Scarecrow and Mrs. King
"Playing for Keeps"
TV Flash files “"Playing for Keeps"” as hour 58 of 88 in the TV Flash guide — Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1987) on CBS, season 3, episode 14, aired 1986-01-13, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E14: listed hour 58 of 88 in the Scarecrow and Mrs. King guide, hour 14 of 22 in season 3. It aired 1986-01-13 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “"One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn't"” (S03E13). Next is “"The Pharoah's Engineer"” (S03E15).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
A tennis playing rich girl with an attitude problem has to be protected from communists trying to hurt her father.
Viewer FAQ
Where does "Playing for Keeps" sit in the Scarecrow and Mrs. King guide?
S03E14 is listed hour 58 of 88 — hour 14 of 22 in season 3, season 3 episode 14.
When did Scarecrow and Mrs. King S03E14 air?
"Playing for Keeps" aired 1986-01-13 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is it a real spy show or a romance?
Both. Light espionage plus will-they chemistry. Enough tradecraft to keep the suburban-mom recruitment from going cute; the dead drops still have to clear carpool.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Kate Jackson's post-Angels reinvention: a divorced suburban mom gets drafted into Agency work and never quite stops packing school lunches between dead drops. Bruce Boxleitner's Scarecrow supplies the trench-coat glower; the chemistry supplies the show. Espionage as domestic farce, with enough real tradecraft to keep the will-they from going cute.
Suburban dead drops as a weekly commute: CBS's Scarecrow and Mrs. King (1983–1987) drafted a divorced homemaker into agency work alongside agent Scarecrow and never quite stopped packing school lunches between missions. Kate Jackson's post-Angels reinvention opposite Bruce Boxleitner's trench-coat glower, Beverly Garland in the domestic orbit. Brad Buckner and Eugenie Ross-Leming blended romance and light espionage into a solid mid-run ratings hit. **Four seasons, 88 hours of will-they charm with enough…
Filed against
- Kate Jackson as Amanda King
Kate Jackson’s Sabrina Duncan is the original Charlie’s Angels trio’s cool register — feathered-hair poster economy around her, a speakerphone boss as alibi, glamour doing franchise work. ABC action as perfume-ad photography. On TV Flash…
- Bruce Boxleitner as Lee Stetson
Bruce Boxleitner’s Lee Stetson gave Scarecrow and Mrs. King a trench-coat glower — 1980s catalog espionage as domestic farce, Kate Jackson packing lunches between dead drops. Babylon 5 later asked the jawline to run a five-year novel. TV…
- Beverly Garland as Dotty West
Beverly Garland’s Dotty West packed school lunches beside dead drops on Scarecrow and Mrs. King — Kate Jackson’s post-Angels suburban mom drafted into Agency work, Bruce Boxleitner’s trench-coat glower, espionage as domestic farce.…