Tag Archives: Scarecrow and Mrs King

This post starts back at the hospital that same night (what did Lee do the rest of the day? no idea anyway..)
A final big thanks to Clagjanet for transcribing this episode – we salute you!!!!!!!
I’m going to rely on Clagjanet’s descriptions here more as we finish up this episode.. Enjoy!

(Cut to interior as elevator doors open on Lee. As he exits, we hear the PA calling a code blue in Room 314. We follow him as he rounds corner to find a crash cart being wheeled into Amanda’s room, Doctor Neely following and Dotty close behind.)
Dotty: Lee, it’s Amanda!
(Together, they stand in the doorway to Amanda’s room. In Amanda’s room, the crash team begins to work.)
Dr Neely calls out to the nurse for medications.. stat!
[Is there an actual person in that bed?]

(Cut to Lee and Dotty still in the doorway. Lee grabs hold of Dotty.)
Lee: You’d better wait out here…
Dotty: No. No, no.
(Together, they enter the room, stopping just inside door.)
[I’m not really following the wait out here, no I’m going to take one other step forward thing. *HANDWAVE!*]
Dr. Neely: Charge the paddles.
(He crosses the room to Lee and Dotty as we hear crash team continue to prepare to revive Amanda.)
[Ah! I caught a glimpse.. there is an actual person in that bed haaaa.. lol. Okay I’m adding this comment watching this episode through for a second time, there is no way I would have been paying attention to that when my heart was breaking for Lee and Dotty watching on!!]

Dr. Neely: Mr. Stetson, you can’t help us save her life, but if you get in the way, you will help us lose it… now out of here, please. Now!

[I love how the most senior staff member has to go tell Lee and Dotty to leave rather than one of the more junior staff. I bet audience with medical training must have a field day with 80s dramas! I also love how no one is doing CPR on Amanda.. oopsie.. ]

(Neely turns back to the activity surrounding Amanda’s bed and we hear them begin to defibrillate her as the camera zooms in on the heart monitor then loses focus. [Dr Neely zaps Amanda…]
The shade fades out… and then back again.. with a focus on the door..

[We see there’s oxygen in use for room 346. Well that’s nice. the code blue for Amanda was in room 314. lol they changed Amanda’s hopsital and her room?! whahaaha.. but don’t worry same Dr and same looking hospital! ] (We regain focus on Amanda’s door as it opens and Dr. Neely steps into the corridor. He walks down to the waiting room, looking serious. Lee and Dotty get to their feet, looking anxious.)
Dr. Neely: Almost lost her, but she didn’t give up. Not for a second.
(Lee and Dotty give sighs of relief and Lee wraps an arm around Dotty’s shoulders.)
Dr. Neely: She’s holding on, so we’re back where we started, with a long ways to go. (slight smile) That woman’s a fighter. That’s good.
Lee: Thank you.

Dotty: (sighing with relief) Oh boy. 

[Before leaving this scene at the hospital.. I’ll just point out that it seems Amanda has changed hospitals..as I mentioned earlier..
Here is the hospital shown earlier:

And here’s the hospital Lee is visiting now.

Whooooooo… LOL though magically everything about the hospital inside looks exactly the same, and the exact same staff! whahahaha..]

Back at Barney’s apartment,
[Whooo seems Barney lives on the water- Nice!]

Barney and Lee are looking through Gus’ Bodega computer files. lots of random info… and reference to a model is thrown in..

Lee: It’s the Bodega. Gus created a computer model of his ship.
Barney: Just like his wooden model. It’s perfect, down to the last detail.
Lee sees the label ‘Bodega de Barco’ on the computer model.

Lee: Hold on, hold on…look at this. It’s labelled ‘bodega de barco.’ That’s what he said over and over this morning.
Barney: It’s the cargo hold.
Lee: Barney, if Gus wanted to hide some information about ‘his’ ship, what better place…
Barney: Than in the hold of the ship itself!
Lee: You’ve got it!
They high five and head to Gus’ cabin…

[too cute, I love to see Lee’s big smile here.. as we really haven’t seen much of that this episode!]
We see Lee and Barney enter Gus’ cabin with flashlights, and Lee lights a lantern.
Barney finds the ship model. Lee opens the hatch and finds the paper and doubloon.
Lee: He rolled the doubloon in this. (slightly confused as he reads) It’s Spanish.
Barney: Must be one of those documents he copied in Seville.
Lee: Yeah, well, Seventeenth century Spanish. We’re going to need help in translating it.

Sheriff Waterhouse: Okay, now suppose you two just hold it right there.
(Cut to Sheriff Waterhouse, entering, gun drawn.) [LOL He mad! Maybe it’s because he seems to be the  only cop that works in Las Palmas California?!]
Lee: Aw look, Sheriff.
Sheriff Waterhouse: You know, when I saw the light on inside, I had a feeling I’d find you two snooping around in here.

Lee: Yeah, look. Can I show you something in my pocket?
Sheriff Waterhouse: Very slowly.
Lee: Uh huh.
(Lee carefully reaches for his ID, which he shows to the Sheriff. Waterhouse looks at it for a beat, then laughs, embarrassed.)
Sheriff Waterhouse: There seems to be a minor misunderstanding here… but I’m not sure by who.
[is it just me?? the whole time he says this I’m thinking, stop pointing the gun at them already! So casual!]
Lee: Yeah, well never mind that. Do you have a facsimile machine?
Sheriff Waterhouse: Sure back at the office.
Lee: Okay then, let’s go.
[rofl. I love this, already Lee has Sheriff Waterhouse demoted to secretary haaaaa. He just takes control and bosses the Sheriff around! whahahaaa..]

The next morning… an armoured truck is being loaded with wooden crates. Ms Nunzio watches on with Brockett.. She thanks him ‘on behalf of California state’, for ‘adding to our store of archeological treasures’.

Brockett signs for the load, and thanks Ms Nunzio for helping him to pick up his share ‘without any fanfare’ for safety.

Loaded up, Brockett climbs into the driver’s seat, Scott is seated in the passenger seat waiting for him. [Is this where he kills Brockett? I don’t imagine Scott likes to share and now he doesn’t need Brockett anymore]
Brockett: Now what?
Scott: We need to make a stop at the boat.

Brockett: What for? I thought we were going to head right out.
Scott: Nothing major. We just need to tie up a few loose ends.
[oh rofl. okay stop at the boat and kill Brockett maybe! Brockett doesn’t seem concerned at all.]

Back at the Sheriff’s office, that looks a lot like a room at the agency

[Oh roflol!!! the Sheriff is personally manning the facsimile as a good secretary should!]
Sheriff Waterhouse: Transmission’s coming in now.
Barney: This model is Gus’ pride and joy; he built it himself. He wouldn’t stick just any piece of paper in it. That has to be the proof he was looking for.
The paper rolls off the fax. The secretary errr sheriff picks it up and passes it to Lee.
Lee: It’s from a logbook kept by the harbormaster at La Paz, dated 1769. (reads) ‘There was an error in the manifest of the supply ship La Bodega. Manifest states cargo of gold doubloons was minted in Mexico City. Impossible. A disastrous fire befell the mint three months ago.’

[rofl. what’s the the next paragraph? the Logbook at La Paz recorded that only Gus knew about it? Whahaahaaaa]
Sheriff Waterhouse: Brockett’s gold had Mexico City mint marks on it. [Ms Nunzio needs to go back to school!]
Barney: So Gus was right. Brockett didn’t find the Bodega’s treasure.
Lee: He didn’t find any treasure. It’s counterfeit. There weren’t any gold coins minted in Mexico City in 1769. The harbormaster found the error, but nobody except Gus knew about it. [Seems the fax had Lee’s lines on it. rofl!]
Sheriff Waterhouse: Not even the State archaeologist. Let me get her on the phone and speed things up. [Poor Ms Nunzio!]

Barney wonders where the gold came from, and Lee tells Barney basically he’ll take it from here as this is too dangerous for Barney to be involved when this is such a massive quantity of stolen gold.
Lee warns him off. Uh oh. usually that means they won’t listen – hope this pattern doesn’t hold!
Lee: … stay put or you go home! you hear me Barney!?

Barney: (grumbling) I hear, I hear; I ain’t deaf yet. (He waits until Lee’s out the door, then mutters to himself.) ‘Course, hearing and listening are two different things.
[Triple Uh oh!!!! Like Lee doesn’t have enough to worry about.. ]

Back on the Valero IV, Scott doesn’t waste any time, the moment they are both on the boat he pulls a gun on Brockett. Shocked. Not.
Scott: (pulling out a gun) Like I said… tying up loose ends. (off his reaction) Aw, don’t look so surprised. Did you really think I was going to share my profits with a loser like you?

He puts Brockett in a locked hold. Then spots Lee wandering around outside.. the both sneak around a bit and Lee is nabbed.

Scott: Another passenger for our little excursion to nowhere.

[Ohhhh is this like one of those cruises to nowhere?!]
Back from the ad break, we find Lee in the Valero hold, Brockett watches on.

Outside, Scott and Tommy set a timer for ten minutes.

Seems the timer sets off a spark. We see Scott open the valve on a gas cylinder..
[Hmmm gas + spark = uh oh. big boom boom.]
(Scott crosses to some pressurized tanks and opens a valve with a heavy wrench.)
[Ohhh that can’t be good. Scott is such a Bond Baddie. likes to set up situations where people get killed but not actually hang around to check it actually worked! lol]

All set, Scott and Tommy start to leave, only – Tommy is a lose end and someone else to share with.. so Scott strikes him over the head with the wrench before he climbs off the boat.

Back on the boat, Lee stops with the trying to break the door down, Brockett says it’s locked from the outside [hmm err Barney are you around?! I honestly can’t remember where he pops up again]
Brockett spills the beans totally to Lee about Scott’s double crossing greedy, deadly plans.
Full name- Norton Scott. [whoooo did he design that anti virus software? we maybe shouldn’t trust that….] The Harper’s Ferry heist, gold stolen from the federal reserve.
Brockett: He planned it all out. I suppose I should have known when he shot that King woman how cold-blooded he was–

(Suddenly enraged, Lee grabs him by the collar and pulls him up.)
Lee: He shot Amanda?

Brockett: Hey, nothing’s going to stop him from fencing that gold!
Lee: (breathing heavily) Don’t bet on it.
(He lets Brockett go and points to a pile of tools etc.)
Lee: Go on, you grab something and make some noise. Go on!

They go back to banging on the door… they add some shouting too. lol.
The Timer says – 4 minutes!!!
Outside, Barney is on the dock and hears the noise.. he rushes toward them..
(Cut to timer, then to the pressure tanks.
Cut to Lee and Brockett. Lee stops suddenly and motions for Brockett to stop as well.)
Lee: Hold it, hold it!… do you smell garlic?
Brockett: (sniffs) Something like that. [They missed a gag here. Brockett should have had some italian for lunch and checked his breath!]
Lee: Acetylene gas. He’s got this thing rigged. We’re inside a bomb… one spark and you can forget it.
Brockett: (holds up the pot he’s using.) Hey, aluminum won’t spark.
Lee nods and they continue with the vocals and aluminium bashing…
Barney moves closer…
The timer says – 3 minutes.
(Barney climbs on board. Intercut between Barney on boat, Lee and Brockett pounding on door and the timer, now at 59 seconds.)
Barney: (crossing to door) Hello! Hello!
Lee: (from inside) Who is it?
Barney: Who do ya think?
Lee: Barney? C’mon man, get us out of here. This place is rigged to blow.
(Barney opens door and Lee and Brockett burst out.)
Lee: Alright, now you get as far from here as you can and keep an eye on him.
[As if Gus would be able to stop Brockett from taking off. He should have been shot before he got put in there to make that believable! I would have liked to see him suffer more!]

Brockett and Barney run off, Lee comes across unconscious Tommy and takes back his gun. He finds the timer at 30 seconds and sees the tanks…. the stop button doesn’t work!

So Lee runs outside and tosses the timer with the spark thingy into the water.
[Hmm so Tommy lives huh. well one more witness against Scott will be a good thing!]

The Sheriff and his deputies (seems he actually has some) arrive, and direct Brockett and wobbly Tommy into a squad car.

[That’s too good for them!! but. okay okay good they’ve been nabbed!]
We see Lee on a local payphone.
Lee: It all fits, Billy. Scott didn’t slip out of the country after hitting the Federal Reserve.
We see Billy and Francine are on speaker to Lee in Billy’s office.

Billy: Even when his partner started talking in exchange for a lighter sentence.
Lee: Scott played it cool…he set up shop out here in California, using counterfeited doubloons to launder the gold.
Francine: So, what can we do?
Lee: Well, Brockett’s spilling everything he knows, but Scott was smart enough to leave out some of the details.
Billy: Yes, like the names of those dummy corporations that he’s having profits channeled into.
Lee: Exactly. But he’s got to make contact with precious coin brokers first to turn those doubloons into cash.
Francine: It’ll take a while to track down all the precious metal and coin dealers on the West Coast. . .
Lee: Our only chance is to find him first.
Billy: Maybe we should catch a plane.
Lee: No, there’s no time for that, Billy. We’ll do the best we can from here.
Francine: We?

Lee: Yeah, It’s funny, isn’t it? It’s always been Amanda and me (beat) but she’s got enough to do right now. Besides I’ve got an old friend to use as backup. (POV switches to show Barney watching him from near sheriff’s car) I’ll talk to you later Billy. Scarecrow out.

Lee and Barney head off in search of Scott. Lee thinks a salvage truck is too conspicuous for a getaway, so he thinks Scott will camouflage it in some way. Barney suggests a local car repair place Brockett uses.

Sure enough, they get there and ta da. Scott is there. Lee plans to go in without back up and asks Barney to close the gate behind him so Scott can’t getaway.
Barney: Get some backup, Lee. Let Waterhouse put some men around him.
Lee: No! No, Barney, he shot Amanda. He is mine. [oh nooooo Scarecrow is in blind revenge mode and living up to his code name at the moment.. come on Lee snap out of it!] …Now you get to a phone, you call the Sheriff and tell him to come clean up the pieces. Now go on! Git!
I’m going to sum up this sequence by saying.. Lee approaches gun drawn, Scott avoids him, they both shoot…. and have a little witty baddie vs goodie verbal sparing match while they are at it…
Lee: You’re not getting out of here, Scott! Not unless you kill me first!Scott: Sure Stetson! If that’s the way you want it!
Lee: C’mon man, don’t disappoint me. At least try a bribe or something huh? You’ve got thirty-eight million, spread it around a little!
Scott: Why should I if I don’t have to?

More stealthy moving around, Lee explodes  a barrel of something flammable to draw out Scott, who fires at him and then runs out of bullets… [Lee must have figured he was safe, as when Scott shot Amanda he wasn’t even aiming at her!] Add in some running, tackling, fighting.. and uh oh… some intense threats as Lee gets the upper hand here..

Lee: (grabbing him by lapels) You’re dead.

Lee full on starts pummelling Scott, and he keeps on punching even when Scott is no longer fighting. uh oh. oh no oh no… Stop Lee!!
(Barney appears and runs forward as we hear the sound of Lee punching Scott over and over again.)
Barney: Lee, Lee! Stop it! Stop it! (he grabs Lee’s arm) You’re killing him, please stop it. Listen to me! Waterhouse has heard from the hospital.
(This gets through to Lee. He stops hitting Scott and looks at Barney.)

Barney: You hear me? Waterhouse has heard from the hospital!
[How did the hospital know to call the Sheriff? Hmm whatever.] 
Lee: (panting) What? How’s Amanda?
Barney: He didn’t say. Just they want you there right away.
Lee: (still angry) You watch him Barney! You hear me? You watch him!
(He leaves, leaving Barney watching him sadly.)
[Ahhh Barney and his magical ability to keep an eye on bad guys so they don’t get away. Okay okay this time no magic is needed because Scott is in pretty bad shape. Me happy!!! Ah and I am going with Waterhouse is already on his way!!]

It’s time to wind up this episode.. Tag Time!!!!

(Cut to hospital interior as Lee bursts in through the doors moving quickly towards Amanda’s room. When he is almost there, Dr. Neely steps in front of him.)
Dr. Neely: I wanted you here. You made good time.
Lee: Yeah, get out of my way. I’m going in there.
Dr. Neely: (still blocking him, but smiling) ‘Course you are. Lots of TLC’s just what the doctor ordered for a quick recovery.

(Dotty steps out of the room, beaming. She throws her arms exuberantly around Dr. Neely’s neck, kisses him.)

Dotty: She’s going to be alright! I told you so! Oh Lee, you ought to see her! She looks beautiful!
(As Dotty continues to talk, Lee slips past both of them and into Amanda’s room.

Cut to Amanda’s room as Lee approaches the bed slowly. Amanda’s eyes are closed but the oxygen tent is gone and the heart monitor is beeping steadily.

As Lee sits, Amanda gives a small groan of pain and her eyes open to look at him. Lee is smiling from ear to ear.)
Lee: Hi.
Amanda: (smiles weakly. She can barely talk) Hi. What happened?

Lee: I’ll tell you all about it when you get better, okay?
Amanda: (laughs and grimaces again) Did you get the number of that truck?

Lee: You bet I did.

(Amanda laughs. She lifts her head, looking for a kiss and Lee kisses her gently.)

Amanda: Well, no honeymoon tonight, pal.
Lee: Aw shucks.

Amanda: If I go to sleep, will you sit with me for a minute?
(She drifts off, Lee watching her tenderly.)

Lee: (whispers) I love you Mrs. Stetson.
(He kisses her again.)

The episode ends here….

Awhhhh!!!!

How many sentences do Lee and Amanda actually share in a scene together in this episode? Nine! I don’t count the opening scene that was just a voice over, we don’t see it. Nine. I wonder if that beats Playing for Keeps. hmmm…

Well… that’s it!!! Episode 17 is finished!!! What do you all make of it?

I adore all the soft moments between Lee and Amanda.. at the same time, this ep is not a favourite go to of mine, as it’s just too much angst for me… However, huge kudos to KJ for soldiering on through this episode, and the creators for making this episode happen inspite of all the external circumstances getting in the way!!!!

What does Dotty make of Lee and his relationship with Amanda after all this?!

I cannot wait to hear what you all think!!!

Next up…. Episode 18: One Flew East!!!! 

Now I’ve had a few drinks.. I’m read for more (more drinks and more of this episode haaa)
Here we go!!
On to a waterfront restaurant for that drink.

[Have we seen this location before? anyone?
Ahhhh Iwsod remembers the good old days when there was actually time to search for this stuff!!! Oh well.. I did what I could… when I could…]
Barney: Would you please put this on my father’s tab (pointing at Gus)
(They all laugh.)

Gus fills Lee in.. seems all the maps and stuff at Gus’ cabin is about the Bodega treasure. Gus fancies himself an expert.

[I hope he has back up copies, having them all at his house in one place is a bit risky isn’t it?]
Gus suspects Brockett hasn’t found the Bodega like he claims, because he is only bringing up doubloons and ballast stones. no equipment that would be bigger and hard to fake, like cannons.

Gus explains the Bodega was a supply ship and not full of treasure.
[If this is the case, surely lots of people would know that? Hmmm maybe the Bodega wasn’t famous after all, but since Brockett started to talk it up it became famous.. I’ll go with it.]

Anyway, basically Gus has figured it out already. The plot this week isn’t really a mystery! And the baddies have already told us what the plan is and confirmed Gus is right. [So, not much suspense here!]
Gus: … I had a piece of it, right in my hand today… somebody didn’t like that…and believe me, that coin could have told me a lot.

(We see a dude in the background pay for his drink and leave. He seems to walk slowly by them paying them particular attention.. he goes unnoticed by the trio.)

Gus asked Brockett if he could see the doubloons but Gus says Brockett can’t show them till the bank and state sort out the values etc. He says he did see pictures in the paper of the treasure, but it didn’t really give any helpful detail.
Barney: If Gus could get another one, that he could really examine, he might accept it for real and come down off his high horse. (gives Lee a meaningful look) ‘Course, how he might go about that I don’t know, Lee.

Lee: I might think of something…
(Gus and Barney smile.)
[Lee is totally going to think of something!]
(Lee holds up a finger) …I might!!
The scene ends here.

Back to the baddie HQ – the ship Velero IV.
The dude in the background in the restaurant is reporting back what he heard to Scott and Brockett..
Tommy: He said he could prove the gold is phony if he could find the right papers in his cabin.
[huh? when did he say that?! How many drinks did Tommy have before he left?!
I keep wanting to call Scott and Brockett ‘Scrockett’!]

So Brockett worries they are in trouble and Gus could expose them. Scott notices what a ‘firetrap’ Gus lives in. [LOL okay I didn’t remember any of this but again my subconscious seems to have half remembered something. weird!]

Love Scott’s body language, such flare, such chill. [He’s a confident baddie on weed for sure. haaaaaa]

Tommy gets the hint to go burn down Gus’s cabin, and off he gleefully goes leaving Scrockett!

On to the Certified National Bank. lol what a name.

[Have we seen this entrance before?]
Lee seems to have thought of something..
The transcript identifies this woman he is walking with as Ms Nunzio, a state archeologist.
Lee: Ms. Nunzio, I hope our little spot-check here isn’t too inconvenient for you?
Ms. Nunzio: Not at all. We’re always eager to cooperate with the IRS; the new tax laws can be so confusing.
Lee: (laughs) Yes, they can.
Ms. Nunzio: Besides, I’m here full-time until I finish the cataloging. So, can I show you our authentication?

Lee: Look, I’ll leave the archeology and so forth to you… All I have to do is eyeball the valuables for a spot estimate.
They head into the vault while Ms Nunzio gives a run down of the security measures. No idea if that’s relevant in future.. LOL Lee is slown a small black case, filled with rows of gold doubloons. What a boon a doubloon going missing will be hard to spot! Now would be a good time to swoon.

[Whoooo Lee is spectacles! swoon!  Yeah I’m not terribly invested in this plot..]
Ms Nunzio gives Lee a little history lesson.. which according to Gus is off track!

Ms. Nunzio: From the royal mint in Mexico City. See, the Bodega was dispatched from La Paz in the Spring of 1769 with a full load of supplies for the settlement at San Diego and then it was going to continue up the coast to Monterey. So the gold was probably meant for the purchase of furs from the Russians who were trapping up near San Francisco.

Lee: I see.
(Ms. Nunzio prepares to close the case, but Lee stops her.)

Lee: Ms. Nunzio, I wonder. I know this is going to sound silly but I wonder if I might hold that tray of gold doubloons. You know, something to tell the children.

[Lee? children?? oh swoon! hold the doubloon!]
She’s pretty relaxed, and lets him… he’s suddenly pretty clumsy and some of the case contents drop to the floor.

[Rofl Lee’s look of horror is pretty hilarious!!! Me thinks he wouldn’t pass on that part of the story to his children]

Lee: I can’t believe I just did this. How could I be so clumsy? I can’t believe I did this. I really can’t.
(While he’s talking and Ms. Nunzio is kneeling down to collect the dropped coins. Lee pulls out a case for making wax impressions from his pocket and quickly makes an impression of both sides of the coin. As he does so he continues with the I’m devastated at my own clumsiness schtick!)

[I thought Lee was going to steal one of them. He could have if he wanted to she would not have noticed!!!! And lol at the tight security I would have thought a security guard would have arrived in 2 seconds with that loud clang!]

Lee gets his doubloon impression and the scene ends with Ms Nunzio none-zio the wiser!

Next we get a scene of the gleefully evil dude Tommy setting Gus’ cabin on fire..

Lee, Gus and Barney are driving toward the cabin… and come across it on fire. Barney wants to run inside, but Gus stops him and instead goes for the hose. He hands the hose to Lee, so both Barney and Gus watch Lee enter the cabin with that little hose..

[I thought it wasn’t worth it?? !!!!
Ah I see, it was worth it suddenly so they could have a little cliffhangar for the ad break. got it!]

After the ad break, we see a fire engine pulling away, to reveal a smokey mussed up Lee. whooooo me likey.

Well that suspense didn’t last long. Lee’s fine!

Lee joins Barney and Gus in the cabin… it’s clear to Barney and Gus they are on to something here.

Lee seems to be holding off coming to that conclusion though. [Why I have no idea, someone has to? I mean the shooting and the fire? Don’t be daft! This opposition here seems forced. Almost like Billy was originally written into the scene but they pulled it. haaaaa that’s usually his role!]

Gus says all the info on the papers is still in his head. Plus they have the doubloon imprint, so they should have all they need.

Lee decides to go for a dive in the morning to check out Brockett’s salvage boat.

So for now we find Lee back at the hospital.

(Cut to zoom in on a heart monitoring machine. We zoom out to find Lee and a nurse at Amanda’s bedside.

She is in an oxygen tent covering her top half. Lee is seated as close as he can, watching her with an anguished expression.)

Nurse: Mrs King needs her rest. Five more minutes, Mr. Stetson.

(As she leaves, we see Dotty, still in outdoor clothing, approaching the door. She walks in and stops dead. We see her POV of Lee and Amanda. Her expression turns to horror.)
Dotty: Oh, my god…

(Lee hears her and turns and gets up, crossing to her. He comes to stand beside her.)
Lee: She’s stable but still in critical condition. All we can do is wait.

Dotty: (fiercely) She’s going to be fine. She’s going to be absolutely fine. Lee, I have never seen her give up on anything that was important and she’s not going to give up now.

(Dotty walks closer to the bed, then finally her voice breaks.)
[BG does an amazing job here.. BB does too. So amazing it’s probably one of the reasons I rarely watch this episode, it’s so heartbreaking!!
Isn’t it wonderful to see these two supporting each other and interacting??]
Dotty: My God, what happened? Who did this? Why? I mean, it doesn’t make any sense!!

(Lee gently leads her toward the door.)
Lee: Come on… I’ll tell you everything I know, all right?
Lee is very gentle with Dotty, he leads her to the door, and as he closes the door he turns to give Amanda one more look. [Heartbreaking!!]

Camera cuts to Amanda, still motionless under the oxygen cover.
[What’s your reaction to this scene?? to this scenario even? There’s a part of me that is grateful to KJ for her professionalism – as I know why these scenes were as they were…. but.. there is also a part of me that misses the smk where Amanda being in hospital was played up for laughs – Dean Who?!]

Moving on…. Back to the harbour the next morning. Lee is on his dive..

Barney is keeping watch for Lee, only.. Tommy comes along and takes the camera from Barney at gunpoint. Uh oh.

Tommy leads Barney away at gunpoint… Lee inside the boat is looking around here and there.. He tries to communicate with Barney but gets no response. Uh oh.

Here comes another baddie with a gun searching for Lee. Lee’s ready for it though, and takes him by surprise.. but hmm throwing him in the water alerted the other baddie.. Lee gets nabbed..

Both Lee and Barney get brought before Brockett on the Valero.

Brockett’s asking questions…but so is Lee.. who identifies himself as maybe being recognised by his photo in the newspaper, as he was caught in yesterday’s cross fire. He accuses Brockett of being responsible.

Brockett denies he was behind the shooting.
Lee: Well, Gus says you’re lying about the gold. My friend, if you’re lying about this, I’m going to come after you myself.
Brockett: Hey. I’m sorry about the woman. I’m sorry about the trouble. Just protecting what’s mine. That’s all. (To Tommy) Get them off the boat.

Well that was all a big nothing!  So Lee could threaten Brockett I guess..

Scott joins Brockett…
Scott: Well, Old Gus seems to be the root of all our troubles. I better take care of him once and for all.
Brockett: Why not send Tommy? [rofl. Didn’t take long for Brockett to lose his squeamishness over the killing!]

Scott: He messed up once already. This time it’ll be done right.

Back with Lee and Barney, Lee comments they now know Brockett knows they are ‘digging around’ so they are going to need to be a lot more careful. Then Lee helpfully fills us in on his upcoming movements – drop Barney at his place, then pick up Gus at his cabin.

Relevant to the plot maybe? I have no idea! I am far too distracted by the creases that have been pressed into leans jeans. Yes creases!!! Look!!!!! I’ve somehow never noticed them before.. maybe I was too distracted by something else to do with these jeans.. cough cough…

Back to Gus’ cabin and he is seen finding a folded piece of paper…
Gus compares it to the doubloon imprint and exclaims: Now I’ve got you Jeremy Brockett!!!!

[Phew it’s pretty burned up… Ummm is the Parrot okay?! RIP Parrot me thinks.. ]
Outside, Gus hears a car pull up. Scott gets out and heads to the cabin. [not going for stealth is he… but then Gus seems to think Brockett is the only bad guy..]

(Gus turns and looks around the cabin, then quickly stuffs the piece of paper and the wax doubloon into the model of La Bodega on a nearby table, then goes to sit at his desk. Scott enters slowly, looking around until he sees Gus.)
Uh oh. Run Gus!!!
Scott: Well, well. You’re here. Good – you spare me the wait.
Gus: I recognize you. You’re one of Brockett ‘s men… [Umm why are you just sitting there??!!] …You can tell your boss he couldn’t stop me, even though he tried to burn me out. Tell him he’s a fraud, and I can prove that! The gold you brought up couldn’t have come from the Bodega. 
[Aie. Gus you dingbat!!]
Scott: Is that a fact? Well, it’s too bad you won’t be able to share your discovery with anyone else.
The scene involves a can of Ether, a cloth and Gus passing out.. Nuff said. Scott sets it all up to have Gus look like he was diving and had a scuba accident in his nearby pond. Next thing, we see Gus rises to the surface face up but unconscious, and it cuts to an ad break.

[I honestly can’t remember if he survives.. but I guess he has to or who is going to know where took for the paper and imprint.]
Back from the ad break, and again they don’t keep us in suspense.. Gus seems to have survived!
(We cut to Lee standing watching as paramedics prepare to lift Gus into an ambulance.)
Gus: (mumbling to Lee) :Bodega…
Lee: Wait, hold it, hold it (he stops paramedics and leans in to hear Gus).
Lee: Gus.. what?
Gus: Bodega de barco …
Lee: Bodega? Right, Gus.
Gus: Bodega de barco.
Paramedic: Okay, let’s go.
Lee: Gus You’re going to be all right, huh? They’re taking you to a Naval Hospital at Coronado in a chopper. They’ll fix you up, okay?

[lol how long will it take for Lee to work it out. I guess with this clue now delivered Gus may actually die now. no idea what happens! Plus I am obsessively fixated on that shiny ring on Lee’s finger. It’s so beautiful!!!!!]

The ambulance carrying Gus drives off, and the Sheriff pulls up to  join Lee.
Sheriff Waterhouse: When I got the call, I figured you’d be here. So what ‘d he say?
Lee: Nothing much. He’s in a fog.
Sheriff Waterhouse: How bad?
Lee: Stabilized… Carbon monoxide poisoning is unpredictable, though. Seizures… delusions.
Sheriff Waterhouse: Oh, are you a doctor?
Lee: No, I’m not a doctor! But I’ve seen a few accidents like this.

[Ummm the Sheriff doesn’t know what Lee does right?! Lee’s facade here seems to be slipping.. careful Lee!]
Sheriff Waterhouse: Well, how’d you happen to be around this one?
Lee: I paid a visit to Brockett’s boat…
Sheriff Waterhouse: “Paid a visit” isn’t exactly the way Brockett tells it.
Lee: Oh yeah? Well, he’s getting pretty damn edgy. (Lee leads the sheriff to the scuba gear) I went to check on Gus, right? Now his scuba gear was gone, so I went down to his boat, only to find him rolling in with the surf, barely conscious.
[huh? so Gus wasn’t in his pond? He was near the beach? I guess this cabin is maybe supposed to be near the beach? you know, I honestly don’t really care enough to figure it out.]
(Lee lifts the scuba gear up and tilts it towards the sheriff.)
Lee: Check this out
(Waterhouse stoops and releases the valve, taking a long sniff.)
Sheriff Waterhouse: Bad air?
Lee: Bad air? It’s full of C.O. Now Gus wouldn’t be that careless.
Sheriff Waterhouse: Meaning what?
Lee: Isn’t it obvious by now, even to you?… [oh that’s harsh Lee. it wasn’t even obvious to you when it should have been lol.]
…Brockett takes a shot at him because he discovered a doubloon, then he burns his papers. Gus doesn’t give up, so he tries again.
Sheriff Waterhouse: No, it is not obvious to me…and watch who you start accusing in public. That is my job.
Lee: Oh yeah? Well maybe you better start doing your job, man or I’m going to start doing it for you!
[ouchie. Lee! Stop talking!!!]
Sheriff Waterhouse: Look…if somebody I loved was in the hospital close to death, I’d want simple answers, too, but the facts just don’t add up to anything yet. And when the shooting occurred the other day, Brockett was with ten witnesses at the Half Tanked bar. When this happened, he was with you.
[Simple answers?! That’s a bit rich.]
Lee: He’s got plenty of hard boys aboard that boat who’ll do any kind of dirty work to get an extra piece of that gold.
Sheriff Waterhouse: We’re checking them out. But if I were you, I’d let the law take care of justice, and I’d take care of the woman I loved.

The scene ends here with Lee watching the Sheriff drive off.

Whooo a nice Lee close up to end the scene..

[Okay the Sheriff doesn’t know Lee can contribute anything here, he also doesn’t know anything about doubloons or gold right? so how he could actually be in the position to listen to anything Lee says right now as credit is a stretch. So while this is hard to watch, it’s reasonable I guess.
Mean jab about taking care of the woman I loved!! but I can see why he’d be annoyed with Lee!]

Soooooooo…. What do you all think???? Do tell!!!
I look forward to hearing any thoughts you’d like to share on this episode so far!!! 

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!!!!