Laura (7.18)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the seventh season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
21
21%
9.5 (One of the Best)
31
32%
9.0 (Excellent)
20
20%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
11%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
6
6%
7.5 (Decent)
5
5%
7.0 (Average at Best)
2
2%
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 98

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Kalai-pahoa
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#51 Post by Kalai-pahoa »

What a great episode! A harsh history and a superstar like Frank Sinatra! What more can you ask?
As said in the main page of the episode, one of the most important scenes was shot at the International Marketplace in Waikiki.
Sad to read that the historical IM closed a couple of months ago to make room for a mall :cry: :cry: :cry: That place was an institution of Waikiki! I've been there and it was a very good and funny place to eat or buy cheap souvenirs. I'm so sad and devastated... What a pity!


However, here are some other locations I've found out.
At the beginning of the episode Rick (his double) is driving along Hawaii Kai Drive and Wailua Street
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Further we can see TM and Doheny (a double again) passing next the Tong Fat Co. Building (425 N King Street)
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'Kalakaua Towers' is obviously a fictional name. The real location building is called 'Maunakea Tower' (1245 Maunakea St)
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The bad guy was hit and killed at the corner between Maunakea st and N Kukui St (almost in front of the Kukui Tower)
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Well, then there's something curious at the end of the episode: a stupid fly annoying Doheny while he's praying before Laura' s tomb! But Sinatra was able to swat the fly moving the hand to the forehead, as if he was crying. Good job Frank!
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I know what you're thinking, but this time you're wrong.

SignGuyHPW
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#52 Post by SignGuyHPW »

Great episode. It was really, really dramatic and kind of on the dark side for Magnum.

The only parts that I didn't care for was that it never was really explained WHY Doheney needed a private investigator's help at all since he was the one who kept finding the guys. It just kind of bugged me that he was going to pay $20,000 for someone local that wasn't going to actually help him, in theory.

The rest of the episode was pretty strong. I liked Magnum putting together a video for his nephew's show and tell. I wish they'd done that a few more times as a recurring side plot. Sinatra's character was especially well written. They never said anything, but I was left wondering if the babysitter had a ton of repercussions for sending the kid out into the hall while she was on the phone. It was also a great touch for Higgins trying in vain to find one of his stories that would fit and get Doheney to feel a little better.

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EZiller
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#53 Post by EZiller »

"Laura" is one of the best of the MPI serious drama episodes. It's a dark, depressing theme, the rape and murder of a young girl. It's an excellent acting job by Sinatra, who was an excellent dramatic actor when motivated and away from some of the Rat Pack fluff he turned out in the 60's. Check him out in "From Here to Eternity" "The Joker is Wild" and "The Manchurian Candidate." Sinatra is at his gritty best as a retired NYC cop out to find and kill his granddaughter's killer. Frank even eschews his toupee for this to add to the realism. My only objection was when Sinatra was beating up on a couple guys, the sound effects made it sound like he was Rocky Balboa smacking someone, rather than a somewhat frail and flabby guy in his mid-60's. Also, didn't know what they had to make his character an Irish cop, rather than an Italian, as of course Sinatra was.

Curious as how they got Sinatra to do this...I'd guess maybe he was a big fan of the show. I saw Sinatra in concert a couple years after this, in a small venue. Absolutely superb. And this may have been his last dramatic role, a great way to go out.

The musical bit, "Tonite, Tonite" by Genesis was terrific. Was that inspired by "Miami Vice?" I didn't watch it much, but it seemed they did something similar most episodes.

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Doc Ibold
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#54 Post by Doc Ibold »

EZiller wrote:"Laura" is one of the best of the MPI serious drama episodes. It's a dark, depressing theme, the rape and murder of a young girl. It's an excellent acting job by Sinatra, who was an excellent dramatic actor when motivated and away from some of the Rat Pack fluff he turned out in the 60's. Check him out in "From Here to Eternity" "The Joker is Wild" and "The Manchurian Candidate." Sinatra is at his gritty best as a retired NYC cop out to find and kill his granddaughter's killer. Frank even eschews his toupee for this to add to the realism. My only objection was when Sinatra was beating up on a couple guys, the sound effects made it sound like he was Rocky Balboa smacking someone, rather than a somewhat frail and flabby guy in his mid-60's. Also, didn't know what they had to make his character an Irish cop, rather than an Italian, as of course Sinatra was.

Curious as how they got Sinatra to do this...I'd guess maybe he was a big fan of the show. I saw Sinatra in concert a couple years after this, in a small venue. Absolutely superb. And this may have been his last dramatic role, a great way to go out.

The musical bit, "Tonite, Tonite" by Genesis was terrific. Was that inspired by "Miami Vice?" I didn't watch it much, but it seemed they did something similar most episodes.
I think Larry and Frank were pretty tight. In a lot of interviews, Larry brings it up. I think there might be something in Aloha Magnum to that effect as well.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#55 Post by magnumette »

Laura is one of my favorite episodes. 3 of the top Top 3. Lost at Sea and DYSTS? #2 . In a series that is my favorite of all time... This had Frank too!

I had always been a fan of Frank- his music and acting. Powerful brilliant performance. I always cry/tear at end. They just dont make em like they used to eh?

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#56 Post by Dave Anderson »

I may have to re-watch this, but my memory of this was that it was one of the worst Magnum episodes. Ridiculous contrived, overly dramatic, and not believable storyline if I remember. I am surprised to see the high ratings. Perhaps you're all Sinatra fans?

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#57 Post by Dave Anderson »

I see this is ranked as the 7th most popular episode (I'm new to the site). I'm even more surprised now, I will have to re-watch this. I found this one of the worst episodes. Go figure. Of course I see several other episodes I considered weak high in the rankings (Paper War, Tropical Madness) and the top 40 is missing Fragments (one of the best IMO) among others. Interesting.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#58 Post by marlboro »

I'm surprised you didn't like this one since you are a fan of "Death and Taxes." I think they are very similar in style and tone.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#59 Post by Dave Anderson »

marlboro wrote:I'm surprised you didn't like this one since you are a fan of "Death and Taxes." I think they are very similar in style and tone.
I only watched it once on DVD. I vaguely remember it from the original run. I just remember thinking it was too over the top a storyline, the girl being kidnapped and tortured and just happened to be related to a big time cop. I'll give it another viewing when I get the chance.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#60 Post by J.J. Walters »

Dave Anderson wrote:I see this is ranked as the 7th most popular episode (I'm new to the site). I'm even more surprised now, I will have to re-watch this. I found this one of the worst episodes. Go figure.
First off, welcome Dave! I like your posts. The Mania runs deep in your veins. :)

Regarding "Laura", what more could you ask for in a 1980's TV show: guest star of a lifetime in Frank Sinatra (the "Chairman of the Board"!), a stalking horse revenge plot, awesome long sequence shot set to a great Genesis song on Hotel St., Magnum and T.C. playing chess, the International Marketplace, Kevyn Major Howard, Tina Machado, Club Hubba Hubba dancers, and an emotional ending. What a blast this must have been for Selleck and Manetti! Definitely not one of the worst episodes.

Michael Doheny: She was my granddaughter! You slimy bastard. You beat her face to a pulp. You broke her body down to nothin' and then you threw her in an alley to die. And I'm gonna do the same thing to you.
(begin ass kickin'!)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

marlboro
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#61 Post by marlboro »

J.J. Walters wrote:First off, welcome Dave! I like your posts. The Mania runs deep in your veins. :)

Regarding "Laura", what more could you ask for in a 1980's TV show: guest star of a lifetime in Frank Sinatra (the "Chairman of the Board"!), a stalking horse revenge plot, awesome long sequence shot set to a great Genesis song on Hotel St., Magnum and T.C. playing chess, the International Marketplace, Kevyn Major Howard, Tina Machado, Club Hubba Hubba dancers, and an emotional ending. What a blast this must have been for Selleck and Manetti! Definitely not one of the worst episodes.

I wish they had kept the bit where Frank pours the drink on the wookie in the diner.
Last edited by marlboro on Wed Mar 02, 2016 1:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Croix de Lorraine
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Re: Laura (7.18)

#62 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

We know Sinatra exists in the Magnum universe, since Magnum likes to play Strangers In The Night on his saxophone, but he obviously didn't exist in this particular episode, or people would be shocked by how this Doheny fella looks exactly like Frank Sinatra.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#63 Post by marlboro »

Croix de Lorraine wrote:We know Sinatra exists in the Magnum universe, since Magnum likes to play Strangers In The Night on his saxophone, but he obviously didn't exist in this particular episode, or people would be shocked by how this Doheny fella looks exactly like Frank Sinatra.
Exactly. The writers should have put a little more effort into it, like they did with Mac and Jim Bonnick.

Ol' Blue Eyes:
Image


Doheny:
Image

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#64 Post by J. Rickley Schneider »

I think I was not served well by the fact that I knew everything about this episode before I watched it.

So the revelation that Laura was Doheny's granddaughter wasn't shocking or surprising or anything. But I imagine that those who watched this episode without knowing anything going in probably figured that out pretty quickly anyway.

It's not a bad episode, but I think the plot is too linear. Doheny searches for granddaughter's killer. Doheny finds granddaughter's killer. Doheny kills granddaughter's killer.

There are no real twists or turns or surprises.

I think it would've been more poignant if Doheny had died from wounds suffered while struggling to achieve his revenge.

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Re: Laura (7.18)

#65 Post by Matches Malone »

Hi all. Just wanted to pop in for a moment to comment.

My grandmother was a HUGE Magnum fan and, as a kid, I often watched the show with her back in the day. Fortunately, she recorded almost all of them when they were broadcast and, after she passed away a few years back, I made sure to grab all of her tapes that I thought would be worth hanging onto, including every Magnum tape. After she passed, I would occasionally do some Magnathons watching her old VHS copies (thankfully with the commercials included, which is a real treasure as she almost always edited out the commercials). This weekend I grabbed a random tape and it appears to be from early '87. I've never really sat down with an episode guide to figure out continuity points in the series, most popular episodes or anything -- I just like to pop one in and take it as it is, as if I were tuning in back in the mid-80's (and the commercials really help capture that feeling) -- so I came into this episode totally blind.

Now, I'm okay on Frank. Like many, he was more significant to older generations than to me, but, as I've grown older myself, my appreciation for his style, impact and meaning (both in movies and music) has improved considerably. Although I'll never fully grasp his aura as those who experienced it contemporaneously can, I at least know if he is on screen, many people older and wiser than me straighten up and take notice, so I do the same. As I saw on the preview for the show that Ol' Blue Eyes was going to be in it, I kind of had the feeling this would be one of those sad attempts to shoe-horn in an old timer in the hopes of garnering a slight bump in ratings that never works, so he'd probably get some forced, contrived role that was totally out of place.

I have to say, though, like many of you here, I thought this episode was just awesome. Of the many that I've seen over the years, it really stood out as unique, an episode where they really pulled out all the stops, and it ultimately brought me here to find out more about it. Yeah, there's nothing out of the box about the plot, but Frank really did his part justice and I thought the scene at the very end was very touching and well-portrayed (although my wondering if they had filmed the scene in Hawaii as the flora looked a little too tropical did break the drama a little).

The Genesis music is of its time and added a great urban, moody vibe, especially in the build-up as Doheny and Magnum pound the pavement and crack skulls. If they left that in the DVD release, good on them as many of these studios don't want to pay royalties for the original music to be included on the DVDs. Back then, their music really had that edge and atmosphere to it which, for me, complements the montage perfectly. Not coincidentally, I'm sure, one of the commercial breaks had a Michelob ad with the same song by Genesis… those guys were synonymous with night life in the city back then! Even though I know MPI always had its darker moments, I did get the feeling that the use of Genesis must've been an attempt to capture some of that Miami Vice magic (which I loved as a kid), but I think they pulled it off successfully without being total copycats.

It was also a little surprising to see how risqué this show could be, given that it wasn't, as I remember, in one of the later time slots when it was broadcast. Seems to me like it was either 8 or 9 pm and I remember as a kid that it was typically on the 10:00 shows where things were grittier, smuttier and more violent. This episode had hookers, strippers, mention of the kidnapping, brutal rape, beating and ultimate death of a minor, and the infamous head-through-the-glass (what a shocking scene and I love the fact that it happened in an instant, then moved on, although I dug the insult-to-injury in the credits with the glass of water -- man, Frank was ruthless!). Again, with the backdrop of all those wholesome commercials for milk, Chevrolet and gum, it's pretty jarring and impactful stuff for that time period, more on par with something like Hill Street Blues, which definitely pushed the envelope every week.

One other side note for me that made this one of those all-encompassingly cool episodes, was that they did some filming at the International Marketplace. My grandmother and I went to Hawaii in 1984, no doubt a by-product of this show. During our stay in Honolulu, we visited the IM and actually got separated (I was maybe 10 or 11 at the time) when I stopped to look at something and she didn't realize I wasn't following her. It took her a while to find me and I know she was scared out of her wits while I was just browsing around looking at tiki statues or something. Obviously she found me eventually, but that's one of the moments that's always stuck out in my head about that trip and I wondered if that was the same place when I saw this episode. Funny now to find out that it was!

Alright, sorry I took up so much of everyone's time, just wanted to share some thoughts on this great episode! Now to continue with the Magnum Mania…..

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