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Distant Relative

Episode Screen Caps Episode Number: 67
Season Number: 4.4
Air Date: 10/20/1983
Writer: Nick Thiel
Director: Virgil W. Vogel
Producer: Reuben Leder
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters
Kathleen Lloyd (Carol Baldwin), Gillian Dobb (Agatha Chumley), Elisha Cook Jr. (Icepick), Frank Atienza (Sgt. Puna)
Guest Stars
Alice Cadogan (Wendy Wright), Carol Channing (Herself), Doug Mossman (Officer Riley), George O'Hanlon Jr. (Frank), James C. Lawrence (Dave)
Episode Brief
Magnum reluctantly agrees to chaperone Rick's prim and proper 22-year-old sister and then finds himself trying to keep up with a wild hellion. The girl goes missing after dragging Magnum to a low-life nightclub, but things take an even more bizarre twist when the police find her murdered in an alley.
Rating
8.6(50 votes)Rate Episode
Notes
1 The original script for this episode was titled "Little Sister".

2 This is the fourth "Rick-centric" episode of the series, following "The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club" (1.11), "The Woman on the Beach" (2.3) and "Smaller Than Life" (4.3).

3 The opening credits come in much later than usual, some four and a half minutes into the episode.

4 Kathleen Lloyd takes over the role of Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Carol Baldwin, which was previously played by Patricia McCormack in "Foiled Again" (3.8). She will play the role for the rest of the series.

5 Magnum cries on-screen for the second time, following Season Two's "Memories Are Forever". He will shed tears again in Season Eight's "Unfinished Business". (Noted by Timmer33)

6 Lengendary actor Elisha Cook Jr. makes his first appearance as Icepick. Icepick was previously played by Walter Chotzen in "Past Tense" (3.5).

7 During the scene at the New Wave club ("Tijuana Tokyo"), Rick's sister Wendy orders a "Bora Gora Bazooka" ("two kinds of rum, vodka, three kinds of liqueur, and fruit punch"). "Bora Gora" is the fictional setting for Tales of the Gold Monkey, another Bellisario TV series. Tales of the Gold Monkey featured Jeff MacKay ("Mac") as a regular cast member, and had occasional appearances by Marta DuBois (Michelle). The show ran for only one season and ended a few months before this episode aired. (Noted by N1095A)

8 We learn that both of Rick's parents are dead. This will be both supported and contradicted in several future episodes.

9 The two remote control airplanes Higgins and Agatha are flying at the beginning of the episode are not perfect replicas of WWII fighters as stated by Higgins. These two planes are very crude planes and not WWII replicas at all. Also, the RAF (Royal Air Force) plane Higgins is flying that crashes is not the same plane that he is repairing in his study when Magnum comes in and tells him about Wendy. The plane that crashed has a thin fuselage and narrow rectangular wings. However, the plane in Higgins' study, is a replica of either a RAF "Spitfire", or "Hurricane". You will notice the wings on the plane in the study have wide/convex wings that taper and narrow toward the ends. (Noted by IslandHopper)

10 Rick slugs Magnum for the second, and last, time. The first occurrence was in "Computer Date" (2.14). In both cases, Magnum does not retaliate.

11 Magnum mentions that he drove a DeSoto in High School. In "Mixed Doubles" (3.10), he mentions that he had one in his second year at the Naval Academy. It's probably the same car.

12 This episode features a great chopper chase scene, with Rick manning the door gunner post and raining down hot lead with his Uzi! The Pali Tunnels are seen several times during the chase, as well.

13 In the denouement, Rick is seen stacking beer cans on a King Kamehameha Club beach bar table. The beer is "Tiller" and "Flagler" (both fictional) brands. "Flagler" beer hasn't been seen since Season One's "Skin Deep" (1.6) when Magnum downed a longneck "Flagler". Both will never be seen again.

14 The closing credits feature some shots of Magnum shooting down the RC plane that were not seen in the actual episode - we see Magnum taking aim with the shotgun and firing. (Noted by Jay-Firestorm)

15 In 1945, Higgins participated in the effort to push the Japanese out of Burma. His unit came across the home village of their native guide, which was completely destroyed by the Japanese. The guide was so distraught that he attacked the unit's captain in a successful attempt to get Higgins and his men to kill him. (Noted by Stephen Huntley)
Quotes
1
Rick: Now, if you need me for anything just call me at the club... and remember, 10:30.
Magnum: I'll remember Orvie.
Rick: And drive slow. And absolutely no bars. The closest she's come to alcohol has been sacramental wine.

2
(Magnum and Rick's sister Wendy are at Tijuana Tokyo, a New Wave club)
Wendy Wright: I'll have a Bora Gora Bazooka.
Magnum: A what!?
Wendy Wright: A Bora Gora Bazooka. That's two kinds of rum, vodka, three kinds of liqueur, and I think fruit punch.
Magnum: I'll have a beer, in a longneck bottle (New Wavers laugh)... Look, we shouldn't be in a place like this. Rick wouldn't like it.
Wendy Wright: Relax will ya. I'm over twenty-one.
(short while later)
Magnum: Wendy, this is not a date!
Wendy Wright: Oh, come on. Don't be an old poop. You're a good lookin' guy. We could have fun.
Magnum: That's it! Come on, I should of never let you drag me into a place like this. Come on, we can still get the last half of Bambi. Thumper's probably still alive.
Wendy Wright: Relax will ya. Gee, you'd think I have the plague, or something... Alright, you wanna play Mr. Nice Guy, fine.

3
Magnum: Look, you havn't seen your sister in over ten years. Did you ever think that she might not be what she seems?
Rick: Are you telling me my sister isn't sweet and innocent?
Magnum: Sweet? Yeah, I think, probably she's very sweet, but Rick, believe me, she's not innocent anymore.
Rick: If you lay one hand, one hand, on her...I'll kill you!
Magnum: What are you talking about? I wouldn't touch your sister!
Rick: That's what happened, isn't it? You tried to put a move on her and she paniced and ran away!
Magnum: No! Look, maybe she ran away because her brother treats her like she is in kindergarten!
T.C.: Whoa, whoa, whoa, shut up, both of you. Getting hysterical isn't going to solve anything. What's the big deal anyway? She's 22, it's 12:30. She probably got bored with Thomas here and went for a walk. She's probably home by now.

4
Magnum: All I saw was... Carol Channing.
Rick: At the movies!?
Flubs
1 In the opening scene, when Magnum is woken up to the loud buzzing sounds of Higgins and Agatha's remote controlled airplanes, he looks out his bedroom window and sees Higgins and Agatha just a short distance away on the sound side of the ocean front lawn (which is directly in front of the main estate house). Magnum's pad, the estate guesthouse, is on the far north side of the estate, which is quite a distance away from the lawn next to the main house. In addition, Magnum's bedroom window (as laid out in the soundstage set) does not face the ocean. Further into the scene, when Magnum is seen walking to Higgins and Agatha on the lawn, Magnum is coming from the main house, not the guesthouse! This is a common occurance on the show (especially in the early seasons), where they often film Magnum coming and going to the guesthouse from the wrong side or direction on the estate grounds. This is actually the first time we see Magnum look out his bedroom window.

2 The post-production re-recording of Rick's "Don't talk to me like a little kid or like I'm crazy. Just get the hell out of here and let me handle this in my own way!" was very poorly done. The lip sync is completely off, and the quick cut to T.C. in an attempt to hide the dubbing, made it even more obvious that the line was altered.

3 More bad audio dubbing: After Magnum arrives at the KKC he is sitting at the Beach Bar with T.C., and Rick is behind the bar talking about his sister Wendy and says that "she is innocent". Magnum chuckles, and a you can hear Rick say "well she is". This line of Rick's does not have the same sound quality, and appears to have been looped in post-production. In addition, Magnum's next line also appears to have been looped in post production: "how do you know, she's grown up, she lives in Chicago, you havent seen her in ten years". (Noted by IslandHopper)

4 When Rick and Magnum go to Wendy's hotel room looking for her, Rick enters the room and yells "Wendy, Wendy, are you alright, it's Rick, Wendy." Rick then tries to open the bedroom door and jiggles the door knob and even tries unsuccessfully to force it open with his shoulder. He and Magnum break the door down and tumble into the bedroom. After all of this effort and loud noise while yelling for Wendy and trying to break the door down, the guy (federal agent) rummaging through Wendy's drawers seems oblivious to the racket created by Rick and Magnum, and was surprised when they broke into the room. He then runs out. How could that guy not have heard Rick yelling, and he and Magnum breaking the door down? (Noted by IslandHopper)

5 The first two shots of T.C.'s chopper as he and Magnum are flying to Moloki to find Rick, show it with the skids without the extra fittings (skinny skids). However, the third and fourth shots of the chopper show it with the extra fittings on the skids (fat skids). As the chopper flys over Rick's boat, it does not have the extra fittings (skinny skids). (Noted by IslandHopper)

6 As the chopper is chasing the two drug dealers in the jeep, toward the end of the chase, the chopper drops down right behind the jeep and you can just tell that the pilot is wearing a black ski mask. (Noted by IslandHopper)

7 In the scene at the police station, by the coffee machine, a boom mic can be briefly seen dropping into the picture frame, then go back up again. (Noted by Mike Barnes)

8 When Rick is shooting at the jeep from the chopper and hits the license plate (MDX 776), the license plate is totally destroyed. A moment later, when the jeep rolls, the license plate is intact. (Noted by Mark S.)


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