"Scarecrow and Mrs. King" (1983) TV series 1983-1987

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Release Date:

3 October 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Tagline:

One everyday housewife who put some spies in her life!

Plot:

The adventures of a housewife and a spy whom she fell in with.

Plot Keywords:

Spy | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Kate Jackson	...	Mrs. Amanda King (88 episodes, 1983-1987)
Bruce Boxleitner	...	Lee Stetson (88 episodes, 1983-1987)
Mel Stewart	...	Billy Melrose (88 episodes, 1983-1987)
Martha Smith	...	Francine Desmond / ... (88 episodes, 1983-1987)
Beverly Garland	...	Dorothy 'Dotty' West (88 episodes, 1983-1987)
Greg Morton	...	Jamie King / ... (30 episodes, 1983-1984)
Paul Stout	...	Philip King / ... (30 episodes, 1983-1984)

Runtime:

60 min (88 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Shoot the Moon Enterprises

Trivia:

Sam Melville played Kate Jackson's ex-husband in the series. Years before, in "The Rookies" (1972) the two had played a married couple.

Quotes:

Lee: I'm going to take a look at his apartment.
Amanda: Ok.
Lee: You grab a cab. Get on back to the Agency. You take my computer key card and start tracking down who owns this building. Leases, parent companies...
Amanda: You know this is what always happens. I always have to go back to the agency.
Lee: We have to divide the workload Amanda.
Amanda: I agree with you let's divide the workload. You follow the paper trail and I'll follow Zorbel.
Lee: Do you think you can break into Zorbel's place?
Amanda: No.
Lee: Well?
Amanda: Call me a cab.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of 'Charlie's Angels' (2004) (TV)

Clean Cut Drama!

As a teenager this was one of the few evening shows that I could watch with my mother. Every Monday night at 8pm we would watch this show and then "Kate & Allie". During the mid eighties gritty crime dramas like "Hill Street Blues" and "Miami Vice" were dominating the popularity poles I looked forward to the light spirited romantic spy show "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" (S&MK).

First of all "The Agency" Lee Stetson worked for never could make up it's mind what type of government agency it was. At times it was like the FBI, at other times it was like the CIA and still other times like the NSA and U.S. Marshals. "The Agency" would investigate foreign espionage, transport witnesses, provide security for people and events and conduct overseas investigations. What an agency!!!

The plots usually involved the Russians and U.S.S.R.. A typical plot would find Lee Stetson (Agent Scarecrow)in over his head and the only person who could bail him out would be the civilian temporary help Amanda King. Despite all the other trained agents like Francine Desmond who was always more worried about looking good before she went on an assignment. Let us not forget Billy Melrose, this shows version of Oscar Goldman from the "Six Million Dollar Man". He could always be counted on to show up right after the nick of time just like Oscar Goldman.

The criminals always were clean cut middle aged yuppie types with horrible accents. Just about every show I can remember ends with Scarecrow and his obvious double chasing and beating up the bad guys while Amanda King almost innocently saves the day by using her skills she developed as a housewife and mother.

Despite the cheesy story lines and settings this is a very enjoyable show. Right always triumphed over wrong. The entire case acted well together and over the 4 years the viewers grew to know and like them. The relationship between Lee Stetson and Amanda played out well. The first 2 years with them feeling each other out. The third dealing with their desire to move forward and not knowing how. The fourth with their marriage and how they concealed it from everyone.

During the last season the writing began to suffer. First of all you can only have so many episodes with Soviet espionage and sabotage. Secondly, Mrs. King after 4 years could not longer be viewed as an innocent civilian and her innocent charm was fading. Finally, it was nice to see the relationship progress between Mrs. King and Scarecrow but once they were married like most shows of this type the tension that kept the audience captivated was gone. It was clear the show would not be back for a 5th season when Amanda was taken out of the episodes because the actress that portrayed her had breast cancer and the show was moved from Monday night to Friday night. Given all these changes the 4 year time frame was just about right for this shows run.

Lastly, this show was a nice diversion from the ordeals of everyday life. Hopefully as shows that are released in DVD form continue to become available this one will one day come out in DVD format.