Compulsion
Episode Number: 98
Season Number: 5.14
Air Date: 1/24/1985
Writer: Chris Abbott
Director: David Hemmings
Producer: Reuben Leder
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario
Kathleen Lloyd (Carol Baldwin),
Gillian Dobb (Agatha Chumley)
John Pleshette (Steve Elliott),
David Hemmings (Lord Binkie Smythe-White),
Susan Swift (Sunshine),
Richard McPherson (Moody),
David Palmer (Freddie Baxter)
Appearances can be deceiving when Magnum tries to convince Carol that she's not seeing signs pointing to the next case as being her last, and Higgins finds himself in a rough spot when his former Sandhurst comrades believe he's the owner of Robin's estate!
1 This is the third "Carol-centric" episode of the series, following "
No More Mr. Nice Guy" (4.13) and "
Blind Justice" (5.7).
2 This episode features several scary "stalking" scenes involving Carol; another foray into light horror for the series.
3 Episode director
David Hemmings (a British cinema star from the 1960's) also makes an on-screen appearance as
Lord Binkie Smythe-White, one of Higgins' old schoolmates from
Sandhurst. David Hemmings will later have a small recurring role on another Bellisario TV show,
Airwolf, as Dr. Charles Henry Moffett (the creator of the Airwolf helicopter).
4 Carol's last name (Baldwin) is referenced for the first time. It is seen on a plaque in her office. We also learn that she works in the Honolulu City Prosecutors Office as a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney (as indicated by the job title posted on her office door). Her father was also a Prosecuting Attorney. She likes opera music (especially Verdi). She once owned a Pekinese dog that went by the name of "Chelsea". Her house is also seen for the second time.
5 Carol has a new hairstyle in this episode. Previously, she had "smooth" hair with grey highlights, now she has colored hair with permanent waves. Her hairstyle will change several more times in future episodes.
6 Higgins says "my kitchen" while arguing with Magnum at
Robin's Nest. This is the very first indication (or hint) in the series that Higgins may in fact be Robin Masters.
(Noted by Timmer33)
7 Carol propositions Magnum with a seductive look and a glance to the bedroom! Magnum declines over fear of breaking up their friendship.
8 The estate's kitchen is used for a brief scene, a rare sight.
9 We hear two different
Giuseppe Verdi opera pieces in this episode, all in the presence of Carol. "
Libiamo ne' lieti calici" (Drinking Song) from
La traviata is heard in the opening scene when Carol is in her car, and "Caro Nome che il mio cor" from
Rigoletto is featured in a scene at her office.
(Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)
10 Higgins was a student at
The Royal Military College (RMC) at Sandhurst, probably starting in 1931 or 1932. He was
"sent down" in the winter of his third year when he was falsely accused of causing the partial paralysis of a fellow student during a school prank (Lord Binkie was responsible for the accident). The following spring, he enlisted in the British Army. He also apparently met
Winston Churchill at some point in his younger life, as he is seen placing a picture of himself with him on his desk in this episode.
11 Magnum smokes his tenth cigar of the series in this episode.
(Noted by Jay-Firestorm)
1
Carol: You know ... sometimes ... you remind me of my father.
Magnum: Me?
Carol: (shakes head)
I guess it's just the way the light reflects off the armor.
Magnum: Night blindness.
Carol: Yeah. (widens eyes, glaces towards the bedroom)
Magnum: There's only one cure for it...(steps closer)
Sleep, and the harsh reality that comes with it in the daylight.
Carol: You sure?!
Magnum: (shakes head)
Carol: Yeah. (smiles, walks away)
2
Sandhurst Lads: Willing, watchful, wakeful, temperate and true! Steady on through fair and foul, Sandhurst through and through!
3
Higgins: ...But a point comes when you cannot carry out the charade any longer. I don't own this estate. I am merely an employee here; a majordomo as it were, but the very best I know how to be. I am proud of my job. And I am proud of the life I have made for myself. And I am proud to have people like Agatha Chumley call me friend. And I find, to my great astonishment, that it no longer matters to me what the lads of Sandhurst think of Jonathan Quayle Higgins.
1 A mop falls toward Carol in an open area, with the mop head in the air, and she's still not 100% sure someone else was there? The mop
head was in the air while the mop
stick was touching the ground! It made for a cool scene (the mop head briefly appeared to be someone's head, with long hair), but Carol surely would have figured out that someone must have pushed the mop. A little too much suspension of disbelief!
2 At the 14-minute mark, as Magnum is about to put a frying pan on the stove to lightly cook some meat for the Lads, you can hear the sound of meat cooking
before he puts the frying pan on the stove.
(Noted by Timothy Enloe)
3 In the scene where Steve Elliot has Carol hostage in the cabin, if you look at the window of the cabin, it is supposed to be raining outside. But when Magnum comes in to rescue her, it is nothing but sunshine outside!
(Noted by Justin Watts)
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