40th Anniversary Watch Party

[308GUY]

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

October 22, 1981

[CBS 8:00] Magnum, P.I.
The Woman On The Beach
Season 2, episode 3

With Judith Chapman (Sara Clifford), Jack Hogan (Henry Ellison), Kenneth Mars (Joseph), Rebecca Clemons (Librarian).

Rick meets a woman dressed in white at the King Kamehameha Club but when they go for a walk on the beach, the woman disappears.

An episode which I found overrated at first but it has grown on me. Still no classic but pretty good. Kenneth Mars as Josef the caretaker really cracks me up!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

“The show had a total of zero flaws”
Finally some humor with Five-O!

My thoughts exactly.

Serious question: I have never seen either Hawaii 5-0 show; should I watch either?

Definitely watch the original! Greatest show of all time! Just ask T.Q.

The remake? Don't bother. It was a mess, just like the new MiniMag is. Watch it only if you want to constantly be reminded about all the missing "magic" that made the original great. Or if you miss Hawaii and just want to see the pretty scenery in HD. But surely that can't be enough reason to watch.

[eagle]

Thanks, Ivan & Pahonu. You've convinced me -- now I need to find a place to stream it. Roku Channel doesn't seem to have it. cbs.com doesn't have it. Short of buying every season on disc, I'm not sure where to watch it. Any ideas?

[Chris109]

An episode which I found overrated at first but it has grown on me. Still no classic but pretty good. Kenneth Mars as Josef the caretaker really cracks me up!

[T.Q.]

“The show had a total of zero flaws”
Finally some humor with Five-O!

My thoughts exactly.

Serious question: I have never seen either Hawaii 5-0 show; should I watch either?

Yes. The original.

It's very good. Really enjoying it.

It's real story-telling. Real crime solving. Not the reboot fluff you get with BOOM BOOMs everywhere to distract the viewer.

NOT the best show in TV history though (sorry Ivan) . Magnum, P.I. is.

[Pahonu]

“The show had a total of zero flaws”
Finally some humor with Five-O!

My thoughts exactly.

Serious question: I have never seen either Hawaii 5-0 show; should I watch either?

Yes. The original.

It's very good. Really enjoying it.

It's real story-telling. Real crime solving. Not the reboot fluff you get with BOOM BOOMs everywhere to distract the viewer.

NOT the best show in TV history though (sorry Ivan) . Magnum, P.I. is.

Sorry, but you’re both wrong! The best show in TV history is The Rockford Files.

I would place MPI in second though.

That’s the total length of my list!

[SeamanWolfe]

Season 2 is off to a slow start. I liked Dead Man's Channel, but was not wild about this episode. Seeing it around Halloween was fun (catching on syndication it is hard to know when it aired). The biggest disconnect for me was the bad guy at the end, dressing Lisa in the outfit and then making driving her to that old estate? Seems like a logistical nightmare.

All in all, I would put this one on par with the season opener. I will not be upset if I don't see it again until the 50th anniversary rewatch.

[Pahonu]

I will not be upset if I don't see it again until the 50th anniversary rewatch.

Great line!

I’m not a big fan either. The only things I like about this episode are the lighter elements. Kenneth Mars as Joseph, the Shakespeare supernumerary role TM is desperate to avoid, and the librarian transforming herself from a mouse into a babe behind TM’s back.

I also didn’t remember Higgins mentioning a sauna at the estate.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

“The show had a total of zero flaws”
Finally some humor with Five-O!

My thoughts exactly.

Serious question: I have never seen either Hawaii 5-0 show; should I watch either?

Yes. The original.

It's very good. Really enjoying it.

It's real story-telling. Real crime solving. Not the reboot fluff you get with BOOM BOOMs everywhere to distract the viewer.

NOT the best show in TV history though (sorry Ivan) . Magnum, P.I. is.

Sorry, but you’re both wrong! The best show in TV history is The Rockford Files.

I would place MPI in second though.

That’s the total length of my list!

For our list-challenged friend...

1. The Rockford Files
2. MPI
3. Hawaii Five-O
4. The Streets of San Fran
5. Harry-O

You're welcome! And yes you do prefer HFO to SOSF. And both of those to H-O. You just don't realize it yet.

[Pahonu]

“The show had a total of zero flaws”
Finally some humor with Five-O!

My thoughts exactly.

Serious question: I have never seen either Hawaii 5-0 show; should I watch either?

Yes. The original.

It's very good. Really enjoying it.

It's real story-telling. Real crime solving. Not the reboot fluff you get with BOOM BOOMs everywhere to distract the viewer.

NOT the best show in TV history though (sorry Ivan) . Magnum, P.I. is.

Sorry, but you’re both wrong! The best show in TV history is The Rockford Files.

I would place MPI in second though.

That’s the total length of my list!

For our list-challenged friend...

1. The Rockford Files
2. MPI
3. Hawaii Five-O
4. The Streets of San Fran
5. Harry-O

You're welcome! And yes you do prefer HFO to SOSF. And both of those to H-O. You just don't realize it yet.

No definite order determined, but I honestly don’t think Hawaii Five-O would even make my top ten. It’s far too uneven in episode quality. I seem to recall Mike’s H5-O website having many episodes rated as a BOMB, and I don’t disagree. Maybe it would sneak in but I definitely like Harry-O and SOSF better. Neither of those series, like H5-O, have the light-hearted elements of MPI or Rockford, but I find myself rewatching those series more. I just don’t do that with H5-O. I also find myself rewatching a handful of comedy series much more often, including All in the Family, MASH, Newsradio, and The Bob Newhart Show.

[SeamanWolfe]

I used to really enjoy Hawaii 5-0. It was a bit before my time, but ran in syndication for 2 episodes on Sunday nights back in the late 80s and was also on at 4pm on wor (via cable) around the same time. It was a 2 part wofat (please forgive spelling) rerun that hooked me around 1987.

I have never gone back to that well - Magnum is my tv comfort food for the most part.

If I had to rank top 5 network shows. Magnum, homicide, northern exposure, tour of duty (deep cut - I am pretty sure it replaced Magnum at 8pm on Thursday in 1987. To round out the list - and lose all my Magnum street cred - party of five.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

No definite order determined, but I honestly don’t think Hawaii Five-O would even make my top ten.

Blasphemy!!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I used to really enjoy Hawaii 5-0. It was a bit before my time, but ran in syndication for 2 episodes on Sunday nights back in the late 80s and was also on at 4pm on wor (via cable) around the same time. It was a 2 part wofat (please forgive spelling) rerun that hooked me around 1987.

I have never gone back to that well - Magnum is my tv comfort food for the most part.

If I had to rank top 5 network shows. Magnum, homicide, northern exposure, tour of duty (deep cut - I am pretty sure it replaced Magnum at 8pm on Thursday in 1987. To round out the list - and lose all my Magnum street cred - party of five.

PARTY OF FIVE over FIVE-O????

[Styles Bitchley]

The Woman on the Beach has some redeeming moments, but I think Judith Chapman's acting does a lot to sink the episode (just like in the Black Orchid). Again, we have Rick so quick to fall in love and even sock his good buddy in the jaw for messing with his good thing (although it's amazing they used that cut in the final episode, as his fist comes nowhere near Selleck's face).

As Pahonu mentions, the librarian scene is really fun - but I think they could have exploited it even further.



Interesting to see Magnum in the Ferrari with the roof on in this episode (while its raining at night). I remember the rumour being that he actually couldn't fit in the Ferrari with the roof on. He actually doesn't look too uncomfortable. I believe the rumour also was that they pulled the stuffing out of the seat cushion to allow him to sit lower?