lee: Hi.
Amanda: I was just leaving you a note. I gotta cancel lunch again. 
Lee: Again?! 
[Ah! Nicely done.. we immediately get a sense for how things have been.. Lee’s missing his Amanda time!
Maybe Lee’s thinking- Heck Amanda, do we have to go on the run to get some alone time?! 
Someone give me some radio frequencies to leak!]
Amanda: Yeah, I’m sorry. It’s work. 
Lee lets out a massive sigh.
Lee: That is the third time this week. 
[I love how calm and open Lee is here. He’s clearly not happy, but he’s not reacting with anger, or feeling threatened.. just.. expressing his feelings openly. This Lee Stetson is pretty darn gorgeous 
]
Amanda: Oh I know. I wish I didn’t have to… 
[And reaches out and strokes Lee’s lapel. Awh.. a soothing gesture. Very sweet!]
…but Beaman called… 
[He looks like such a little boy here! 
As Amanda continues to explain, she reaches out to Lee, he quickly reciprocates.. 
Amanda doesn’t miss a beat – such a strong women to be able to continue what she was saying while in his arms!]
…He wants me to check out that possible bogus passport the Finns called about. The man’s in the hospital… [Ah! Zhmed! So the Finns are on to him already! ]
[Amanda wraps her arms around Lee trapping him ]
…It’s my first Class C interrogation. 
[I think Amanda is playfully practicing on Lee here to soften his disappointment.. and.. it works!
He gives her a smile]
Lee: Hmm. Class C interrogation is a soft interrogation…
…Lots of hand holding, sweet talking….
..Maybe we could make up for lost time by practicing on me. [Aha!]
[Smooth Lee!]
Amanda: I don’t think…
[Amanda stops mid sentence to give him a kiss.. When you gotta kiss, you gotta kiss
Rofl they seem to get their timing wrong and don’t quite meet up haaaa.. 
A bit like them trying to catch up for lunch at the moment from the sounds of it! ]
…you need any practice. [Oh I disagree! Your lousy timing confirms you two should practice a lot!! 😉 ]
[I’m impressed- very smooth of Amanda! she is certainly Lee’s equal
Lee laughs at Amanda’s comeback. I think he agrees – she’s good!!! ]
Lee: Amanda, I don’t see you enough.
[Lee misses Amanda? Wants to spend more time with her? Wow, isn’t this lovely! He’s pretty firmly hooked!! ]
[Phew, that could have sounded all whiny and needy.. it doesn’t sound like that from Lee here.. IMHO of course! He’s just stating a fact he’s not happy with -what do you think? ]
Amanda: I’m sorry but it’s work. Now you know, when we’re at work, we have to behave like we’re at work…
[Err like you are right now?! rofl!!! I can see how well this plan is going to work out! ]
…Somebody could walk in the door any minute.
Lee (flatly): How very, very practical of you…
(he gets a little more playful) …except when we are not at work, we are not together enough to suit me…
…How about dinner tomorrow night at my place? 
Amanda: You don’t have any food at your place.
[Nice continuity! Smelly cheese anyone?!]
[Lee smiles.. Careful Amanda, you are dealing with a master flirt! ]
Lee quietly: Exactly. [Hooo haaaaa!
Whoa. genius! And he only has eyes for Amanda ]
They smile at each other.. sounds like a date!
I hear the Blue Fox delivers and does wonderful menus for two
This brings up the age old smk fan debate – are they consummating their romance?? or not? What do you all think about this? I mean, so far? Sorry if you find this topic irritating.. just err block your eyes and ears a minute 😉 I don’t mind touching on this from time to time, but then I’m really not invested in it either way..
On a different topic – I like seeing Amanda is spreading her wings professionally.. after the events of the Stemwinders that needed to happen! Err if she was to stay. Seems she has chosen to stay – despite the organisational risks at IFF! I wonder if Lee wishes he was the one training her, he has to share her now, that would possibly be an adjustment! but I love that he isn’t holding her back. Amanda would probably love that too
Lastly, I like that Amanda finds no enjoyment (IMHO) in Lee missing her.. she doesn’t like to see him unhappy, and doesn’t need the affirmation this might provide (if you needed it).
This scene ends there.. If there are going to be so many lovey dovey moments I’m going to have to cut down on how many pics I include. lol in these moments I go a little crazy with including lots of picks.. dimples.. smiles.. and wow. just so hard to cut back!
I’ll pause here before we move on to the next scene, except I’ll say that – we seem to cut straight to the Cumberland from weekend! Here:
Though lol I guess we are not suppose to remember that but it’s pretty funny to see them all lovey dovey and then cut to the place where they pretended to be married so early on! We saw this exterior in another ep too didn’t we? anyone? Was it Welcome to America Mr Brand? I don’t have time to look but if anyone finds this fun to dig into – please do!!! I find it fun, I just have to choose where I’m having my fun right now lol.
Well, I can’t wait to hear what you all think of the start of this ep! Do tell!!!
"Just walk with me.." 
So! My son and I are up into Season 4! Whew, the Stems were so amazing, but intense, so I have to say I’m actually happy for a less intense episode. Especially one that starts out with this super sweet opening Q Bureau scene!! 😍
Question – has anyone else ever thought that Zhmed looks a lot like Ross from Friends!?!? I think that everytime I see him!!
Morley, I love your comment about their relationship – “not prudish, but principled”. I tend to agree with your whole stance on the issue.
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Just bopping around on the walk for a bit before I extricate myself from SMK land and go back to the paper writing I really should be doing.
But I have put my brain back into thinking about SMK, canon, and my stories and so I thought that I would take a stab and you did they/ didn’t they question.
I am going to be stupidly old fashioned here, knowing that if this was today, they sure would have. That being said, there is probably not much reason that they didn’t in the 80’s either – especially with the Stemwinder event behind them. Except that I really want them to wait because I think that is extra special (I said old fashioned, right?) I think Amanda is conservative about these things, not prudish, but principled. And I think that is one of the things that intrigued Lee about her. This relationship was so much about the two of them learning to love the other for who they really are and not just going for the moment, but instead, a slow and steady progression to something real and concrete and permanent. I think Lee has a plan and I think that plan is to give Amanda something very real and I think he feels like that would mean waiting… but not forever! Deciding to wait, for him, would mean that this relationship is a totally different animal than any other he has ever had, and Amanda would feel that. It’s probably not realistic, but that’s the way I am going to try to spin it… I think…
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Love this, Iwsod, “Maybe Lee’s thinking- Heck Amanda, do we have to go on the run to get some alone time?! Someone give me some radio frequencies to leak!”
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Oh boy! When this scene aired I’m guessing every living room in America got a little bit warmer…. Lee’s not so subtle parting comment to Amanda, well, where’s my fan….
As far as the did they or didn’t they, I go back and forth. My last position, which I haven’t really thought about for a while was that they didn’t. But good gosh, scenes and lines like this make it hard to believe they didn’t. I wonder how many times I’ll flip flop over this question.
I love that now Amanda is a full-time agent, she is actually getting training! I think back to S1 when Billy told her that she didn’t need training and that if she had it it would make her less useful to him – lol. Amanda’s classic comeback at some training help keeping her alive is one of my favorite S1 lines 🙂
It is clear that Amanda is loving her new agent status, the training, and the chance to put it into practice. Wow has she come a long way! This is so very exciting for her. I think she is just as excited about her training and new job as she is about being in a real romance with Lee. Although Lee is not jealous here, I could see it being a potential issue in the future if it keeps getting in the way.
Cut back on lovey dovey Lee and Amanda pics?? Nevah!!! You can’t have too many!
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One day I’m going to have to count up all the scenes that I say are favorites, because it’s way more than one. This bit with Lee and Amanda happen to be a favorite. Now, I’m out of town at the moment and my DVDs are inaccessible, but when I first got them I watched them on my computer with my headphones. It’s amazing how much more you hear through the headphones. But I think when the scene transitions to the house you can hear more kissing from Lee and Amanda as it transitions. I have to check again when I get home. It might give you pause as to just how far Lee and Amanda have gotten or gone in their relationship.
One of the things that I liked after they finally admitted their love to each other was how absolutely smitten Lee has become. He is so into their relationship. Amanda is so level-headed, but Lee is just all in. And they are absolutely adorable here.
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I love the bit of role reversal here. Amanda is keeping Lee keen by being very busy, professional and businesslike 😀 . Under it all, she’s probably the practical one of the two of them, and Lee’s the romantic. How times have changes from the hard-shelled, closed-emotioned Lee of S1.
On a different note, that opening scene with the car is one of the most tedious openings in SMK…not even the discussion of chocolate can drag it up to being particularly interesting. I couldn’t care what happens to the car or its occupants 🙂
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“… not even the discussion of chocolate can drag it up to being particularly interesting.”
Except for Francine, who is always interested in chocolate, don’t you think?
Having visited Finland many times and Russia twice, this opening with a Soviet impersonating a Finn was shocking and improbable. Why? At the very beginning of WWII the U.S.S.R. invaded its tiny neighbor Finland (called the Winter War). The U.S.A., U.K. & U.S.S.R. were Allies so Finland was hung out to dry. In a dastardly treaty 10% of Finland, the province of Karelia, was given to the U.S.S.R. and every Finn living there evacuated. For that and other reasons, there is absolutely no love lost between these two neighbors. So it would be an insult, for either nationality, to be asked to impersonate the other. It was amusing yet predictable that Dmitri kept telling Zhmed to speak English never Russian — but they never practiced the “cover language” Finnish!
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Thanks for the history tid bit!
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Christmas treats: (a) Lee’s dimples … they melt my heart every time!
(b) Amanda’s cute elf ears that bring to mind Judy spreading bedtime hot cocoa cheer in “The Santa Clause.”
(c) “Amanda: You don’t have any food at your place.
Lee quietly: Exactly.” I agree! Why should they bother wasting precious time together cooking? Better they each place their orders solely with one another to share everything: kisses, hugs, caresses, cuddles, snuggles, canoodling …
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What I love in this scene is that when she’s got him trapped like that, she’s kind of vibrating with excitement. She’s been assigned something real and she just can’t wait to plunge into it – and you can tell that Lee senses it and is happy for her.
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I would be “kind of vibrating with excitement” for an entirely different reason, clagjanet, if I was standing so close to Lee Stetson! He can practice Class C interrogations with me for hours … days … months … best be honest — a lifetime. Yeah, that sounds about right!
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The stunt double comment was me – I couldn’t resist pointing it out. 😉
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Haaaa loved it! I’ll edit the blog post so it’s clear.
Hey anyone doing a transcript for JWWM, feel free to add in your own little comments along the way (much like I do in the blog posts). I will include them in the blog posts – I’m going to be doing this for It’s in the Water – Cindy has transcribed it and has shared hilarious comments along the way that I will include. I’m just starting to write up that episode now..
[Cindy – you rock 🙂 ]
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Awwww Shucks! Thanks for the shout out! This episode will also be very fresh to me, so I guess the title is very appropriate.
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Ya zamoltchu = “I’ll shut up.” Just what Dimitri wanted to hear and it’s not in English. lol
Can anyone zoom in enough to read that note on Lee’s computer? Just curious.
I too really like Amanda being very into the job and excited about her assignments. Lee’s been so fixated on work and now he’s got a relationship, he gets to miss her. It’s healthy. Okay, maybe they do need some alone time, but good things are worth the wait.
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I dunno… I think they purposely made it very PG because that was the thing to do at the time, but I find a viewer would have to be kind of naive to think they weren’t at least doing SOMETHING… maybe not a home run, but definitely third base, if you get my meaning. There’s the “no food in the apt” hint here, and ************ in some other ep I can’t remember, among other things. Amanda doesn’t sound like she’s refusing him, so Occam’s Razor dictates that they’re well past simple pecks on the lips at this point.
[edited to delete future events]
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Welcome Gads!
Sorry had to edit out reference to an event we haven’t gotten to yet – this blog doesn’t jump ahead.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And welcome to JWWM!
I know many would agree with you.. lol many would not.. and many don’t really feel strongly one way or the other!
Oh how non committal I sound lol.. still – welcome!
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