Old Acquaintance

Episode Number: 109
Season Number: 6.3
Air Date: 10/3/1985
Writer: Jill Donner
Director: Ivan Dixon
Producer: Chris Abbott
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Guest Stars

Lee Purcell (Goldie Morris), Brock Peters (Pres. Kole), Keone Young (Makini), Lee de Broux (Rodney Radcliff), Hari Rhodes (Mr. Wanda), Fred Lerner (Smith), Michael Adams (Jones), Art Kimbro (Lt. Kimbro)

Episode Brief

Goldie Morris, an old friend from his high school days, needs Magnum's help to track down a stolen dolphin, a dolphin that has been loaded with explosives!

Rating

7.8

(34 votes)

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Notes

¹ Several scenes from this episode were shot on location at Sea Life Park, including all of the dolphin scenes (both above and below water). Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in Honolulu is also used as a filming location.

² This episode has a plot that is similar to the 1973 movie The Day of the Dolphin starring George C. Scott, Paul Sorvino and Fritz Weaver (corporate-backed bad guys steal dolphins and try to get them to blow up the president's yacht), as well as the 1978 Wonder Woman episode "The Deadly Dolphin" (again, a trained, bomb-strapped dolphin is used to attempt to blow up a boat carrying a president). (Noted by IslandHopper & MaiTaiMan)

³ Look out for a real life high school photograph of Tom Selleck, seen in Magnum's high school book near the beginning of the episode. T.C. and Rick have much amusement about his haircut. This same photo is also seen a few episodes later, in "Going Home" (6.7).

⁴ Magnum was captain of his high school football team and won a Virginia State Championship in his senior year.

⁵ This is Lee de Broux's (Rodney Radcliff) third and final appearance on Magnum P.I.. He previously appeared in Season One's "China Doll" (as Duffy the Sailor) and Season Three's "The Arrow That is Not Aimed" (as Gallagher).

⁶ T.C. wears his tiny earring (or ear clip), on his right ear, for the first time. He will wear it in many more episodes to come. (Noted by Jay-Firestorm)

⁷ Jan & Dean's "Dead Man's Curve" can be heard almost in its' entirety in the background during the scene at Rodney Radcliff's garage.

⁸ Emily Dickenson is quoted several times and is name-checked by Higgins and Magnum. Goldie also quoted one of her poems in the High School yearbook.

⁹ T.C.'s friend Rodney Radcliff designed the Island Hoppers logo and did the custom paint jobs on the chopper and van. Rodney is a great character. It's a shame he wasn't used in any more episodes.

¹⁰ The scene at Rodney Radcliff's garage was filmed at Paki Hale in Kapiolani Park. Several killer hot rods can be seen at the garage, including a mini-monster truck. (Noted by rubber chicken)

Quotes

¹
T.C.: Well, if you hadn't have dragged Magnum threw that English class, he wouldn't have gotten into Annapolis, he wouldn't have been in the Navy, he wouldn't have been in Vietnam, and if he hadn't been in Vietnam, I probably wouldn't have been alive to give you the shirt off my back.
Magnum: Thanks T.C., that's very nice. (smiles)
T.C.: Of course, on the other hand, I wouldn't be replacing chopper parts every other week. Speaking of which, we're gonna have to stop on the way out, to get an estimate on this fuel line, which I'm sure you'll wanna take a look at it!

²
Magnum: I had to admit, I was a little nervous about seeing Goldie again after all these years. But one thing which I wasn't worred about was whether I'd recognize her or not. There was a bond between us. A history. A camaraderie that went beyond the physical. It was a spiritual sort of thing. (Narration)
(Magnum doesn't recognize Goldie)

³
Goldie Morris: Remember back in high school when I campaigned to outlaw football games? Remember?
Magnum: Yes, I remember. You felt that football was uncivilized, that it encouraged students to acts of violence, rather than rational, intellectual discussions. So, at halftime, during the Homecoming game, you... burned down the goalposts.
Goldie Morris: It was a symbolic act.
Magnum: We had to forfeit the game!!
Goldie Morris: I couldn't get them to listen any other way!

⁴
Goldie Morris: A dolphin is a mammal, not a fish.

⁵
Rodney Radcliff: See, a man's vehicle is his castle. I figure what you drive can say a lot about a person. Like that filthy, dirty Ferrari over there. Now, can you imagine the kind of person that would abuse such a beautiful machine?

Flubs

¹ Makini says that "unless we find Kalei, it's only a matter of days before she'll [the other dolphin] be dead". A dolphin will not die in days after losing its mate! Dolphins arn't even monogamous! A borderline flub, but glaring none the less.

² Referring to the dolphin, Makini says that he has "something on radar a hundred yards off the bow." Radar can not track animals under water, SONAR does. (Noted by Timmer33)

³ And yet another dolphin-related flub; Goldie says that if the "kidnappers" release the dolphin, it will die in the wild within days. However, that is exactly what she (Goldie) was planning on doing!! This is a major flaw in the storyline and simply doesn't make sense. (Noted by Timmer33)

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