Ki'i's Don't Lie

Episode Number: 43
Season Number: 3.3
Air Date: 10/7/1982
Writers: Philip DeGuere, Bob Shayne
Director: Lawrence Doheny
Producer: Douglas Green
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Guest Stars

Jameson Parker (A.J. Simon), Gerald McRaney (Rick Simon), Morgan Fairchild (Catherine Hailey), Liam Sullivan (Harold Sands), Branscombe Richmond (Gerald Akoa), Gillian Dobb (Mabel), Ron Wood (Attendant)

Episode Brief

Magnum's security services for an antique auction are tested by San Diego-based P.I.'s A.J and Rick Simon's task to steal back a Ki'i - which seems to carry a death curse - for its previous owner who feels his declining health will improve if it's returned to its origin.

Rating

8.3

(62 votes)

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Notes

¹ This episode is the first part of a special "crossover story" with the Simon & Simon (1981-1988), which concludes in the episode "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend". The episodes originally aired back-to-back on the same night. The crossover episodes were an effort on CBS' part to boost ratings for Simon & Simon, which included moving the show to a new time slot immediately after Magnum P.I. on Thursday nights. Simon & Simon's ratings improved dramatically after the Magnum P.I. crossover story and time slot change.

² There are actually two different versions of this episode - the original broadcast version and the syndication version. The syndicated version is a stand-alone episode with a different ending (Catherine Hailey is caught at the airport before she flees to South America). The syndicated version allows this episode to be shown in syndication without having to view the Simon & Simon episode.

³ After being blown up in the previous episode, the Ferrari 308 GTS is back, with no mention of it by anybody. Robin must have simply replaced it.

⁴ Branscombe Richmond (Gerald Akoa) makes his second appearance on the show. He will appear in 5 episodes total.

⁵ The opening scene at Harold Sands' antique store was shot on location at the Century Plaza Towers in Century City, Los Angeles. The Ilikai Hotel and Honolulu International airport are also used as filming locations. (Noted by rubber chicken & Tim)

⁶ A.J. Simon (Jameson Parker) wears the same red and blue (bezel) Rolex GMT-Master 2 watch as Magnum will later in the series. It is clearly visible in the beach segment after the alarm has been triggered (about the 26:45 mark). (Noted by Tim)

⁷ "Rick Simon's "Will Kill Pest Control" routine was used prior to "Ki'i's Don't Lie". In the first season Simon & Simon episode "Double Entry" (original airdate: March 2, 1982) Rick wears the same grey pest control uniform and mask, and has a similar-looking spray tank. He does the "I'm spraying C-17...if you're an ant, it's fatal", adding the line "That's a joke" and a catchphrase "If it flies, it dies; if it crawls it falls", which can be seen written on the commandeered pest control van from "Ki'i's Don't Lie". Plus, just as he does in the MPI episode, Rick leaves the spray canister on after he leaves so that it saturates the carpet." (Noted by Little Garwood)

⁸ Gillian Dobb has a small role in this episode as Mabel. In a very short time, Gillian will begin her role as the recurring character Agatha Chumley, starting with "Black on White" (3.6).

⁹ Gerald McRaney (Rick Simon) will appear with Tom Selleck in the critically acclaimed 2004 television movie Ike: Countdown to D-Day.

¹⁰ Morgan Fairchild (Catherine Hailey) appeared with Tom Selleck in the 1979 television movie The Concrete Cowboys.

¹¹ T.C. wears his blue and white Hughes Helicopters baseball cap for the first time.

¹² For many years, the IMDB (and other sources) incorrectly credited Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood as appearing in this episode (as Attendant), as well as three other Magnum P.I. episodes. The correct Ron Wood was added to the IMDB in 2007.

Quotes

¹
T.C.: Mention what? What did Orville do?
Magnum: Oh, it's something that happened in Saigon, but I promised Rick I would never mention it again....What was that snake lady's name again?
Rick: That's not fair Thomas! That's really not fair!
T.C.: What's not fair?
Rick: It's personal.
Magnum: It's funny, you know. It's kinda like what happened to you [T.C.] that time in Madame Woo's...With that sword-swallower from the Lotus festival?!
T.C.: Ahh...(startled look)

²
Higgins: Magnum! The look on your face is even more vacuous than usual. You've failed havn't you?

Flubs

¹ When Magnum jumps the wall (and falls) to tell Higgins about Catherine, Higgins' mouth is seen yelling at Magnum with no sound. Then a few seconds later the camera is on Higgins and you can see what he was really saying. It looks like the same shot shown again from a different camera angle. (Noted by John M.)

² In the scene where Rick, A.J. and Harold are casing the estate, when Rick looks through his binoculars at the front gate, the film has been flipped. (Noted by Sam)

³ Starting around the 44:00 minute mark, after the fight begins at the top of the escalator, it is clear that a stunt double for Magnum is used in most of the sequences. (Noted by Tim)

⁴ Towards the end, when Harold Sands dies on the balcony with the Ki'i in his hand, you can see two Magnum P.I. film crew members reflecting through a hotel window on the bottom-right of the screen. (Noted by Hugo)

⁵ At the end of the episode, when Magnum and T.C. are in the chopper, the cursed Ki'i doll falls out of the box and the chopper's engine starts to fail. T.C. says the fuel mixture was "too rich". This would apply to a piston aircraft, but not one with a turbine engine like T.C.'s!
(Noted by mc25a)

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