Lee: Do you think you can break into Zorbel's place?
Amanda: No.
Lee: Well?
Amanda: Call me a cab.
Lee: You're a cab.
Be sure to check out a new Scarecrow and Mrs. King website by tjsmklvr. Actually, it's an updated version of her previous webpage Call Me A Cab. Lots of SMK interviews, fan fiction, music videos, memorabilia, and tons of photos and articles on both Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner. Includes promo photos from The Rookies and Charlie's Angles, too. I know Taya spent many, many, many hours putting this site together. Drop her a line and let her what you think.
Lee: Do you think you can break into Zorbel's place? Amanda: No. Lee: Well? Amanda: Call me a cab. Lee: You're a cab.
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Life has been very, very, very crazy lately, but I have been writing. Here are links to my most recent stories and a SMK Season Five Project screenplay. A huge shout-out to my fantastic beta readers. I couldn't do it without you. And before anyone asks; yes, I am writing episode 10. (I am a little more then half-way through).
Heart of Gold (Episode 9) Smooth Sailing (Season 3: Lee and Amanda) Ghosts from the Past (Season 3: Lee) I remember when Netflix first came out onto the scene. I liked the idea of just walking down to the mailbox and grabbing a DVD to watch without the hassle of driving to a store and picking out a movie and then worrying about returning the movie on time, lest having to pay the dreaded late fees. However, in the same breath, I didn't like to have to wait to see a movie or television series. I mean when I was ready to watch something, I wanted to watch it then, there, and now. Therefore, you would think I would have been open to streaming when it first became available. However, that was not the case. I'm honestly not sure what was my issue. Maybe, technology changing scared me a little. Heck, I was super late getting onto the smart phone bandwagon. And it wasn't until Netflix changed their policy and raised rates, that we decided it was time to "experiment" with streaming and we bought our first streaming player. Now, I can't image nights where we aren't streaming Netflix. Trust me when I say you don't want to know how much broadband width we use month after month. And don't you just love the little Netflix warning box that appears on your television scene after you have marathoned through five episodes of Bones and the message goats you, by asking if you are still watching Netflix. Like I have somehow magically gotten a life in the last four and a half hours. I don't think so!
Yes, there are days when it really has been that bad. Hey, I can blame it on my craft. After all, aren't we writers told to watch and read other genres? To get a feel for other writers styles and to "see" what the audience likes. huh? I have to admit, I really am behind on what most people watch on television. I find very little I like and find little or no emotional connection to characters or situations. I am not a prude, but have been thoroughly disappointed on the incredibly low morals television executives think most of society has. Case in point, sorry I don't remember the television series, but I vaguely remember seeing a preview for a new series and thinking it might be something I was interested in because it revolved around paramedics. And heck, I grew up on loving Emergency! However, not even five minutes into the episode, two paramedics are getting it on it the back of the ambulance, and I thinking first, gross, and second wondering who are these characters? I have no emotional connection with them. Why must I watch them having sex in the back of an ambulance without having a least a little backstory? And this is exactly why I love Scarecrow and Mrs. King so much, because we, as the audience, got to watch them slowly fall in love, and not fall into bed five minutes after he handed her a package (which could take a whole new meaning in today's society) at a train station. Needless to say, I turned off the television and read a book instead. I am also super frustrated that Hollywood has not had an original idea since the 1980's. Why they are remaking all the 80 classic movies? Footloose, Dirty Dancing, Point Break, and don't even get me started on Ghostbusters! In addition, when an original idea is presented Hollywood executives are quick to cut the cord, without giving the television series a chance to find their audience or the show is constantly on the bubble, so writers plan for a 12 or 13 episode arc and then when it is picked up for other 10 or so episodes, some of the magic is gone, or certain writers have moved on, or they are scrambling for a new arc and the series becomes basically a hot mess; i.e. Chuck. To this day, I believe NBC ruined this great series. It had massive amounts of potential to be one of a kind dramedy, a mix of comedy and drama mixed with espionage and intrigue, and romance (sound a little familiar?) But so much uncertainty let us fans down. And by season five, it was just a shell of its original self. I see it too often, a new series airs and less then six episodes later it as been cancelled. I am just not interested in becoming invested in a television series only for it be be yanked when I was just getting to like the characters and developing an emotional connection. Case in point, CBS released a television series titled Chaos, about a group of rogue CIA agents. I have to admit, I thought the pilot was a bit weak-- it tried too hard; however, by week two the writing and characters began to gel, and I started getting a kick out of watching it and looked forward to viewing every week. However, not even three weeks into the series, CBS pulled the plug. Come on! Give it a chance. I mean even Cheers and M*A*S*H did not draw in their audiences until season two. This held true for another series I liked, GCB. I know it wasn't just ABC that killed the series, but a bunch of Christian mothers who never watched the series complained to sponsors. Yes, I did just earlier complain about the over sexualization of Hollywood. However, GCB was funny as hell! And this series didn't take itself seriously. In addition, those of us that are Christian know those types that are the "Ms. Betty Sue whose better that you". Wonderful casting and great writing flushed right down the toilet. And this is exactly why I don't watch Network television anymore. Plus, there is just too much Reality TV, and I have zero interest in watching weekly crap. Rewind to a conversation I had with a friend a few days ago, who had asked if I was upset Castle had been cancelled. I had to confess, I had not seen the series. Yes, I know all about Caskett. Yes, I love Nathan Fillion. However, I don't think I heard about Castle until at least season two or three. And I don't like to start watching a series in the middle, so have been looking forward to it being on Netflix so I can watch, just as I finally was able to sit down and watch Bones, NCIS, and Burn Notice. Hey, what do they say; better late than never, right? I noticed I am two years behind on posting about comic cons I have attended. . . well, not much to report. I only attended Emerald City Comicon these past two years and nothing else. In addition, not much to report for ECCC 2015. The con was sold out and had about 80,000 in attendance. Again, I attended as a Minion, volunteering for the con. I really do enjoy being behind the scenes, but admit I never ended up on either the autographs, photo ops, or panels so that year was a bit disappointing in the sense of being where I would have liked to have been, but understand I was needed in other areas of the con. ECCC is a multi-media event with media guests, gaming, pop culture, and of course, comics. My first day, I spent it in the children's area and watched kids young and old build Legos. They then had a choice to turn they Lego characters into an animated short film. The second day, I spent most of it helping out at Peace-Bonding, where weapons are checked and "tagged" as safe and inspected. Fun group to work with and saw lots of amazing cosplay. I was excited about meeting Brandon Routh (Chuck; Superman Returns), but unfortunately he canceled his appearance last minute, but I was able to finally meet Amanda Tapping (Stargate: SG1) and got her autograph.
Lots of changes came about for Emerald City Comicon 2016, as ReedPOP acquired ECCC and added a fourth day of convention activities. Four-day passes sold out in a matter of hours and three-day passes sold out in less than a day, and since I did not know whether or not I was going to be invited back as a Minion again this year, and in addition, since the first media guest announced was Nathan Fillion (Castle; Firefly), I decided to do the fangirl thing instead, as I absolutely needed to see Nathan Fillion (Mr. Captain Tightpants himself!). Not sorry I did, but hope I do not miss out on ever being invited back as a Minion again. I still think it's fun being behind the scenes and love the energy of fellow Minions. (In addition, from what I understand Minions are now paid. . . nice!) My review of the convention is kind of a mixed bag. First, I was disappointed how tickets sold out so quickly before more comic and media guests were announced and to be quite honest, the line-up as a whole was a huge let down. There was 35 media guests in 2015 and only 24 in 2016, and three of them were last minute cancellations and too late to add new guests. I was also super frustrated by the way they handled the panels for several of the actors, especially when they overlapped panels for Sasha Roiz and Nathan Fillion and Sean Astin and Dante Basco. Why make us choose, when there was longer convention hours and the panels could have been more spread out throughout the day especially in the main hall? Still super disappointed I missed Sasha Roiz's panel. This reminded me of the first ECCC con I attended and how my son and I stood in a queued line for hours waiting to see Leonard Nimoy, and we were not allowed into the room until about ten minutes after his panel had started, only to discover we could have just gone into the room at anytime as ECCC does not clear out the room between panels. Grrrrr! Nonetheless, I did have a great time at ECCC this year. I believe it's because this year I went with friends and always more fun when you hang out with like-minded fangirls. We geeked out attending panels all day Saturday and Sunday, getting autographs and photo-ops, and spending hours in artist alley and on the show floor. I stood in line with my friend Dava when she went to meet Sean McQuire (Once Upon a Time) and then stood in line with Elaine when she went to meet Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings; Goonies). I still can not believe how Sean Astin attended the con only a week after his mother passed away. Major props to him. We also spent some time visiting with Trevor Crafts and Matthew Daley, the creators of Lantern City (too bad Bruce Boxleitner was not in attendance). My guilty expenditures was a photo-op with Nathan Fillion and an autograph and selfie with Sasha Roiz (Grimm). We sat through panels for Oliver and James Phelps (Harry Potter), Sean McQuire, Lana Parrilla (Once Upon a Time), Nathan Fillion, Sean Astin, and Flash panel (Danielle Panabaker, Robbie Amell, and Keiynan Lonsdale). I admit, I've only seen Flash a few times (my husband Ed is more of a fan then I am) and I have never seen Once Upon a Time. However, after attending these panels I think I might just have to watch them now. I have also not seen Castle. I know, I know! Too many times I have become invested in a television series only for it to be cancelled; i.e. Chaos, GCB, Firefly that I don't want to get involved in a series only for it to be canceled after a few episodes and then once a series has been picked up for several seasons, I usually wait until it's available on Netflix to caught up. However, I am hesitant to get started on Castle after seeing how disappointed fans are with the direction the show is going. I really don't need another television series with no closure like Scarecrow and Mrs King or Chuck. Finally, I have to give a shout out to the Clare Kramer (Buffy: The Vampire Slayer). She was fantastic as the interviewer at the celebrity panels. I liked her almost as much as Garret Wang (who is also fantastic as an interviewer). She was prepared with good questions and seemed to be well informed about both movies and television shows the celebrities were involved in. I also thoroughly enjoyed the bumper music between the panels and how the D.J. and the M.C. Reuben kept the audience engaged, dancing, clapping, and being entertained. I have to admit, I think this was one of the most fun cons I have attended in a long time. In addition, Seattle did not disappoint. The weather all weekend for early April was gorgeous. This was the first time my friend Dava had visited Seattle, so it was fun for Elaine and I to show her around. We visited Seattle Center and Westlake Center, rode the monorail, shopped at Pike Place Market, and rode to the top of the Space Needle. We took her to the Old Spaghetti Factory and walked along the waterfront and Olympic Sculpture Park. It was a nice change of pace of all the rain we had in February and March; next year ECCC will be the weekend of March 2-5, and I am sure the weather will not be as cooperative. I'm hoping to be back next year as a Minion at Emerald City Comicon, but also kicking around the idea of attending Salt Lake Comic Con or possibly Rose City Comic Con in September. Joseph has been begging me to take him to another con. Time and money shall tell. Had some free time today and thought I would revisit Scarecrow and Mrs. King since I have not blogged about my favorite television series in a while. Therefore, I wrote a list of favorite lines from each of the 88 episodes; some are one-liners, some are pieces of dialogue. I still believe some of my favorite dialogue comes from season one. Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming were comic geniuses. I miss the comedy in the later seasons, but also understand they more Amanda became involved in the spy business, the more the show had to revolve and change and I am certainly not disappointed it went in the direction of romance. Do you agree or disagree? In any case, here is a list of my favorite lines from Scarecrow and Mrs. King, after the cut. . .
Lookie Mom, look what I got!
I won the complete series (Seasons 1-5) of Chuck on Blu-ray. I am just super stoked. . . I never win anything and all I had to do was retweet a tweet on Twitter (say that fast three times). I believe I see a Chuck marathon in the near future. Hell yeah! My good friend Sarah (who makes the amazing avatars, signatures, and wallpapers), has started a Scarecrow and Mrs King blog discussing the progression of Lee and Amanda's relationship. I look forward to joining in on the discussions. Check it out: Scarecrow and Mrs. King - Getting to Know You. In addition, if wanting to join Scarecrow and Mrs. King episode discussions, I highly recommend IWSOD's Just Walk With Me site.
Favorite Guest Star: Jean Stapleton. Wish we had seen more of her in the series. I just loved her character. She was brilliant as Lady Emily Farnsforth and had great comic timing. I would have loved to have learned more about her taking Lee under her wings when he was a rookie. Oh, the stories I am sure she could have told. ~ The Legend of Das Geisterschloss and The Three Faces of Emily Favorite Baddie: Addi Birol (Wortham Kimmer). He was perfect as a Saudi terrorist who kidnaps and tortures Amanda to get information from Lee. Creepy, slimy, and played very convincingly. ~ Night Crawler Honorable Mention Baddie: Curt Hollander (Walter Gotell). Such a great baddie, cool as a cucumber under pressure. Just pure evil. He was also fantastic as the baddie in some of the James Bond films ~ Service Above and Beyond Character Who I Would Have Liked To Have Seen More: Leatherneck (Billy Ray Sharkey). The Agency's Quartermaster, Motor Pool, and Christmas Decorator ~ Over the Limit, The Eyes Have It, Wrong Way Home, All the World's a Stage, and Santa's Got a Brand New Bag Honorable Mention Character Who I Would Have Liked To Have Seen More: Augie Swann (Louis Welch). Lee Stetson's very likable snitch. . . I mean information broker. ~ Double Agent, Murder Between Friends, and DOA: Delirious On Arrival Favorite Brushes With Royalty: Princess Penny aka Princess Penelope Celana Charisse Khan (Jane Kaczmarek). I loved the genuine friendship Amanda develops with the Princess. Too bad we did not see her in other episodes. I would have loved to have seen the expression on her face when Amanda told her she married Lee. ~ Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth Honorable Mention Favorite Brushes With Royalty: Princess Sophia Valosky (Hildegard Knef). Who other then Amanda would bring meatloaf and a poppyseed cake to a princess? ~ Waiting for Godorsky Favorite Not Too Bright Character: Zinoviev (Lee Bergere) who mistakes Amanda as the Scarecrow. What a ruthless sweetie. "You should learn from her, my boy. She's the best." ~ Saved By the Bells Favorite Comic Performance: Kate Jackson in DOA: Delirious On Arrival. Her delivery of the lines "Why is this thing not loaded?" and "Why didn't you tell your mother you were spies?" and "Lee, you missed the cartwheel" are just classic SMK. Favorite Supporting Character. This was hard to choose, since I believe "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" had a fantastic ensemble cast; however, Beverly Garland as Amanda's mother, Dotty West edged out the competition in this category. Kate Jackson and Beverly had great chemistry together and I loved Beverly's comic timing, as well as her ability to be caring and sensitive when the scenes required her to be. "Clams again, Dear?" Absolutely, positively love this new wallpaper/signature from Whisper Romance. I believe this particular wallpaper fits my website and the series so brilliantly. More of Whisper Romance's (Sarah) work can be found here.
Because of work commitments, I was unable to attend the Scarecrow and Mrs. King 30th Anniversary, so I asked my good friend, Dava, to write a recap of the events. Thank you, Dava for taking the time to write this.
*************************************************************************************************************************** SMK 30TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION TRIP Written by: Guest Blogger Dava DATE: October 4 - 5, 2013 PLACE: Beverly Garland Holiday Inn Hotel, Los Angeles, California EVENT: SMK 30th Anniversary Reunion ATTENDEES: 58 Fans of the Show, Bruce Boxleitner aka Scarecrow/Lee Stetson, Martha Smith aka Francine Desmond, Greg Morton aka Jamie King, Myron Natwick aka Dr. Smyth, Richard Herd aka Jake (Photo Finish), and Dennis Duckwall, Producer FRIDAY: October 4, 2013 - WB (Warner Brothers) TOUR A group of about 50 of us met at the WB VIP Tour Lobby. We saw a short film about how Warner Brothers Studios was started. It was very interesting, and I learned a lot. We then split into three tour groups: A, B, and C. I was in tour group B. Our tour guide said it was group B for "Boxleitner" or "Bruce" or his name "Brad". Brad was an excellent tour guide and had watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King "The First Time" and a few other episodes so that he could discuss the show with us. We were so excited when we saw the stairs that Lee/Scarecrow comes down in the opening credits. We also saw the stairs to Nedlingers (stairs may have been at "The Ranch" below), grassy area that was Rock Creek Park, and the wooded area used for "Utopia Now". Our biggest surprise was we got a special tour of "The Ranch". "The Ranch" is part of Warner Brothers lot, but down the road. It was an outdoor walking tour. We saw & took a tour of one of Amanda's houses. I took a picture of the bookcase and gate door. It was so cool standing in Amanda's living room. We also saw "Harry V Thorton's" balcony where he had put out the flowers for Amanda (Tail of the Dancing Weasel), "Sonia's" house on (Stemwinder), and the house where Amanda squirted the hose to take out the bad guys (Fearless Dotty). SATURDAY: October 5, 2013 - THE 30th EVENT AUTOGRAPH SESSION AND RAFFLE: The doors opened at 9:00 AM for a three hour autograph session. Autographs were $10 each which you were given a ticket for. There were also $5 each tickets for a raffle drawing to be held later in the day. You could buy as many tickets as your money would allow. Each star was at a table and you went to that stars line. Of course, Bruce's line was the longest. I went to each line getting autographs from each star. Bruce and I being friends caught up. We had not seen each other since November 2012. I found all of the stars very warm, funny and gracious. The first three hours flew by. At 12:00 PM, we broke for an hour for lunch. The afternoon session resumed at 1:00 PM for more autograph signing as well as the raffle drawing. I actually won a raffle. I won some SMK trivia cards, some fanfiction stories and an old program from the SMK 20th Anniversary. I was thrilled to win anything. The next three hours also flew by and we stopped for a two-hour break before dinner. Dinner was to be at 6:00 PM. We all went to freshen up and get dressed up for the evening dinner. Stars had a room at the hotel to rest. DINNER: We entered the dining room at 6:00 PM and went to each table to find our name card. I was seated at Martha Smith's, Francine Desmond, table right next to her. We were told that dinner was served buffet style where you go up to get your food yourself. It was an Italian themed dinner. We had a green salad, several pasta dishes, antipesto dish, marinara dish and chicken picata. Cake was for dessert. Martha was very gracious and wonderful. She asked us where we were from, what was our favorite SMK episode and our favorite Francine moments. She giggled and was lovely. Martha's favorite episode is "Life of the Party". Because Martha's birthday is coming soon, she was surprised with a birthday gift and chocolate birthday cake. Bruce presented her with her "gift". Yes, it was a feather duster. She laughed when she opened the gift. They brought out the chocolate birthday cake with three candles. We all sang to her, and she blew out the candles. I asked her if she loved chocolate as much as Francine did, and she said "Yes". HA DINNER ~ VIDEO and AUDIO: We were treated to a short bloopers video (no, not for sale anywhere... sorry), a video tribute from Beverly Garland, Bruce and Martha to Mel Stewart. A video tribute to Sam Melville from Bruce and Martha. The audio was a message from Kate Jackson that her friend and assistant, Mike, had personally delivered to us just for the event. Bruce and Martha were very moved by Kate's words, as were we all. DINNER ~ Q&A: Question and Answer session included Bruce, Martha, and Greg. Richard Herd, Dennis Duckwall and Myron Natwick had left. They joked that two microphones were needed or Bruce would do all the talking himself. Various audience members asked questions. Greg was asked a lot about being a child actor. Martha was asked about her wardrobe and how she softened towards Amanda as the show went on. Bruce was asked about his stunts, locations, etc. Lots of laughter and fond memories by the stars and us as well. This lasted until midnight. Bruce went outside before he left and hung around. I was able to get a few minutes of private time catching up. He also chatted with others. They said their "goodnights" to us. Then my roomies and I went up to our hotel room. Goodnight all.
I'm sorry to report the very talented actress, Jean Stapleton, our beloved Emily Farnsworth, passed away on May 30th. May she rest in peace.
Out of all the guest stars on the series Scarecrow and Mrs. King, she was my favorite and I also dearly love to write her into my stories. Emily was a fun character and Jean portrayed her brilliantly. I love both shows equally, although Scarecrow and Mrs. King still edges out Chuck as being my favorite television series of all time. Nonetheless, I thought it would be fun to take a moment to discuss the similarities between the two shows.
Scarecrow and Mrs. King was a American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 1983-1987. Usually somewhere in the middle of the Nielsen rating numbers, it did quite well in it's time slots until the lead actress was diagnosed with cancer and the show was not renewed. The show ran successfully for four seasons and finished with 88 episodes. Chuck was an American action-comedy/spy-drama television serial that aired between 2007-2012. Always on the cancellation bubble, it struggled to stay on network television, but after successful fan-mounted campaigns, the series ended with 91 episodes. Although, there is no proof the creators of Chuck watched Scarecrow and Mrs. King, I find many of the similarities quite humorous and a bit suspect. To begin with, the whole premise of the show. Both revolved around ordinary people becoming paired with the loner spy and being thrust unexpectedly into the world of espionage. Amanda, a mother of two and a homemaker, is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. While Chuck is a young man working at a computer store, who is passed secret government information by a spy who is in trouble. Both Chuck and Amanda help the agents they are paired with by often thinking outside the box and using unconventional ways of taking out the bad guys. In addition, both Chuck and Amanda dislike guns, although both as they progressed as agents learned how to handle them. I also have to add a similar plot device, in Scarecrow and Mrs. King Amanda put sugar in a gas tank to help her and Lee escape, while in Chuck, Lester put sugar in the gas tank to stop the baddies from kidnapping Casey's daughter. Both shows focused heavily on relationships. For Amanda it was her mother and two boys, while Chuck had a close relationship with his sister. For both of them family meant everything. While Lee and Sarah were the hardened agents, both with circumstances that lead to them growing up in a hurry and each having to deal with the element of abandonment. Of course, these tough agents were never supposed to fall in love with their partners for it was against the cardinal rule of spying; however, cover kisses lead to real kisses, and denial lead to dating others and finally them getting together and getting married. Both shows also had a great ensemble cast.There are several other reasons; i.e. both shows were filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, both shows moved to Friday nights their last season and lost viewers, and both shows ended before they should have. In addition, most fans feel the last three or four episodes do not exist; Scarecrow and Mrs. King, because of Kate's illness and the star being unavailable to film those last episodes, and Chuck, because the final story line had Sarah losing her memories and forgetting Chuck and the five years they had together. Of course, the series finale, fans cried in agony as we did not get closure or our "happily ever-after." I feel the same way about Scarecrow and Mrs. King because us fans never got closure or had the chance to say goodbye to the characters we had grown to love over the years. Finally, both shows have the brilliant and talented Bruce Boxleitner. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King, he was of course Lee Stetson, codename Scarecrow, while in Chuck he was Dr. Woody Woodcomb, also known as, Captain Awesome's dad. Then the most humorous coincidence was the house on 4247 Warner Avenue. In Scarecrow and Mrs. King this was Amanda's house on the fictional street of Maplewood Drive in Arlington, Virginia, but in Chuck the same house was used as Sarah's dream house. The house she longed to live in with the white picket fence and red door, where she and Chuck could grow old together, and she could finally live the normal life she had always dreamed about. For those who have watched both shows, I would love to hear your thoughts. |
"Hey. . . it's me."I live in the shadows of the Olympic Mountains in the state of Washington and I love camping, boating, kayaking, hiking, and hanging out with my husband, our three adult children, and our Bernese Mountain dog, Henry. Tags
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