Resolutions (2) (8.13)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
19
20%
9.5 (One of the Best)
14
14%
9.0 (Excellent)
23
24%
8.5 (Very Good)
15
15%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
12
12%
7.5 (Decent)
7
7%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
3%
6.5 (Not So Good)
2
2%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 97

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revaddict
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#41 Post by revaddict »

I grew up watching MPI, but season 8 aired during my first year of college, so it was hard to follow it while away from home. To make matters worse, I had set my family's VCR to take the final episode for me...but there was a screw-up and it didn't get recorded properly. I never saw the final episode of one of my all-time favorite shows until last night--20 years late!

So I finally got to see how it ended. I must admit I felt a little disappointed. Looking back on season 8, the whole season felt kind of contrived. It definitely stands out from the other seasons of MPI. A number of episodes get so introspective and somber that they don't seem to go anywhere.

The irony of "Resolutions" of course is that very little is resolved. The show ends without us really knowing if Rick gets married, if TC and his ex work things out or if Higgins is Robin Masters (my vote is No, for what it's worth).

But by the time we get to the end of season 8, the episodes have broken the MPI mold so much that this goofy ending didn't bother me that much. I guess I just felt relieved that it was over.

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IslandHopper
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#42 Post by IslandHopper »

Welcome to the site revaddict.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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golfmobile
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#43 Post by golfmobile »

Well, revaddict. Good insight there on the episode. You put together nicely what all of us have discussed for months! But then we enjoy all the "chewing over" of different opnions, thoughts and interpretations, analyses, impressions, etc.!

So welcome to the best Magnum site on the internet!!

golf
"Portside, buddy."

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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
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#44 Post by IKnowWhatYoureThinking »

Redaddict, as golf said you had some good insight on Season 8. I too feel Resolutions I & II resolved nothing. Welcome to the site and enjoy the conversations!

Trptpaladin
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#45 Post by Trptpaladin »

Good discussion, I would like to wade in.

In addition to the great ideas so far I would like to mention the resolution of the final and perhaps most under riding theme of the show, TM’s relationship with his father. More precisely, the relationship with the image or idea of what his father would be, want, or do, etc..

Perhaps TM’s life as a PI wasn’t just a chance to work through the issues of the war, living in a place that was half way home, but an impasse where he had to figure out what came next in life since he had survived war when his father had not. There are many times during the course of the show where TM gives the standard line of “ 33 having never been 23” and no one seems to ever buy it. I think TM finally gets over self imposed limitations of living the life his father would have and finds a balance between duty and self.

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J.J. Walters
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#46 Post by J.J. Walters »

Great insights revaddict and dizforprez! Welcome to the site!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Artie Canoe
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#47 Post by Artie Canoe »

I don't know if this has already been posted but when TC, Rick, Higgins and TM come out after their bar brawl there's a poster for "Cleo The Exotic Contortionist" :o

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Artie Canoe
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#48 Post by Artie Canoe »

I also just noticed that the fake Grady Walker (one in the hospital) from (8.4) Tiger's Fan is at the wedding!

Image

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N1095A
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#49 Post by N1095A »

maybe not so shocking, but a flub none the less. When TM is pouring a drink for his grandfather, we briefly his left wrist, and the watch band is clearly a Jubilee style. seconds later in the next shot he's wearing his usual Oyster band. When he cuts the cigar, the Jubilee is back. Then while he's lighting the cigar, the Oyster is back.
"But Higgins, I can explain."

Seaver41
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#50 Post by Seaver41 »

revaddict wrote:I grew up watching MPI, but season 8 aired during my first year of college, so it was hard to follow it while away from home. To make matters worse, I had set my family's VCR to take the final episode for me...but there was a screw-up and it didn't get recorded properly. I never saw the final episode of one of my all-time favorite shows until last night--20 years late!

So I finally got to see how it ended. I must admit I felt a little disappointed. Looking back on season 8, the whole season felt kind of contrived. It definitely stands out from the other seasons of MPI. A number of episodes get so introspective and somber that they don't seem to go anywhere.

The irony of "Resolutions" of course is that very little is resolved. The show ends without us really knowing if Rick gets married, if TC and his ex work things out or if Higgins is Robin Masters (my vote is No, for what it's worth).

But by the time we get to the end of season 8, the episodes have broken the MPI mold so much that this goofy ending didn't bother me that much. I guess I just felt relieved that it was over.
lol.........that final season took place for me as well at college and I remember watching the finale 'movie' in a room of people that was at times noisy. I have NEVER seen that episode since its' original run. I never came across it in syndication......mostly because I got a good fill of Magnum in syndication while the series was still ongoing........but even in the years since I have never been able to coordinate finding that one. That said, my impressions are 20 years old.....so bear with me..........what I HATED about it was the lack of the Thomas Magnum voiceover........to me that was an essential piece of the show. Was there a more classic line than "I know what you're thinking" ? The lack of the voiceover left me then with a feeling of second rate production. We all know the show was a different product the final couple seasons as Cosby was dominating the scene, but still........I loved those characters in Hawaii. So much about that finale felt forced fed that I never really looked hard to see it again.

I'm ok with him re-joining the Navy.....it made sense........and I will slightly disagree with the extensive introspection of several posters about the meaning of it......to me it was simply Magnum growing up. Magnum to a large extent kept his colleagues from growing up as well and leaving Hawaii would be necessary for all to do so.

The whole girlfriend thingy felt weird.

The Lily resolution worked.........and we got to see that soulful look in his eyes........red and watery that 'made' some of the best episodes of that series.

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J.J. Walters
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#51 Post by J.J. Walters »

Nice spot on Grady Walker at the wedding Artie.
Seaver41 wrote:...what I HATED about it was the lack of the Thomas Magnum voiceover........to me that was an essential piece of the show. Was there a more classic line than "I know what you're thinking" ? The lack of the voiceover left me then with a feeling of second rate production.
I tend to agree as well. It really changed the feel of the episode. The previous episode "Transitions" featured quite a bit of narration, much more so than usual. Maybe the lack of narration in "Resolutions" was meant to convey a deeper meaning (i.e. it's time to stop "talking" and reflecting about change, it's time for action; resolutions)?
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
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#52 Post by IKnowWhatYoureThinking »

When Magnum and his grandfather are in the guesthouse smoking cigars I found another flub. When Magnum clips the head off his cigar there is no band on it, but when he lights the cigar there is a band.

Seaver41
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#53 Post by Seaver41 »

James J. Walters wrote:Nice spot on Grady Walker at the wedding Artie.
Seaver41 wrote:...what I HATED about it was the lack of the Thomas Magnum voiceover........to me that was an essential piece of the show. Was there a more classic line than "I know what you're thinking" ? The lack of the voiceover left me then with a feeling of second rate production.
I tend to agree as well. It really changed the feel of the episode. The previous episode "Transitions" featured quite a bit of narration, much more so than usual. Maybe the lack of narration in "Resolutions" was meant to convey a deeper meaning (i.e. it's time to stop "talking" and reflecting about change, it's time for action; resolutions)?
interestingly enough..........I recently watched 'All for One' off my DVR from the Sleuth channel........and it did not have much of Magnum's voiceover until the very end..............and in retrospect, I can see why this didn't resonate well with some fans here...........they tried to make a mini movie of the show and this one didn't do well. The little voice was used well throughout the series.........it would disarm immediate skepticism over a scene, plot, character, etc.. The lack of it in Resolutions left us with skepticism over scene, plot, character, etc..

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MyGod!
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#54 Post by MyGod! »

Sigh. Just watched this, and I've now made it through all 8 seasons on DVD. I have to admit I rated this episode quite poorly, frankly, I want to act like it didn't exist.
Wow, the writing feels so rushed, they tried to cram so many things in, felt very unnatural in my opinion, i.e., TC and wife reconciling, (great idea, but why not earlier in the season) terrible murder sub-plot, what happened with TM and the ever sexy Linda Lee Ellison, grandpa sub-polt, etc.

I did love the strip club fight scene, Rick's nervousness, and Higgins playing with TM's mind, and of course the reunion with Lily was great! Overall, I'm just gonna try and pretend this episode didn't happen, and start fresh at season 1! I get the sense quite a few people feel the same way.

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Italian Ice
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#55 Post by Italian Ice »

I agree with you "MyGod!"

I can't say I liked this episode much. When I used to watch the episodes "at random", I thought this one was "in the middle" and that there was more. It wasn't until I started reading online and discovering sites like this one that "this was the finale". Well done, but too many cliffhangers that were never resolved. If I had seen this during the original airtime, I would have been disapointed with the ending.

TV movie anyone?
Higgins: " Dispatch the pig!!! "

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