A Little Bit of Luck... A Little Bit of Grief

Episode Number: 126
Season Number: 6.20
Air Date: 4/3/1986
Writer: Reuben Leder
Director: Ray Austin
Producer: Chris Abbott
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Elisha Cook Jr. (Icepick), Esmond Chung (Sgt. Kenny Chung)

Guest Stars

Claudia Cron (Jeannie), Pat Corley (Dennis MacKenzie), Bruce Forsyth (Lottery Host), David S. Cass Sr. (Benny), Robert F. Hoy (Cornell Dye), Kiva Lawrence (Debralee Worthy), John Lisbon Wood (Dwayne Dailey), Melanie Vincz (Mandy Smith)

Episode Brief

T.C. and Magnum are fighting the demolition of T.C.'s clubhouse for underprivileged and troubled youths, which has been ordered to be destroyed by a greedy, obnoxious local land developer. Meanwhile, Rick, on a trip away, wins the $1,000,000 jackpot in the Western States Lottery. Now a rich man, he meets a young woman who becomes his fiancee, but with his new wealth, he begins to neglect his responsibilities at the King Kamehameha Club, and gets mixed up with a couple of crooked poker players. Rick is so wrapped up in his whirlwind new life that he risks losing his job, and even more importantly, his friends, not to mention his newly acquired wealth.

Rating

7.3

(34 votes)

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Notes

¹ This is the sixth "Rick-centric" episode of the series, following "The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club" (1.11), "The Woman on the Beach" (2.3), "Smaller Than Life" (4.3), "Distant Relative" (4.4) and "The Love-For-Sale Boat" (5.17). This the only episode where Rick receives the majority of screen time over the other main cast members.

² Elisha Cook Jr. is credited onscreen as "Ice Pick" for the first time. The name appears as two separate words, not 'Icepick' as it sometimes appears in other in-episode occasions (a birthday banner, for example).

³ David S. Cass Sr. (Benny) and Robert F. Hoy (Cornell Dye) are both legendary stuntman (and actors) who have worked in the business for over 30 years.

⁴ Bruce Forsyth (Lottery Host) is a very popular gameshow host in the UK. He's hosted many different shows over a long career, highlighted by his hosting of the legendary variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium in the early '60s.

⁵ Claudia Cron (Jeannie) quit acting in the early '90s and is now a very talented artist working in oil paintings and graphite drawings. Her personal website can be found here.

⁶ We learn that T.C. has provided a clubhouse (the "12th Avenue Clubhouse") for the kids on his Tigers little league team for "the past six years". Torn down at the beginning of the episode, it was then re-built. We never see or hear of the clubhouse again.

⁷ Higgins is seen "conducting" a recording of Ludwig van Beethoven's popular Symphony No.5 in C minor. (Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)

⁸ The King Kamehameha Club "party room" set is used for the third time, after "I Witness" (4.21), where it was used extensively, and "Find Me a Rainbow" (6.18). Higgins refers to the area as the "Anuenue Room" (Hawaiian for "Rainbow"). The "Anuenue Room" will be seen in several episodes of Season Seven.

⁹ Rick's says that his favorite song is "As Time Goes By" (which we hear on the piano), from Casablanca (his favorite film). The ending of this episode also closely mirrors the ending in Casablanca, with Rick and Jeannie saying goodbye on an airport runway. In Season Four's "I Witness" (4.21)", Rick says that his favorite song is Morris Albert's "Feelings".

¹⁰ Magnum mentions an "Aunt Maggie".

¹¹ Esmond Chung begins his minor recurring role as Police Sgt. Kenny Chung. Kenny will appear in four episodes.

¹² The "Hawaii Metro Police" station establishing shot is used again. This shot was filmed at the Territorial Office Building in Honolulu (425 South King Street), built in 1926 and on the National Register of Historic Places (1978). This shot has been used in several other episodes, sometimes with different names (i.e. "Circuit Court" and "KEKUANAOA"). The address is always the same, "465" (which is different than the current address of "425" today). (Noted by Island Hopper & rubber chicken)

¹³ During the poker game, Rick refers to the King Kamehameha Club "beach bar" as the "beachfront bar". This is one of the few times the bar is mentioned by a name. Also, in the same scene, watch Icepick closely. He noticeably licks his lips (like a lizard) several times, something he doesn't normally do.

Quotes

¹
Magnum: ...Just bail us out!
Higgins: "Bail you out?" As if I was at your beckon call each time you run afoul of the laws of the state and common sense!

²
T.C.: I'm just trying to do something positive for these kids. You know, coaching, a little basketball... maybe just rap with them if necessary, just to let them know there are some adults that give a damn.

³
Magnum: My Aunt Maggie used to say that friendship was something like a sponge; it could soak up a lot of garbage and gunk, but when you rang it out, you still had a sponge. Now I'm not quite sure what all that meant, but I did know as far as Rick was concerned, there was a whole lot of ringing out to be done before that sponge could be used again. (Narration)

Flubs

¹ At 20:57, a boom microphone can be seen at the bottom-right of the screen. (Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)

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