Paper War (7.8)
Moderator: Styles Bitchley
I always found it odd that Magnum was able to crash the entire system by simply typing "Drop Dead" in Little Games. Well, you could get away with stuff like that in the 80's, I suppose.James J. Walters wrote:Magnum is a computer gamer ... but apparently doesn't know much about computers! He reformats the hard drive to erase the game?!?
Btw, good observation on the Starflight game!
In the 1980's I erased three months research my teacher had stored on his computer by typing a single word "initalise".Shermy wrote: I always found it odd that Magnum was able to crash the entire system by simply typing "Drop Dead" in Little Games. Well, you could get away with stuff like that in the 80's, I suppose.
Actually that's the first time I've owned up to that
Lt Tanaka wrote:In the 1980's I erased three months research my teacher had stored on his computer by typing a single word "initalise".
Well, in the computer's defense, you did enter a command that was somewhat common. In Magnum's case, he simply entered a random phrase that somehow managed to defeat a million dollar security system.
But speaking of 80's computer hijinks, anyone remember when they'd put a "clear screen" key right next to the backspace? Maybe Magnum's blunder wasn't so far-fetched after all!
Watched this one again last night. Could stop laughing at the take-off of the "Godfather" horses head in the bed with the rubber chicken.
Have to say though I didn't like the bit in the lift because it got quite serious when Higgins said he would call Robin Masters and one of them would have to leave the estate. I felt that the subsequent "outing" of Higgins as Robin didn't really resolve that. They went back to being chummy too easily. The episode could have done without either of Magnums accusations.
Loved all the tit-for-tat stuff though.
Have to say though I didn't like the bit in the lift because it got quite serious when Higgins said he would call Robin Masters and one of them would have to leave the estate. I felt that the subsequent "outing" of Higgins as Robin didn't really resolve that. They went back to being chummy too easily. The episode could have done without either of Magnums accusations.
Loved all the tit-for-tat stuff though.
Yeah, there have been a few Higgins Belly Laughs.CVA-19 wrote:I recall part of the reasoning that TM uses to prove Higgins is Robin Masters was that Higgins never belly laughs ... well, China Doll was on locally last week and Higgins was laughing that same belly laugh at the thought of Magnum as Mai Ling's "protector."
Adelaide and Tropical Madness come to mind as well
-
J.J. Walters
- Founding Father
- Posts: 4196
- Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
- Location: Suburbia, USA
- Contact:
-
IslandHopper
- Master Flub Spotter
- Posts: 729
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:08 am
I Watched this episode again, and I have to say that this is in my top 5. Great episode. This episode has everything (except the lads), but I especially enjoy the practical jokes and banter between Magnum and Higgins. The ending is a classic. Magnum is in the study, all smug, thinking he had the last laugh on Higgins, even saying "you're a good loser Robin." But, of course, it was Higgins who had the last laugh. Great stuff.
There are some notable flubs in this episode.
1. When Higgins takes Magnum's .45 and attempts to pry the elevator doors open with the barrel of the gun, you can see the hammer is back as if ready to fire. For someone with Higgins' military background and experience with weapons I found this to be more than a little careless.
2. Just before Magnum shoots the lock off of the escape hatch of the elevator you hear him say "alright that's it Higgins, no more games, I've had it" and then you see a close-up of the .45. The flub is that the person holding the .45 is not wearing the sterling silver MIA bracelet that Magnum is seen wearing in the elevator. I have noticed that a lot of the close-up shots of Magnum holding the .45, or even close-ups of shoes seem to be done in post production with other actors, and they often do not wear the same clothes or accessories as in "Adelaide" and "All Roads Lead To Floyd."
3. After Magnum shoots the lock off of the emergency hatch, he pulls himself up and looks around and sees a rat. The footage of the rat seems to be old stock footage, as it is grainy and scratched.
4. Another possible flub may be with the bullet Magnum fired at the lock. Where did it go? It didn't seem to ricochet around in the elevator, and it didn't seem to actually go through the emergency hatch. So, where did it go?
5. The scene where the construction guy is setting up the detonator 5 minutes before detonation we see people walking around right next to the construction guy while he is setting all of this up. I'm not a construction/demolition expert, but I can't imagine that it is common practice to have people walking right next to the guy setting up the detonator with 5 minutes, and then with less than 1 minute prior to the detonation of the building. Years ago, Orlando City Hall was imploded and was used in the filming of "Lethal Weapon 2." It is the building seen imploding at the beginning of the movie with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover running out just before it implodes. I remember when that took place, a large area was blocked off all around the building for more than 12 hours prior to the detonation.
6. When Magnum reveals the emergency release in the floor of the elevator, he and Higgins attempt to turn the lever. As they attempt to release the lever, we see only their arms (one arm each). As we know Higgins is wearing a long sleeve shirt and his Navy Blue blazer. The stunt double they used for Higgins in this scene is wearing the same or similar shirt and a Navy blue blazer, however, the give away that this is not John Hillerman is the guy's arm and hand is covered with hair, whereas the Higgins we know does not have this characteristic.
7. A similar flub occurs just after the elevator finally drops to the ground floor. Right after the elevator drops, we see Magnum and Higgins in a wide shot attempt to pry the elevator doors open with their hands. Again, we can see both Magnum and Higgins in full view. Also, notice that John Hillerman's arms and hands are virtually hairless. However, the scene cuts to a close-up and all we see are the hands and arms of both actors. Again, you will notice that Higgins, once again, has hairy hands and arms.
There are some notable flubs in this episode.
1. When Higgins takes Magnum's .45 and attempts to pry the elevator doors open with the barrel of the gun, you can see the hammer is back as if ready to fire. For someone with Higgins' military background and experience with weapons I found this to be more than a little careless.
2. Just before Magnum shoots the lock off of the escape hatch of the elevator you hear him say "alright that's it Higgins, no more games, I've had it" and then you see a close-up of the .45. The flub is that the person holding the .45 is not wearing the sterling silver MIA bracelet that Magnum is seen wearing in the elevator. I have noticed that a lot of the close-up shots of Magnum holding the .45, or even close-ups of shoes seem to be done in post production with other actors, and they often do not wear the same clothes or accessories as in "Adelaide" and "All Roads Lead To Floyd."
3. After Magnum shoots the lock off of the emergency hatch, he pulls himself up and looks around and sees a rat. The footage of the rat seems to be old stock footage, as it is grainy and scratched.
4. Another possible flub may be with the bullet Magnum fired at the lock. Where did it go? It didn't seem to ricochet around in the elevator, and it didn't seem to actually go through the emergency hatch. So, where did it go?
5. The scene where the construction guy is setting up the detonator 5 minutes before detonation we see people walking around right next to the construction guy while he is setting all of this up. I'm not a construction/demolition expert, but I can't imagine that it is common practice to have people walking right next to the guy setting up the detonator with 5 minutes, and then with less than 1 minute prior to the detonation of the building. Years ago, Orlando City Hall was imploded and was used in the filming of "Lethal Weapon 2." It is the building seen imploding at the beginning of the movie with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover running out just before it implodes. I remember when that took place, a large area was blocked off all around the building for more than 12 hours prior to the detonation.
6. When Magnum reveals the emergency release in the floor of the elevator, he and Higgins attempt to turn the lever. As they attempt to release the lever, we see only their arms (one arm each). As we know Higgins is wearing a long sleeve shirt and his Navy Blue blazer. The stunt double they used for Higgins in this scene is wearing the same or similar shirt and a Navy blue blazer, however, the give away that this is not John Hillerman is the guy's arm and hand is covered with hair, whereas the Higgins we know does not have this characteristic.
7. A similar flub occurs just after the elevator finally drops to the ground floor. Right after the elevator drops, we see Magnum and Higgins in a wide shot attempt to pry the elevator doors open with their hands. Again, we can see both Magnum and Higgins in full view. Also, notice that John Hillerman's arms and hands are virtually hairless. However, the scene cuts to a close-up and all we see are the hands and arms of both actors. Again, you will notice that Higgins, once again, has hairy hands and arms.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)
-
J.J. Walters
- Founding Father
- Posts: 4196
- Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
- Location: Suburbia, USA
- Contact:
-
N1095A
- World Class Private Investigator
- Posts: 1574
- Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:03 pm
- Location: A log cabin in the mountains.
IH Just wanted to point out, MIA bracelets are stainless steel. Although TM's could have been sterling silver, in over 30 years I've never seen one made of anything other than Stainless steel, rarely aluminum, and I made one out of copper once for the elderly father of an MIA.
"But Higgins, I can explain."
-
IslandHopper
- Master Flub Spotter
- Posts: 729
- Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 5:08 am
Yeah, your right N, most are either aluminum or stainless steel. However, when I was in the military, we had the option of getting a sterling silver bracelet. I did not opt for that. It was too expensive and I was afraid of dinging it up, so I chose the red-aluminum version. A few guys in my unit opted for the sterling silver bracelet.N1095A wrote:IH Just wanted to point out, MIA bracelets are stainless steel. Although TM's could have been sterling silver, in over 30 years I've never seen one made of anything other than Stainless steel, rarely aluminum, and I made one out of copper once for the elderly father of an MIA.
Magnum’s bracelet looks like it is sterling silver, as it is much more reflective than the stainless steel version.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)
Just wanted to throw in my take on the whole "Higgins is Masters" thing. I think is it not any extreme, Higgie is not Robin, nor is Robin just a doll or a strayman for Higgins' writing.
I think Robin IS Robin, but Higgins helps him alot whith all the legal stuff etc., plus probably also the writing from time to time, which also means that Higgins is probably a lot more weathly than he appears, and the Ferrari may be his, maybe not.
I think Robin IS Robin, but Higgins helps him alot whith all the legal stuff etc., plus probably also the writing from time to time, which also means that Higgins is probably a lot more weathly than he appears, and the Ferrari may be his, maybe not.
Was vaccinated with a phonograph needle one summer break
Same summer that I kissed her on her daddy's boat
And shot across the lake
Singing all the way...
Oh I say mama
Living Ain't a luxury
Oh I say mama
And a lil' ain't enough for me
Same summer that I kissed her on her daddy's boat
And shot across the lake
Singing all the way...
Oh I say mama
Living Ain't a luxury
Oh I say mama
And a lil' ain't enough for me
It seems to me that this was a subplot that developed later in the series and that is why there are so many conflicting references throughout the series.
However, it could be that the JQH as RM was retconned late in the series. So are the inconsistancies just because they didn't decide to make him RM until later (the Star Wars scenario) or because he really isn't.
The answer that fits the facts the best is the obvious one, namely that Higgins is not Robin, but a talented (and experienced) employee to whom Robin turns occasionally for help with this or that. Much as Smakhouze suggests.
I have always wanted to believe that JQH was the pen behind the Robin Masters success, as Magnum suspects. However, in light of the inconsistancies in the show over this, it seems to me to be unlikely.
For instance, if he really is the pen behind Robin, who the series portrays as a cross between Capote/Hemmingway and Tom Clancy, why did he have so much trouble penning his memoirs?
The world wonders...
However, it could be that the JQH as RM was retconned late in the series. So are the inconsistancies just because they didn't decide to make him RM until later (the Star Wars scenario) or because he really isn't.
The answer that fits the facts the best is the obvious one, namely that Higgins is not Robin, but a talented (and experienced) employee to whom Robin turns occasionally for help with this or that. Much as Smakhouze suggests.
I have always wanted to believe that JQH was the pen behind the Robin Masters success, as Magnum suspects. However, in light of the inconsistancies in the show over this, it seems to me to be unlikely.
For instance, if he really is the pen behind Robin, who the series portrays as a cross between Capote/Hemmingway and Tom Clancy, why did he have so much trouble penning his memoirs?
The world wonders...
-
N1095A
- World Class Private Investigator
- Posts: 1574
- Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2007 7:03 pm
- Location: A log cabin in the mountains.
I never got the idea Higgins had trouble writing his memoirs. He led a very colorful life, and never had trouble coming up with a story, which I always believed was what his memiors were, just maybe longer versions of his spoken stories. Maybe he worked on them for so long because there were so many stories to tell.VM02 wrote: if he really is the pen behind Robin, who the series portrays as a cross between Capote/Hemmingway and Tom Clancy, why did he have so much trouble penning his memoirs?
"But Higgins, I can explain."