A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
1
1%
9.5 (One of the Best)
3
4%
9.0 (Excellent)
2
3%
8.5 (Very Good)
10
14%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
18
25%
7.5 (Decent)
10
14%
7.0 (Average at Best)
14
20%
6.5 (Not So Good)
7
10%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
3%
5.0 (Just Awful)
4
6%
 
Total votes: 71

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Howland Owl
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#41 Post by Howland Owl »

Anything with Carol Burnett is bad! I never understood what people saw in her. Always overacting.

thechickinthemiddle
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#42 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

marlboro wrote:I don't think the Magnum writers really tapped into Burnett's comedic potential. I think it would have been interesting if, instead of going to the Lucky Steele school, Carol Burnett had become a protege of Luther Gillis. I think she would have been hilarious doing a 60 minute impersonation of Gillis.
LOL as amazing as that would have been, I don't think poor Magnum's head would be able to handle that! (Outside or inside :P )

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Tobi
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#43 Post by Tobi »

I don't know Carol Burnett outside of Magnum but I must say I didn't enjoy her in this episode - just too over the top.

I did enjoy two 308s together though.

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Stelth
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#44 Post by Stelth »

I agree. When I was 9, I thought Carol Burnett was funny...now I can't bear a minute of her. She's just not funny to me and I find her off putting.

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#1 Buzzettes Fan
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#45 Post by #1 Buzzettes Fan »

Julie Marsh and the turf roller scene were the only enjoyable things in this episode.

I not only never cared for Carol Burnett, it is painful for me to watch her. I have a similar reaction to Jerry Lewis. It's like I see how hard they're trying and I don't buy it.

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K Hale
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#46 Post by K Hale »

Turf roller scene was hilarious, even though it objectively makes very little sense and you can see the set up coming a mile away. I still enjoy it!
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brianw
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#47 Post by brianw »

Meh... I could do without this one. Not a Burnett fan at all.

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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#48 Post by Kevster »

brianw wrote:Meh... I could do without this one. Not a Burnett fan at all.
I was a Carol Burnett Show fan (syndicated "& Friends" skit show anyway) back in the 80's, but I concur on her as a guest on the show. Kind of a throw away episode in some ways. The previous one was marginally better, but still clunky by the show's typical standards.

It still surprises me that a show that had such quality (in so many ways) could really make some uninspiring decisions too. Hindsight may be 20/20, but the contrast in decision-making seems incompatible.
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brianw
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#49 Post by brianw »

Kevster wrote:
brianw wrote:Meh... I could do without this one. Not a Burnett fan at all.
I was a Carol Burnett Show fan (syndicated "& Friends" skit show anyway) back in the 80's, but I concur on her as a guest on the show. Kind of a throw away episode in some ways. The previous one was marginally better, but still clunky by the show's typical standards.

It still surprises me that a show that had such quality (in so many ways) could really make some uninspiring decisions too. Hindsight may be 20/20, but the contrast in decision-making seems incompatible.


They can't all be winners. And by season 8, there wasn't much left to do before ending the series.

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Re:

#50 Post by ez14. »

Jay-Firestorm wrote:Phew – I didn’t like this one and thought I was going to be in a small minority, but it seems this one didn’t go down that well with most other members either.

[rating=6.0]

Magnum is hired by a woman to find the missing will of her late father, recently killed in a boating accident. But he finds himself working against Susan Johnson, now a P.I. herself, who has been hired by the girl’s brother, in a family feud. Annoying…

-----

As soon as I saw the opening trailer for this episode, I instantly knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it. And how right I was!

The episode opens vaguely amusingly with Magnum trying to avoid a subpoena over an incident he has witnessed. However, this potentially enjoyable idea (it could have at least rounded out the final story as a b-plot) is soon forgotten as the main story gets underway.

Carol Burnett returns as Susan Johnson, first seen in the fourth season episode ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’. We find that since that appearance, Susan has become a trainee Private Investigator. As I said with my review of ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’, not being American, I wasn’t really sure who Carol Burnett is (until I read up on her), but I found her rather annoying in ‘Rembrandt’, and here, I find her downright terrible!

I’m sure Burnett can be funny with the right material (I’ve never seen any of her other work, so I can’t compare), but in this episode all she seems to do is talk loudly and wave her arms a lot and pull silly faces.

Even beyond Burnett, I find the whole plot of this episode uninteresting. Although there are some good episodes in the eighth, final season, often when watching them I can’t help but wish that they would stop going for so many half-hearted plots and give Magnum a case that both he, and us the viewers, can really get our teeth into.

Not much more to say on this one. I find it very annoying (mostly due to Carol Burnett, I’m afraid), and as such, it is one of my least watched episodes – I hadn’t seen it in YEARS until I came to review it – and it hasn’t got any better with age! I’d say this is the weakest episode of the final season.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* On the DVD version, listen carefully to the opening theme, around the spot where Larry Manetti’s credit comes up – the music ‘slips’ and goes wobbly for a moment. (I haven’t had time to check my broadcast version yet to see if it does the same thing).

* Another episode presumably produced before Pete Carpenter’s death, as it again credits both Mike Post and Carpenter as scoring the episode.

* Rick only appears in one scene in this episode, at the Club near the beginning.
I agree with you it was a bad episode! And no I have never seen a carol burnett that I liked

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KingKC
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Re: Re:

#51 Post by KingKC »

ez14. wrote:
Jay-Firestorm wrote:Phew – I didn’t like this one and thought I was going to be in a small minority, but it seems this one didn’t go down that well with most other members either.

[rating=6.0]

Magnum is hired by a woman to find the missing will of her late father, recently killed in a boating accident. But he finds himself working against Susan Johnson, now a P.I. herself, who has been hired by the girl’s brother, in a family feud. Annoying…

-----

As soon as I saw the opening trailer for this episode, I instantly knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it. And how right I was!

The episode opens vaguely amusingly with Magnum trying to avoid a subpoena over an incident he has witnessed. However, this potentially enjoyable idea (it could have at least rounded out the final story as a b-plot) is soon forgotten as the main story gets underway.

Carol Burnett returns as Susan Johnson, first seen in the fourth season episode ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’. We find that since that appearance, Susan has become a trainee Private Investigator. As I said with my review of ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’, not being American, I wasn’t really sure who Carol Burnett is (until I read up on her), but I found her rather annoying in ‘Rembrandt’, and here, I find her downright terrible!

I’m sure Burnett can be funny with the right material (I’ve never seen any of her other work, so I can’t compare), but in this episode all she seems to do is talk loudly and wave her arms a lot and pull silly faces.

Even beyond Burnett, I find the whole plot of this episode uninteresting. Although there are some good episodes in the eighth, final season, often when watching them I can’t help but wish that they would stop going for so many half-hearted plots and give Magnum a case that both he, and us the viewers, can really get our teeth into.

Not much more to say on this one. I find it very annoying (mostly due to Carol Burnett, I’m afraid), and as such, it is one of my least watched episodes – I hadn’t seen it in YEARS until I came to review it – and it hasn’t got any better with age! I’d say this is the weakest episode of the final season.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* On the DVD version, listen carefully to the opening theme, around the spot where Larry Manetti’s credit comes up – the music ‘slips’ and goes wobbly for a moment. (I haven’t had time to check my broadcast version yet to see if it does the same thing).

* Another episode presumably produced before Pete Carpenter’s death, as it again credits both Mike Post and Carpenter as scoring the episode.

* Rick only appears in one scene in this episode, at the Club near the beginning.
I agree with you it was a bad episode! And no I have never seen a carol burnett that I liked
I always thought Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were a lot funnier that Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence. Vicki Lawrence is pretty good in the new show "Kool Kids" but she has great support in her co-stars.

davko
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#52 Post by davko »

Surprised nobody has mentioned when the father who faked his own death says its interesting walking around after everyone thinks you're dead to see how everyone behaves. Clearly Magnum can relate to this, after the events of "Infinity & Jelly Doughnuts" !! Great moment there.

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Aloha Friday
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#53 Post by Aloha Friday »

I do not like the episodes with Carol Burnett...too campy. This one was especially bad with the plastic trench coats and knock-off Remington Steele investigator kit. Dopey.
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charybdis1966
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Re: A Girl Named Sue (8.7)

#54 Post by charybdis1966 »

This is another episode I’m seeing for the first time and after a gut load of Baldwin in the previous episode I was quite easy to please.
Yes the plot looked a bit rehashed from time to time ( I still liked the thinking out loud from both PI’s while working on the case, namely “I know what you’re thinking…” from CB then TM) and a lot of all round goofiness but I had a chuckle and did find Shelly Smith pleasing to the eye - particularly in her final scene.

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