Unfinished Business (8.8)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
37
29%
9.5 (One of the Best)
59
47%
9.0 (Excellent)
9
7%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
9%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
5
4%
7.5 (Decent)
2
2%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
2%
 
Total votes: 126

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Agatha
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#51 Post by Agatha »

No, he wears it throughout the episode. At least I see it whenever he isn't dressed up to promote the Adventure idea.

It occurred to me that maybe they filmed The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company before they filmed Unfinished Business...but then it would have been a HUGE flub to air it AFTER they had already established that Thomas "took off" his MIA bracelet in Unfinished Business. For good, I mean.

So I kind of assumed that you were mistaken. However...I haven't seen the rest of Season 8 yet so you know better than I do about whether or not he wears the bracelet in the rest of the episodes.

Interesting....very interesting...

:)
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Carmen
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#52 Post by Carmen »

...indeed... :?
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Jay-Firestorm
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#53 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

Wednesday’s review.

[rating=9.5]

Magnum prepares for the trial of Quang Ki, who tried to kill both him and Michelle. But when the case is unexpectedly dismissed, Magnum receives a videotape showing terrible information about Michelle and daughter Lily, and goes out for revenge. A great ep…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

Although most episodes of ‘Magnum, p.i.’, while maintaining a lot of continuity, are very much ‘stand alone’ stories, ‘Unfinished Business’ concludes a on-going plot, tying up the seventh season’s finale ‘Limbo’ and the season eight opener ‘Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts’, although the threads of it go even further back, to the classic second season feature-length / two-parter ‘Memories Are Forever’.

As I mentioned on my review for ‘Limbo’, when Five here in the U.K. ran the series each weekday morning in 2002-3, I had never seen this far down the show’s run. I religiously both watched and videotaped each day’s episode, but a couple of minutes into the key episode ‘Limbo’, the street was hit by a power cut and I missed it! As a result of that, I was unable to fully follow ‘Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts’ and unable to fully get my teeth into ‘Unfinished Business’. It’s not until watching the series on DVD that I am finally able to follow the story right though and get into it more.

Quang Ki’s case suddenly being dropped comes as a surprise, but is nothing compared to the terrible moment when Magnum watches the videocassette sent to him and sees Michelle and Lily Catherine blown up in a car bomb.

This episode is a favourite with many fans, and I have to agree it is a very good one. Seeing Magnum breaking every rule and law imaginable to plan the killing of Quang Ki is excellent (although he must have been *really good* to walk onto a Military base undetected!), and the moment at the end where he can’t bring himself to take a pot shot at Ki, realising the political implications it would have in the P.O.W. return programme, is a powerful one.

Many fans rank this amongst their all-time favourite episodes – indeed, at time of writing (October 2009), it ranks first place on the Top 10 most popular episodes on TV.com; personally, I really like it, although am not sure if it would quite scrape my personal Top 10; Top 20 possibly. (For the record, as I’ve mentioned in a number of previous reviews, my personal all-time favourite MPI episode is the classic fourth season opener ‘Home From the Sea’). But even so, I really like ‘Unfinished Business’ – it is a strong contender as best episode of the eighth, final season, and showcases MPI at it’s best.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* It’s returned – more abridged act breaks, aaargh. (Okay, little things like that bug me!)

* This episode features no narration as such from Magnum, but we do hear his letters to Lily Catherine.

* A document in this story is dated Mon 18 1988 – Which would seem to be two days before this episode originally aired.

* Rick only appears in one scene (well, two, if you count inside and outside the courtroom separately) in this story.
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J.J. Walters
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#54 Post by J.J. Walters »

What kind of rifle does Magnum use in this episode?

Image

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#55 Post by MaximRecoil »

James J. Walters wrote:What kind of rifle does Magnum use in this episode?
It is a Steyr SSG 69 with a butter knife bolt handle and double set triggers, probably chambered for the .308 Winchester cartridge (commercial version of the military 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge).

Here is one that also has a butter knife bolt handle and double set triggers:

Image

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J.J. Walters
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#56 Post by J.J. Walters »

You're the man Max! Thank you so much. :)

So, this is an Austrian rifle? It doesn't appear to be very common in the U.S., correct?

I wonder why The Mag is using this particular sniper rifle? :?
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#57 Post by MaximRecoil »

James J. Walters wrote:You're the man Max! Thank you so much. :)

So, this is an Austrian rifle? It doesn't appear to be very common in the U.S., correct?

I wonder why The Mag is using this particular sniper rifle? :?
Yes, it is Austrian. In fact, you can just barely make out "Made in Austria" in those screen shots.

It is a very nice rifle, and they are generally very accurate out of the box (1/2 MOA is common). I don't believe they have ever been officially issued by the U.S. Military (they've used e.g., the Winchester Model 70, Remington Model 700, M1 Garand, M14 as "sniper rifles"), but Special Operations Forces may have more leeway when it comes to selecting their weapons than the typical GI does.

Former U.S. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Jeff Cooper (now deceased) was quite fond of the Steyr rifles. He worked with them to realize his concept of the "Scout Rifle", which Steyr now sells as the "Steyr Scout".

Cooper was quite influential in the gun world. He is the one that published the "Mozambique Drill" (mentioned by Higgins in "Mad Buck Gibson"). He was also the man behind the "Bren Ten" (Sonny Crockett's pistol in Miami Vice) and its 10mm cartridge; a 10mm pistol which was based on the legendary CZ-75 platform (which Cooper also helped to popularize).

Cooper was most famous for his promotion of the 1911 platform and its native .45 ACP cartridge for use in close quarters combat. He had a training school called "Gunsite" and also offered a specially customized 1911 (usually based on a Colt or Springfield) called the "Gunsite Service Pistol". We know that Magnum agreed with him on the 1911 .45.

Maybe someone involved with the show (perhaps Selleck himself) payed attention to Jeff Cooper and made some suggestions; though he often violated Cooper's "Golden Rule" of firearms safety:
Keep your finger off the trigger till your sights are on the target. This is the Golden Rule. Its violation is directly responsible for about 60 percent of inadvertent discharges.

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Agatha
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#58 Post by Agatha »

I have no clue about why I'm posting to a discussion about guns...which I know nothing about...but don't I remember that Thomas took that gun from Buck's gun cabinet? I mean his personal gun cabinet? While he was "ghosting" into everyone's houses trying to figure out what happened with Ki's trial? Yes? No?

And...Magnum may have have violated Cooper's Golden Rule but I'm sure I remember Jesse Stone teaching Suitcase about it. Aren't I? Sure, I mean? The quote in the post is SO familiar. I just feel that Jesse says that to Suitcase while they're practicing on the target range right after he becomes Chief in Paradise.

Oh good. An excuse to watch Night Passage again!!

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J.J. Walters
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#59 Post by J.J. Walters »

Ah, you're right Agatha! I totally forgot about that! :oops:

So I wonder why Buck has that rifle? Seems an odd choice for a Marine Colonel, but what do I know.
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Agatha
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#60 Post by Agatha »

You know A LOT, James!!

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#61 Post by MACattack »

Selleck really shows his NRA roots in his acting roles. You got to respect a man who stands up for his convictions. Who cares what that bioch Rosie o'donnel thinks!
I just don't give a damn!

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#62 Post by Agatha »

Here's the quote that I think Tom took from Cooper's Golden Rule.

Night Passage...Jesse and Suitcase are out at the gravel pit shooting targets. After Suitcase finishes firing, Jesse says:

Good. Holster your weapon. You might want to get in the habit of keeping your finger outside the trigger guard? If you're handling a suspect, you might get a sympathetic response and shoot somebody.

Speaking of shooting somebody...I think Rosie has shot off her mouth several times too often...and ended up shooting her career in the foot! She shoulda known better than to mess with our Tom!!

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#63 Post by IKnowWhatYoureThinking »

I think it just shows how well respected Selleck is in Hollywood that he can have the convictions he has and still land roles. I think for someone like him people see the person and not the political views. Needless to say I see my views far more in line with Tom's than Rosie's :D

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#64 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

At one point in this episode, Buck Greene addresses Maggie as "Commander Poole." I think this really nails down the question of the correct way to address a Lt. Commander. I've also posted this info where the question was raised, on the "Infinity and Jelly Donuts" thread.

Agatha wrote:I watched The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company today. It's the episode just AFTER Unfinished Business. Thomas is wearing an MIA bracelet. I don't know if he went back and picked up the one he took off or got another one but he's wearing it.
Thanks for posting that Agatha. When Magnum started to walk away from his sniper's nest (after NOT shooting Quang Ki), I was watching to see whether he would stop for the bracelet. Although they did not show him picking it up, the scene ended before he had gotten very far, leaving me with the impression that he COULD have retrieved it. It would have been a nice touch to show him doing that, though.
Carol

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#65 Post by MACattack »

People still wear the MIA bracelets today. The lost soldiers of Nam will never be forgotten.
I just don't give a damn!

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