40th Anniversary Watch Party

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I watched "Squeeze Play" a couple weeks back, and I watched "A Sense of Debt" yesterday after work. "A Sense of Debt" isn't one of my favorites, but it's good enough, and it's fun to see a young Shannen Doherty. She's almost exactly my age (about 4 months younger). I learned today that Shannen Doherty has stage 4 terminal cancer. Sad.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Oh yeah, I forgot about "A Sense of Debt" from last week. That was also a good one. Denny Miller, Shannen Doherty, Donald Gibb, Trammell and Whitaker from the Tigers! Good stuff.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Watched "The Look", one of my favorites of season 4. Very similar in tone/story to season 3's "Heal Thyself" including an attempted suicide at the end from a scenic lookout by the leading lady. I just like the more serious stories that flash back to 'Nam so this one's right up my alley. But it's not all serious because there's also the humorous subplot with Higgy's birthday party so it's a perfect blend of the serious and the humorous. All those songs from the 60s and 70s are also an added plus. Great twist that you don't see coming when you find out Holly's true motive for wanting to find Cassidy.

I'd rank this one just below "Distant Relative" and "Home from the Sea".

[eagle]

I finished "The Look" last night. Like Ivan, I also enjoy this episode. That one song always makes me think of Tim Hawkins and his Chick-Fil-A song. Of course, it is the song that Tim Hawkins based his on.

"Thomas, I don't know what to say... except that it's not my birthday." - lol

[eagle]

I am definitely looking forward to tomorrow's episode -- Operation: Silent Night -- which is on my annual Christmas viewing list. My wife said she'll watch it with me - she usually does each year. She's a keeper.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Here's my post that I made a few years ago when I first saw "Operation: Silent Night".

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Saw "Operation: Silent Night" on Christmas Eve, for the first time. NOW we're talking!! Back to form after "Letter to a Duchess". Plus it's Christmas with the entire gang... stranded on a deserted island!! I rated this 8.5 - very good.

Loved everything here! Higgy's plane-raft, Rick's fears of the island, TM as Santa Claus, TC's tinkering with the copter. Everyone has something to do and all the interactions are great! The quicksand scene was hilarious - "stand up, Rick" LOL! Also loved Rick trying to confess a secret about his sister (not cousin), something that he's ashamed of, and never being able to tell it. BTW, it appears to be a different sister, not the one that was killed a few episodes before this (Wendy). He calls her by a different name. I thought he only had one. Flub?? Also what's the deal with the ship commander (Ed Lauter) proceeding to bomb the hell out of the island even after being told that someone is on the island? I didn't get this part. Is it because they felt that every episode needed a "bad guy"? Just seemed completely random. If they wanted to go the "bad guy" route they could have come up with something on the island that would have incriminated the commander (possible court-martial?), hence giving him a real reason to want to proceed with the shelling to destroy some evidence. But as it stands it's bizarre because it's just an exercise and yet when he finds out about people on the island it's like "oh well, human targets are good too".

But overall, a great Christmas episode and I especially love the ending of the copter in the night sky with the Christmas star shining brightly as the guys sing "Silent Night". This is what I love about shows from long ago! They sure don't make 'em like they used to. Makes me pine for the good old days and takes me back to my childhood - a more innocent time.

Mele Kalikimaka to everyone who lurks here!

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Having just rewatched it last week I still think it's a fun episode but maybe this time I was bugged a bit more by Rick's childish fear of the island - pirates, cannibals, etc. I know it was played for laughs and not meant to be taken too seriously but it would have helped if there was something there that would give reason for Rick to get the jitters about the island. But there isn't. For whatever reason as soon as they land Rick starts getting scared of the place. It's like - DUDE, do you really think there are pirates like Long John Silver (with a peg leg) hiding on an island in Hawaii? And cannibals???? C'mon!! This is a guy who has connections to the underworld and guys like Ice Pick and runs an exclusive club and yet he turns into a little kid who thinks he just stepped into Treasure Island. None of the others show any fear of being there but Rick begins to freak out from the start. Kinda random. I noted in my earlier review that Higgy also acts uncharacteristically childish/boy-scoutish (not his usual overly logical self) but I can excuse that and just argue that Higgy wants to recapture his adventurous youth so he decides to throw caution to the wind for once and just have a go at it. It's all good fun and very enjoyable. But Rick's behavior is more illogical to me.

Still, I won't nitpick too much because it is overall a fun episode and has funny moments as well as heart-warming ones. The ending where they sing "Silent Night" as they fly into the night sky and the star shines brightly is as good as it gets!!

[eagle]

Yes, I absolutely love that ending, Ivan. Hard to imagine such an episode being made today.

My wife & I enjoyed watching it Friday night, "live."

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Yes, I absolutely love that ending, Ivan. Hard to imagine such an episode being made today.

My wife & I enjoyed watching it Friday night, "live."

Oh absolutely! If they showed that scene today they would be singing "Silent Night" in a mocking manner or cracking jokes about it. There's no respect anymore on television for anything Christian or anything having to do with decent values/morals. Everything has to be a joke or a punchline for something.

[eagle]

I just realized that I'm now way behind on my 40th anniversary watching again. I need to check out s04e11 (Jororo Farewell) and s04e12 (The Case of the Red Faced Thespian) -- and in a couple days, s04e13 (No More Mr. Nice Guy). I think I'll use my new iTunes version for these viewings. Anyone else still following along?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I just realized that I'm now way behind on my 40th anniversary watching again. I need to check out s04e11 (Jororo Farewell) and s04e12 (The Case of the Red Faced Thespian) -- and in a couple days, s04e13 (No More Mr. Nice Guy). I think I'll use my new iTunes version for these viewings. Anyone else still following along?

Yep, I saw "Jororo Farewell" (liked it quite a bit, more than on my first viewing) and "Red Faced Thespian" which again I was unimpressed with (same as the first time).

Here is my earlier review of "Thespian":

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Found this one rather underwhelming, especially considering the love that it seems to get. It's not bad but it's not that good either. I rated it "Decent". In many ways this reminded me of "Of Sound Mind" where everyone seems to looooove the costume ball and all the dress-up stuff which I didn't care for. Found it way too silly and overlong. Actually overall I prefer "Of Sound Mind" because at least that one had an interesting premise of Magnum seemingly inheriting a fortune and getting his own butler (Roscoe Lee Browne was great). So I enjoyed all that, minus the needless costume ball hi-jinx. But here the dress-up gala takes center stage and gets way too silly for my tastes. It's supposed to be a whodunit type mystery (which I would have preferred) but that's almost an afterthought and takes a back seat to all the other silly hi-jinx and Higgins ranting and raving all the Shakespeare nonsense which gets annoying very quickly. Even the whodunit aspect is a cheat because the murder mystery isn't really a murder mystery. No one was murdered. Never mind the obvious questions of why everyone thinks that Cynthia is dead and why the ambulance and cops are on the scene when she was only bonked on the head? Never mind why Tanaka is there to arrest Higgins for a murder that didn't occur. None of this makes sense. Was this all a ruse to smoke out the person (Marge) who thought she killed Cynthia? And everyone was in on it, including the cops and the ambulance and Tanaka, all so that Mag could play out his fantasy whodunit for a murder that didn't actually happen???? To smoke out the person who bonked someone on the head? Wonder what Miss Marple would have thought of this "caper"?

It's all just way too nonsensical. Best parts are Higgins' war against the "mongeese" and June Chadwick and Colleen Camp are easy on the eyes. Oh, and why does everyone keep saying that Higgins says "bloody good show" after he gets hit in the head with the croquet ball? It's so obvious that he clearly says "bloody good shot".

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[eagle]

I just watched one ahead just now -- "Paradise Blues." This is one of my least favorite episodes in the series, I think. I really hate the way it ends... but I guess they can't all end happily.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I just watched one ahead just now -- "Paradise Blues." This is one of my least favorite episodes in the series, I think. I really hate the way it ends... but I guess they can't all end happily.

I just watched "Paradise Blues" for the very first time! Never seen it before. I liked it. I'd never place it anywhere near the worst of the series. It's TC-centric and I like TC and stories that revolve around him. Love/romance and a broken heart is something most can identify with. I for one love the way it ends. Very gutsy at a time when pretty much every detective/action show ended on a happy note. That's what makes MPI great. It took chances. You never knew what was coming. Once TM wasted Ivan you knew anything was possible. That was a game changer. Also I have to say that the ending with the car plunging off the cliff has got to be the single most impressive action set piece of the whole series! I noticed that the charges inside the car exploded prematurely while the car was still mid-flight, before it hit the rocks below. But that still doesn't detract from the awesomeness of that whole scene. If I'm not mistaken that was filmed along the winding road/path which goes down from the Makapu'u Lighthouse lookout. I walked that path (cars are not allowed there now) when I was there on my last visit hiking up to the Makapu'u lookout. I wonder what kind of clean-up they normally did after filming such a scene. There must have been debris from the car everywhere. Did they use a crane to lift what was left of the car all the way up? Do they clean up all the scattered debris? Since it's kind of a historic/protected landmark. Or maybe things were more lax in the 80s. Wonder if you went down there if you'd still be able to find some pieces of the car.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

The Return of Luther Gillis

Saw this one for the very first time and really enjoyed it. Actually even more (I think) than the first Luther Gillis episode. The first one just had Eugene Roche but this one also has the added bonus of Sheree North as Blanche. I didn't even count on enjoying her as much as him but she was every bit as memorable as ol' Luther. Her back and forth with Higgy in the shack while they're tied up is a hoot. He keeps blasting her and she thinks he's paying her compliments. Then he agrees with her and she thinks he's disagreeing. Her stories from the past aggravate Higgy, yet he himself is the biggest offender ever in this department - telling long-winded stories that no one cares about. Plus all the other great gags - Dot Matrix, Big Sal with the frying pan, Geoffrey Lewis with his hot dog shirt, the return of Scrung-O, Higgy's karate chop, and so many great lines really put this one above the first Luther episode. This is clearly an all-out comedy episode so you can't take any of it seriously and you'll have a blast!

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Looks like we get a break this weekend, so I will be able to catch up on my 40th anniversary viewing.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

"Let the Punishment Fit the Crime" was last week. Another solid episode. Chris Mitchum was kind of wasted in a rather small role (does he even say a single word?) but he did have a pretty impressive drag-out fighting with Magnum. The series keeps impressing me with its ability to provide twists and turns and surprises that I didn't see coming. The teaser leads us to believe that Chris Mitchum is the assassin (which he sort of is) and that he's taking a shot at someone on the estate. Of course in the actual episode he's nowhere near the estate and the real assassin ends up being someone else. Very clever!

Oh, and then there's the "Three little girls from school are we..." number.