Forty (7.17)

[marlboro]

I think he was upset because he was in love with her and felt a little betrayed.

[Milton Collins]

I'm probably going to be very unpopular for this post but I borderline HATE this episode! A rare 6.0 for me, and I can't even fully explain why but i'll try. I think a big part of it was that Magnum turning 40 = Magnum getting older = almost the end of the show = me being pretty bummed lol. I did enjoy the Gorilla mask birthday party and the fantastic oceanside mansion that Linda was sitting outside of when TM stalked her on his surfski (love that he had beer in tow lol) but other than that I really can hardly watch this one.

- I'm going to have to say while Linda Ellison was undenaiably attractive, she was nowhere near my top 5 or even 10 Magnum babes. Quite frankly, I found her to be very annoying! Just my humble opinion of course but I didn't think Magnum and her fit at all and I didn't care for her character or the actress that played her.

- Magnum as a stalker, really? Pretty sure that is not in TM's character.

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

- I couldn't stand that song that played throughout. I found myself with an extremely strong desire to cover my ears after about the 80th time it came on but unfortunately I was running on an elyptical machine and couldn't.

Ok i'll stop because I love Magnum PI too much to be this negative but I just really can't stand this episode.

[Doc Ibold]

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

James Hong?

He was one of the things that totally made the episode for me. Agree that Magnum's actions seemed a little out of character and forced, ala Kona Winds... but a decent "reflective" episode that started coming to light in the later seasons.

[Milton Collins]

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

James Hong?

He was one of the things that totally made the episode for me. Agree that Magnum's actions seemed a little out of character and forced, ala Kona Winds... but a decent "reflective" episode that started coming to light in the later seasons.

What were those little babbling noises James Hong was making? They cracked me up as when Magnum would say something he would laugh and then seem to talk gibberish under his breath lol. I think you are right about "reflective". And maybe instead of looking for a good old classic entertaining episode this one could be viewed as a good character study of Magnum and how he deals with growing older, which definitely adds some merit and makes it more likeable:)

[MagnumsGMTMaster]

Between the 3:59 and 4 minute mark, you definitely see a breast. It goes by fast, but not that fast. I'd post a screen shot, but I'm not all that motivated. Racy for 1987 for sure.

I was curious about TS and his age when this episode was done. He was 41. He doesn't seem 41. I guess he always seemed the archetype of the 70s-80s adult grown man to me. So he's ageless, old[er] and sort of timeless all at the same time.

[edit]: The character presents as wiser and more lived than someone at 41 years of age.

[marlboro]

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

Dude, you really need to watch "Big Trouble in Little China."

[Doc Ibold]

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

Dude, you really need to watch "Big Trouble in Little China."

Yesssss, and a fantastic reminder for me to do so!

[Milton Collins]

- That little skinny chinese store owner dude severely annoyed me and was completely unbelievable to play as a friend of Magnums (and apparently the other guys too as TC told Magnum to tell him hi after hearing that he was gonna meet with him). Maybe it's just that I don't like that actor and can only picture him as the screaming host at a Chinese restaurant in a Seinfeld episode lol.

Dude, you really need to watch "Big Trouble in Little China."

Yesssss, and a fantastic reminder for me to do so!

I will do so guys and man, I must have been having a bad day as I was way too harsh on him! I watched this again over the weekend and after thinking about it I think he was pretty damn funny! I was too harsh on the episode too, a decent love interest, a trip to the "gentleman's club" with the guys (love how Rick forces TC to go and he responds with "I haven't been to one of these in years!" The end scene with the gorilla mask party for TM was also fun, so I'm going to recant my harsh review

[KingKC]

I would guess that they intentionally picked someone who hide a slight resemblance to Michelle-part Asian, dark hair, similar figure.

I am kind of glad someone else thought the choice of Patrice Martinez as Linda Lee was intentional to remind TM of Michele. It seemed extremely obvious to me. Other than that I sympathized with TM when he lost the two dollar bill. The longer I have certain things, especially things given to me by special people in my life, the more memorable and precious they get, even if they are inanimate objects. Yes I agree that this could have been a fairly good ending and since I did not realize at the time the show would come back for an eighth season I really thought this was at least a lead up to the end.

[308GUY]

Just a personal note of "trivia". Has nothing to do with the plot, any of the characters, or even MPI for that matter, not even sure why I felt motivated to post it but.....


It struck a very familiar chord when TM lost the bill...why you ask...(or maybe you didn't ) the reason is that I have been carrying a two dollar bill for about 25 years...when TM lost his and was fairly concerned with getting it back, it just really "hit home" for me.

I never got to see this episode when it first aired back in the 80's, in fact I didn't see much of Magnum at all during it's initial broadcast. From around 1981 to 1989 we lived waaaay out in the country, with no tv reception till I stuck an antenna on an 8 foot pole out in the front yard...then we got one station from Wheeling WV which only came in two or three days a week. So the point is I had never seen this episode or any episodes till I started getting into the DVD's a few years ago.

Like I said, just a bit of personal "trivia" that has nothing to do with much of anything. Guess I just felt like typing this morning!

Hope everybody has a great day!

[☨magnum.t]

NEW SURF SKI!!! Looks like a brand new ski for his birthday, I guess because the old one was destroyed by Higgins in Paper War lol

[brianw]

I liked the ep, but missed a lot of it this morning. Been a while since I last saw it. LLE is smoking, yes. And I like the gorilla masks, funny. The later seasons are definitely more dramatic and less comedic.

[K Hale]

NEW SURF SKI!!! Looks like a brand new ski for his birthday, I guess because the old one was destroyed by Higgins in Paper War lol

So Higgins bought him a new one for his birthday to replace it? So sweet.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

In "Resolutions part 2" you noted that shots of an exposed breast can be seen twice. I'm not a hundred percent sure, because the image quality was kinda poor, but I believe that is the case in this episode too. Except it's only one shot.

...James, one detail you might want to add to Episode Note 2: In the surprise-party scene at the end, when Higgins "returns" Magnum's two-dollar bill, saying that he had found it in the cash register at Wo Fat's, Magnum examines the bill closely and starts to say something like, "This isn't ...." Then he stops himself and says something else. Clearly, the bill that Higgins had found was NOT Magnum's lucky bill -- it had a different serial number. But Magnum was touched that Higgins had gone to the effort of searching Chinatown for his keepsake, so allowed him to believe he had actually found it.

Carol,
It's been a long time since I saw this episode but wasn't Magnum's bill from his service time?
A two dollar bill like Magnum's is a tradition dating back to WW2 and is called a "Short Snorter." Depending on what unit you were in the details vary. In the Air Force if your wing man blew away the Zero that had you cold, when you returned to base you gave the other pilot the biggest bill in your wallet, dating and signing it first. He would then buy a round for the guys with it, a ten spot for one being just enough to buy everyone a shot(short snorter) or two. Or save it as a keepsake, like Magnum and many others, though you then still had to buy a round for the fellas.
It's also a way to acknowledge your buddy's valor on your behalf and not get all sloppy, avoiding the "you saved my life bro!" type stuff they always put in movies today.
Because maybe tomorrow you save the life of the pilot who saved you.
In my uncle's infantry unit in France they traditionally used US $2 bills, invasion script considered not acceptable for this purpose. After his division landed in France everyone in his squad each carried a 2 dollar bill that every member signed and dated. To be used for some good lager when they reached Berlin, though what went unsaid was that they knew full well some of them would only make it as far as a lonely plot of French soil, 6 feet under.
After the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest a few months later my uncle was the only one left in his squad not killed, wounded or captured, he never got to cash in his short snorter.

"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."
- Dean Wormer (John Vernon) in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)

[LZeitgeist]

It was given to him from his grandfather's collection as a birthday gift because the serial number on the bill matched the date of his birthday.

The source of TM's bill is explained clearly by him early in the episode.