On the Fly (7.15)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the seventh season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
3%
9.5 (One of the Best)
8
11%
9.0 (Excellent)
9
12%
8.5 (Very Good)
17
23%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
20
27%
7.5 (Decent)
9
12%
7.0 (Average at Best)
7
9%
6.5 (Not So Good)
1
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 75

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thechickinthemiddle
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#61 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

There was talk on here earlier, I believe, about this script originally being intended as a Rockford episode, with Rockford for Magnum, Angel for Jim Bonnick, etc. so I can definitely imagine Rockford eating said sandwich in that situation more than Magnum, but it's still pretty funny. :lol:

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Gatchaman
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#62 Post by Gatchaman »

Was Magnum always in to comic books?
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#63 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

Gatchaman wrote:Was Magnum always in to comic books?
More often, we heard about Magnum's love for detective novels and film noir, but I can see the love for comics as part of his making up for growing up early from the war, etc. Also, detective comics would definitely appeal to him. More understandable than him trying to read War and Peace "in peace" in "The Return of Luther Gillis". :P

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Gatchaman
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#64 Post by Gatchaman »

thechickinthemiddle wrote:
Gatchaman wrote:Was Magnum always in to comic books?
More often, we heard about Magnum's love for detective novels and film noir, but I can see the love for comics as part of his making up for growing up early from the war, etc. Also, detective comics would definitely appeal to him. More understandable than him trying to read War and Peace "in peace" in "The Return of Luther Gillis". :P
Good point! I bet he was into Batman comics, but for copyright reasons couldn't show or mention them.
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#65 Post by davko »

I totally loved this episode! It was so fun, fast-paced and hilarious. The siege on Robin's Nest was clearly a homage to the final shown in the Al Pacino classic SCARFACE with Mexican drug cartel invading a mansion spraying uzi machine guns wildly and missing everything. "Where are the dogs Higgins?" was such a funny moment because the boys are always patrolling Robin's Nest leisurely and when they're REALLY needed for once they are off having a grooming session LOL. I also found the gangster who is shot and falls onto the piano funny, the musical notes when his head hits the piano was a nice touch.

I found the seduction scene quite sexy actually. All the talk of how to eat pizza etc, and how they quite quickly forgot all about the pizza haha :) I thought she was a hot babe too.

Some of the stunts were very impressive too, like Thomas jumping on the plane as it is taking off. Some of it was worth of those mid-80s action movies.

But the landing the plane bit was my favourite. Loved how patronising the helping guy was ("Tommy!") and when Higgins showed up OMG. "Hip Hip Horray!!!!" as TSM is crashing due to lack of brakes haha.

It's an interesting episode because it's one of the closest times I think TMS has been in truly mortal danger (these Mexican gangs are not to be messed with) yet it strikes a very comic tone.

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K Hale
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#66 Post by K Hale »

Same. There are a lot of little delightful things in this episode. All the crap in FakeMac’s car, the mannequin head staring blankly past the camera. The little comic book subplot. Magnum’s line “I’m a cheese freak” when he thinks she’s asking about why he eats pizza. Higgins’ line about re-enacting the Alamo. Another reference to the incorrigible boys. Magnum annoyed with Higgins because Higgins was NOT being held hostage. Just great stuff.

Also, I’m glad somebody, Rick in this case, brought up how weird it is that Magnum calls Jim Bonnick Mac. What’s even weirder is that he’s got all the others doing it too.
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#67 Post by ENSHealy »

steveadl wrote: Fri Apr 15, 2011 2:35 am
MagnumsLeftShoulder wrote:What a weird episode! It does have some funny stuff from Higgins, though. The Alamo line is one of his funniest ever. Does anybody know if this is the highest body count for a single episode?
Biggest body count would have to be either this episode or 'Mad Dogs and Englishmen'. Anyone done a count of either episode? :D
Here is the body count I did for Mad Dog’s and Englishmen:
ENSHealy wrote: Mon Oct 11, 2021 7:09 pm Given the several references to the "dozens" of soldiers killed in the final shootout, I decided to go through the scene slowly and actually count them. There are 12 soldiers who visibly fall after being fired at. On two occasions, we see a group of 3 soldiers fired at, but only one is shown to fall. If we assume that the other two were also hit, that would bring the total to 16. So hardly "dozens", but given the outrageous number of rounds being fired off, I can see where the impression of "dozens" comes from.
I counted a total of 9 confirmed kills in this episode, 6 at the “Alamo” and three at the airstrip. So Mad Dogs and Englishmen wins.
nha trang wrote: Sat May 28, 2011 12:49 am I don't think I'd have built a "bunker" of desks in Higgins' study if all I had to defend it with was revolvers.
They built the “bunker” in the sitting room, not the study, and used couches, chairs and bookcases, not desks.
Higgette wrote: Mon Jun 10, 2013 4:58 am I admit to some confusion on this one - when the police are en route, why would Magnum and Maria - if she were a Mexican Federal agent - leave? And how would Higgins explain their departure? When hiding out, why did Magnum tell Rick he was gong to Mexico but insist to Maria he was not? Was she really a Federal agent? Either way she certainly seemed cold about her partner getting killed...
I thought she was really pretty. But their liaison didn't seem to fit...unless it was to show how far she'd go to manipulate him.
I also found myself wondering how Higgins would explain the scene to the police, but there’s a line earlier that (attempts to) explain why she’d want to leave the estate before the police show up, even if she was a Mexican federal agent. When Thomas first arrives at the estate, thinking Higgins is being held hostage, she says “I'm sorry that I had to leave so quickly before, but it's most awkward for a federale to be questioned by the American police.” Presumably because she would have been in America without getting clearance from our law enforcement first, which would be the cause of the "awkwardness", but in actuality, it is because she is not really a federale. Which also makes her seduction of Thomas more plausible, given that she's from a rival crime family and not actually a federale. As far as Thomas telling Rick he is heading to Mexico, he doesn't, exactly. He tells Rick to tell Mac "I'm flying out of Molani airport for Mexico in an hour" and when Rick says "You're not really going to go there, are you?" he says "That's up to Mac." He's trying to draw Mac to the airstrip.
SignGuyHPW wrote: Tue Nov 18, 2014 11:43 pmMac not mentioning he was shot the day before until he was passing out was classic Mac too.
My assumption is that Mac was shot during the exchange of gunfire at the airstrip, not the previous day in T.C.’s van. Given Mac 2.0’s drama-queenish persona, it seems unlikely he’d have failed to mention, during the whole scene at the airstrip building, that he’d been shot the previous day. And also, given his over-dramatization later at the hospital, that he wouldn’t have sought medical care if he had.
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#68 Post by ENSHealy »

EPISODE: 7.15 On The Fly

Famous guest stars:
Hawaiian shirts:
Tigers Cap: 1
Image
Island Hopper shirts: 1
Image
Shirtless Magnum:
OMG: 1
Higgins Organizations: 1 The Goldfish Club
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Gun Play: 2
Bullet wounds (to Magnum):
Body Count (by Magnum): 4
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking: 1
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections:
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 11
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/697679658

There’s a typo in the opening credits: Image

How is it that a bullet comes through the windscreen of the chopper without making a sound?
Also how does someone shooting a rifle with a scope (whose sole purpose is to magnify the image of the target for aiming purposes) mistake TC for Thomas?

There’s a bit of overlap between the Gun Play and Body Count scores in this one. For the record (for those of you scoring at home) if TM fires a gun, but isn’t seen actually killing anyone, it’s a point for Gun Play, but only one point per continuous scene. In other words, he only gets one point for all the shooting at the airport. However, mixed in with that, we actually see him hit one of the bad guys, so that goes down as a Body Count point. So that whole shooting scene at the airport ends up producing 2 Magnumometer points. Earlier, back at the estate, he got Body Count points for the on-screen shooting of 3 of Velez’s men, plus one Gun Play point for shots that didn’t visibly hit anyone, for a total of 4 in the estate shooting scene. Perhaps I’m overthinking this, but isn’t that the point of an obsession – er, I mean, hobby?
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Re: On the Fly (7.15)

#69 Post by charybdis1966 »

When this one came up on my DVD rewatch a few nights ago I was sure I hadn't seen it before and yet I had voted it as "Decent". (You can tell when the voting header of each thread page doesn't let you vote and there is a number in bold which indicates your vote).

As sure as proof of old age medium term memory loss setting in as any. Yikes. :shock:

The episode itself is memorable, to me, for the extended gunfights, high body count and another wedged in (like the one in Texas Lightning) romance with the Maria (?) character. I suspect it was the network instructing the MPI crew to show their lead in a more romantic light. As a soulless, non romantic guy I can only :roll: at that.

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