A.A.P.I. (7.5)

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
3%
9.0 (Excellent)
17
20%
8.5 (Very Good)
28
33%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
20
23%
7.5 (Decent)
10
12%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
3
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 86

Message
Author
User avatar
Luther's nephew Dobie
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1244
Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 4:16 am
Location: Swamps of Jersey

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#41 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

Milton Collins wrote:
Sinjin wrote:Luther Gillis had me rolling in this funny episode revolving around an awards banquet, a murder, and the investigation of an international drug smuggling ring. Eugene Roche had some great lines and he delivered them to perfection with his over-the-top character Luther. "Everytime I came to Bananaland on a case..." "Speaking of the word 'cracked,' it reminds me of the time my little brother thought he was a chicken..." "Oh gee, he croaked!" "illegal peanut butter" "the banana train stops here" "Lemon?" He chewed up every scene he was in. quote]

I agree, and how about "Sorry for breaking in on you, but some wimp shot me." and then he passes out on the floor. I don't really understand the mass hatred for Luther Gillis that i've seen on this site. I actually find him to be a good character. Of course he's foolish and a bit annoying but to me he's pretty damn funny at the same time. I'd take him ANYDAY over Shelly Faraday (Kiss of the Sabre) Rodney Radcliff (Old aquaintance) Tran Quac Jones (Tran Quac Jones) Basketball Willie (Basket Case) or a number of other absolutely stupid characters. I just love the whole concept of this episode, bringing back all the old characters? BRILLIANT! It was great to see John Wayne, Luther, Tracy etc. again along with Doc I, Tanaka, Carol etc. Total fun murder mystery type of episode all on location at a fantastic hotel. I think this is one of the funnier and more light hearted ones that I consider a solid "go to" episode when I just want to get a good laugh.
Bravo Milton, great post! I agree with you, Gillis is a wonderful character and I have always been a sucker for take offs on those hard bitten PI's of the 1930 and 40's.
Many shows, from the Bowery Boys to Jack Benny to Star Trek TNG have done take offs on the genre. Luther is one of the best, he is at once a satire yet he is as capable as Magnum, sometimes a step ahead and thats why his character works.
I recall reading that that the actor who portrayed Santa in the original Miracle on 34th Street, when asked on his deathbed how he felt, said "dying is easy, comedy is hard".
Eugene Roche played it just right as Luther,I think most other actors would have hammed it up too much and mugged for the camera.
I have always wondered - even at the time - if Luther Gillis might have also been a nod to another CBS show that aired during the Magnum years, 'Mickey Spillanes Mike Hammer'. Starring a tongue in cheek Stacy Keach, it shared some of the same up and coming starlets as were on Magnum, with the leading man in both a Vietnam vet with a great mustache, stylish hat and a way with the babes.
It ran for 2 seasons, then another in the 1990's, which must be some sort of record.

marlboro
Baron Of GIFs
Posts: 655
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:31 pm

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#42 Post by marlboro »

I like both the Luther Gillis and Tracy Spencer characters, but I think this episode had a few too many guest characters. Even though Gillis had some classic lines in this one, I think it may have worked better with only Annie Potts playing TM's second fiddle.

I think they should have saved Luther for the second Carol Burnett episode. I would have loved to see Carol as Luther's protege, learning all kinds of new ways to drive Magnum crazy.

User avatar
Milton Collins
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 262
Joined: Mon May 19, 2014 8:16 pm

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#43 Post by Milton Collins »

Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:
Milton Collins wrote:
Sinjin wrote:Luther Gillis had me rolling in this funny episode revolving around an awards banquet, a murder, and the investigation of an international drug smuggling ring. Eugene Roche had some great lines and he delivered them to perfection with his over-the-top character Luther. "Everytime I came to Bananaland on a case..." "Speaking of the word 'cracked,' it reminds me of the time my little brother thought he was a chicken..." "Oh gee, he croaked!" "illegal peanut butter" "the banana train stops here" "Lemon?" He chewed up every scene he was in. quote]

I agree, and how about "Sorry for breaking in on you, but some wimp shot me." and then he passes out on the floor. I don't really understand the mass hatred for Luther Gillis that i've seen on this site. I actually find him to be a good character. Of course he's foolish and a bit annoying but to me he's pretty damn funny at the same time. I'd take him ANYDAY over Shelly Faraday (Kiss of the Sabre) Rodney Radcliff (Old aquaintance) Tran Quac Jones (Tran Quac Jones) Basketball Willie (Basket Case) or a number of other absolutely stupid characters. I just love the whole concept of this episode, bringing back all the old characters? BRILLIANT! It was great to see John Wayne, Luther, Tracy etc. again along with Doc I, Tanaka, Carol etc. Total fun murder mystery type of episode all on location at a fantastic hotel. I think this is one of the funnier and more light hearted ones that I consider a solid "go to" episode when I just want to get a good laugh.
Bravo Milton, great post! I agree with you, Gillis is a wonderful character and I have always been a sucker for take offs on those hard bitten PI's of the 1930 and 40's.
Many shows, from the Bowery Boys to Jack Benny to Star Trek TNG have done take offs on the genre. Luther is one of the best, he is at once a satire yet he is as capable as Magnum, sometimes a step ahead and thats why his character works.
I recall reading that that the actor who portrayed Santa in the original Miracle on 34th Street, when asked on his deathbed how he felt, said "dying is easy, comedy is hard".
Eugene Roche played it just right as Luther,I think most other actors would have hammed it up too much and mugged for the camera.
I have always wondered - even at the time - if Luther Gillis might have also been a nod to another CBS show that aired during the Magnum years, 'Mickey Spillanes Mike Hammer'. Starring a tongue in cheek Stacy Keach, it shared some of the same up and coming starlets as were on Magnum, with the leading man in both a Vietnam vet with a great mustache, stylish hat and a way with the babes.
It ran for 2 seasons, then another in the 1990's, which must be some sort of record.

Interesting theory, I wonder! And I'm 35 so I didn't watch either Magnum or Hammer when they were originally aired as I was really young but my dad watched both religously and also is a real life Vietnam Vet with dark hair who has a mustache and was often complemented on his similarity to Tom Selleck/Magnum in the 80's. Pretty hilarious really! And couldn't agree on Gillis more, he was just dumb enough that he made me laugh but didn't tick me off. I always crack up in the first Luther episode (season 4's Luther Gillis: File #521)when Higgy is teaching karate on the lawn and Luther ends up slugging out some poor old woman. As for all you Luther haters I mean no disrespect as my brother is a HUGE Magnum fan and refuses to even watch or sometimes speak of Luther Gillis he hates him so much lol. That's what makes this show so fun though in my opinion, there's so many different characters with completely opposite personalitys, outlooks, backgrounds, etc that anyone can find people they like or don't like. Makes it all more fun!

User avatar
J.J. Walters
Founding Father
Posts: 4196
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Suburbia, USA
Contact:

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#44 Post by J.J. Walters »

Ok, wow. I just watched a Hart to Hart episode on Cozi TV (I stumbled into it about halfway through) that had Paul Verdier playing a character named Jean Claude, French accent and all! He drove a taxi and was soon murdered. Unlike this episode, it was blunt force trauma to the head that did him in. Poor Jean Claude! So I keep watching (of course), when all of a sudden I see a red Ferrari 308! No joke. It appeared in a few brief scenes driven by what turned out to be the red herring (heh, a red herring driving a red Ferrari!). I felt like I was in some kind of weird Magnum-Hart to Hart time warp, or something. Crazy. I even snapped a picture of it.

Image

For the heck of it I snapped a pic of Max and Freeway. Not ashamed to admit it, but I love Hart to Hart. :)

Image
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

Robert Kelley
Ensign
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Feb 13, 2014 5:52 am

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#45 Post by Robert Kelley »

I liked this episode. A good mix of serious and funny as in most episodes. It's also a slight personal connection after the fact since I spent my honeymoon in the Hawaii Prince Hotel, which was built in place of the imploded hospital.

I did notice a couple of flubs not otherwise posted here: during the shootout Magnum’s second gunshot at the 30:45 has no muzzle flash. Then, at 45:01 Det. Katsumoto says “just a flesh wound” and his mouth is not moving.

MaximRecoil
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 303
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:10 pm
Location: Maine, USA

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#46 Post by MaximRecoil »

Robert Kelley wrote: I did notice a couple of flubs not otherwise posted here: during the shootout Magnum’s second gunshot at the 30:45 has no muzzle flash.
He fired the gun. If you watch frame-by-frame with the picture brightened, you can see him pull the trigger and just make out the motion blur of the slide starting to cycle:

Image

Film runs at 24 frames per second, and sometimes muzzle flash (which is very brief) happens between frames, thus not appearing on the film.
Then, at 45:01 Det. Katsumoto says “just a flesh wound” and his mouth is not moving.
I think it was supposed to be Luther who said that. Katsumoto, Higgins, and Carol all look over at him when that line is spoken.

brianw
Rear Admiral
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:36 pm

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#47 Post by brianw »

I rated this ep pretty low, way too cheesy, and not a big fan of Gillis or the other John Wayne imitator. I did like the look alike characters, the SJC cameo, and Annie Potts was always a hottie. The shootout at the end was horrible though. I had to laugh when all the cops were questioning TC and Rick outside the van, then when they heard shooting, TC said that's what we are trying to tell you, and he and Rick run to the van, GRAB THEIR GUNS and then lead the police into the hotel. Haha, they would have been shot down so quick for grabbing their guns out of the van like that. Anyway, it had its funny moments but overall a pretty bad ep for me.

User avatar
Luther's nephew Dobie
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1244
Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 4:16 am
Location: Swamps of Jersey

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#48 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

brianw wrote:I rated this ep pretty low, way too cheesy, and not a big fan of Gillis or the other John Wayne imitator. I did like the look alike characters, the SJC cameo, and Annie Potts was always a hottie. The shootout at the end was horrible though. I had to laugh when all the cops were questioning TC and Rick outside the van, then when they heard shooting, TC said that's what we are trying to tell you, and he and Rick run to the van, GRAB THEIR GUNS and then lead the police into the hotel. Haha, they would have been shot down so quick for grabbing their guns out of the van like that. Anyway, it had its funny moments but overall a pretty bad ep for me.
Brianw,
It wasn't supposed to be taken seriously, they threw everything in but the kitchen sink. There was homages and inside jokes all over the place. The best was
Elisha Cook as Wilmer in the Maltese Falcon take off. The episode's premise was from the Rockford Files episode with Lance White(Selleck) at a PI awards dinner
with Rockford where Rockford(like Magnum in A.A.P.I) disparages getting an award he actually values. The shootout at the end was mocking PI shows where a ton of lead
is flying about but nobody gets killed. The end scene in the hospital ward is a direct steal from Mad, Mad, Mad World. This episode was written for movie buffs and lovers of
detective shows especially. However I do think they might have polished up the script a bit more, in my humble opinion. Maybe everyone was having too good a time
during filming and the slapstick element came over too strong.

Higgins: You're simply to be his "legman" as he describes it.
Luther Gillis: Yeah, yeah. The day I'm Tom Magnum's "legman" is the day I sit on the street corner selling pencils and drinking cheap pink out of a paper bag.
Last edited by Luther's nephew Dobie on Thu Apr 16, 2020 1:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

brianw
Rear Admiral
Posts: 94
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2018 4:36 pm

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#49 Post by brianw »

Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:
brianw wrote:I rated this ep pretty low, way too cheesy, and not a big fan of Gillis or the other John Wayne imitator. I did like the look alike characters, the SJC cameo, and Annie Potts was always a hottie. The shootout at the end was horrible though. I had to laugh when all the cops were questioning TC and Rick outside the van, then when they heard shooting, TC said that's what we are trying to tell you, and he and Rick run to the van, GRAB THEIR GUNS and then lead the police into the hotel. Haha, they would have been shot down so quick for grabbing their guns out of the van like that. Anyway, it had its funny moments but overall a pretty bad ep for me.
Brianw,
It wasn't supposed to be taken seriously, they threw everything in but the kitchen sink. There was homages and inside jokes all over the place. The best was
Elisha Cook as Ice Pick/Wilmer in the Maltese Falcon take off. The episode's premise was from the Rockford Files episode with Lance White(Selleck) at a PI awards dinner
with Rockford where Rockford(like Magnum in A.A.P.I) disparages getting an award he actually values. The shootout at the end was mocking PI shows where a ton of lead
is flying about but nobody gets killed. The end scene in the hospital ward is a direct steal from Mad, Mad, Mad World. This episode was written for movie buffs and lovers of
detective shows especially. However I do think they might have polished up the script a bit more, in my humble opinion. Maybe everyone was having too good a time
during filming and the slapstick element came over too strong.

Higgins: You're simply to be his "legman" as he describes it.
Luther Gillis: Yeah, yeah. The day I'm Tom Magnum's "legman" is the day I sit on the street corner selling pencils and drinking cheap pink out of a paper bag.

Yea, I get all that. I guess it was just too silly for me. I definitely like the comedic elements of the show, in small doses, but I prefer the more serious plots.

User avatar
80s Big Hair
Admiral
Posts: 161
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2020 12:27 am
Location: Illinois

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#50 Post by 80s Big Hair »

One little thing that I found interesting involved Magnum's day dreams. At the beginning his office door read, Thomas Magnum Private Eye." That I found odd since Magnum is always telling people it is investigator, not eye. In a later day dream he is seen painting his door to read "private investigator."

User avatar
80s Big Hair
Admiral
Posts: 161
Joined: Sat Mar 21, 2020 12:27 am
Location: Illinois

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#51 Post by 80s Big Hair »

Image
Missing apostrophe in Magnum's daydream.

User avatar
ENSHealy
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 639
Joined: Tue Mar 20, 2018 10:00 pm
Location: Madison, WI

Re: A.A.P.I. (7.5)

#52 Post by ENSHealy »

EPISODE: 7.5 A.A.P.I

Famous guest stars:
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Image
Tigers Cap: 1
Image
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless Magnum:
OMG:
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Gun Play: 3
Bullet wounds:
Body Count (by Magnum):
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking: 3
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections: 1
4th wall breaks: 2
Magnumometer: 11
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/652944217

Wouldn’t strychnine have acted faster? It looked like they’d were already into the after dinner coffee portion of the awards ceremony. If the poison had been in his soup, would he even have made it to the podium?
Ensign Healy
Scholar in Residence
The Institute for Advanced Magnum Studies

"I woke up one day at 53 and realized I'd never been 23."

Post Reply