Ready for another episode? We have five more episodes after this one to complete the walk through Season 4, and the whole show!
This wouldn’t have been possible without the transcribers who have supported JWWM and Operation Sandstorm I repeat!! This would not have been possible!!! So special thanks again to all who have contributed!
For this episode, a special thanks to Clagjanet – for transcribing this episode for Operation Sandstorm, and sharing it with us all. I hope you enjoyed it! I can’t see any comments from Clagjanet in the transcription, so it will just be my comments in this episodes’ blog posts.. and Clagjanet hope we hear your thoughts as we walk through the episode together 
So here we go! Formatting reminder as we get started:
Clagjanet’s descriptions are in this format- (xxx)
My descriptions are in this format- xxx
My comments are in this format- [xxx]
I can’t remember much of the plot with this one.. Remember- if something jumps out at you, you wish to discuss, and I haven’t covered it: Do bring it up and share it with us all!!!! I might skip stuff well worth exploring so don’t hesitate to raise it.
(Opening shot: Establishing aerial view of somewhere on the water in southern California “Las Palmas, California”
Cut to the exterior of a small cabin with a pickup truck and trailer with a Zodiac boat loaded on it. One man (Barney Dorsey) watches with a worried expression as another man (Gus Weinstein) finishes loading up the truck.)
Barney tries to talk Gus out of doing whatever he is going to do..
Barney: Brockett was serious when he told you to stay out of the way. What if you get caught? He could have you arrested!
Gus: Barney, if I’m going to dive on that wreck, I gotta do it while Brockett’s ashore. He’s coming in this morning.
Barney: (frustrated): Look, Lee and his friend will be here any minute. Lee’s a good man – he can help you.
[Lee and his friend? His Wife!!!! Siiigggggghhhhh…]
Seems Gus is diving for ‘evidence’ of what we don’t know yet..
They each accuse the other of gettin’ old basically. [LOL. Aren’t we all?!]
The scene ends with Gus determined to continue with his dive alone, and Barney promising to keep an eye out for him from the docks where he’s meeting Lee.
[They seem to me to be old friends who are both as stubborn as each other]
(Cut to exterior. A freeway, where we are following a rental car. We hear Amanda and Lee in voice-over.)
Amanda: (off-camera) California was a great idea for a honeymoon.
Lee: (off camera) Getting married was a better one… [Hang on a second. Getting married was a better idea for a honeymoon? eh??] ….You know what? Barney’s going to love you. He’s like family. And while my uncle was traipsing around the world, Barney sat in as sort of a back up dad. I spent more time in his mess hall than I did in school.
[Yep, the above is what we see while Lee glows about how much he loves Amanda.
Okay I understand the real life reasons why these kinds of decisions were made, but I don’t have to love them. I guess at least we got the dialogue full stop.. better than nothing.. I have mixed feelings about this episode.. If you hadn’t guessed already! Do share what you think!
Anyway, that was a nice little monologue to set the scene.. All off camera while watching a rental car drive past some palm trees. Nice to see some continuity with referring to Lee being raised by his uncle. Also seems like Lee had chosen California so he can introduce Amanda to the rest of his family. I have no idea if he spills she’s his wife.. aie.. that’s how little I remember!]
Back down on the docks, Gus and Barney continue to bicker. [lol. Like an old married couple! haaaa..] Barney was concerned at the length of Gus’ dive..
Gus seems to have found a ‘little piece of gold’ that will ‘nail Brockett’.
[okay.. No idea what this is but I’m curious..]
Barney wants to see it, but Gus doesn’t want Barney seeing or touching it.[lol calm down Gus] LOL Barney accuses Gus of being all talk (i.e. let me see it or I don’t believe you) and sure enough, Gus ends up showing him.. lol seems Barney knows how to rile his friend up to get him to do what he wants haaaaa.. The pair gather the diving equipment and head back down to toward the dock.
(Cut to a man with a long-range rifle with a silencer taking aim from a hidden position nearby. We see Gus and Barney through the cross-hairs, then he fires. Gus and Barney hit the deck. Gus has dropped the coin. Barney gets up first and tried to drag Gus to his feet.)
Gus: The coin!
Barney: Forget the coin! Let’s get out of here!
(They start to run, leaving the scuba equipment on the ground as they are fired on again.
We cut to Lee and Amanda’s car pulling onto the street.)
Amanda: (off camera) You want to tell him we’re married, don’t you?
Lee: (off camera) Well, Amanda, he doesn’t know anybody we know except my uncle, and he won’t say a word if we tell him not to.
[lol already they are thinking of being ‘flexible’ with that whole secret marriage thing]
(They drive in between the gunman, Gus and Barney. Shots are still being fired but with the silencer, they are unaware. They get out of the car, all smiles.)
Barney: Get down! Get down Lee!
(Another shot is fired and Lee leaps into action.)
Lee: Amanda! In the car!
(Amanda drops down and back into the car. As Lee runs around the front of the car to take cover, we see bullets hit the car. Gus and Barney take refuge behind it and Lee joins them, gun drawn.
The gunman gives up and slips away.)
Lee: Barney, what the hell is going on here?
Barney: It’s the gold!
(The camera pans around the empty park.)
Lee: It looks like it’s clear but be careful. Let me go first.
(He moves slowly around the car, stopping to pull open the driver’s side door and looks inside.
[Brace yourselves all!!!!]
His expression turns horrified.
We see Amanda, motionless with a bloodstain on her chest.)
Lee: Oh my God.
(Cut to view through windscreen where we can see the bullet hole and Amanda unconscious.)
The camera focuses on the bullet hole, and then Amanda in the background comes into focus.
[I’ve always been so focused on Amanda I never noticed the random plain background all of a sudden!
GAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!! Who is ugly crying with me?????!!!!!!
I am so tempted to skip about 40 minutes into this episode, but with the help of Clagjanet’s transcription I’m going to plod on. Clagjanet I don’t know how you did it, all the sadness and angst. gah!!
I’m guessing others have noticed this too, but I’ve gotta point this out, this must be unintentional – basically Lee telling Amanda to get in the car is an unintentional and pretty unfortunate throw back to the whole ‘stay in the car’ gag the show had early on. Only this time, Amanda didn’t question Lee and obediently got back in the car – only to get shot!!!!! It’s kind of unfortunate!!! And makes no sense why he told her to get in the car rather than, get down. Just like he did.. Ugh.. but okay okay.. the plot demanded it.. whatever. Moving on!]
Lastly, it seems Ren Lepard from The Triumvirate has made a full recovery.. Ohhhhh he’s not Ren Lepard this episode? Oh okay.. got it. His name is Norton Scott.
He’s either Ren Lepard with a name change, or surprise Ren Lepart has a long lost twin brother working on the other side of the country – who says the profession you choose is not genetic?! haaaaaa!!!]
Anyway, moving on to the community hospital.
Inside, Lee and Barney are sitting in a waiting room.
Nurse: Mr. Stetson?
They both leap to their feet, looking worried. [With her face, I would be too]
Lee: Yes.
Nurse: Dr. Neely wants to see you.
Lee: How is she? Is she all right?
Nurse: Follow me please.
Barney: I’ll be right here if you need me.
(Lee sighs and follows the nurse towards Amanda’s room. A doctor is on his way out and stops him from going in.)
[That jacket of Lee’s!!! gah!!! what’s with the big pockets? is that to hold all his tissues from mopping up his river of tears?? cos they are massive!!! I’m going to put this white jacket of Lee’s in the fashion fail category haaaaaa – what do you all think?]
Dr. Neely: Mr. Stetson, I’m Dr. Neely.
(Dr Neely pushes Lee back out of the room and into the hallway. ouchie)
…She’s out of surgery but I’m not going to kid you, we still have a long way to go.
Lee: But she is going to be all right? Isn’t she?
Dr. Neely: The next 48 hours will be crucial. It’s a miracle she’s alive. The bullet went through her chest. A fraction of an inch either way and she wouldn’t have had a chance.
Lee: When can I see her?
Dr. Neely: It’s going to take a while. And there’s nothing here for you to do. Get some rest, but leave your number. I’ll phone you. (when Lee looks like he’s about to argue) Please Mr. Stetson.
Lee: (sighing) Alright.
[I would have thought he would have said Lee isn’t family, does the doctor know?]
(Lee returns to Barney in the waiting room, where he has been joined by the sheriff.)
Barney: Lee?
Lee: She’s alive. (beat) But it’s touch and go – the next 48 hours are going to tell.
Barney: This is Sheriff Waterhouse, Lee.
They shake hands.
Lee: Pleasure. How are you.
Barney: I told him what I could but he’s gonna need your statement.
Sheriff Waterhouse: It’s not urgent, Mr. Stetson. Barney says you’ll be staying with him, so I know where to find you. Hey, I’m damn sorry about all this. We’ll get to the bottom of this – that I guarantee.
Lee: (nodding) Thank you Sheriff. Uh, Barney… I have to make a phone call.
[I’d like to see that statement. lol. Hey he was shooting at those two because of secret gold to convict some Brockett dude I don’t know. I showed up and my secret wife got shot. But don’t tell anyone cos we’re spies.]
(Lee turns and walks to a nearby payphone and after a moment to pull himself together, places a call.)
Lee: Hello Mrs. West. (he gives a small laugh) Yeah, it’s Lee… Well, I’m… I’m afraid I’m not doing so well right now… It’s Amanda. There’s been an accident.
The scene ends there.
[It’s all very touching, and while it wouldn’t be right to play down the seriousness, I can’t say I mind, I generally don’t watch SMK to drown in angst..
It is pretty ironic that Amanda gets shot, and she wasn’t even working! It was just random that Lee’s fatherly old friend was helping his friend dive for gold or something right at that moment.
Which kinda negates the need for a secret marriage doesn’t it?!! whahaahahaaaaa..
Oh that sucks right there. Yeah I’m kinda bitter! lol. How are you travelling? do tell!!!]
(Cut to exterior of a fishing type boat, the Valero IV.
Cut to boat interior. Scott (the shooter) walks in holding a doubloon, followed by Brockett.) [I guess that is the one that Gus and Barney dropped on the pier?]
Scott: ‘The eternal metal’. You can’t tell if this gold doubloon was minted two hundred years or two weeks ago. Chemically impossible.
[Is he going for the ‘I just smoked pot’ accent here? rofl. his delivery is pretty funny! but not meant to be.. I think .. ]
Brockett: Forget about the gold! You shot a woman, Scott. A tourist… some poor damned unlucky tourist. Why?
[I see, so Brockett is one of those reluctant baddies, and Scott is one of those stone cold killers!]
Scott: So I could still give you twenty percent of thirty-eight million.
Brockett: I want to know what you’ve got me into. What if she dies?
Scott: She won’t be the first. (off Brockett’s reaction) I didn’t think I was going to have to let you know: The Federal Gold Reserve, three guards dead, my partner’s doing life…he’s got a million on my head.
Brockett: The Harper’s Ferry heist… June.
Scott: Biggest in U.S. history, I think.
[LOL he likes to brag!]
Brockett: You came to me in April with some cute plan to raise some phoney treasure. You knew about it then!
[lol why so offended?! You thought the treasure was real??!!]
Scott: You can’t just fence thirty-eight million. Not in Federal gold. It makes you hotter than a matchhead.
Brockett: So, you’re counting on this treasure hunt to wash it clean, hmm?
Scott: It already has. (shows coin) You see, doubloons are irregular shapes, hand-struck, easy to counterfeit. The State’s already authenticated the entire lot is eighteenth century.
Brockett: You can’t spend doubloons.
Scott: Collectors will pay a premium. And even with the big bite that California state’s going to be taking, I’ll still be doing better than if I fenced it. It goes through my dummy corporation, I disappear and I never have to worry again.
[Then peace love and mung beans, dude that’s cool!]
Brockett: So when’s the auction?
Scott: Third party private sales. But you don’t have worry about that end.
The state certifies the audit on the gold day after tomorrow, you go your way and never see me again. Until then, just close your eyes.
Scott pats Brockett’s cheek and leaves.
[I wasn’t planning to include all this baddie dialogue, but hey it explains the plot, and the baddie team dynamic nicely so I’ll go with it.
Yep, we’ve got greedy baddies on our hands this week!]
(Cut to Billy’s Office. Francine and Billy listen to Lee on the speaker box. Both look serious, Francine on the edge of tears.)
Lee: (on speakerphone) I flew out here the minute I heard, Billy.
Billy: I’m certainly glad her mother was able to locate you.
[UGHHHHH so they are all still lying to each other??!!! Gah!!! that just makes the sadness that much worse for me! Awhhhhh. I figured they’d given the game away with their joint vacation when Amanda speed up to Lee with the limo and told him to get in, and he asked if ‘they’ would make it. Like they were going somewhere together! but.. whatevs. Francine upset about Amanda being hurt? Well note down this moment people!!! ]
(Cut to Barney’s condo – Kitchen. Lee is on the phone while Barney watches.)
Lee: Yeah, she was … very upset.
(Intercut from Billy’s office to Barney’s condo.)
Billy: I can have a truckload of agents to back you up before dark.
Lee: No. no, thanks for the offer, Billy. But, listen Las Palmas is a very small town… I think it might be easier if we open this up quietly.
Billy: Okay, You’re there…you call the shots.
[Aie. Billy!!! Terrible choice of words!!!!!!!! No talk of shots allowed in this episode!]
Lee: Thanks.
Francine: Lee, she’s strong, she’ll be fine.
Lee: (voice breaking slightly) You bet she is, keep your fingers crossed, huh.
(Lee hangs up, takes a long beat, then buries his face in his hands. Barney watches him, concerned.)
Barney: You alright, son?
(Lee collects himself, but his voice suggests he is near tears.)
Lee: Yeah.
[Lee’s trying hard to keep it together.. I love seeing that wedding ring on that hand of his though!]
Barney: I’m sorry you had to walk into this.
Lee: Well just what the hell did we walk into, Barney?
We find out the town has gone crazy since Gus claimed he found gold a few months ago. The shooter was aiming for Gus who’s a retired mailman with a treasure hunting bug..
Gus thinks Brockett wouldn’t really find the famous La Bodega treasure, so he’s been investigating and causing Brockett ‘lots of problems’.
[Barney why do you not mention the gold coin Gus found? He saw it didn’t he?!]
Lee: I can either sit here and go crazy, Barney, or I can do something. (Lee grabs his coat) C’mon. Let’s go![Lee can’t sit still.. just like in Bad Timing huh.]
Off they go… to visit Gus at his cabin.
[I think this is the same cabin in A long Christmas Eve, but noooo I’m not going to go looking for photos no time sorry!]
Gus is inside working on his computer. Lee and Barney enter..
[rofl. Seems Gus has a parrot! The only things he seems to be missing is an eye patch and a wooden leg!]
Gus: Alright Lee. I was really sorry to hear about your wife. [Whoa. Okay so the circle of those who know has just doubled! I quite like hearing Amanda be referred to as his wife awhhhh]
Lee: Yeah, well I’m just about past being sorry and starting to get mad.
Barney: Lee can help, Gus. Tell him everything.
Gus: Sure. But not here. I think we could all use a drink.
They head off for a drink.. so we’ll pause here.
I could use a drink too! How about you?!
How will the hospital reach Lee if they need to? what number did he leave? I guess the Sheriff will just contact Barney.. hmmm.. do they know she is his wife? I don’t remember! I don’t remember if Lee has his mobile phone the size of a brick with him for the hospital to call him. lol.
[*NOTE POST EDITED: after I published this today, I realised I had loads of mistakes where I kept getting Gus and Barney confused!!!! soooo sorry the confusing post got sent out by email, but hopefully this updated post on the blog is now accurate. If I’ve missed any of the mistakes let em know. for some reason I kept thinking Barney looked like a Gus haaaa. no idea why!]
Sooooooo opening things up here for all to share their thoughts on this episode so far!!! do tell!!!! So glad we are walking together!!!!
"Just walk with me.." 
If you can, I would encourage everyone to read the original script for this episode. Amanda and Lee have scenes of them actually enjoying their honeymoon, it would have been a real treat for the fans to see it. It’s a shame Kate got sick, I sure they (kate and bruce) were both looking forward to their characters growing as a married couple and then they couldn’t show much of it because of her absence. I’m so glad she caught it early and got well, she was one of my favorite actresses.
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I loved the original version too. I liked the GSW storyline but I think they should have adjusted the One Flew East storyline instead and put the honeymoon ep off for filming in One Flew East’s place. Then Billy and Francine could have helped the investigation
Actually the REALLY perfect ep for a GSW to plan in would be A Matter Of Choice. I know they had no notice but imagine if Brody had tried to kill Amanda! She was added to the Barnstorm list so it would have been perfect! And move the Francine/Fiance storyline to All That Glitters.
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I would have loved to see Lee and Amanda on their honeymoon. I agree, it is too bad Kate got sick. It’s a lot they could have done with the show. Glad she did catch it early. I too am a huge KJ fan. She is one of my favorite actresses.
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I can’t remember if I commented on this already, but I think it’s hilarious that Lee is wearing a white plaid shirt and a white jacket and somehow there’s no trace of blood on him from trying to provide first aid for Amanda.
The wardrobe designer really should have used darker clothing for Bruce so it wouldn’t be as noticeable.
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Oh dear. Like so many others, I do not like this episode. I remember the first time I saw it – I had no idea that Kate Jackson had gotten sick at this point of the series, and it was just so… heartbreaking. I hate that the episode starts with that voice-over, and it also seems obvious to me that an Amanda stand-in was used for some of the car shots. The fact that we now know that Kate kept her illness a secret from the cast makes me even more sad, because how must they have felt to have her seemingly “check out” without explanation?
The one thing I do enjoy watching is Lee’s grief in the hospital, but that is because I am a sucker for angst. I love the call to Dotty – I find it riveting. I HATE the fact that he decides to run off on an investigation while Amanda hovers between life and death. Totally unrealistic, IMO.
I wish so much that we could have seen more of Billy and Francine in this episode. I wish we could have seen their follow-up conversation with each other after they talked with Lee on the phone (talking about how they don’t buy for one instant that Lee and Amanda were on separate vacations, Lee must be barely holding together, etc.). It would have been so much better (better being a relative term) if Francine (or Francine and Billy together) went out to California to investigate the case, while Lee stayed in the hospital with Amanda where he belonged.
Just some other random comments…
Barney: I wish we had gotten to know him better, i.e., outside of this one episode. I wish that they had reworked the plot so that Lee’s uncle could have been here instead of that guy Gus. That would have at least made the “gold” plot somewhat interesting.
Shooter: The fact that the same actor who played Ren Jepard in the Triumvirate is playing the shooter/bad guy here adds a creep factor to this episode. For me, it just makes things more poignantly sad, because Triumvirate is one of my top-four all-time favorite SMK episodes, whereas this one is definitely in my bottom ten. His clothing/sunglasses in the pictures above make me think of a 70s porn star.
Lee’s reaction to the shooting: Very good acting by Bruce. “Oh my God.” Gives me the chills.
Lee’s jacket: Yeah, I’m going to have to go with the majority opinion here: it is hideous. The material looks cheap to me. I do not like the pockets at all. I guess we should just be glad that Lee wasn’t shot too, because aside from evening wear, main characters tend to get shot when they wear white on this show (e.g., Lee in Long Christmas Eve, Francine in The Triumvirate).
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On point there. Not a fan of this episode. I do find it interesting that she didn’t let the cast know she was sick. I’m sure they could tell. She started looking very thin and weak in the face. I also wish they had more interaction between Dottie and Lee, especially since he called her.
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There used to be a huge stigma attached back then, especially since recovery rates weren’t nearly as high. In fact the original film of Cat On A Hot Tin Roof had to cut all references to the disease. If word had gotten out, CBS probably would have shut everything down and cancelled the series then and there. The more people she told, the more risk someone could hear something.
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I hadn’t thought about that. Good analogy on that!!
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I love the angst part too.
I was thinking more about the way Lee leaves to investigate and the way I’ve been able to reconcile it (aside from the obvious reason that it’s a technical necessity) is to look back on Night Crawler where we see how unglued Lee comes when he can’t do anything. There he admitted he was helpless because of Billy taking him off the case. This time around, there’s nobody to hold him back and so the only way Lee can hold himself together is to throw himself into the case and basically compartmentalize. Hence his comment “I can sit here and go crazy or I can do something.” And it’s almost like we’re seeing a reversion to the old pre-Amanda Lee of dealing with his emotions and fear of loss by completely devoting himself to the case and not letting himself think about the risk and danger to Amanda as much.
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I do see that. Lee threw himself into the work to not think about it. In this episode, I don’t see that from him. After he is told by the doctor there isn’t anything he can do, that’s it, he’s then wrapped up in finding the gold. I just finished watching this episode again to see if my opinion had changed, it hasn’t.
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Okay, I think I’m about to get in a lot of trouble here, because I actually like Lee’s casual jacket! I love the casual look we see on him in the later seasons, and white is one of his best colors, next to that wonderful blue!
I hate the reason for the storyline but I do like this episode. In my ideal world, they would have filmed out of order and redone one of the following scripts to have Amanda get shot back in D.C. so we could have had Billy and Francine assisting and then filmed this one after Kate came back to set so we could have had the intended honeymoon ep. That said, I think they did really well with this.
And I actually find Lee’s reaction very emotional, particularly during the hospital scenes and at Barney’s place. I think he’s simply throwing himself into finding the killer because it’s the only thing he can do. We know he does go stir-crazy not taking action (Remembrance Of Things Past) and we know how he reacts when people close to him are hurt or killed (We’re Off To See The Wizard, Unfinished Business, etc.) so it’s definitely in character for him to take matters into his own hands like this. What I did find a little unbelievable was that he would just accept the doctor saying he couldn’t stay with Amanda and going without putting up much of a fight. It reminded me of when Hart To Hart did something similar — both were for writing purposes rather than what was true to the character. (In that ep, they needed Jonathan alone in hospital so he could be attacked again). In this case, it was obviously because Kate could not be around for the hospital scenes, so they had to have reason to not have Lee at her bedside very often. But it still bugged me.
And I hate hate HATE that they had this happen because Lee said “Stay in the car.” What a horrible memory for him and what a horrible thing to do with their history. That was such a delightful joke in the series and this really puts a damper on it. Especially since the original script draft didn’t include it. Why it was necessary to go there is beyond me.
I first saw this episode in syndication on the Monday we got home from vacation and I remember how mad I was that we’d missed the wedding by ONE EPISODE! The time slot changed to past my bedtime before the ep came around again, so I actually didn’t get to see the wedding until I got rehooked on the series last year, when I saw it — appropriately enough — on Lee and Amanda’s wedding anniversary.
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Ok, one, this episode makes me sadder then sad until my absolute favorite SMK moment. But not allowed to jump ahead.
Two, I looooooove seeing the ring on Lee’s finger 😍
Three, yes, this is the same cabin from A Long Christmas Eve, an episode ironically, when Lee was shot and unconscious while Amanda was struggling to keep it together and now we have the opposite. Interesting that in both cases they put the brave foot forward the best they each know/knew how in their own way, I think.
And fourth, hieeeeee everybody!!! 👋
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Ahhh thanks for confirming the cabin Amanda rambler. so glad you are walking with us!!! 🙂
I feel the same way about seeing that ring on Lee’s finger. It’s so distractedly good!
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I too looooooove seeing the ring on Lee’s finger.
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Oh, thanks for adding in the baddie dialogue. I’ve only seen this episode once since about 1992 and I have to admit I’d completely forgotten what the gold business was about. And every time I see the word “Mission” in the title I picture a religious mission with gold secreted away, and not a boat, and… Well.
Anyway, as a teen I hated the amount of time they spent on the plot but as an adult I can appreciate that an hour of watching Lee moping around the hospital wouldn’t have been spectacular television, either, and he’s definitely a “doer” so going off after the shooter makes sense. I can also appreciate the desperation of having to make a wholesale revision to something with very little notice or time. So I think it’s not ideal at all but I’ll allow they did their best and it was probably written by committee and things done that way are just always terrible.
Ways this could have been better:
– Lee coming clean to everyone that he and Amanda were on vacation together. He could’ve just owned up to it and not said ‘honeymoon.’
– Amanda not letting that jacket ever get into Lee’s suitcase, ever. There is no excuse for that jacket, and the only reason I can think of that it would have landed on the show’s wardrobe is some Seinfeldian puffy-shirt situation.
– Maybe more Dotty. They could have done some sweet things with Lee and Dotty together, filled a lot of fan buckets and achieved some great character development.
But 20/20 hindsight is perfect, so…
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Hiya Dotty’s favorite sweater (is that DFS?) – your comment went into moderation which is a bit weird. No idea why, but hopefully in future you should see your comments show up straight away.
if they don’t I’ll approve them as soon as I can.
Oh your welcome – isn’t it fab that Clagjanet transcribed all that baddie dialogue for us??!!!!
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I will answer to DFS to save keystrokes, absolutely.
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I just rewatched this and noticed that you can see the moment the bullet goes through the window and hits Amanda. She jolts a bit in her seat before slumping to the side, and then of course it takes a bit for Lee to realize she’s been hit. That gap between the shot and his awareness is heartbreaking to me somehow, b/c it is so unlike him to be unaware of her state of being at this point.
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oh nooooooo this is too depressing for me to go look at!! I’m just going to take your word for it gaaaaahhh!!!!
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Yes, that’s always gotten me. Right from the first. She does jerk in her seat. It’s horrible!
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I never noticed Amanda jolts after being hit, I may watch it again, although I’m not a huge fan of this episode.
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Well, on the “upside” it happens in the first five minutes, so you don’t have to watch very long.
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Good to know, I will watch it again. Thanks!
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At this point, I consider Lee to be in denial or maybe just in auto-pilot mode, where he begins trying to figure out what happened and find the shooter. So that could explain his demeanor. At least–for now.
Yes, that jacket he’s wearing is hideous. I like your thought about the pockets being a spot to hold tissues. When I saw this episode long ago, I was thinking it would be the jacket you wear to sneak food into a movie theater. It’s not one of Lee’s better outfits. I think it’s way too soon for him to be relaxing on the fashion end of things this soon after getting married. 😉
We need Lee and Amanda interacting because anything less just doesn’t hold the same energy that we’ve come to love at this point. We haven’t seen Amanda shot on the job like this before, so maybe the plot idea has some possibilities. I’ll reserve any further comments on this topic for later.
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Hiya Sara, I think the denial buring yourself in work thing is pretty understandable. I go with something like that too I think.. but I might hold off discussing this till the end of the ep to explain why it still doesn’t work well for me.
Preach it Sara!!!!!!
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Okay, I seriously have mixed feelings about this episode. Lee and his lack of emotions get me. So, Barney knows Amanda is his wife, not sure if the doctor knows. Cut to the Agency, Billy and Francine are in the office talking to Lee on the speakerphone. Is it just me or do Billy and Francine seem more concerned than Lee? I guess they still don’t know about Lee and Amanda being married? As you said, I just knew when Amanda pulled up in the car, during the end of “Do you take this spy?” telling Lee they have 15 minutes to get there, that their secret marriage was blown. So where do Billy and Francine think they have to be in 15 minutes? Obviously, they were clueless. Back at Barney’s condo, Lee tells Barney he can’t sit still, so they go for drinks. Umm, he seems more concerned about the gold, than trying to find out who shot his wife. I guess if the doctor had called he would have missed his call. This episode appeared a bit confusing to me.
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This episode was a stinker for all the reasons you pointed out in your comments. Do we know if it was because Kate got sick? How did they have a whole Amanda light episode ready to film? Even back in the day I remember hating it and disliking this season. It wasnt just her illness but to me the whole tone of the show lost what attracted me to it.
But still- thanks for posting!
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My theory? I think they had this episode written, but then had to shift Amanda’s role in the case to Barney.. and so they had to create a friend of Barney’s character. My guess is originally Barney was the diver who found the treasure and there was no Gus character.
But.. maybe we can keep this in mind as this walk continues and come back to this when we can look at the episode as a whole?
I’m very curious to hear what everyone sees here!
Thanks again for transcribing Clagjanet!!!
Hmm I might leave this for someone else to respond to?? anyone??
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If you go to Petra’s site, there’s an unfilmed version where Lee and Amanda are both helping solve the gold mystery on their honeymoon and she doesn’t get shot. They had to rewrite it because this was when Kate realized she was sick and went to the doctor. The rewritten script is also on Petra’s site, and there’s a hilarious blooper midway in for a season you haven’t posted, so I won’t give away any spoilers, but at one point it refers to Amanda instead of Barney in two or three lines of description before it switches back to talking about Barney again!
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Interesting, I would eventually like to see that version. I believe when Kate got sick through a monkey wrench in this season, they weren’t prepared, therefore they messed up the writing of the scripts. It’s very unfortunate.
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I agree I’m super interested in this first version of the script, but I’m going to wait till the end to take a look at it so we can discuss the episode overall..
Can someone bring this up in the final post of this episode so we can discuss it?
Don’t rely on me to remember please…feel free to bring it up- lol.I’m kinda relying on you guys to remind us! 🙂
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I will remind you.
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Thank you!!
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I agree with you about this episode, I really didn’t like it. I watch it hoping I will change my opinion. Unfortunately, I don’t!!
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Yes, this is the first episode filmed after Kate’s diagnosis, so I imagine the script had to be hurriedly modified. The previous episode has a final shooting date of 24 Dec and this one was scheduled for January. I have a recollection of Kate saying that filming was delayed because BB had the flu and for some reason she was prompted to go and see her doctor during the delay. The re-writes are probably why the tone feels odd as well – I don’t imagine that every little nuance was in proper perspective – and of course, no-one expected us to be examining it minutely so many years later.
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Welcome to the blog aussidi!
I agree this is why the tone feels off… as neckieh has noticed!
What? why wouldn’t they have expected us to be examining this episode minutely so many years later? we are normal? right?!
[don’t answer that! haaaaa]
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Agreed! yes, she (Kate Jackson) got sick, but prior to that, the writing and plot were stupid. It was as if they (the writers) didn’t know what to do with the characters. I doubt even if Kate didn’t get sick the show would have been renewed for a 5th season.
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I read the original script and I actually didn’t mind it. I hate the secret marriage but I thought it could have been a decent blend of caper + honeymoon.
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