Resolutions (1) (8.12)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
10
13%
9.5 (One of the Best)
7
9%
9.0 (Excellent)
25
32%
8.5 (Very Good)
16
21%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
9
12%
7.5 (Decent)
6
8%
7.0 (Average at Best)
1
1%
6.5 (Not So Good)
2
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 77

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MACattack
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#31 Post by MACattack »

To all those people who haven't seen the deleted bar scene: I'll explain because I have the original DVD when it came out in 2008.
Magnum, T.C., and Higgins took Rick out to a strip club for his bachelor party. He said: "Thanks guys for bringing me here!".
"Well it was your idea, Orville!" T.C. replied. Everybody was having a good time when Rick mentioned Cleo. A tall stranger with a moustache (played by Tim Russovich) said "Yeah, she's the hottest number in town!" Rick stood up to defend her honor. The big bully smirked and knocked Rick out. Magnum stood up and said "what the hell!" and socked the guy. He turned his head back and punched Magnum, making him fall over comically. Higgins and T.C. got into the mix, and Higgy-baby yelled out "Hi-yah" as he attempted a Kung Fu move. The bully threw Higgins across the room. Everything breaks out into a big bar brawl, then it cuts to another scene: The gang hanging in front of the clu, sitting on the curb bruised and laughing about the whole ordeal. Where was the sirens of the approaching police?
Maybe they cut the scene because it doesn't make sense!
I just don't give a damn!

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#32 Post by MACattack »

P.S. I can't remember the name of the club. I'll watch the episode tonight, and blog it tomorrow. Peace out.
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Doc Ibold
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#33 Post by Doc Ibold »

MACattack wrote:To all those people who haven't seen the deleted bar scene: I'll explain because I have the original DVD when it came out in 2008.
Magnum, T.C., and Higgins took Rick out to a strip club for his bachelor party. He said: "Thanks guys for bringing me here!".
"Well it was your idea, Orville!" T.C. replied. Everybody was having a good time when Rick mentioned Cleo. A tall stranger with a moustache (played by Tim Russovich) said "Yeah, she's the hottest number in town!" Rick stood up to defend her honor. The big bully smirked and knocked Rick out. Magnum stood up and said "what the hell!" and socked the guy. He turned his head back and punched Magnum, making him fall over comically. Higgins and T.C. got into the mix, and Higgy-baby yelled out "Hi-yah" as he attempted a Kung Fu move. The bully threw Higgins across the room. Everything breaks out into a big bar brawl, then it cuts to another scene: The gang hanging in front of the clu, sitting on the curb bruised and laughing about the whole ordeal. Where was the sirens of the approaching police?
Maybe they cut the scene because it doesn't make sense!
When did they delete that bar scene? If they did... I'm glad I got MY version, cause I think thats one of the better parts of the finale... and Higgins even admits one of his stories was stupid.

I know the DVDs cut the ANNAPOLIS bar scene, but I didn't know they deleted the Hawaii one too.

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

No, only parts of the ANNAPOLIS bar scene were cut, not the strip club scene! No one in their right mind would cut the strip club scene! ;)
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#35 Post by Frodoleader »

James J. Walters wrote:No, only parts of the ANNAPOLIS bar scene were cut, not the strip club scene! No one in their right mind would cut the strip club scene! ;)
Yeah...the strip club scene...that was something else!!
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#36 Post by Jaybird »

I'm not sure why the reuniting with Linda Lee Ellison is in this episode unless it is to provide a reason for the quick trip back to Hawaii. Perhaps it is to provide some closure to this relationship in the last episode. Interesting, to me anyway, she bears a resemblence to Michelle. It also was necessary to have TM revisit Tidewater and reunite with his family and a small chance encounter in the O Club with a former classmate plays large in the final episode.
In general, an excellent episode but it pales in comparison to the finale.

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#37 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

I can’t believe it – the end of the series. I was very annoyed / disappointed that the DVD used the cut two-part syndicated version though!

[rating=7.5]

Magnum is visiting his family in Virginia, where he meets his grandfather, when Higgins calls him back to Hawaii after ex-girlfriend Linda Lee Ellison is attacked. Magnum also becomes convinced that daughter Lily is still alive. A shaky first half to the finale…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

Well… here it is. All good things must come to an end, and after eight (mostly) terrific seasons, it is the final curtain call for ‘Magnum, p.i.’.

There are so many directions the finale could have taken, and it would be impossible to please everyone. Even so, I feel that this first half of the closing story is very shaky and dragged out and doesn’t fully work – and reading around for other fans’ opinions, it seems I’m not alone.

I would have really liked Donald P. Bellisario (series co-creator and writer of some of the show’s all-time great episodes) to have penned this one, but it wasn’t to be.
While I hate to pick on one particular writer, this episode is co-written by Chris Abbott, and as I have commented in past reviews, I never fully liked the direction in which she took the series and the tone she set.

The story opens with Magnum paying a visit home to his family in Virginia, Tidewater. It re-creates the feeling of the sixth season episode ‘Going Home’, and is part of the reason that I am not over enthralled with this first half of the finale. Personally I never felt Magnum’s family were well cast or particularly interesting; but even beyond my own personal feelings on them, we have never seen enough of his family in the show’s run to really care; that wasn’t what the show was about.
If the writers felt need to re-visit the family by way of some sort of closure, I would have much preferred that they had worked this into the storyline of the penultimate episode – it would have sat much better than the shaky and rather odd ‘Transitions’ that was the actual penultimate story.
Far too much time is spent with Magnum’s family in this story, and it really makes the overall episode drag as a result. I would have far preferred the time to instead be used for more interaction with Higgins, T.C. and Rick; maybe one last visit to the King Kamehameha Club (which seems seldom seen down this end of the show’s run).

When Magnum finally does return to Hawaii, after an emergency phone call from Higgins, the story picks up a little, but is still uneven. It seems Magnum’s brief girlfriend Linda Lee Ellison (about whom Higgins has the unintentionally humorous line to Magnum “…I just received a call from a Linda Lee Ellison. She’s a television reporter you dated last year for a short time”, simply to remind viewers who she is!) is being stalked by a psychopath.

Ever since I first saw ‘Resolutions’ some years ago now, I wondered why of all characters, they chose to bring back Linda for the finale. Although she was okay in her original episode (season seven’s ‘Forty’), I felt that she and Magnum were ultimately little more than ships passing in the night, and should have left it at that. To me, it would have made much more sense to bring back Dana Delany as Magnum’s (sort of) fiancée Cynthia, from season seven’s feature-length ‘L.A.’ and the follow up ‘Out of Sync’ later that season. Although ‘L.A.’ is one of my far less favourite MPI stories, there was much more of a rapport between Magnum and Cynthia, and I would have bought into her return much more than with Linda.

Anyway, the rest of the first half spends its time between the Linda storyline, and Magnum becoming convinced that daughter Lily Catherine (whom it seemed in ‘Unfinished Business’ a few episodes previously, had been killed in a car bomb with mother Michelle), is still alive. But this half of the story is far too unfocused to fully work, and almost totally lacks the trademark MPI humour (thankfully this would return in the concluding part). ‘Resolutions’ is also one of the very few MPI stories that does not have any narration from Magnum.

As well as recording each episode off-air when Five broadcast them in 2002-3 (although the stories were sometimes edited for content), I bought all of the DVD releases as they came out. So I was VERY disappointed to find that the version of ‘Resolutions’ included on Season 8 was not the original feature-length version, but a two-part syndicated version, with several parts edited out. (Most notably in this first half, much more of the scene at the Military reunion was included in the original version).

All-in-all… as I say, there are many directions they could have taken, and it would be impossible to please everyone, but personally I don’t particularly like this first half of the finale. I’m amazed that, at time of writing (26th October 2009), this ranks on TV.com’s 10 highest rated episodes list. To me, it almost feels like one of the episodes from the show’s dodgy spell of seasons 5-6. The whole story we see here could easily have been done in 15 minutes. Thankfully, things really pick up in the final part.

Review continued in Part II…

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.: (some of these apply to both parts of the story)

* The original broadcast opening did not have any form of regular opening credits. Instead, before the episode title and guest star cast, the words ‘Magnum, p.i.’, ‘Starring Tom Selleck’, and so on, were included on the in-episode shots, of Magnum watching the Navy drill, before the guest cast credits appear.

* The in-episode credits in this episode unusually appear on the right; they are usually on the left.

* On the two-part DVD version (and presumably some syndicated versions), the version of opening credits used is from seasons 6-7, not season 8.

* Shavar Ross (Bryant) is unusually credited as Shavar M. Ross for this story.

* This is the only time in the show’s run, including her appearance as a different character in the third season’s ‘Almost Home’, that Kathleen Lloyd does not receive ‘Special Guest Star’ billing.

* Although not credited, Marta DuBois recorded a special reading of her final letter to Magnum heard in this story.

* This is one of the few episodes in which there is no narration from Magnum. The only other examples I can think of are: ‘The Big Blow’ (season 3), ‘One For All’ part one (season 5; part two has one single piece of narration at the very end); ‘Out of Sync’ (7); and ‘Unfinished Business’ (8, although we do hear Magnum’s readings of his ‘letters’ to Lily).

* As well as the reunion scenes in the bar, the DVD version also misses out a brief shot, lasting about 20-30 seconds, of Magnum driving to see DJ friend Dave, while we hear the end of a record and Dave talking. I’m not sure if this was removed for time, or so that the DVD producers didn’t have to pay clearance rights for another song.

* When Five broadcast this story in 2003, like the other feature-length stories (bar season two’s ‘Memories Are Forever’; and the Pilot, which they showed separately), they took the feature-length version and edited it into two parts themselves. This version had the original broadcast in-episode titles as opposed to an opening credits sequence (as mentioned above). It also contained the reunion scene which is missing from the DVD version. It ended at an earlier point than the DVD / syndicated version, with Maggie telling Magnum that she’ll try to help him find out about Lily, even if it’s just to bring some resolution to the matter. This is followed by a ‘To be continued…’ caption, followed by a ‘Tomorrow on Magnum’ preview of a couple of clips from the second half. As not to give away the final closing credits sequence, this version borrowed the closing credits (bar guest stars) from ‘Unfinished Business’.
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Carol the Dabbler
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#38 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

J.J. Walters wrote:Several minutes have been cut, including most of the Navy reunion scene at the Annapolis bar!
The bartender tells Magnum that the place is for officers only (or maybe it was just navy only), so I don't think it was a regular Annapolis bar, it was probably supposed to be the officer's club. And Magnum told Catherine that he had decided not to go to "the reunion" (whether high school or naval academy, I don't think was specified), so I assume that he was in the officer's club specifically to meet with the man he was talking with, presumably a naval officer.

golfmobile wrote:Duff was born in 1913 (not necessarily was TSMII born then, but it would have to be about then). Therefore, when our TM met him in 1988, TM was 44, and his "grandfather" was 75?? That just doesn't work ....
But TM had just had his 40th birthday the previous year (in "Forty"), so he's not 44 here, he's only just turning 41! *snicker*

MyGod! wrote:I ranked this episode fairly well almost entirely because of Linda Lee Ellison. .... and I was impressed that this actress from New Mexico could convincingly pull off playing a Chinese news reporter.
I, too, liked Linda Lee Ellison in this episode. I liked her in "Forty" also, but even better here. Did they ever state that LLE was supposed to be (part?) Chinese? If so, why the name Ellison? I will admit that she looks plausibly hapa haole. Since the actress's last name is Martinez, and as you say, she's from NM, I assume her ancestry is probably at least part "Native" North American -- which actually means that some of her remote ancestors did come from Asia!

N1095A wrote:... TM asks his mother if she remembered Maggie Poole. He then says he worked with her at Naval Intelligence. TM met Maggie in "Did You See The Sunrise?" long after he resigned from the Navy.
My take on this is that TM knows his mother wouldn't approve of his actual working relationship with Maggie (i.e., that she is his "snitch"), so he phrases it very carefully so that he's not exactly lying. They have sometimes worked together, and when they do, they're generally in the Naval Intelligence offices, so ....


I thought I remembered Howard Duff playing a private investigator on 50's tv, but I was confusing two series with somewhat similar names. Duff did, however, play Detective Sergeant Sam Stone on Felony Squad in the late 60's, and Sheriff Titus Semple on Flamingo Road in the early 80's -- so you could say that investigative work runs in the family!


Maybe I missed the explanation, but why is Linda Lee Ellison in the hospital when Magnum returns to Hawaii? She claims that she had thought someone was following her, but now realizes that she was mistaken. Was she injured in what she now believes to have been a mere accident? Or was she in the hospital because her nerves were worn to a frazzle? The police later refer to "both" times she was attacked, which has to be counting this as one time.


The car-door "click" in the video tape (NOT the enhanced audio tape) sounds MUCH louder and more distinctive to me here than it did in "Unfinished Business." I just played both scenes again to be sure, and even though I'm not nimble enough on the remote to do a really good A/B comparison, I'd swear there's quite a difference.

I'm thinking maybe the producers got to this episode and said, hey, nobody's going to hear that little click, we've gotta make it louder. But if it had been that loud in UB, Magnum would surely have noticed it then! And the way it is here makes it seem like he must have been an idiot NOT to have noticed it before. But they clearly had this story development in mind when they did UB, because of the "Bup be" business and the click (which was there, just softer).

I think it would have been better to leave the click soft, so maybe we think Magnum's hearing things out of wishful thinking, but after his engineer friend has enhanced the sound, then WE can hear it too.

ADDED A BIT LATER: It occurs to me that perhaps the click sounded louder to me in this episode because Magnum was listening for any such sound, and so had the volume turned up higher than before. I'm inclined to doubt that, because I had my volume turned up almost to maximum (for the same reason) and was sitting about two feet away from the set, so I assume if the tape was playing at higher volume in one scene than in the other, the louder one would have really blasted my eardrums. In the final analysis, however, I was not paying much attention to any loudness except for the click. And I would greatly appreciate a second opinion in any case.


I have a few more things to say about Part I, but in a way they're part of some things I want to say about Part II, so will hold off till that thread.
Carol

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#39 Post by timm525 »

Not one of the best that's for sure (in my opinion). I don't know if it was the disappointment build up that this was the end of the show for good or if it really was that weak of an ep.?

First of all the whole Tidewater bit never impressed me. His family was so-so and I always felt his mom was cast wrong. Don't know what right would have been but it was not her, or Frank Peterson either. I guess I just never accepted his whole family or the going home bit.

It seemed that the first half of this was just to bring back all the cast for one last time. The going home bit cut short by Higgin's call was just out of place. As someone stated, I'd preferred to see him at the club one last time on the beach with the gang.

The sub-plot with the girl (Chinese???) was really just something to fill up time I thought.

The second part was a lot better but I did not like the ending. It could have been done in so many different ways.

I guess I just didn't want to see it come to an end. :evil:
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German DVD set Resolutions part 1

#40 Post by bransonch »

I just watched the German DVD version of Resolutions part 1 and compared it to the US version--so I thought I'd mention a few of the many MISSING scenes or segments of scenes (I hope I got all of the important ones).

(1) EDITED scene: At the Annapolis reunion, a few seconds are cut of TM with old buddies, including Bryce (who approaches him later about re-upping). TM also chats with new-age pal Don at the reunion.
(2) EDITED scene: Rick and TM in the car: Rick tells TM his trouble with choosing a best man. In the longer version Rick's 3 musketeers story is significantly longer and explains who he is actually talking about--the US version comes in mid-story and his comments make little sense.
(3) MISSING scene: Higgins comes into the guest house and tells TM that no one has planned a bachelor party for Rick. TM hides the naval re-enlistment papers he is working on, and Higgins asks him what he is hiding. TM says it's a surprise.
(4) EDITED scene: TM drives onto the naval base while listening to "Uncle" Dave's radio show on his way to see Dave.
(5) MISSING scene: TM's audio engineer friend "Uncle" Dave calls TM with an update on his research.
(6) EDITED scene: There is a long segment of banter and conversation between TM, TC, and LLE in the chopper on the way to the falls. The US version leaves out almost or all of their pleasant conversation.
(7) There are many instances of just a few seconds being shaved from several scenes. Two that I noticed were (a) the first scene: the German version has an extended black screen (5-10 sec) and the sound of doors opening before LLE bursts out into the street; and (b) the US version of the final scene with LLE and the policeman in the rain has been cut a little. The policeman calls for "Max," his dog, in the German version, but not in the US one.

I would suggest to all of you fans who can, go online and buy the German versions. I will admit, I have only purchased Germany's season 8, so far, but their version seems to have all of the footage. US version of Resolutions I on DVD is 44min:45sec including opening (1min) and closing credits (are they also 1min?). German version is 48:10 with no closing credits (their version rolls right into part 2).

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#41 Post by InfinityandJellyDoughnuts »

J.J. Walters wrote:Wow, this is indeed the syndicated version of the series finale, not the original broadcast version! Several minutes have been cut, including most of the Navy reunion scene at the Annapolis bar! Grrrrrr! Why??? :evil:

"Part 1" of this finale is still just so-so for me. Loved the opening scenes with Magnum strolling around D.C. and Annapolis, but I still don't like the Tidewater scenes. Didn't like them in "Going Home", don't like them here.

I agree, Linda Lee? Why must they punish thee? I love that Higgins line though, when he tells Magnum she has called, "Sorry to interrupt your vacation, but I just received a call from a Linda Lee Ellison. She's a television reporter you dated last year for a short time. LOL! It's like they had to throw that in there to clarify to the audience just who she is and why she's returning at this critical time in the series!

Didn't remember Hal Williams making a brief appearance as "DJ Dave". Everytime I see that guy I shout out, "It's "Smitty" from Sanford & Son! ;)

Yes, this episode was pretty weak, all things considered, but Linda Lee Ellison? She just didn't fit. Maybe she was the only actress they could get to come back as one of his exes... but still. There was never that much chemistry between them, and it seemed even more strained in this episode. :roll:
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#42 Post by Danno »

Gah!

It's edited poorly, the pace is uneven, the narrative wanders and plods along. What IS this episode about?! :evil: There's no focus on anything.

Like Linda Lee Ellison, this episode makes me want to run out into the rain crying too.
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#43 Post by Doc Fred »

golfmobile wrote:What doesn't make sense here is Howard Duff as TM's grandfather. Duff was born in 1913 (not necessarily was TSMII born then, but it would have to be about then). Therefore, when our TM met him in 1988, TM was 44, and his "grandfather" was 75?? That just doesn't work, even give or take a few years. His grandfather should have been more than 31 years older than he was. A grandfather to a 44-year-old should be at least in his late 80s (particularly a military man who probably wasn't fathering children at age 20, and then his son fathered HIS son at age 20? TM's father hardly looked 26 when we saw him in "Home from the Sea") and a lot frailer than "The Captain." Duff looked and acted more like TM's father's age. Now, even Elisha Cook, IcePick, was born in 1903 and it would have been stretching it even to have someone of his generation as TM's grandfather. But he at least looks frail in the second part of these episodes.

Technically, I suppose, it's POSSIBLE, but it really doesn't follow the storyline of eight years, does it?

JMO

golf
I was having the same thoughts as I watched the show... kept saying that the ages weren't right. It's likely that a man of age 44 would have a grandfather who'd be AT LEAST 84, and probably in his 90's or more.

On the other hand, when I went to my 25th year high school reunion, one of the gals there proudly told me she was a great-grandmother, and she was 43 years old at the time. No kidding.
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#44 Post by Doc Fred »

lutherhgillis wrote:I think what happened is they were able to get Howard Duff so they found a way to use him. Magnum having a grandfather that is still globetrotting at that age is a little unbelievable. Also, they seem to rush him into the scene and then rush him out.

It does help explain why TM feels conflicted between having a sense of responsibility and being a 40-something adolescent.

I don't know about you guys but the entire tidewater crowd were a little 'under whelming' to me. It did explain, however, why TM only went home twice in 8 years...
It would have been realistic if Howard Duff was given the role as an uncle, not grandfather.
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#45 Post by Doc Fred »

IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:I found a flub I haven't seen mentioned before and, if it has, I apoligize. They throw Magnum a surprise birthday party. Well, it must have been a pretty cold August in Virginia for Magnum to have had on a sweater and leather jacket!
Clearly, the episode was filmed in the cold season. You can see that with the outside scenes in D.C.
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