The Aunt Who Came to Dinner (7.20)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the seventh season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
1
1%
9.5 (One of the Best)
3
4%
9.0 (Excellent)
8
11%
8.5 (Very Good)
17
22%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
15
20%
7.5 (Decent)
12
16%
7.0 (Average at Best)
10
13%
6.5 (Not So Good)
5
7%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
3%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
4%
 
Total votes: 76

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Carol the Dabbler
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#31 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:Maybe we can put Magnum's family tree on the site somewhere if anyone wants to make an attempt at it. Personally, I'd have it looks like he was inbred by the time I was finished with it.
Doc Ibold wrote:For some reason, I thought I took a stab at that somewhere around here.
There are bits & pieces in various threads, but it would be good to have a Magnum / Sullivan Family Tree thread on some appropriate forum on this site -- if anyone finds that one already exists, please post a link here (or post the name of the thread and what forum it's in)!
Carol

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Kifaru
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#32 Post by Kifaru »

In the scene where aunt Phoebe and TM are walking on the beach, Phoebe says that because of Magnum's vivid imagination as a child, she imagined him to grow up "working for the CIA or the French Foreign Legion".

Now, I have this recollection of Magnum in the guest house whilst there is a narration which concluded with something like "and that's the day I decided to join the Foreign Legion". This memory is blurry at best and I have no idea from which episode it is. Heck, maybe I dreamt it all. Anybody know from which episode this could be?

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Kifaru
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#33 Post by Kifaru »

It just occurred to me, maybe Phoebe's line about the CIA and Foreign Legion was some sort of reference by the scriptwriters to the possible alternative back stories of the show during the early stages of it's creation.

For example, one known early draft for the show had Magnum as a former CIA operative working as a PI in Los Angeles. Perhaps at some point in the show's creation it was imagined that Magnum was an ex-Legionnaire. Maybe the team ring with the cross of lorraine is a relic of such a draft, seeing the cross of lorraine's informal association with the french military.

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J.J. Walters
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#34 Post by J.J. Walters »

Hey RC, for the next addition of the Guide:

The historic Hawaii Theatre:

Image

It was actually closed during the time this episode was filmed (from 1984 to 1996). The theatre opened in 1922 and is listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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steveadl
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#35 Post by steveadl »

Just coming to the end of watching season 7 again. Up to episode 20 tonight so I thought I'd give this thread a quick read. I can honestly say that none of this comes to mind and the comments here on the story line are not ringing any bells. Not sure how it could have happened, but I'm really hoping that for some reason there is a Magnum PI episode that I haven't seen in my viewings over the years!! :shock:

Anticipation building.....

Tuan Vu
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#36 Post by Tuan Vu »

I almost gave up on this one because it didn't seem very interesting...until the twist revealing Aunt Phoebe had Alzheimer's. Very poignant episode and handled very well, especially by Barbara Rush who portrayed Aunt Phoebe so convincingly.

Also what made this episode meaningful to me was to see the Hawaii Theater as it was back in the 1980s. The theater where Aunt Phoebe in the beginning hides from her imaginary stalker is not in New York. It was the Hawaii Theater. I have lived in Honolulu my entire life so I recognized it and the surrounding shops in the episode. It's so nostalgic seeing all those stores again, almost all of which, of course, have been replaced by new ones over the years.

The Hawaii Theater was delapidated at the time they filmed this episode, but I remembered back in the early 1980s (or late 1970s) going to see cheap movies there and they had a pipe organ that someone played before the movies began. Then, they closed the theater, but later raised money to renovate it and reopened it in the mid-1990s. Today, it looks great and there are regular events and shows. In fact, I saw Neil Sedaka perform there a couple of years ago (he comes every year and performs there at least once while he is in the islands) and also the Chinese Acrobats/Circus.

One question I have about this episode is what was the significance of all the flirty glances and grins between Magnum and the maid? It didn't seem to fit into the storyline, and I kept thinking the maid would somehow play a big part in the plot, or that she would be a recurring character in the show. Not that I am complaining, though! :)

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steveadl
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#37 Post by steveadl »

Tuan Vu wrote:

One question I have about this episode is what was the significance of all the flirty glances and grins between Magnum and the maid? It didn't seem to fit into the storyline, and I kept thinking the maid would somehow play a big part in the plot, or that she would be a recurring character in the show. Not that I am complaining, though! :)
I thought it a bit odd as well, but I guess they threw it in there for comedic effect. Didn't bother me, Katherine Lang was quite hot at age 26 in this episode! :wink:

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Carol the Dabbler
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#38 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Kifaru wrote:... maybe Phoebe's line about the CIA and Foreign Legion was some sort of reference by the scriptwriters to the possible alternative back stories of the show during the early stages of its creation.

For example, one known early draft for the show had Magnum as a former CIA operative working as a PI in Los Angeles. Perhaps at some point in the show's creation it was imagined that Magnum was an ex-Legionnaire. Maybe the team ring with the cross of lorraine is a relic of such a draft, seeing the cross of lorraine's informal association with the french military.
That's an interesting alternative to the theory that the cross merely refers to Viet Nam's history of French control. There does seem to be a thread (albeit a slim one) of CIA / Foreign Legion references running through the series.
steveadl wrote:... the comments here on the story line are not ringing any bells. Not sure how it could have happened, but I'm really hoping that for some reason there is a Magnum PI episode that I haven't seen in my viewings over the years!!
So, Steve -- did the episode itself ring any bells?
Tuan Vu wrote:.... The theater where Aunt Phoebe in the beginning hides from her imaginary stalker is not in New York. It was the Hawaii Theater. I have lived in Honolulu my entire life so I recognized it and the surrounding shops in the episode....
Reading your brief history of the theater gave some additional depth to its use in this episode -- thanks!

Say, you might want to update your Profile to show that you're lucky enough to actually live in Honolulu. (Just click on the Profile button under the Magnum Mania logo at the top of this page, then scroll down to "Location:" and type in "Honolulu.") Then we'll know that you're a good source for local info!
Carol

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steveadl
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#39 Post by steveadl »

Carol the Dabbler wrote: So, Steve -- did the episode itself ring any bells?
A while ago now, but I do think I had already seen it - perhaps just the once, so it wasn't as vivid in my memory as other episodes.

Tuan Vu
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#40 Post by Tuan Vu »

Carol the Dabbler wrote:Say, you might want to update your Profile to show that you're lucky enough to actually live in Honolulu. (Just click on the Profile button under the Magnum Mania logo at the top of this page, then scroll down to "Location:" and type in "Honolulu.") Then we'll know that you're a good source for local info!
Thanks, Carol! As you suggested, I have updated my profile to show that I live in Honolulu. I have often wanted to just go and take photos of the exact locations (with the same camera angles if possible) of the scenes in the episodes just to show what it looks like now. But for the most part, things haven't changed all that much and would not be of much interest to anyone. Besides, the new Hawaii Five-O program uses many of the same places for filming.

However, if I ever see something that might be of interest, I will be sure to post a photo with some comments. For instance, the Hawaii Theater looks pretty nice today, compared to how it looks on this particular episode. Maybe the next time I am down there I can take a photo of what it looks like today.

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Carol the Dabbler
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#41 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Carol the Dabbler wrote:... you might want to update your Profile to show that you ... live in Honolulu. (Just click on the Profile button under the Magnum Mania logo at the top of this page, then scroll down to "Location:" and type in "Honolulu.")
Oh, dear, I didn't say to end by clicking the "Submit" button at the bottom of the "Edit your Profile" page, did I? Sorry, Tuan Vu! You'll need to type in your location again, but once you click the "Submit" button, "Honolulu" will show on all of your posts (even the old ones), just like mine say "Indiana, USA" over at the left.

And if you do see something that would be of interest to us mainlanders, please do post a photo!
Carol

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nha trang
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#42 Post by nha trang »

This really was a good serious episode. I did wonder why they decided to use the Alzheimer's plot though. The theme that comes out, and the ending with TM on the beach reading the poetry made me wonder if it was all to tie in with how the entire MPI universe was created from the writer's mind. It really was touching in that light.

Also, the blond maid is the hottest blond in the show's run since the pilot...lol

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steveadl
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#43 Post by steveadl »

nha trang wrote: Also, the blond maid is the hottest blond in the show's run since the pilot...lol
Totally agree! :wink:

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Styles Bitchley
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#44 Post by Styles Bitchley »

I've read through all the post here and I was surprised to see how many people liked it. I thought for sure it would be universally panned as a stinker! For some reason, I just couldn't get into the story. It felt more like a Murder She Wrote episode than Magnum. I can see how the subject matter is poignant, but because this character is so new to us I didn't really care. The plot was so thin (old rival somehow in Honolulu stealing a script, etc.) that it just seemed like a protracted PSA for Alzheimer's.

There were some good moments, but they mostly seemed like a collection of ideas that had nothing to do with the story. The exchanges with the hot maid...wtf? Did the rest of that tangent end up on the cutting room floor?

I rated this one "Pretty Bad," but maybe it depends on the mood your in when you see it. I was looking forward to an exciting Magnum case and ended up with "A Very Special" episode.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

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Waterbug Blue
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#45 Post by Waterbug Blue »

I really like it for some of that realistic acting on the side lines... I do not quite see how the 'hot glances' exchanged by Magnum and Lani should have invariably led to a kissing scene, but rather enjoy the attention to detail in this production ... the 'flirt' (from her side - Tom looks torn between interested and helpless, but not really hot for her) starts with Magnum being served TWO scones . Then, of course, there are the glances ... do watch him and Lani as, for example, she gets the chair for Agatha, or him sitting there behind his heap of food whilst the conversation is going on ... that's a classic! About as good as, say, the wedding cake disaster in 'I do.' It is these little things that make watching and re-watching so enjoyable!

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