Scarecrow and Mrs. King: The Complete Second Season

The Scarecrow and Mrs. King is a wonderful mix of action, adventure, mystery, comedy, and romance.In the first season of the show, Lee Stetson, a secret agent codenamed "Scarecrow" working for an organization in the Washington D.C. area known only as the "Agency" finds himself in a tough spot and is forced to ask a civilian, Mrs. King, to deliver a package for him. Although Amanda King, divorced mother of two boys, is unable to deliver the package as Lee asked, she ends up helping him to solve the case he's working on and joins the Agency herself. She becomes Lee's friend and partner, and later, the two of them fall in love. Amanda offers Lee a unique point-of-view on things because she understands more about ordinary civilian life than the regular agents do. At times, the series might seem a little corny because of the way a group of trained secret agents comes to rely on an ordinary suburban housewife, but it's all in fun. Personally, I find the shows hilarious, with the clashes between Mrs. King's naïve yet practical approach to situations and Scarecrow's professional experience, particularly since Mrs. King has to go to great lengths to keep her family from finding out that she has become a spy.Most of the shows take place around Washington D.C. and Virginia, but this season features some episodes which take place in other countries. The episodes in season 2 are:1. To Catch a Mongoose - Lee and Amanda are in London on the trail of an assassin who might be an old classmate of Amanda's.2. The Times They Are a Changin' - Amanda and her family win a trip to Germany, only the contest was actually a ploy made up by the Agency so Amanda would have a chance to act as a courier between Lee and a former `60s radical who may be forced to kill someone.3. Double Agent - A disgruntled former agent writes a book exposing some of the Agency's secrets, including their use of civilians like Amanda. However, he is murdered before the book gets published, and Lee and Amanda must find the killer and the manuscript.4. The Legend of Das Geisterschloss - Emily (played by Jean Stapleton), a British agent and an old friend of Lee's, disappears while visiting Austria. Lee and Amanda search for her using her sketchbook as a guide.5. Charity Begins at Home - Lee asks Amanda to get him into a classic car show where Amanda is volunteering to raise money for charity so he can learn about the sponsor's illegal dealings.6. Brunettes Are In - Lee and Amanda argue after a microdot containing important information is stolen from Amanda while she's on assignment. Amanda considers leaving the Agency, but Lee learns that the thief has connections to some men with sinister intentions toward Amanda personally.7. Our Man in Tegernsee - Amanda is arrested for passing counterfeit money in Germany when she tries to buy presents for her sons after carrying out a simple errand for the Agency.8. Affair at Bromfield Hall - On a trip to England, Amanda accidentally ends up in a scandal with a British peer when a man takes a picture of them in a park and alleges that she is his mistress. To avert scandal and avoid blowing their cover on assignment, Lee and Amanda visit the peer at his country estate where some of the guests have connections to Lee's current case.9. A Class Act - Amanda goes to the Agency's training camp with Lee. Lee is posing as one of the trainees to investigate the backgrounds of the other trainees, one of whom is an enemy agent.10. Playing Possum - When Amanda shows up at the Agency only to find the place abandoned, she and Lee have to find out what state of emergency prompted the Agency to go underground.11. The Three Faces of Emily - Lee's friend Emily is back in Washington and trying to prevent someone from passing the plans of a secret fighter plane to the Russians. This is a fun episode with Emily dressing up to play several other roles, including a KGB interrogator, with Amanda's dining room doubling as a detention room in the Russian embassy.12. Ship of Spies - Lee asks Amanda to come on a cruise to help him investigate the disappearance of a friend of his on that same cruise ship. The only problem is that the current cruise is for couples who are about to be married, and if they don't solve the case in time, they may have to go through with the ceremony to avoid blowing their cover.13. Spiderweb - Lee is forced to spy on Amanda when someone makes it look like she is leaking information about defectors that the Agency is trying to protect.14. A Little Sex, a Little Scandal - Amanda witnesses a murder, but by the time she can return with the police, the body and all the evidence of the crime are gone. Unfortunately, the killers know that Amanda saw them and are after her, all while Amanda is competing in a contest to be Mother of the Year.15. A Relative Situation - Lee's uncle, Col. Clayton, is facing court martial after he is blamed for the deaths of some of his men. Their planes crashed, and Col. Clayton was accused of making them perform a dangerous maneuver, but Lee suspects sabotage.16. Life of the Party - Amanda and Francine, another agent at the Agency, go undercover at a company that cleans and caters at parties in order to investigate thefts of important secrets.17. Odds on a Dead Pigeon - A man who wants revenge on Lee hires an assassin who looks exactly like Amanda to kill him.18. Car Wars - Amanda's car is in the shop, so when she needs to run some errands for the Agency, Lee borrows a car for her from the impound yard, not knowing that there is something dangerous hidden in it and that there are people out searching for it.19. DOA: Delirious on Arrival - Lee regrets allowing Amanda to eat his lunch when they find out that it contained a drug which causes her to hallucinate and act on crazy whims. Now Lee has to negotiate for the antidote while keeping Amanda safe from both the poisoner and herself.20. You Only Die Twice - Everyone is shocked to read Amanda's obituary in the paper, especially Amanda herself. Another agent borrowed Amanda's identity as a cover and was killed on assignment, but what will happen when the killers learn that "Amanda King" is still alive?21. Burn Out - It looks like Lee is having a breakdown. Amanda's well-meaning attempts to help him through his troubles might endanger the case he's working on and possibly cost Amanda her life.22. Murder Between Friends - Amanda is having trouble making ends meet, so when the head of a security company associated with the Agency offers her a better-paying job, she reluctantly accepts. Unfortunately, her new boss is murdered, and Amanda becomes the primary suspect.23. Vigilante Mothers - A community environmentalist group that Amanda joins becomes the target of a terrorist who has a habit of romancing women to get what he wants.

The 80's produced a lot of shows with silly premises that were really lots of fun. A perfect example of that is Scarecrow and Mrs. King. The set up may be silly, but each episode is so fun you can't help but come back for more.Lee Stetson, aka Scarecrow (Bruce Boxleitner), is a spy for The Agency. He's been without a partner for a while until he was teamed with Amanda King (Kate Jackson), a divorced housewife. While still a civilian, she seems to find herself in the middle of plenty of harrowing adventures. For example, she's targeted by a white-slavery ring. She's named in a book that outs civilians used as spies. She's framed for a mole giving away the secrets of a very important operation. She even finds her own obituary in the paper. And several of her charity events seem to involve international intrigue. Of course, Lee proves to be the factor that gets them into some case like clearing his uncle of getting his Air Force men killed. That is, until Lee gets burned out.The fact that Amanda sees so much action doesn't sit well with Francine (Martha Smith), a trained spy who often sits out assignments when it appears Amanda fits in better. There is one case where they both go undercover as maids, and it's nice to see Francine respect Amanda by the end, although this is 80's TV. The next episode, she's snipping at Amanda again. Rounding out the agency cast is Mel Stewart as boss Bill Melrose.Of course, we can't have a spy show without characters who don't know what Amanda really does. Those characters are her mother Dotty West (Beverly Garland) and kids Phillip and Jamie (Paul Stout and Greg Morton). Honestly, these characters never get too much to do, but they add some humor to the episodes and help round out Amanda's character.And make no mistake about it, this is a light spy show. Yes, the characters are often in death defying situations, especially Amanda, but you know the good guys will win in the end. Amanda is a very resourceful character, and how she gets out of predicaments is often fun.Quite often, Amanda needs Lee to rescue her, but almost as often, she does something to stall the villains until help arrives. She's not quite your classic damsel in distress. She'll often come up with a big piece of the puzzle herself. There are even a few times where she saves Lee, although he still has to get in a fist fight to subdue the victims.While brings us to the 80's cheese of the show. Vehicle in an accident? It will blow up. Bad guys from Eastern Europe? They prefer to speak in accented English instead of their native language. The Washington DC suburbs look an awful lot of Southern California. And, as I said, every episode ends with a fist fight.Frankly, all that just adds to the fun of the show for me. This is light, escapist fare, but it never pretends to be anything serious. It wants to entertain, and I get caught up in the stories every time. Plus the characters are so much fun, I love spending time with them.Most of the cast are supporting players. They're lucky if they get one episode in the sun. Not that they don't put everything into their scenes. Honestly, it is amazing just how small their parts are sometimes because they seem like major players. The show belongs to Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner, however, and those two shine. As the season progresses, you can really feel the attraction between the two characters develop, and the two play this perfectly. This is especially true on Bruce Boxleitner's part since his character really goes from still not liking Amanda to respecting her and caring for her this season, even if they aren't admitting it yet.The biggest thing that set this season apart from the others is the international episodes. While the entire cast only gets to go to Munich, Lee and Amanda hit London and Salzburg as well as Germany a second time. They even get to go on a wedding cruise. Honestly, I prefer the episodes where the entire cast is present, but these episodes are fun for something different and they are all filmed on location, so it adds a very nice international flavor to this season.Season two consisted of 23 episodes, and they are presented here on 5 discs. The picture and sound are true to their 80's roots, meaning you get full picture and mono sound. This won't rock out your system, but it looks and sounds very good for being almost 30 years old. You'll see some issues with the picture on the stock footage, but those are just a few seconds each. Unfortunately, there are no extras on the set, but we've waited so long for this show to hit DVD, I'll take it in whatever form I can get it.I'd be hard pressed to call Season 2 of Scarecrow and Mrs. King outstanding TV. But it is absolutely fun, and that's all it was trying to be. If you want a fun escape from reality, you'll enjoy every second of season two of this show.

Very good show, all the characters are great, I recommend this for family viewing.

This is my favorite season of the show. So many great episodes! Superb acting and storylines (as with every season), but I really love the episodes filmed overseas in this season. Fun and entertaining throughout.

My wife is a big Kate Jackson fan. This was one of here favorite shows back in the day. Every time I can push an Amazon delivery out a few days, I receive a $1.99 digital credit. I have almost purchased all of Season 1 with my digital credits. Season 2 is next. Happy wife, happy life!

Like in my memories, i've been waiting so long for this DVD to be sold!!! I'm looking forward the others seasons

This show is an absolute delight and after 25 years it's great to have a better copy than my old tapes. I don't have HD equipment, but to me the DVD quality looks very good for a show of this age. It's a pity there's no UK release and I can't see why it's never repeated here, but for anyone who can't play the US region 1 discs I'd suggest the German version due out on 6th May 2011 - look on amazon.de for Agentin mit Herz, which I'll be getting too for added flexibility.Season 2 sees a lot of development in both the main characters - so if anyone found Amanda a little ditzy at times in the early episodes, don't worry, it changes as she becomes more confident and Lee appreciates her efforts more (sometimes). On one occasion even Francine is complimentary!Five of the episodes are shot in Europe - 2 England, 2 Germany and 1 Austria - and unlike some shows where this tends to detract from the storyline, SMK manages to pull it off very well. There are plenty of comedy highlights, too - look out for Amanda being mistaken for a top agent in episode 9 and Francine as a maid in episode 16, as well as many others. If you have seen copies of the US TV repeats, the DVDs have scenes which were cut from those (not actually extras, but back to the complete original version).As with season 1 (and the later seasons which I hope will be released shortly), Kate Jackson and Bruce Boxleitner do an excellent job throughout, helped by a very strong supporting cast. It's a shame there are no extras as I'd have loved audio commentaries from the stars or even contemporaneous interviews, but it's still the highlight of my DVD year so far. Everyone who has seen any episodes from my DVDs has wanted their own set and it's suitable for all age groups, male and female. Well-constructed, intelligent, and lots and lots of fun. Roll on season 3!

I had forgotten how good his series was. The stories are varied enough that you want to see the next one. The plots are simple and there is just enough action to keep ones interest. Kate Jackson is great in this series. I like the family aspect too as well as the morals are not compromised.

Le produit est conforme à ce que je m'attendais. Merci, j'ai été satisfaite de mes achats comme toujours.

Not your James Bond, but cute. Funny and endearing situations. I find it amazing though, there are no cops in the show when Scarecrow is speeding and driving reclessly. No cars on the roads either for him to hit!