SMK: alt.tv.smk FAQ
WGIA
Contents:
1 Just what are these newsgroups about anyway?
2 Who or what is "Scarecrow and Mrs. King?"
3 Who is Kate Jackson?
4. Who is Bruce Boxleitner?
5. Who is Beverly Garland?
6. Who is Martha Smith?
7. Who was Mel Stewart?
8. Who are Paul Stout and Greg Morton?
9. What sorts of Off-Topic posts do you allow?
10. Are there any other online sources to find out more about
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King?"
11. How about offline sources?
--
1. JUST WHAT ARE THESE NEWSGROUPS ABOUT ANYWAY?
The two newsgroups, alt.tv.scrow+mrs-king and alt.tv.smk are devoted to
the discussion of the television series "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" as
well as topics relating to the cast and/or crew of the television
series.
2. WHO OR WHAT IS "SCARECROW AND MRS. KING?"
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is a spy/espionage television series that ran
on CBS from 1983-1987. It starred Kate Jackson (of "Charlie's Angels"
fame) and Bruce Boxleitner (most recently Captain Sheridan on "Babylon
5") in the title roles. Ms. Jackson played Amanda King, a divorced
housewife living in Arlington, Virginia with her two sons, Phillip and
Jamie, and her mother, Dotty West. When the series opens, Mrs. King has
a chance meeting with the dashing spy Lee Stetson, aka "Scarecrow"
(played by Mr. Boxleitner) that gets her involved in a double life of
PTA bake sales and international intrigue.
Also appearning in the series were Beverly Garland as Dotty West,
Amanda's nosy mother who never seems to leave the kitchen; Martha Smith
as Francine Desmond, the wisecracking blonde agent who works at The
Agency as Billy Melrose's assistant, Mel Stewart as Billy Melrose, the
head of the Field Unit of The Agency, and Paul Stout and Greg Morton as
Phillip and Jamie King, Amanda's two young sons.
Several notable guest appearances were made by characters such as Lady
Emily Farnesworth (played by Jean Stapleton), Amanda's ex-husband Joe
King (played by Sam Melville), the ever-annoying head of The Agency, Dr.
Smythe (played by Myron Natwick), Leatherneck (played by Billy Ray
Sharkey), Auggie Swann (played by Louis Welch), and T.P. Aquinas (played
by Raleigh Bond).
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King" ended it's run in 1987 with the two lead
characters married in a secret marriage that neither Amanda's family or
Lee and Amanda's coworkers at The Agency knew about.
The series enjoyed several years of syndication on THE FAMILY CHANNEL
and, most recently, on LIFETIME.
The creators of the series were Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming
(who also co-wrote LOIS AND CLARK: THE NEW ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN) in
association with Warner Brothers and Shoot The Moon Productions.
3. WHO IS KATE JACKSON?
Kate Jackson, the actress who played Amanda on "Scarecrow and Mrs.
King," may no doubt most notably be remembered for her role as Sabrina
Duncan on "Charlie's Angels." She was born in Birmingham, Alabama in
1948 and began acting when whe was 19. Her first major role was as
Daphne Harridge on the cult classic gothic daytime soap opera "Dark
Shadows." She then starred as Jill Danko on "The Rookies," Sabrina on
"Charlie's Angels," Amanda King on "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," and most
recently, J.C. Wyatt on the shortlived sitcom "Baby Boom." Ms. Jackson
has also been in many movies, such as "Loverboy," and has directed a few
tv show episodes, including a couple from "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," and
an upcoming episode of "Dead Man's Gun" (on Showtime)
4. WHO IS BRUCE BOXLEITNER?
Bruce Boxleitner, the actor who played the Scarecrow half of "Scarecrow
and Mrs. King," will probably be most remembered most in his recurring
roles in the "Gambler" movies opposite Kenny Rogers. Mr. Boxleitner has
been in many westerns, but has done other things too, including the
movie TRON, and most recently, his role as Captain Sheridan on "Babylon
5."
5. WHO IS BEVERLY GARLAND?
Beverly Garland is the multi-talented actress who played Dotty West on
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King." She has had an extensive acting career,
including a stint as a B-Movie queen under horror director Roger Korman,
and other movies as well...and on TV as the stepmother in "My Three
Sons," Laura Holt's mom on "Remington Steel," Lois Lane's mom on "Lois
and Clark," and, recently the grandfather's girlfriend on "Seventh
Heaven." When she isn't acting, she is running her hotel, Beverly
Garland's Holiday Inn, with her husband.
6. WHO IS MARTHA SMITH?
Martha Smith, the actress who played Francine Desmond on "Scarecrow and
Mrs. King," was a model and an actress in the 70's and 80's. Among her
roles were a stint on "All My Children," "Scarecrow and Mrs. King," and
various guest roles on other tv shows, as well as several movie roles,
including Babs Jensen in "National Lampoon's Animal House." Ms. Smith
has not been in front of a TV or movie camera since "Scarecrow and Mrs.
King," but she is currently working on scripts to get her back in the TV
business BEHIND the camera.
7. WHO WAS MEL STEWART?
Mel Stewart was the very fine actor who played Billy Melrose on
"Scarecrow and Mrs. King." He was in many roles in both TV and the
movies over the years of his life. Sadly, after completing his final
role in 1994's "Made in America," Mr. Stewart passed away from a heart
attack.
8. WHO ARE PAUL STOUT AND GREG MORTON?
Paul Stout and Greg Morton played Phillip and Jamie King on "Scarecrow
and Mrs. King." Not much else is known of their acting careers beyond
that except that they made other movie appearances. Paul Stout, for
example, had a minor role in "Meatballs Part Two." Greg Morton was also
a voice on the "Super Mario Bros." cartoon. If you will look carefully
in one of the Lethal Weapon movies, you will see a picture from
Scarecrow and Mrs. King used as scenery in one of the background shots.
It is of Paul and Greg in their roles on the show.
9. WHAT SORTS OF OFF-TOPIC POSTS DO YOU ALLOW?
Alt.tv.scrow+mrs-king and alt.tv.smk are intended for posts about
Scarecrow and Mrs. King, but also allows off-topic posts about the
actors and other things related directly or indirectly to the actors or
the series. However, even given this, there are 2 types of off-topic
posts: Those that are allowed and those that aren't.
***ALLOWABLE OFF-TOPIC POSTS***
Allowable off-topic posts include things such as the following:
1)Announcements of when an actor from the series will appear on TV or in
a theatrical release, 2)Birthday announcements, posts about the
newsgroups, 3)Posts about other forums for discussions of the series,
4)LEGITIMATE AND VERIFYABLE news about the actors, etc.
***NON-ALLOWABLE OFF-TOPIC POSTS***
Non-allowable Off-topic posts include a wide range of things from Spam
to flames. SPAM is a serious offense and will not be tolerated. And if
you must flame someone on the group, do it in private. Nobody else
wants to read that garbage. Other non-allowable posts include: rumors
and gossip about the stars of the series or anyone who posts to the
newsgroups, and no posts badmouthing anyone AT ALL unless it's a
fictional character on the tv series that you just do NOT like.
10. ARE THERE ANY OTHER ONLINE SOURCES TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT
"SCARECROW AND MRS. KING?"
Yes!!!! A LOT of them!!!! Websites about for this tv show, such as
http://www.internetpro.net/~jbodine/smkzone.html, my own website devoted
to the series. As well as fanfic sites such as
http://thor.prohosting.com/~smkzine/ or http://fanfiction.virtualave.net
, and sites devoted to specific actors of the series, such as Jenny
Zellers' kate jackson page located at http://katejackson.virtualave.net
In addition to websites and fanfic you will find a chatroom on Undernet
called #smk.
11. WHAT ABOUT OFFLINE SOURCES?
There are three main offline sources you can look to to find info about
Scarecrow and Mrs. King or the actors. They are: 1)The SMK Times, 2)The
KJ Times, and 3)Red Hats of the WWW. For more information about these
publications, contact jbo...@internetpro.net ,JEN...@aol.com, or
Fre...@yahoo.com, respectively.
NOTE: This FAQ is still under construction. If you would like more
info than what you find here, send e-mail to jbo...@internetpro.net.