Your least favorite episode

[Waltstasz]

Magnum had some pretty bad ones over the years. So, what is your least favorite episode? There is a good list of bad episodes here. (Although I personally think Adelaide and Murder 101 were okay; not great, but not that bad. )

My least favorite episode is probably The Love For Sale Boat. From the mediocre plot to the cheesy scenes to Magnum throwing lemons at the bad guys, I couldn't find anything to like in this one at all.

[J.J. Walters]

Yeah, obviously we are in highly subjective territory with these kinds of lists, which is ok.

Case in point, I LOVE the lemon throwing scene from 'The Love-For-Sale Boat' episode. It's just a camp-licious riot! The Mag uses the seldom seen, but highly effective 'Lemon Attack', which is just downright hilarious! You've got a brawl on a boat featuring some Asian enforcers, some beautiful Asian bikini-clad woman (who lay some hurt on), and "Mac". And a meat cleaver is in the mix, too! Now, where else are you going to see something like that!

Anyway, back to your question ..... I gotta go with I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12). Just a truly dreadful episode on many, many levels. The pacing, the characters, the plot, everything!

[KC]

I think Smaller Than Life was one of the worst. I don't know what was worse, the spy vs little person spy kung fu fight or the bad Ronald Reagan impersonator on the phone with Rick.
I give it a cheese factor of 9.

[Shermy]

Two Birds of a Feather was a little painful, although I guess a spinoff attempt doesn't really count. However, it does feature Higgins delivering one of the series' greatest outbursts.

Upon seeing a crashed airplane in the tidal pool, Higgins demands, "Magnum! What have you done?!!"

[J.J. Walters]

I think Smaller Than Life was one of the worst. I don't know what was worse, the spy vs little person spy kung fu fight or the bad Ronald Reagan impersonator on the phone with Rick.

Where's the love for Cork Hubbert? He owned that episode. But yeah, not one of the best, that's for sure.

Upon seeing a crashed airplane in the tidal pool, Higgins demands, "Magnum! What have you done?!!"

Haha! I love that scene! One of my all-time favorites! And the look Thomas gives Higgins -- priceless.

[Gritty]

Holy Moley do I hate that "Birds of a Feather" one!!!!!!!!!!!

And the Robert Foster one... do I hate that going back to Nam one so. And the one with Higgins becoming part of some kind of revolution group... That's a bigger HOLY MOLEY than the first one I mentioned. John Hillerman in action scenes - enough said, lads!!! Always thought a show about Higgins in his early years would have been interesting, the man was almost everywhere like Duncan Macleod was in "Highlander:The Series"!!!! And considering that almost every hero or character gets some sort of early years verison of itself today, I must say I was ahead of my time 20 years ago!!!

I tell ya, I didn't watch Magnum for about a year or two cause I did lose interest in it. Tom Selleck never seemed to take his hands out of his pockets for some reason and action stuff didn't seem believable with the cast after some years.

But the last year I did start coming back to it and have seen all of the shows through reruns when they started re-running them ages ago.

Gritty

[grapeshot]

There sure a few cringe worthy episodes, but in almost every case there's always some cool bits between Magnum and Higgie, or with TC and Rick, and that sort of tides me over during the soapy bits. And Higgins exclaiming "Oh. My. God!" never fails to get a grin out of me, and that happens in nearly every episode.

That's probably why "Birds of a Feather" is my least favorite. I watch this show to see stories about Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC, but this episode is about some other less interesting guy and his stupid marriage problems. It had a really interesting beginning, with the flashback that I thought was particularly effective (well...less soapy than some of the other Nam flashbacks were), and a truly wonderful scene between Higgie and Thomas in the tidal pool, and then ..... nothing interesting ever happens again. The End.

NO! WAIT. I take that back. The worst episode ever has got to be the one where Robin Masters' spoiled nephew is sent to the estate to get straightened out, and instead he impersonates Magnum. That's like the "Wesley Crusher" episode of Magnum. Eeeew.

[J.J. Walters]

Gritty, grapeshot, you guys are killin' me!

And the Robert Foster one... do I hate that going back to Nam one so. And the one with Higgins becoming part of some kind of revolution group... That's a bigger HOLY MOLEY than the first one I mentioned. John Hillerman in action scenes - enough said, lads!!!

LOL! So true!

I watch this show to see stories about Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC, but this episode is about some other less interesting guy and his stupid marriage problems.

Ain't that the truth! I watched this episode again recently, and it was much worse than I remembered the first time. Waaaaay too much with Sam Hunter and his family on the ranch. Despite its cool premise (a harmonica-playing, adventure/treasure-seeking, cowboy pilot), I can see why no one picked up this "pilot".

Useless Fact of the Day: William Lucking played a VERY similar character in a 1982 episode of Tales of the Gold Monkey (another good Bellisario show), an adventure/treasure-seeking, moustached cowboy pilot (in 1938) named Gandy Dancer. Check it out:

Gandy Dancer (Tales of the Gold Monkey)



Sam Hunter (Magnum P.I.)



Heh

[Shermy]

Summer School
The worst part here is the scene where the villain destroys Higgins' bridge. The act lacks the significance it would have in Paper War, and just comes across as something they made up on the spot. In a way, it pretty much sums up the problem with Season 6: A few moments of depth thrown into a lot of formula.

Or, to quote grundle's Amazon review: Whatever you do, don't show this episode to your friends as their introduction to the series.

All For One
This is one that really strained its credibility, imo. It was one thing to brainwash T.C. with bubblegum, but to send all four characters back into combat was pushing it. But this was around the time when everyone treated `Nam as if it could be a weekend getaway (ie. Uncommon Valor; Rambo; Missing In Action; etc.)! Hey, you could do that sort of thing in the 80's.

Two Birds of A Feather
Too bad the writers didn't realize it was supposed to be "TWO" birds of a feather, and not just one that the audience had no interest in watching. Speaking of which, until I got the dvds, I always thought Sam Hunter had been played by Alex Karras (the dad from Webster)!

[J.J. Walters]

Heheheee .... that's pretty funny Sherm! He does kinda look like a heavier William Lucking.

[IslandHopper]

My least favorite episode has to be season 4's "Paradise Blues" with guest, Chuck Mangione. To have Chuck Mangione play his trumpet while in a dialogue with Magnum was very cheesy. It seemed like Chuck Mangione was some social misfit who could only communicate through his trumpet. Guest, Leslie Uggams, was no better.

Another episode that deserves mentioning as a least favorite is "One More Summer." This is the episode where Magnum's team-mate from Annapolis is in Hawaii for preseason practice with his professional football team. This episode was trying to sell the fact that Magnum and this pro quarterback (Dorsy) went to Annapolis at the same time. Supposedly, Magnum was a senior when this kid was a freshman, but it looks like Magnum is atleast 10 years older than his former team-mate. Dorsy comes across as an immature fool, which makes it hard to accept that he actually attended the U.S. Naval Academy, much less got accepted. In this episode, Magnum is hired as Dorsy's bodyguard, so he joins the team as a backup quarterback as his cover. To make things more unbelievable, T.C., is trying out for Tight End, and actually has a chance to make the team until he injures his shoulder later in the episode. I'm surprised the writers didn't have Rick try out for Place Kicker, or at least Backup Holder.

[J.J. Walters]

Yeah, One More Summer was kind of a let down for me, too. With the premise, it could have been so much better with a decent script. And you're right, Dorsey just didn't seem like an ex-Navy guy at all. For some reason, for me, he didn't seem THAT much younger than Magnum, however.

To make things more unbelievable, T.C., is trying out for Tight End, and actually has a chance to make the team until he injures his shoulder later in the episode.

But ..... T.C. was an All-American Tight End at Grambling!

It seemed like Chuck Mangione was some social misfit who could only communicate through his trumpet.

LOL! I just doused my monitor with coffee!

[Frodoleader]

Oh oh! I see no love here for "Two Birds of a Feather". I used to really love that episode. But in retrospect, I can everyone's point about it. When we were going through that season's dvds, we skipped it. (also, thats where I got my username from: Frodo was the team's call sign on that mission that opens the episode. At one point, TM is refered to as Frodoleader).

As for "Paradise Blues", gotta disagree. It has been and always will be one of my favorites. As for Chuck Mangione, I once heard that he does hang out in bars playing his horn. Not as an act, but just as a patron. Maybe he's playing for drinks?

My least favorite MPI episodes? Any having to do with Higgin's half-brothers. "nuff said.

[eegorr]

I'm surprised the writers didn't have Rick try out for Place Kicker, or at least Backup Holder.

I literally laughed out loud when I read this!

[eeyore]

I agree with all of these posts, while I can't say I really HATE any of the shows, some are better than others.
Now Birds of A Feather, even though it does get kind of stupid, I absolutely love the opener, where he does a flyby so he can come back to the temple after the war is over. Love it, I laughed my a** off!
I'm a sucker for action war movies with jets, I must have been a military pilot in another life.
But this is the charm of Magnum PI as a series, the diversity in the themes of the shows, some are whymsical, some are kind of borderline sillly, some are serious, some are thought provolking, some reach out and grab you and won't let go. My favs are the ones that some how deal with the war. I actually like One for All except I think the main character is trying to do a bad, very BAD impersonation of John Wayne. His tone of voice never changes, he had zero talent.