… Amanda is just walking in public, wearing her pyjamas, minding her own business.. (as you do) and suddenly, her life is turned around – literally!
Amanda: Whoa, excuse me!
Lee: Just walk with me.
Amanda: I certainly will not!
Lee: Please. I’m in trouble.
Amanda: Oh! No. I’ve got to go!
(She gets away. He catches her and holds her arm.)
Lee: Just one moment… 
[taking these shots here I’m kinda horrified no one checks Amanda is okay, everyone keeps walking! Ooooookay it must be because it wasn’t in the script to ask if she’s okay 
haaaa focus iwsod!]
…Please.
Amanda: No!
Lee: I’m in trouble. 
Please… 
…Please!
[Awhhhhh ] 
[Amanda looks so much younger here, does anyone know how long between the pilot and the rest of the show?]
Amanda: What do you want me to do?
[Lee’s pleading puppy dog eyes and the please get Amanda!!]
[Phew. Okay she’s not trying to run away anymore. good!] 
(Lee turns Amanda around again, 
and hands her the package.)
Lee: Just take this… 
….Get on the train. It’s a matter of life and death!
Amanda: Life and death?
Lee: Hand it to a man in a red hat.
[I can’t watch this now without thinking about my meme with Santa and his red hat ]
Amanda: Is this for real?
Lee: Just get on the train, hand it to the man in a red hat… 
……You can get off at the next stop and forget all about this, ….just do it!
(Lee starts to head off, waving Amanda toward getting on the train… Amanda just looks confused. In her nightgown. rofl.)
[I love how suddenly a crowd of people push toward getting on the train encouraging her to do so.. do all these peeps work for the agency? ]
[Sooooo if you were Amanda what would you have done?
Okay, I know I’ve included a ton of images, but this is an especially special moment for this blog so I’m going for it!!!]
We cut to Lee looking relieved.. but two baddies are hot on his heels. 
[I wonder if we see these two baddies again.. no idea so I’ll leave this here! Uh oh. At least they aren’t shooting anymore I guess that’s something…]
Amanda leans out the train door as it pulls out from the station watching the baddies run toward the random handsome waiter who needed her help. 
She gets a good look at stunt Lee getting tackled and conveniently landing in the luggage pile..along with a few punches in the gut…
Amanda’s reaction is priceless lol.
Lee gets roughed up. Yep. This is life or death for real Amanda!!!
Fortified by this confirmation, Amanda sets to work following Lee’s instructions. Kinda.
Amanda (to herself): Man in a red hat. Man in a red hat.
(Amanda looks up..
to find a whole train carriage full of men with red hats. 
[oh rofl. This never gets old!!! ] 
whoa. and uh oh.
Amanda clutches the package to her chest. What to do??!!
The conductor comes up to her.)
Conductor: Tickets! Tickets please. 
Amanda: I don’t have a ticket.
(As Amanda talks we see THE man in the red hat look up to see he is surrounded by other red hat. [He only notices now. rofl!!!! Epic Fail!!] 
He hides behind his newspaper again.. 
Nice one dopey!)
… I’m not a passenger. I just drove my boyfriend here so he wouldn’t have to leave his car out in the rain. In fact, I should be heading home.
Conductor: All right. I’m not supposed to do this. You can pay me the fare.
Amanda: I don’t want to buy a ticket.…
…Do you know what I have on under this coat? A nightgown!
Whahahahaaaaa!!!
Ummm.. 
…Do you think I expected to be on this train?
Conductor: Where did you expect to be?
(Amanda looks around… 
umm…??!!) 
[The conductor clearly thinking Amanda is in need of the ambulance to take her back to the hospital lol.
I don’t know why but the straight delivery of this line by the conductor cracks me up every time.. it’s funnier that it’s not exaggerated.. smk gold right here! ]
We cut to a brown car driving up to the agency, Lee gets out of the back seat looking a little worse for wear.
Given we’ve been walking through this show literally for years and only now have come back to this first episode it’s fascinating to see all these shots we haven’t seen in a very long time! what the street looks like outside from different angles..
LOL is that a big truck or a container there outside, the big red thing behind Lee? 
I don’t think we see Lee arrive out the front of the agency quite again like this.. what do you think? 
Love the guy in the trench coat walking past. Nice touch! What’s the number of the agency?1222?
Lee seems to have been given an ice pack and a ride.. he looks pretty dejected.. does he already know Amanda didn’t give the package to the man in the red hat?
Lee walks into the foyer.. oh yeah.. no Mrs Marsden! But, Lee’s movements are being monitored on a camera as he makes his way to the closet elevator. 
LOL he has to turn on a little dainty light on the wall haaaa. 
Why is that so funny??!!
Have we ever seen Lee this messed up?!
Okay I’m going to pause here before he arrives where he’s headed..
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all this – if you see things differently to me, or the same – either way it’s great to hear from you!!! I’ll publish the next post mid week in the coming week so keep an eye out!! 🙂
"Just walk with me.." 
WOW. The close up shots of Amanda and Lee when he gets her to stop and he begs her for help. They look so young! Hahaha. I attribute that to the makeup, lighting and whoever was the director.
But I can’t get over — she stopped! Why? I would’ve been “ah, no” and very firmly walked away. I know she did try to walk off and he grabbed her again but she didn’t continue to protest and then agreed to help him.
(Wait. Maybe this is why I’ve never met a good looking spy.)
But that’s Amanda. She was patient with her mom interupting her as she was trying to get out of the house that morning. I noticed she briefly hesitates, sort of glances away from Lee and then asks what do you need me to do. (I see this as a mom reaction,too. Always getting interrupted and having to deal with someone’s request.)
I laughed out loud for real when she looks into the train car and sees a bunch of shriners in red hats. And then when she announces she has a nightgown on and they all look up together. Funny! That scene never gets old!
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We visited the Agency location during our DC vacation last year and walked around the neighborhood. Great experience! Love all the guys looking up when Amanda mentions her outfit. Ha.
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whoooooo farmgirl, anytime you’d like to write a post about that trip and locations visits.. I’d be happy to publish it!!!
But no pressure… 🙂
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Maybe someday 🙂
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I think my earlier comment must have disappeared into cyberspace somewhere! I love that they filmed on location in Georgetown for Lee’s return to the agency, as I’ve walked down that street a number of times and I always had happy thoughts of Lee and Amanda working inside.
No sign yet outside identifying it as IFF. I still wonder what all the neighbors thought with so many people going in and out of that front door–would have made me suspicious.
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This is one of my favorite episodes. The train station scene, after she drops Dean off, and waves goodbye is her first encounter with Lee. It does bother me when he grabs her, as people walk by, and she pulls away from him, no one stops to ask if she’s okay.
Amanda “aka” KJ looks noticeably young in this episode.
When she’s on the train and sees all these men with red hats is hilarious, especially when she tells the ticket guy, she doesn’t want to buy a ticket, and the only thing under her coat is a nightgown. As she stood talking with him, I thought she was going to notice the one guy in the red cap poking his head up from the newspaper. Of course, I’m glad she never noticed him.
Interestingly, when Lee gets out of the car and enters the building, which is the first and last time we see the entrance used.
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We see the entrance used again at the beginning of Playing Possum. (Hope I’m allowed to say that?)
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I don’t remember what the episode was about.
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Season 2. Lee and Amanda have to join forces with a KGB agent to prevent a nuclear bomb.
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The good thing about the blog now is – you can just link to the episode or refer people to it..
Best to keep comments about episodes in that episode discussion where possible.
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Amanda does look very pretty in this scene! I think it has something to do with her makeup. It is quite a bit lighter than usual.
The scene where she gets on the train and is faced with all those men in the red hats is one that I never, ever forgot, from the time I watched the pilot until I watched the whole series in the 1990s. It really is very funny and well done.
If the Agency is the entire red brick structure, which I always assumed it is, then it is actually three row houses: 1320, 1322 and 1324 30th Street NW, with the parking garage in 1326. The entrance is at 1322. The Q Bureau is in the upstairs of 1324.
This is a very cozy, residential neighborhood in Georgetown. I am always struck when I pass by these houses how small they look in “real life,” compared to on TV. Something about the camera angle they ususally use for the Agency makes them look a lot bigger. The trees in front have also grown up now.
They really are very pretty houses. I have written here before that my dream retirement would be to buy one of them… If it were the middle one (1322), I would put out an International Federal Film sign every Halloween. 😊
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I used to think The Agency was only one unit but now I think it is all three remodeled into one. Otherwise the talk of expanding upstairs in later seasons makes no sense.
(Is that okay to say since it isn’t truly a spoiler?)
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I love the scene! Both Lee and Amanda are appealing, absolutely stunning and engaging. ❤️
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Coming to the “Just walk with me” scene when I first get to the page is so special and nearly tears me up. Can we please just pin this permanently to the top of the blog so it’s the first thing we see every time we come here?
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All the Shriners on the train–so hilarious. I do enjoy seeing Lee arrive back at the agency and it’s actually on location in Georgetown. I’ve walked down that street a number of times, and always think of Lee and Amanda. It’s interesting that the IFF sign is missing and the building just looks like all the other houses around it. I would think it would set off the neighbors’ alarm bells to see so many people going in and out of someone’s house- it would certainly make me wonder what was going on in there!
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(This one went into moderation not sure why! )
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“Give it to the man in the red hat” just hits differently today. I’m 100% sure if someone asked me to do that today I would decline.
The look on Amanda’s face as she witnesses Lee getting beating up is fantastic. The visual gag of all the shriners leaning forward when she says she’s just in her nightgown is great.
Rod Holcromb had a directorial style in the pilot that I wish would have maintained throughout the show. Some of his angles (Lee walking through the lobby and looking up at camera) and camera movement (Amanda considering the package in her house) feel very fresh in a way that isn’t necessarily maintained throughout the show which became very workman-like over the years (and included some real shocking production errors.)
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Now I’m curious — what production errors?
The only thing I noticed in some later episodes is there are scenes where I really wish they had gone for more of a closeup so we could better see the characters’ faces at important moments. Not sure how specific I’m allowed to get.
And there are a few hugs where Kate’s face is closer to the camera and I wish it was Bruce who we see but I’m probably biased. (Except one really was more of a Lee-focused hug and should have had him closer) I don’t know how specific I’m allowed to get with that either.
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I don’t want to jump too far ahead but there are numerous instances where you can see that the edit is very sloppy. It is usually when the action of the scene starts with a close up on an object (pour coffee or fixing a plate of food) and the actor’s voice is meant to match the camera movement. As a result, you can visually see the actor’s drumming their fingers or otherwise waiting for their cue to start. All of that should be edited out, but those kinds of transitions are often missed.
Yes, I’m annoyed that I notice these things. But really, the folks getting paid to edit should notice them more.
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Oh too funny! I’ll have to watch for those!
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Hiya!
Yes!!! There are so many production errors, plot craters etc. that have been revealed through the walk. Too many to remember and with walk 2 I’m looking forward to re-discovering them all with everyone 🙂
So far, they haven’t annoyed me I just find them hilarious, but hey that can change at any time 😉
Macca the dog, I hope you can share when the drumming of fingers is noticeable, I haven’t heard of that before!
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One that I can recall off the top of my head is S4 when Dotty is serving coffee in her backyard to Amanda, Lee, and her episodic boyfriend Harry.
Another time (also S4) when TP is preparing to plate up food after he’s broken into Lee’s apartment.
There’s probably a lot more but those two jumped out at me when I saw them fairly recently.
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Let’s point them out as we go in the episodes rather than list them all here in the comments for The First Time please.
Sorry I didn’t mean to prompt you to share these moments here and now but in future as they come up, sorry I should have been more clear. You are of course welcome to add comments to the episode posts for each of these episodes (from Walk 1) at any time too.
Once the blog is refreshed we’ll have the forum situation sorted and a place to have more discussions that are not specific to episode posts as they organically start while we enjoy the show together…
Hope we can hang in there with this just a little longer – Thanks for your understanding all!
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I love the look on Amanda’s face when she sees all of those red hats! It cracks me up every time.
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I just love her lacy nightie sleeves poking out her coat sleeves and you can see the hem of the nightie below the coat, cracks me up
I didn’t realise the agency was on such a residential street, agree it is an unusual shot
Not walking ahead but it is amazing that the events in this scene are mentioned again in other eps, I think this event gets more mentions than anything else that is talked about from the past
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I don’t know if you saw my other post but there’s a new Scarecrow & Mrs. King book by Taya Johnston, David R. Johnson, and Sabine Ludewig that is absolutely fantastic. It’s a guide to the series with some great photos and background info, including script differences.
Back to the post:
I’m not surprised nobody helped Amanda. People really don’t pay much attention, especially in a busy, loud environment like that unless you actually scream. (There is an ep later in the series where you see some onlookers turning back to watch as Francine arrests a guy, which is hilarious)
We don’t see Lee but there’s an episode where another character can be seen going in and then out of the building. I assume that’s not walking ahead since you asked for the info and it’s not spoiler-specific.
The conductor makes me think of a British actor who played the Professor on the Walden adaptation of The Lion The Witch & The Wardrobe.
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Hiya, yes I replied to your earlier comment as follows:
Sorry, I’m not going to publicise products on the blog.
The forum at tapatalk might be a more suitable place to spread the word.
I know I’m yet to finalise the arrangements regarding the forum. it’s on my to do list for the holidays – but the tapatalk link in the right sidebar will get you there, and the forum is still active so feel free to share links and products re smk over there. Thanks!
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Thanks! Wanted to make sure you knew too!
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