40th Anniversary Watch Party

[Styles Bitchley]

Most assuredly, Pahonu. I suppose males and females differ in their attraction to MPI. For males, like myself, the whole fantasy of TM's life is awesome; for females, TS himself. It would be interesting to know data on this. There must be figures for the proportion of fans, male vs. female. Have you seen anything like that?

That's pretty hard to gauge, but I'm sure the Neilson ratings give male vs female viewers for the original run.

Judging by the membership here, it's men who seem to keep interested all these years later. There was a small but strong female base here on the forum 10-12 years ago (SelleckLover, Carmen, etc.), but that has faded. Pretty much a sausage party these days.

And you're right about that fourth wall break in the greenhouse when Higgins says he will return Robin's birthday gift. One of the best of the series, I think!

[Mark de Croix]

Styles, that's good feedback about the greenhouse 4th wall. Although a long time fan, I am actually (and happily) seeing many episodes for the first time. Since the first episode I've been curious about these 4th walls. Good to know this present one is one of the finest. (I felt it special myself.)

About the viewership gender, it seems obvious that MPI has females in mind. MPI shows this beefcake any chance there is , physical fights seemed soft as if fake, TM is soft on the edges, portrayed as the sensitive man. I saw an interview where Selleck talked about making a character that had flaws, relatable by both men and women, but I suppose the accent on women.

[Mark de Croix]

To cont. that thought if I may: you know all the main stars are male. That is not easy for females to identify with. Putting beefcake on display may be a way to balance things.

[Styles Bitchley]

I believe that’s why they brought in Carol in later seasons. She was meant to be that relatable woman for that demographic.

[Mark de Croix]

I guess Carol in the original MPI? I haven't gotten that far, still in season 2. It's a bit regretful your mention of how female participation has waned here. On the other hand if it stays that way it's kinda like a fraternity. Pretty cool, man, pretty cool. Really awesome if we had a toga party or something.

[Pahonu]

Hey Mark,
Styles is correct about the producers intentionally introducing returning female characters. I read about this years ago in a magazine… on paper no less! If I recall correctly it was in response to data about female viewership. The directive likely came from the suits at CBS not the show’s creative team. I can’t confirm that from memory, but it’s not uncommon at all for that kind of tinkering to happen from above. It often involves budget not just ratings. It’s been discussed here before that there was an attempt at some point to eliminate the lads from the series for budgetary reasons, but pushback from the creators and especially Selleck led to them remaining. I also recall reading that the bean counters were always pushing to limit the very expensive helicopter footage.

Regarding the introduction of more female characters, interestingly, the first such character was in the season three premiere Did You See the Sunrise? and it was Lt. Maggie Poole, not Carol. Maggie reappeared several episodes later in Almost Home, which had Kathleen Lloyd in a different role as Bridget Archer. To make things more confusing, Carol Baldwin would debut in between these episodes, in Foiled Again, but with Patty McCormack in the role. Kathleen Lloyd took over the role in season four’s Distant Relative. I hope that made sense.

[ENSHealy]

Styles, that's good feedback about the greenhouse 4th wall. Although a long time fan, I am actually (and happily) seeing many episodes for the first time. Since the first episode I've been curious about these 4th walls. Good to know this present one is one of the finest. (I felt it special myself.)

If it’s 4th wall breaks you’re interested in, you might be interested in these:

1st season 4th wall breaks

2nd season 4th wall breaks

3rd season 4th wall breaks

4th season 4th wall breaks

5th season 4th wall breaks

6th season 4th wall breaks

There are many fewer in seasons 4-6 than in season 1-3. Still working my way through Season 7…and then it will be onto Season 8.

[T.Q.]

Styles, that's good feedback about the greenhouse 4th wall. Although a long time fan, I am actually (and happily) seeing many episodes for the first time. Since the first episode I've been curious about these 4th walls. Good to know this present one is one of the finest. (I felt it special myself.)

If it’s 4th wall breaks you’re interested in, you might be interested in these:

1st season 4th wall breaks

2nd season 4th wall breaks

3rd season 4th wall breaks

4th season 4th wall breaks

5th season 4th wall breaks

6th season 4th wall breaks

There are many fewer in seasons 4-6 than in season 1-3. Still working my way through Season 7…and then it will be onto Season 8.

Mark de Croix,

Welcome to the MM board.

Spoiler alert if there's episodes you've not yet seen but here's a 4th Wall compilation.


youtu.be/nh8WMwOraBc

Massive shout-out to ENSHealy. I used his lists quite a bit.

I know a few are borderline or debatable but nobody is gonna please everybody.

[ENSHealy]

Great work, T.Q.! It's awesome with the music set over them!

[Mark de Croix]

Hey Mark,
Styles is correct about the producers intentionally introducing returning female characters. I
[...]

Good to know I've got girls coming my way. You point out well how TS was protective of the actors. He told about getting mentored in that regard from James Garner in a series with him.

[Mark de Croix]

If it’s 4th wall breaks you’re interested in, you might be interested in these:
[...]

Mark de Croix,

Welcome to the MM board.

Spoiler alert if there's episodes you've not yet seen but here's a 4th Wall compilation.

[...]

Massive shout-out to ENSHealy. I used his lists quite a bit.

Whoa, Whoa, Awesome!! Many thanx to T.Q. & ENSHealy.

[Mark de Croix]

Hi Guys!
Still more to squeeze out of Texas Lightning. You ready?
Dialog is surely a great point for MPI. Here are a couple of plus and minus items:

Geek Award:

TC says to Higgins: "Uh, run that by me again, Higgie baby, only this time in English."
So packed with nuance that only US Americans can fully appreciate. (Sorry, but sometimes culture gets deep, deep.)

Illogic Award

Higgins says: "Please do not splash cheap rye whiskey on Mr. Masters' sofa."

Neither Robin Masters nor Higgins would allow cheap whiskey on premises (surely). For that reason unlikely the guys would have brought it and besides Rick is pretty sophisticated about it managing an upscale club bar. Given the scene, Higgins would have likely served some fine whiskey on hand for guests. Call a meeting of the Studio editors!

[Pahonu]

Hey Mark,
Styles is correct about the producers intentionally introducing returning female characters. I
[...]

Good to know I've got girls coming my way. You point out well how TS was protective of the actors. He told about getting mentored in that regard from James Garner in a series with him.

I agree that TS was very considerate and even protective of the whole cast and crew. James Garner was known for this on The Rockford Files and Selleck did consider him a mentor. He seemed to have learned well. Selleck didn’t want to do an eighth season of MPI. He was exhausted after seven seasons being in about 80-90% of all scenes. I recall in an interview that he stated when he realized his singular decision to end the show would put over 100 people out of work, he decided to do a limited eighth season of the series.

[Pahonu]

Illogic Award

Higgins says: "Please do not splash cheap rye whiskey on Mr. Masters' sofa."

Neither Robin Masters nor Higgins would allow cheap whiskey on premises (surely). For that reason unlikely the guys would have brought it and besides Rick is pretty sophisticated about it managing an upscale club bar. Given the scene, Higgins would have likely served some fine whiskey on hand for guests. Call a meeting of the Studio editors!

Higgins has used the cheap rye whiskey phrase more than once. I think it’s simply meant to be a dig at TM in general, no matter where the whisky came from. It’s definitely not so today, but little over a decade ago rye whisky was often viewed as low class and the choice of drunks. There’s a pretty long history in Hollywood in that respect. Compared to Scotch or blended whiskies like Irish and Canadian, and even more developed Bourbon, I’m pretty sure Higgins is using it to imply low quality and status. It’s also a distinctly American spirit, and he never shies away from touting his British heritage. Higgins also referenced “tawdry divorce cases” more than once, in the same way I think, low class.

Edit:

Here’s an interesting article I just found on rye whiskey:

https://coolmaterial.com/food-drink/his ... e-whiskey/

[Mark de Croix]

Hey, bro, thanks for the intel. I see the accent was on rye. Ah, ha, but how did it get into the mansion?? ? I don't think it would be the drink of choice by either Rick or TC and surely not TM. Absolutely not Higgins's.