Another favorite moment is the tag in "Dead Men Leave No Trails". Lee and Amanda are being a 'normal' couple, they have just finished the supper dishes, and are sitting down for dessert and coffee, they stare at each other; Lee with that sultry look on his face as he reverently whispers her name, and Amanda leans in for a kiss, cupping his cheek, when they are interrupted. . . AGAIN! And I screamed, "Noooo, not again!!" Why did the writers torture us so? Then Amanda goes out the backdoor and Lee grabs her, pulling her to him, and sweetly kisses her on the lips. I yelled, "Finally!!" as I danced around the family room like a hyper Jack Russell terrier.
One of the things I liked most about Scarecrow and Mrs. King was the character progression of both Lee and Amanda. Most fans see the differences in Lee, the loner, womanizer, arrogant, one-dimensional, risk taker and how he changes over the years becoming a better agent and a better man, all because of Amanda. However, the biggest change in character development I see was in Amanda. Over the years, she became more confident, both professionally as an agent, but also, personally as a woman.
Season three is my favorite season, because we fans were able to witness the growing attraction between Lee and Amanda, and how neither one could deny those feelings for each other anymore. I also personally love season four of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, because of the commitment to their relationship, and while some writers had no problems writing Lee and Amanda's budding relationship, others barely touched on it. . . and as a fan, this drove me nuts. I think some believed that now they were together. . . they jumped the shark. Not true! After all, "Stemwinder", "Night Crawler", and "Bad Timing" all showed you could mix plot and romance and still have a good solid story.
Because of Kate Jackson's illness towards the end of season four, there were huge rewrites to accommodate her absence. The biggest change was in "Mission of Gold", the honeymoon episode where she was shot. Again, I thought it was an interesting plot device just like their mystery marriage, and hind-sight being 20/20, I'm sorry the writers did not develop the story line more, giving Bruce Boxleitner a chance to really show off his acting chops. Instead they focused too much on the A plot of finding the gold, rather than the B plot of Lee's fear of her dying. Wouldn't it have been wonderful to see a much longer scene between him and Dotty? I also believe the writers could have explained Amanda's absence more in the final episodes; i.e. Lee's worried about her being in the field, because he's afraid he'll lose her, etc. I blame this on Kate, for keeping her breast cancer chemo treatment a secret and keeping the cast and crew in the dark; however, I also understand. In the 1980's, cancer was the 'kiss of death' for a television series. The actors and crew and fans didn't understand what was happening to Kate or the show. Would have Kate's publicly announcing her cancer changed things? Probably not, especially with filming for the last few episodes being day-to-day depending if Kate was well enough for the shoot. The most disappointing thing to the fans was the show ended without any real closure. We didn't get a series finale, so we never got a chance to say goodbye to the characters.
Needless to say, I was devastated when I found out there was not going to be a fifth season, but I also wasn't expecting one, based on the long hiatus the show had toward the end. Although at the time I didn't understand why. I applaud Kate for her wiliness to finish the season, especially with her going through cancer treatment. It must not have been easy for her, although not having closure has left a void almost like. . . UNFINISHED BUSINESS.
How can a television series make me feel this way? So LOST AND FOUND at the same time. I wish I could explain, but I can't. I know I grew to love these characters and the missing fifth season that fans never got has left so many unanswered questions. . . When and how did the marriage come out? What was the reaction at the Agency (Billy, Francine, Dr. Smyth) and the family (Dotty, Joe, the boys)? Did they have to tell? Did someone slip up? Did they just grow tired of hiding their love for each other? Did the Agency keep them as partners or did Dr. Smyth try to force them apart? How did Lee fit into the family dynamics? Did Jamie still feel protectiveness towards his mother? I know there are several fans who hate the whole "mystery marriage." I didn't hate it, I thought it was an interesting plot device, and would have loved to have seen how it would have played out and been revealed.
The other issue was the re-writing of "Suitable For Framing". Originally Amanda ("Amanda Redux") was supposed to have been the one passing the classified information, just as Lee had done in "The First Time". Thus taking their story full circle. Having Francine be the one framed and Lee and Francine's neck being on the chopping block, instead of Lee and Amanda's just didn't work. I know there are several fans who believe the last episode was Lee and Amanda's wedding, and they don't watch any episodes past that moment. I watch them, although at the time, 20+ years ago, I didn't understand why the show became about Lee and Francine, and not Lee and Amanda. The episodes aren't my favorites, but I'm glad they were able to finish the season. However, I still wish we had a fifth season. I was even ready to write to Warner Bros. begging them to bring back Scarecrow and Mrs. King, but then I read an interview with Bruce Boxleitner. The article just about broke my little heart when he said not to bother, he wasn't interested in returning.
Fast forward 25 years later and I stumbled across some SMK clips while on YouTube, and I thought, how I missed this show and how much I loved it, thus leading me to do a Google search looking for Scarecrow and Mrs. King on DVD. I was surprised to discover it wasn't out on DVD and one search lead to another and another and another. I soon discovered fan-fiction and the virtual seasons of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, giving us fans a fifth, sixth, and seventh season. Revisiting this show was like coming home. . . or as Dorothy had said in the Wizard of Oz, "There's no place like home."
I also learned there was going to be a 25th Reunion of Scarecrow and Mrs. King, at the Beverly Garland hotel in Burbank, California in October 2008. I knew I wasn't going to miss it for the world or as I phased it, "Nothing short of a nuclear war or the end of civilization, as we know it," was going to keep me from going. I helped out during the autograph session and received a thrill of a lifetime when I was asked to sit next to Bruce Boxleitner and be his helper.
Everyone asked at the reunion why the show wasn't out on DVD. Both Kurt Galvao and Dennis Duckwall said they would look into it. A year later, I'm blowing out my birthday candles and making a wish and I soon received an email that WB had finally agreed to release Scarecrow and Mrs. King on DVD in March 2010...maybe next year I should wish for something bigger. Hmmm, maybe I should wish for a reunion movie. . . now that would be a DREAM come true!