I Witness

Episode Number: 84
Season Number: 4.21
Air Date: 5/3/1984
Writers: Reuben Leder, Chris Abbott
Director: John Llewellyn Moxey
Producer: Reuben Leder
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Kwan Hi Lim (Lt. Tanaka), Patrick Bishop (Keoki), Elissa Dulce Hoopai (Rosine)

Guest Stars

Joy Garrett (Joy Kelly), Denise Nicholas (T.C.'s Date), Frank McRae ("Pig" - uncredited), Todd Camenson ("Rabbit"), Ernest Harada (George Wong), Robert Gleason (Spence), Emme Tomimbang (Reporter)

Episode Brief

When the Kimg Kamehameha Club is robbed by thieves wearing animal masks, the three principal eyewitnesses have different stories about what happened and how their heroic skills saved the day from complete disaster. Now Magnum must go by instinct to figure out what is fact and what is fiction before the armed thugs strike again.

Rating

8.5

(52 votes)

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Notes

¹ The theme of this episode - conflicting witness accounts - is heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa's classic 1950 film Rashomon.

² Other than the opening scene, in which Magnum wakes up in the middle of the night to watch a baseball game on television, the entire story takes place at the King Kamehameha Club, mostly in the Anuenue Room (or "Rainbow Room"). This is the first time that the Rainbow Room set has been used, and will be featured in many episodes to come, particularly in Season Seven. The room will not be seen again, however, until Season Six's "A Little Bit of Luck, A Little Bit of Grief" (6.20).

³ This is Keoki's (Patrick Bishop) last episode; and what a way to exit! He attempts to rob the King Kamehameha Club, his place of employment! Before he is escorted off to jail we find out that he worked his way up the Club's ladder by starting out as a janitor and busboy, moving into desserts and salads, and finally as head bartender.

⁴ Rick says that his favorite song is "Feelings" by Morris Albert! Joy Kelly (Joy Garrett) sings several different versions of the song on piano as each witness account is recalled. In Season Six's "A Little Bit of Luck, A Little Bit of Grief", Rick says his favorite song is "As Time Goes By" from Casablanca.

⁵ Magnum tells us that Robin has installed a new "cable system" at the estate. With cable TV, Magnum now has access to a "sports channel". The opening scene shows him attempting to catch a replay of a Tigers-Orioles game (a "pivotal game of the [1983] American League pennant race") at 2:00AM ("because sometimes in Hawaii sporting events air very late at night").

⁶ Longtime Hawaiian TV news reporter Emme Tomimbang makes a brief appearance as herself at the beginning of the episode.

⁷ Although the actors in the pig, rabbit and gorilla costumes each have several lines of dialog, only the "Rabbit" (Todd Camenson) is credited in the episode. The "Pig" was played by ex-NFL football player Frank McRae. The actor who plays the "Gorilla" is unknown.

⁸ Magnum mentions legendary Hawaiian singer/entertainer Don Ho again. Magnum mentioned him briefly in "Rembrandt's Girl" (4.14). Somewhat surprisingly, Don Ho never made a guest star appearance on Magnum.

⁹ Joy is apparently a fan of the British heavy metal band Judas Priest, as she has a Judas Priest songbook (along with a Morris Albert "Feelings" songbook) with her at the piano! Magnum says that her usual closing song is "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)", a song made famous by Frank Sinatra.

Quotes

¹
Magnum: Hawaiian sunsets are among the most breathtakingly beautiful in the world. Grandly vibrant, uniquely different every day, they paint a palette with boundaries that stop only at the horizons of one's imagination. However, when the sun goes down, it looks the same all over the world; whether you're in Milwaukee or Maui, it's dark. (Narration)

²
Rick: Hey, I'm just sayin' it the way I remember it.
Higgins: I wouldn't call that memory. I would call it the insane, crazed, meanderings of an obviously demented mind!
Rick: Are you sayin' I'm wrong?
Higgins: Yes!

³
(During Rick's story)
Rosine: Be careful Rick.
Rick: Don't worry baby, I will.

⁴
Rick: That's exactly the way I told it.
T.C.: No, it isn't!
Rick: Except...
Higgins: Except that neither of you is reciting anything even remotely resembling the truth! But then, what can one expect from simple, primitive minds that overload at the drop of a multi-dependent, clause-declarative sentence?
Rick: What?!

Flubs

¹ The scene where Higgins is yelling at the robbers, there is a brief (3-4 secs.), very poorly done, post-production audio overdub; Higgins' voice sounds completely different in the same scene.

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