Season One: Give This to the Man in the Red Hat

[David T. Cole]

Your S1 topic!

[GHScorpiosRule]

SQUEEEE! A thread for one of my favorite shows!

 

Ahem.

 

I cannot tell you, how great it was to see Sabrina Duncan, er, I mean Kate Jackson back on my small screen after 2 years, though it felt like tons more. I couldn't stand Dean, Francine annoyed the ever lovin' heck out of me, and I never really warmed up to her. Loved Billy.  It was so very interesting to see that it was Lee/Scarecrow, who actually had some sort of growth in the first season. From a cold, no nonsense agent/guy, who had jerkish tendencies... who, took Amanda for granted, yet found himself unable to stay indifferent to her.

 

And the chemistry! Oh boy! Both Bruce and Kate had it in spades, and they were right up there with my Remington and Laura, though the latter actually went there, even if they backtracked.

[Happytobehere]

Decided to do a rewatch over the weekend. I love Kate Jackson, she has long been a favorite and this is one of my favorite rewatch the series shows, along with Remington Steele.

[Bastet]

It's quite a testament to Kate Jackson that I find Amanda rather endearing, because Amanda is the type of person - especially in season one - who annoys the stuffing out of me in real life. 

 

I watched the show from the beginning, because Sabrina had been my favorite Angel; I stopped watching that show when Kate left.  I was really into the detective romantic comedy dramas of the '80s -- Moonlighting, Remington Steele, Hart to Hart and S&MK -- and while this (or Hart, depending on what mood I'm in) is my least favorite of those, I do enjoy it.

 

The characterization may not be the best this season, but it has a fresh feel that makes it rewatchable.  And the family scenes, which came to feel like filler, are enjoyable to me at this point in the series.  Kudos to the casting department, and the actors, because Amanda, Dotty and the boys felt like a real family from the pilot on.

Edited August 30, 2014 by Bastet

[Happytobehere]

I almost forgot the continuity inconsistencies of the show. Boy, CBS really didn't care about such things back then (I remember the same issues being present in American Gothic, which was actually a serialized show, so order matters, this helped kill the show IMO). For example, we see the episode where Amanda has the fractured foot prior to the episode where you see the episode where the injury occurred. I didn't pay attention at the time, guess I was too young, but it helps explain why Lee and Amanda's relationship seemed much closer in some of the early episodes of Season One than it did in some of the middle episodes, the airing order was probably switched.

I remember reading an interview with BB where he said he thought Lee was probably in love with Amanda by the episode where she played Victoria Greenwich (wonder when KJ thinks Amanda was officially in love with Lee) . I always thought that that was rather early in for it to be accurate, but upon rewatch, I think it is the first time we see Lee visibly bothered by Amanda getting attention from another man. From the moment he sees Amanda dancing with the guy, he is just ticked off. Too bad the show would later be flip-floppy in terms of Lees treatment of and feelings for Amanda for whatever reason. Say what you will about the romantic frustration of Remington Steele, at least there was no denial of the feelings, the issues always centered on life-styles, both past and present, which was at least somewhat realistic given the backgrounds of the two characters.

[GHScorpiosRule]

While it's true that the Greenwich episode was where Lee might have seen Amanda as a woman, you could see the feelings develop in season one. There was the one, whose episode name I'm forgetting; the one with the mole, and Lee and Amanda are arguing over whether Amanda should go out with him, and Lee says "And sound like I'm jea-" doesn't actually come out and say he's jealous, but we see he is.

 

Then the Raoul episode, where they're arguing over why Amanda can't drop off the video tape in his car, and then a car comes by and he pulls her close...and she's stroking his face...and then Francine shows up...the way they break apart?  I'm surprised the windows hadn't fogged up!

 

With Remington Steele it was different because it was clear from the pilot Steele and Laura were attracted to each other.

[Myrrhine]

Ah, I love this show, and the first two eps are among my go-to rewatches.

I also like remembrance of things past and how it is basically a cautionary tale to TV actors not to try to leave the shows that make them successful.

I actually thought Amanda was a bit self aware in season one. When she calls out how "hideously underdressed" she was for the party in the pilot, for example.

[Myrrhine]

Watching this season yet again. I love how in the credits Amanda is fussing with a scarecrow decoration. I think it is hanging near the kitchen in the pilot. I mean it's totally cheesy, but I love that kind of silly thing in this show.

I think Lee cared about Amanda pretty quickly but always told himself she wasn't his type, not flashy enough, too boring, normal, etc.

[Happytobehere]

I think Lee cared about Amanda pretty quickly but always told himself she wasn't his type, not flashy enough, too boring, normal, etc.

Bruce once said that Lee was in love with Amanda from the episode where she pretends to be an aristocratic lady and gets poisoned. It's the one where he carries her from the house in front of all the guy's society friends. Sorry I never remember episode names.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Bruce once said that Lee was in love with Amanda from the episode where she pretends to be an aristocratic lady and gets poisoned. It's the one where he carries her from the house in front of all the guy's society friends. Sorry I never remember episode names.

"Service Above and Beyond" is the episode.

After just marathon watching my other favorite show during this era, Remington Steele, and learning that Stepanie Zimbalist did most of her own stunts, it's even more glaring that for simple and easy scenes, Kate had a stunt man doing those scenes. Maybe even a female double.

Like in this episode when Lee is holding Amanda in his arms, it doesn't look like Kate.

I guess different networks had different set of rules?

As for when Lee fell in love with Amanda? It's difficult to guess, based on Lee's behavior. Did he care? Yes. He exhibited jealousy that made my tween self very happy. One can experience jealousy without being in love.

What I've always wondered was when Amanda fell in love with Lee. I'm sure she was by the second season though.

[Bastet]

A production company may impose limits on what stunts the stars can do on their own (because it's expensive enough to insure them under normal circumstances), but mostly it's about what the actors do and don't want to do.  Stephanie wanted to do many things normally done by a double, Kate was much more typical in what she did and didn't do.

 

Last time I tried to re-watch this show, I just could not get into it -- all the things that always bugged me about it (it was my least favorite, or at least tied with Hart to Hart with least favorite, of the '80s detective romantic comedic dramas I watched) were jumping up and down announcing themselves to me and distracting me from what I liked about it.  Maybe you'll inspire me to try again.

 

I always thought Bruce's estimation of when Lee fell in love with Amanda was too early, but I'll certainly have to grant he knows the character better than I do.

[GHScorpiosRule]

A production company may impose limits on what stunts the stars can do on their own (because it's expensive enough to insure them under normal circumstances), but mostly it's about what the actors do and don't want to do. Stephanie wanted to do many things normally done by a double, Kate was much more typical in what she did and didn't do.

Ah, I see. I understand, but using a double to just stand there and hold a waterhose? Or to use it to spray the windshield of a car as she did in "Finding Raoul"? Or just sitting on a motorcycle as it's driven away?

Last time I tried to re-watch this show, I just could not get into it -- all the things that always bugged me about it (it was my least favorite, or at least tied with Hart to Hart with least favorite, of the '80s detective romantic comedic dramas I watched) were jumping up and down announcing themselves to me and distracting me from what I liked about it. Maybe you'll inspire me to try again.

I always thought Bruce's estimation of when Lee fell in love with Amanda was too early, but I'll certainly have to grant he knows the character better than I do.

(Bolded mine) Oh, the pressure! Oh I wish I could! Inspire you to rewatch again, that is. Because like I posted above, I think having watched Remington Steele, which is a much stronger and better show, watching this right after is not as great as it was in the past, or even last Fall, when I did my last rewatch (And I know it's not fair to compare, but it's difficult not to when the former show is still in my head). I find Amanda's 'gee whiz ' attitude and 'if my Country says it needs me, I will do whatever my country asks of me' thinking a bit too naive, even for early 1980's.

But. I do enjoy the chemistry between Bruce and Kate, and how attracted they both are and care for each other toward the season's end. I especially enjoy the scene in Amanda's car in "Filming Raoul" when a police car is passing by and Lee pulls Amanda close and she's stroking his cheek. And how hot and bothered they both are when they pull apart.

I'm looking forward to Season two, which has four of my favorite episodes, three of which where Kate's hair is a tragedy, and one where the make-up department seemed to think Bruce needed eyeshadow: "Burnout, DOA, Odds on a Dead Pigeon" and "Ship of Spies."

And I'm sure Bruce would have a better idea as to when Lee fell in love, or was in love with Amanda, but he sure did play it cannily, so that I, at least, couldn't be sure when it happened, exactly.

Edited December 2, 2015 by GHScorpiosRule

[Bastet]

I understand, but using a double to just stand there and hold a waterhose? Or to use it to spray the windshield of a car as she did in "Finding Raoul"? Or just sitting on a motorcycle as it's driven away?

 

Some of that is just logistics, not wasting time by having the stars shoot with the second unit.  They can be off filming scenes with the first unit and the second unit can simultaneously shoot elsewhere using doubles.  It's not just stunts, it's shots in which it doesn't need to be the actor.

 

And, yeah, good call on me not watching this immediately after my Steele re-watch (which I have yet to get back to, as I've been collapsing into bed each night upon returning home after Thanksgiving) wraps up -- if I was having difficulty getting into it last time, I'd really have a hard time under those circumstances.  So I'll just follow along with your observations and re-watch it some time when the mood strikes.  Because I do want to like it again.  It's prone to the saccharine, and subdued, the chemistry far more sweet than sizzling, and it's pretty dated, but it's enjoyable and I want to feel that way again.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Some of that is just logistics, not wasting time by having the stars shoot with the second unit.  They can be off filming scenes with the first unit and the second unit can simultaneously shoot elsewhere using doubles.  It's not just stunts, it's shots in which it doesn't need to be the actor.

 

And, yeah, good call on me not watching this immediately after my Steele re-watch (which I have yet to get back to, as I've been collapsing into bed each night upon returning home after Thanksgiving) wraps up -- if I was having difficulty getting into it last time, I'd really have a hard time under those circumstances.  So I'll just follow along with your observations and re-watch it some time when the mood strikes.  Because I do want to like it again.  It's prone to the saccharine, and subdued, the chemistry far more sweet than sizzling, and it's pretty dated, but it's enjoyable and I want to feel that way again.

 

Ah, got it. Thanks.

 

Yeah, I'm starting season two next, but once I get the last "season" of Remington, where I can watch the episodes (since the one I have currently isn't working due to scratched up DVD), I'll go back to this show. Yes, I am bound and determined to watch the crapfest that was the movie, and last six episodes. I'm a masochist.  Because the Laura and Remington of this last season are definitely not the Laura and Remington I watched and loved during the first four years. But that's a rant for another forum.

 

I will say that this first season had some great quotes though.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Got through the first season and find that there are just a handful that I can rewatch. I'm thinking it's because I watched it right after watching Remington Steele, and that's something I should not do. Not to go into too much detail or compare the two, except to say that Remington comes off as a more sophisticated show, if that makes sense.  Both shared the same guest stars, if not all, and for some reason, the acting was just better on Remington.

 

And going back to "The ACM Kid", I'd forgotten it was Lee who did the talking about a rough childhood to that kid, just like Remington did. So, my original point still stands that this actor plays the same exact role.

 

So in "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth" Amanda doesn't like horses because she's allergic to them, but in "Fearless Dotty", Amanda explains to Lee the reason why she loved Skychief Rides Again is because Phillip loves horses, just like she loves horses.

 

Me: what the what, now?

 

But I so do enjoy Beverly Garland here, as Amanda's mom so much more.

 

And I really did love how Amanda set Magda straight about how her Son "was a winner." in "Dead Ringer." It was so real.

[BkWurm1]

I get not watching right after Remington Steele. The cheese factor is high on Scarecrow which can be a lot of fun...if you don't spend most of the time cringing. :D

Edited December 11, 2015 by BkWurm1

[GHScorpiosRule]

I get not watching right after Remington Steele. The cheese factor is high on Scarecrow which can be a lot of fun...if you don't spend most of the time cringing. :D

 

This! I really don't recall ever cringing that much when rewataching this show, except I do recall over on TWoP, how I complained about how very terrible The Agency was--with Lee's cover almost always getting blown and his getting his ass whupped constantly.

 

Never thought it was cheesy, per se. Though it did get "darker" in the last two seasons.