Legend of the Lost Art (8.10)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
13
14%
9.5 (One of the Best)
4
4%
9.0 (Excellent)
20
22%
8.5 (Very Good)
8
9%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
10
11%
7.5 (Decent)
8
9%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
3%
6.5 (Not So Good)
12
13%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
6
7%
5.0 (Just Awful)
6
7%
 
Total votes: 90

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AJL
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#41 Post by AJL »

Haha, I thought this one was embarrassingly bad at times, and I rated it "pretty bad". I know the common consensus is that Magnum P.I. never jumped the shark, but this episode sure seems close to me. Since when did Magnum P.I. turn into a tacky, unfunny parody show???
Anyway a lot of people seems to be enjoying this episode, so maybe it is just me :)

EDIT: Oh by the way, here is a review of the Atari Indy game you guys were talking about, by the Angry Video Game Nerd:
http://screwattack.com/AVGN/2008/Indy
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

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lutherhgillis
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#42 Post by lutherhgillis »

Cheers AJL,

I may not think this one is a jump but I agree it is a hop. They did not do this for ratings or to hang onto a losing show for one more season (that's why it is not a jump). They did this just to have fun and because the writing and the series direction had suffered a lack of clarity in everyones' minds IMHO. This one is a stand alone episode. I think it was for laughs only. I enjoyed the sense of adventure but I admit that it was pretty silly.

Would TS have made a great Indiana Jones? I'm not sure. I believe he probably would have. Could Harrison Ford have made a great TM? Maybe so. The two are similar in their acting styles to me. For me, for you, for them, for me, for Randy Jackson, I would say TS could have been a huge star in the Indy films and that HF could have been huge in MPI.

Thoughts?
Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

AJL
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#43 Post by AJL »

lutherhgillis wrote: I may not think this one is a jump but I agree it is a hop. They did not do this for ratings or to hang onto a losing show for one more season (that's why it is not a jump). They did this just to have fun and because the writing and the series direction had suffered a lack of clarity in everyones' minds IMHO. This one is a stand alone episode. I think it was for laughs only. I enjoyed the sense of adventure but I admit that it was pretty silly.
I agree with you on this.
I guess its just a hit or miss episode for most people.
I for myself, could not picture MPI having the same success with Ford as TM, but hey, you never know :)
As far as Indy Jones goes, I guess Selleck could have pulled it off just as good as Ford, but I'm not really a big Indiana Jones fan (which maybe one of the reasons for my lukewarm opinion on this episode), so I don't know.
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

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gmt16750
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#44 Post by gmt16750 »

Hillerman could have been an amazing inspecteur Clouzeau (Pink Panther french inspector) with french accent this time ;)
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Agatha: Why does he always do that, Jonathan?
Higgins: I don't know, Agatha. I think sometimes our creator is testing me. Indeed it could be for no other reason. If i thought otherwise i believe i truly would go irrevocably irretrievably mad!

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Zudobug
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#45 Post by Zudobug »

I thought this episode was just plain silly. A show that largely portrays itself as a serious show (serious as far as TV detective shows go anyway) should never make a parody episode. It just makes it the laughing stock of TV land and the reputation of the show suffers as a result.

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Jay-Firestorm
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#46 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

A nice fun episode – can’t believe I’ve only got a couple more to go now!

[rating=9.0]

Higgins wants Magnum to find the ‘Lost Art of the Ancients’, a priceless ancient scroll created by an ancient advanced culture, but the search turns dangerous thanks to several other parties who are also determined to get their hands on the scroll. Great fun…

-----

‘Legend of the Lost Art’… one of the most well known and best remembered stories of the final season of ‘Magnum, p.i.’.

For those who don’t know the story, Tom Selleck was originally to have played Indiana Jones in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (filmed 1980, released 1981). However, filming conflicted with the beginning of ‘Magnum’, and he had to choose between the two. Of course, he chose MPI, but ironically, the filming of MPI was delayed until late 1980 due to a writer’s strike, which meant that he would have been free to play Indy anyway!
By way of compensation, and to have fun with what might have been, with the end of the series nigh, this spoof episode was made.

I have heard (or read) some who consider this to be the single greatest episode of MPI. While it is very good, I wouldn’t personally consider it the best ever – it is great fun, but personally I can think of other episodes that appeal to me even more.

At the same time, I think a few people misunderstand this episode, and that it is a deliberate spoof of ‘Raiders…’. Maybe you need to know the story of Selleck *almost* being Indiana Jones to fully appreciate it.

That said, there are some great set pieces. Although I don’t watch the series simply for episode after episode of gun-toting action, one of the things I did feel was missing from later in the show’s run was action and adventure; thankfully, this episode redresses that gripe somewhat.

Amusingly, a number of movies are mentioned within the episode, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ is never referenced by name once. A humorous running gag throughout the story is the ‘Lost Art’ continually being wrongly referred to as the ‘Lost Ark’.

I do like this episode; I like it a lot. The only two things I would say against it are that it takes its time to really find it’s footing, and at a couple of points, the plot seems to be shoehorned around the action set pieces. I wonder if it had come from the ‘golden age’ of MPI (third / fourth season) whether it would then be my single favourite episode? (No, I have a feeling the fourth season’s classic opener ‘Home From the Sea’ would still rank as number one in my book).

All-in-all, this is a really fun episode, and I’m glad they made it. Part of me feels that my 9.0 rating is slightly harsh; but I still think it is a fair rating for a very good story.

-----

* Despite Pete Carpenters death, both he and partner Mike Post are still credited as providing the music. It’s weird – from memory, I remembered only Mike Post being credited on the last few episodes; I guess both of their names still remained.

* More abridged act breaks on the DVD version – one in particular crashes into the next act really clumsily!

* When the boat explodes out of the, the initial far off shot clearly has an explosion effect placed over the top of the film. Cut to close up, which is presumably a smaller scale model.

* If I may mention that other favourite show of mine for a moment, after Tom Selleck being initial choice for Indiana Jones, and Harrison Ford second, I’ve heard rumour that third choice was Dirk “The Faceman” Benedict. Just how true it is, I don’t know.
JAY FIRESTORM

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#47 Post by Bes »

I love Magnum and enjoy nearly all of the episodes except for a few and I thought this was one of the worst episodes of the series; it's in my bottom 5 actually. :(

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#48 Post by MACattack »

Every time I watch this episode, I pretend it's an alternate universe and Selleck really is Indiana Jones. But, its very hard to imagine Harrison Ford as Magnum!
I just don't give a damn!

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#49 Post by Little Garwood »

"Legend of the Lost Art" is just too much fun for me not to vote it as "Perfect"! It's an eighth season free-for-all, with enough sly asides and goofy jokes to keep me smiling throughout. Every time I see it I'm reminded that Tom was "The Man Who Would Be Indiana Jones." I love how he tosses the jacket and asks Higgins why he had to wear the hat, to which Higgins--in typically brilliant JH delivery--quickly says, "to kep the sun out of your eyes." The slightest hesitation in Hillerman's delivery of the line is hilarious!

I was inspired to watch this episode because I recently picked up an omnibus of Marvel Comics' 1980s Further Adventures of Indiana Jones, which are being reprinted by Dark Horse Comics. Fond memories of these childhood favorites.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

MACattack
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#50 Post by MACattack »

I think the Detroit Tigers hat looks better on Tom instead of the Indiana Jones hat! Just a fashion sense, Selleck could have done the role just as well as Harrison Ford. But, there's no way anybody else could ever play Magnum half as well as TS!
I just don't give a damn!

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Carol the Dabbler
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Re: Legend of the Lost Art (8.10)

#51 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

[from Episode Note 1] The episode of commonly referred to as "The Raiders of the Lost Ark Episode".
I think that's a typo, James -- the first "of" should probably be "is" or "was."

[from Episode Note 3] In attempting to figure out Peter Ridley-Smythe's plan, several classic movies are mentioned [including] ... Perils of Nyoka, aka "Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates" (1942).
I believe I've spotted a flub here, though I'll admit it's only a technicality. Magnum says that when he and his fourth-grade classmates watched Nyoka and the Lost Secrets of Hippocrates, they all thought Nyoka had died at the end of Chapter Four -- until it was revealed the following Saturday that she had actually jumped out of the chariot just before it went over the cliff. Clearly, they were watching the 1942 Republic serial. The only problem is, the title of the serial was Perils of Nyoka. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide (I have the 1993 edition), the Hippocrates title was used for a feature-length version re-edited from the serial.

But it just now occurred to me that I can let Magnum (and the writers!) off the hook -- we had already seen him watching what could well have been Hippocrates on his tv. Maybe he said to himself, "Hey, I remember this -- I saw it in fourth grade!" Since he had forgotten the title of the serial, he assumed that it was the same as on his feature-length copy.

[from Episode Note 4] The scroll ... was created by a highly advanced prehistoric group of people ("of small size & gargantuan intellect") called "The Ancients".
This is apparently a reference to the Menuhune.

[from Episode Note 8] Out of the blue "Bogie Rick" returns, complete with white tux and cigarette.
But in this campy episode, it fits so well that I didn't even notice it!

Tralfaz wrote:... while paying homage to Raiders they go out of their way to show Magnum clearly never thinking of it as the obvious film being emulated by Ridley-Smythe
Actually, I believe that he does, he just "isn't allowed" to say it. When Connie asks how come he's making the torch out of her clothes instead of his own, he says, "Because I've seen the movie." And just before that, he had said that he had figured out which movie it was. He had mentioned the titles of all his previous guesses -- but not that final one.

lutherhgillis wrote:Would TS have made a great Indiana Jones? .... Could Harrison Ford have made a great TM? .... I would say TS could have been a huge star in the Indy films and that HF could have been huge in MPI.
I think they could each have been excellent in the other role -- but each of the characters would have changed considerably.

*************

At the beginning of the episode, when TM is going through various parts of the tunnel on his way to the burial chamber, he enters a small room with bats in it. One or more bats fly out past him, but one is left circling in the room. It sure looks to me like it's a fake bat (duh!) tied to a string, being whirled in a circle by a propman on a ladder!


As the chopper approaches the camp by air, we can very clearly see a clearing with a number of structures in it. But once Magnum & Co. are walking around within the camp, everything seems to be covered with camouflage netting. Is that a discrepancy-type flub -- or did the baddies simply do a lousy job with the netting?
Last edited by Carol the Dabbler on Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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J.J. Walters
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Re: Legend of the Lost Art (8.10)

#52 Post by J.J. Walters »

Carol the Dabbler wrote:
[from Episode Note 4] The scroll ... was created by a highly advanced prehistoric group of people ("of small size & gargantuan intellect") called "The Ancients".
This is apparently a reference to the Menuhune.
Interesting! :)
In the experimental 1970s Aloha network developed at the University of Hawaii, the packet controllers were called Menehune, a pun on the equivalent IMP (Interface Message Processor) in the early ARPAnet.
The IT guy in me is screaming with laughter! :)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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timm525
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#53 Post by timm525 »

This was a kinda silly but yet a very fun ep.

I too have/had the Indy game on my Atari 64. I have to go up in the attic and dig that sucker out and see if it still works.

The girl was hot!!! Too bad she wasn't in more eps. I think she would have made a great mommy for Lilly.

Loved the Higgins' "hi-ya" as he gives his "love tap" to the bad guy at the King Kam club. I bust a gut every time I see him do that. And his expression is so serious like he actually believes that "tap" will be anything more than a mosquito attack. :lol:

At the estate when TM and Connie kiss, notice that their heads are almost evenly aligned with her slightly lower. My first thought was wow! He's 6'4" and not even bending down to kiss her, she must be a giant! Then in the next scene you see them walking arm in arm on the beach and you can see his chin is over the top of her head. Obviously she was standing on quite a platform to meet his height or else they dug a hole for him!

The shoot out at the estate was good in that TC actually had the forethought to raise the shot gun up instead of crossing TM's body with it after Higgins was shot. You don't always see that detail with guns in TV. Especially back then.

Also got a kick out of TM dropping Riddley Smythe in the tent. Smythe puts up his dukes and TM pops him with a left. That was too funny.

Loved how TM tries to get the guy with the whip but it is too short and he missed and TC shoots the guy instead. Loved the look TC had, rolled his eyes and shook his head as TM says "worked before".

Higgins: "That's it. We've found it. The Ark..."
TM: "Art...Don't you mean Art, Higgins? The lost Art?"
Higgins: "Of course I do. The lost Art is in the Ark."

The match sticks in Higgin's toes was too much not to mention TM's machine gun was empty.

All in all this was a very comical ep. I really enjoyed it. It is in my top 10.
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#54 Post by steveadl »

Had it's funny parts, but not a huge fan of this episode.

Very contrived and movie like in parts - which is fine, I know that's what they were going for. But then to me it would have made more sense to make it all a dream sequence or some other sort of alternate realityy for the episodes sake. So much of the episode was too outlandish to have supposed to be really taking place in the actual lives/Magnum universe of the characters.

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Carol the Dabbler
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#55 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

You're right, Steve -- it would have been much more "believable" as a dream!

Maybe it was a dream, and they simply neglected to show us the part where Magnum wakes up. (Or Higgins, or whoever's dream it was.)




Or maybe the entire series was just a TV show. :wink:
Carol

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