Magnum Mania!

Death and Taxes

Episode ID: 133
Episode Number: 7.6
Air Date: 10/29/1986
Writer: Bruce Cervi
Director: Alan J. Levi
Producer: Tom Selleck
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Joe Santos (Lt. Nolan Page), Jean Bruce Scott (Lt. Cmdr. Maggie Poole)

Guest Stars

Kenneth Tigar (Milton "The Ripper" Collins), Gary Frank (Jeff Spangler), Dick Jensen (Det. Kinohe), George O'Hanlon Jr. (Det. Spilner)

Plot Outline

A crazed killer with unnerving information on Magnum's time in Vietnam communicates his fiedish plans through nursery rhymes.

Rating

9.5 (14 votes) MM Episode Forum Thread & Poll

Notes

1 This is the first episode to be produced by Tom Selleck. His next one will be the superb season finale "Limbo" (7.22).

2 Unusual for the show, there is no opening preview for this episode.

3 The Genesis song "Mama" (from their 1983 self-titled album) is heard in its entirety (and used to great effect) in a sequence shot with Magnum searching for The Ripper's next victim [video]. Following in the footsteps of Miami Vice, this is the first time the show has featured a contemporary pop/rock song as in-episode music, and was one of the first TV shows to do so. Genesis songs will be featured in two more upcoming episodes - "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" in "Laura" (7.18) and "The Brazilian" in "Unfinished Business" (8.8), both from their 1986 album Invisible Touch.

4 Honolulu's vice district "Hotel Street" is used as a filming location for several scenes.

5 Lt. Nolan Page (Rockford Files alum Joe Santos) appears for the first time. He will appear in four episodes total.

6 Magnum's annual tradition of spending the 4th of July alone at sea was previously featured in the classic Season Four episode "Home From the Sea" (4.1).

7 "The Ripper" has newspaper cuttings of some of Magnum's previous exploits (some from previous episodes, some not): "Thomas Magnum Honoured by Cat Fans" (from "Photo Play"), "Clever Canine Leads Private Eye to Casebreaking Clue" (not from an episode, but we do see a couple of flashback shots of Magnum following the dog), "Local P.I. Nabs Suspect After High Speed Chase" (again not from an episode, but we see a brief flashback shot of the car chase), "Magnum and Kobata Lead King Kamehameha Club To Senior Swim Finals" (an event that we hear more about in this episode) and "Local Investigator Solves Psychic's Murder Riddle" (from "Fragments").

8 Several scenes from the "Pilot Movie are seen in flashbacks, including Phillipe in Vietnam and Magnum's climactic showdown with "La Bule" in an airport restroom.

9 Lt. Cmdr. Maggie Poole returns for the first time in three years. We last saw her in "The Look" (4.9). Also, for the first time, we see her in civilian clothing, with her hair down!

10 The Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium is used as a filming location (for the climax) for the second time. It was first seen in "Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too" (1.4).

11 Magnum wears the "Get Wet" cap for the second time. It will be seen again "Paper War" (7.8).

12 Kenneth Tigar ("The Ripper") appeared with Tom Selleck in the 1979 movie (and failed TV show pilot) The Gypsy Warriors.

Quotes

1
Magnum: I once had a paper route in Tidewater, the "Daily Sentinel". It was my first major job. I made $12 dollars a week, and a penny for every delivered paper, and I never got nervous at income tax time, because I knew the IRS always gave me my money back, reluctantly. Sending in your 10-40 form has always been as much a part of the American way of life as hot dogs at the ballpark on the Fourth of July, only now I've found myself having to file a lot more than a 10-40. I wasn't getting my money back anymore, and I had'nt been to the ballpark since, well ... before the paper route. I told myself not to feel persecuted. I told myself that people who get audited are choosen at random. I told myself it was nothing personal. (Narration)

(to Maggie) I knew it, they are out to get me!!

2
Magnum: What do you want from me?
"The Ripper": (laughs) Don't you know? You're supposed to catch me. You're supposed to ... stop me from slicing up #2 and #3.
Magnum: Well, you blew it. #2 was supposed to be last night.
"The Ripper": (laughs) Oh no, no, no, no, no Magnum. You blew it. #2 was last night.
Magnum: What are you talkin' about?
"The Ripper": And I think you are going to love #3. Riddle me this. What has four legs in the morning, and two legs in the afternoon, and three legs in the evening? (hangs up phone)
Magnum: I've heard this. A man, the answer is a man. (hangs up phone)
(que up Genesis' "Mama" as Magnum begins to look for The Ripper's next victim)

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