The People vs. Orville Wright (7.21)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the seventh season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
3%
9.5 (One of the Best)
2
3%
9.0 (Excellent)
12
17%
8.5 (Very Good)
14
20%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
20
29%
7.5 (Decent)
12
17%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
4%
6.5 (Not So Good)
1
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
3%
 
Total votes: 69

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Jay-Firestorm
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#41 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

Meh, just a so-so episode in my opinion.

[rating=7.5]

After Rick has gone to Ice Pick for some info to help Magnum on his latest case, a hitman is assigned to kill Ice Pick. Soon after, the hitman is found dead, and to Magnum’s amazement, Rick claims he did it. Not one of the better episodes…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

Although not the worst of the season (that goes to ‘Novel Connection’ in my opinion), I don’t care very much for this episode.
With such a notable story, of Rick being arrested for killing a hitman, using the word ‘average’ doesn’t seem very apt, but even so, I find the majority of the proceedings a rather routine, uninspiring fare.

I find the plot hard to really get into, and in many ways, find the whole “did he really do it” a retread of several earlier examples (the first season’s ‘Thicker than Blood’, involving T.C., springs to mind).

At the same time, this doesn’t quite rank as bottom-of-the-barrel material (there are a number of instalments from the weak fifth season to take that title over this ep).
Higgins deliberately interviewing unsuitable applicants to take over running the King Kamehameha Club while Rick is banged up is okay I suppose, but just doesn’t feel as funny as it should have been in my opinion.

The only thing of real note with this episode is the surprise, shock ending – after all has been explained and ironed out and Rick is set free, he is suddenly arrested and send to prison for possession of firearms! This is a very unexpected last-minute twist, and is the only thing that really stands out about this story.

All-in-all, far from one of my favourites. Thankfully, things pick up again with the memorable final episode of the season, ‘Limbo’.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Yet again, the DVD version abridges the act breaks; I personally find it quite distracting how one act goes crashing into the next.

* As with the previous episode, Kwan Hi Lim (Lt. Tanaka) is billed with the opening guest stars; more typically, he is billed with the additional guest performers on the closing credits.
JAY FIRESTORM

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My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!

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Jay-Firestorm
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#42 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

One thing I forgot to mention: In the U.K., before the days of the season-by-season sets, Universal Playback released a two-disk 'Magnum, p.i.' DVD.

It included the Pilot, 'Memories Are Forever', 'Black On White', 'Mac's Back' and ... this episode? As good as some people may find it, I wouldn't exactly count it as a 'best' episode - not to mention it finishing with Rick in prison, which isn't sorted out until the next episode.

In reality, these 'best of' sets seemed to be very much randomly picked episodes - for example, a similar 'Best of The A-Team' DVD had the terrible third season episode 'Champ!' on it.
JAY FIRESTORM

Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/

My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!

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Carol the Dabbler
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#43 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

IslandHopper wrote:The opening scene of this episode shows Magnum being attended to for a broken nose, and rushed to the hospital. Does anyone know why the story called for Magnum to have a broken nose? I didn’t really see how that played into the episode. It was totally unnecessary. It was also distracting, watching Magnum walk around with that bandage on his nose for most of the episode.
As with TM's shorter hairstyle in "Solo Flight," I suspect there was some real-life reason for his nose bandage here. It's also possible that the injured nose is the vestigial remainder of an otherwise-deleted subplot -- if they'd already shot some "keeper" scenes with the bandage on, they'd have to deal with it somehow. In either case, the other characters couldn't just ignore the bandage, so they mentioned it, even though it didn't really add anything to the episode.

Rutledal wrote:... during the shootout at Icepick's hide away where did Magnum get his gun from? He clearly states to T.C. that he didn't bring his own.
Shortly after that, they knock out one of the guards, and Magnum takes the guard's gun.
Carol

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Carol the Dabbler
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#44 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Rutledal wrote:... "Rick's" middle name is given as Wilbur.
However as a contradiction, in "Deja Vu" T.C. asks the operator for Orville Rick Wright as if Rick was his given middle name.
It's impossible to be sure with spoken dialog, but I interpreted TC's quote as being "Orville 'Rick' Wright," with quote marks around Rick, which is a common way (at least in the US) of indicating that his legal name is Orville, but he's commonly known as Rick.
Carol

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Rutledal
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#45 Post by Rutledal »

Yes, but the operator would not likely be familiar with Rick's nickname so it makes no sense for him to use it.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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Carol the Dabbler
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#46 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

I recall TC saying Rick's name that way, but do not recall the exact circumstances. However, if a person uses their nickname more often than they use their legal name, they will often be listed under both names. I've seen this in phone books and even in obituaries. TC may have said it that way because he wasn't sure which name Rick would be listed under.
Carol

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Rutledal
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#47 Post by Rutledal »

That right there makes more sense than I want it to as Rick is very much embarrassed of his first name.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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Carol the Dabbler
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#48 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

How very true!
Carol

AmandaByNight
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#49 Post by AmandaByNight »

Can I just say this episode killed me.

I saw it during it's original run and was so madly in love with Larry Manetti that watching the end of the episode literally brought me to tears.

How was I ever going to get my man if he was behind bars?

:)

Seriously, this episode had a huge impact on me and I was truly devastated by it. I was not expecting him to go down! It ends up becoming so bittersweet when Magnum gets him off on a technicality as he's on his deathbed. I thought about how Rick would have felt if Magnum had really died.

I really need to watch this one again!

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nha trang
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#50 Post by nha trang »

This episode bugs me...I mean honestly the "gang" as well as the viewer have always known that Rick puts his neck out with the organized crime connections, but for Rick to get thrown in the slammer in what I understand was to be the final season was really bringing things to a bad conclusion. Of course, not a permanent condition...

I myself have wondered in earlier seasons how Rick didn't get thrown in federal jail for weapons violations when he always seems to get ahold of fully auto weapons, but I never needed to see it in fantasy-time MPI...lol

Also, the shootout scene with Icepick is ridiculous. Everyone is taking cover behind desks and overturned couches...against Uzi fire? Yeah...ummm no...

Maybe they made couches differently in the 80s?

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Carol the Dabbler
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#51 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

nha trang wrote:... the shootout scene with Icepick is ridiculous. Everyone is taking cover behind desks and overturned couches...against Uzi fire? Yeah...ummm no...

Maybe they made couches differently in the 80s?
During his years with British Intelligence, Higgins apparently developed a strong sense of self-preservation, and still makes a point of having bullet-proof furniture!
Carol

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#52 Post by Bes »

I thought this was an excellent Rick-centric episode.

Croix de Lorraine
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#53 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

I can't believe people missed one very obvious flub, which happens not once but twice - On the still outside th King K club, which is shown twice, the old grey Audi is parked outside the club, when it's obviously been replaced by the newer sky-blue Audi several seasons before.

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Higgette
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Re: The People vs. Orville Wright (7.21)

#54 Post by Higgette »

I zoomed in on the intersection and was able to see the name of Rick's complex: Gateway Peninsula:
Type this into Google maps then go to street view: Kalanianaole highway on Kawaihae street honolulu hi

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Doc Fred
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#55 Post by Doc Fred »

Coops wrote:I have to say I laughed out loud when TM and TC were in the chopper chasing the accountant and TM spots the car and hands TC his binoculars. TC then tells TM to "Take the stick." and TM has to reach down to get it and makes an ugly face. THAT was one of the funniest things I've ever seen in MPI. :lol:
I reacted the same way.... and I can appreciate how Magnum felt... being in control of the copter. Although, he should have been reasonably ok with it, since he took flying lessons from TC in an earlier show.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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