Forever in Time (8.5)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the eighth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
3
4%
9.5 (One of the Best)
0
No votes
9.0 (Excellent)
4
6%
8.5 (Very Good)
20
29%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
12
17%
7.5 (Decent)
15
22%
7.0 (Average at Best)
7
10%
6.5 (Not So Good)
3
4%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
3
4%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
3%
 
Total votes: 69

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golfmobile
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#11 Post by golfmobile »

RC,

WOW! But you're right -- so sad! I just hate it when historic houses are torn down.

But love the print of the tract of "magnificent residence S-U-B-R-U-B" [sic] for College Hill! SL, chalk on blackboard!! :lol: :lol:

golf
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rubber chicken
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#12 Post by rubber chicken »

Maybe in the old days that's how it was. :P

You say suburban, I say subruban, hehe.

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Italian Ice
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#13 Post by Italian Ice »

Does anyone know if Gladice Shippell (or however it's spelt) is a real author of Hawaiian History? Couldn't find anything online so I assume it's made up. It's in the scene where TM sees Higgins after getting beaten up

"The Islands foremost expert on Hawaiian History" as TM reads on the book that Higgins is hiding. I wonder if anyone can recommend a well known book on Hawaiian history?
Higgins: " Dispatch the pig!!! "

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SelleckLover
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#14 Post by SelleckLover »

Italian Ice wrote:I wonder if anyone can recommend a well known book on Hawaiian history?

I would highly recommend a book by James Michener titled Hawaii. It is a novel, but he does meticulous research and you learn about the history of the Islands in an entertaining way. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Hawaii-Novel-Jame ... 115&sr=8-2

Here's another Amazon link you might be interested in:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url ... &x=14&y=14

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IslandHopper
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#15 Post by IslandHopper »

Italian Ice wrote:I wonder if anyone can recommend a well known book on Hawaiian history?
I too would recommend Hawaii by James Michener. It's amazing. My favorite book.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#16 Post by A P Leyland »

Very dull. Just got back from holiday and didn't remember watching it!

Andy

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Jay-Firestorm
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#17 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

I don’t dislike this one, but found it a bit slow.

[rating=7.5]

Thomas finds himself watching a funeral where he spots a beautiful woman. But soon after, he learns that she resembles a Hawaiian princess who was killed a mysterious fire in 1910 – a death that he somehow seems intertwined with. Fair but slow…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

Ah, ‘Magnum, p.i.’ – it always cheers me up. When I came to watch this episode to review the following day, I had had a bad day for various reasons, and really wasn’t in the mood to watch much TV. But – even though this isn’t one of my favourite episodes – by a couple of minutes in, I was feeling much happier.

This is the last in an occasional line of ‘ghost stories’ in the show, stretching back to the second season’s enjoyable ‘The Woman on the Beach’, and also including season six’s ‘Rapture’, not to mention several encounters with the ghost of Mac. However, unlike those earlier stories, most of this one is explained away as not being supernatural – although there are still some unexplained plot points.

The backdrop for the episode is Higgins putting on another high-class show, in this case a Historical Society Pageant. The “putting on a show” plot device has been used in several episodes, such as the fourth season’s (much underrated) ‘Let the Punishment Fit the Crime’. In this episode, most of the humour subplot comes from Rick and T.C. trying to get a model volcano to explode properly.

It is nice to see a story that involves a Hawaiian history setting – although there is the odd such thread woven into various episodes, the only real episodes that use it to any notable extent are the second season’s ‘Dead Man’s Channel’ and season seven’s ‘Kapu’. Although maybe it would have become a bit repetitive to do it regularly, it is a setting that maybe would have been nice to utilise a bit more often.

Anyway, the plot itself is a fair one, but personally I find it a bit slow, not to mention a bit confusing and unclear in places. I don’t dislike this episode, but at the same time it feels that it should somehow come off better than it ultimately does.
The climax of the story, with Magnum and the possible princess in the fire, is quite good, although I found it little surprise who the culprit behind the trouble was – the fact that he just happened to be involved with the running of the pageant seemed a little over convenient to me.

In its own way, this is actually quite a nice story, but I don’t think they fully captured what they were going for, and it’s not really one of my favourites.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* I notice that both Mike Post and Pete Carpenter were credited as doing the music for this episode; I wonder / presume if this one was produced before Pete Carpenter was taken ill and sadly died soon after?

* Incorrect blooper: Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.

* I know I’m probably a bit behind here, but I never really realised before this episode that ‘Sullivan’ is part of Magnum’s family name, not a middle name. I think it was mentioned in the second season’s ‘The Jororo Kill’ something about Kate “coming from the Sullivan side”, but I never fully cottoned on to it.
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J.J. Walters
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#18 Post by J.J. Walters »

Jay-Firestorm wrote:* Incorrect blooper: Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.
Upon further review, I believe you are correct Jay! I've removed the flub.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Carol the Dabbler
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#19 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

All I can say is, life sure was cheap back in the 80's -- Keyes is planning to off his wife for a measly 500 grand?!?

I liked the way that almost everything turned out to be just part of Keyes's plot -- but there was still a little bit of spookiness left unexplained. I see this originally aired on November 11 -- I wonder whether they considered showing it a week or two earlier, as a Halloween episode?

Shermy wrote:As noted, one of the most interesting elements is Magnum's altered perception of the photograph.
Jay-Firestorm wrote:Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.
I'm so lousy at recognizing faces that -- even though I could tell that they were trying to make some kind of point -- I didn't notice any difference between the photographs. I assume it would be obvious if I could see them side by side, but of course they never showed them together, since they were supposed to be actually the same.

Jay-Firestorm wrote:I never really realised before this episode that ‘Sullivan’ is part of Magnum’s family name, not a middle name.
You were right the first time, Jay. We Yanks don't generally have double-barrelled surnames. So Thomas's surname is not Sullivan-Magnum, just Magnum. It is fairly common, however, for an American to be given their mother's maiden name as their middle name, which seems to be the case here.

As I mentioned in the "Aunt Who Came to Dinner" thread, I've been interested in the Magnum / Sullivan family tree ever since Hubby and I used to watch the show on cable syndication. Maybe some day I'll go through and catalog the various family references in all the episodes. But this one certainly makes it clear that TM's middle name came from Katherine's ancestry. I can't say for certain that it was her maiden name, however (unless that was explicitly stated elsewhere), because some families show a particular affinity for a surname that was actually a few generations back (my own mother's family, for example).
Carol

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Italian Ice
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#20 Post by Italian Ice »

I was looking up some info on one of Clint Eastwoods movies "Hereafter" and found this..

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.de ... l?nav=5016


You will notice the 2 people standing next to Clint were on this episode....a certain real life couple. Still around and are now stunt coordinators!
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Carol the Dabbler
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#21 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Italian Ice wrote:I was looking up some info on one of Clint Eastwoods movies "Hereafter" and found this..

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.de ... l?nav=5016


You will notice the 2 people standing next to Clint were on this episode....a certain real life couple. Still around and are now stunt coordinators!
Nice job of spotting, Italian Ice!

Doesn't look like the "princess" has changed much since '87 -- maybe she really is timeless!
Last edited by Carol the Dabbler on Mon Jan 24, 2011 3:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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J.J. Walters
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#22 Post by J.J. Walters »

Neither has Bobby Sixkiller! Wayne Newton-esque he is! :)
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Carol the Dabbler
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#23 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Better watch those adjectives, James!
Last edited by Carol the Dabbler on Tue Feb 08, 2011 8:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#24 Post by J.J. Walters »

What? I'm not following you Carol. :?

I'm just saying Branscombe looks a little like Mr. Newton, and he doesn't appear to age. He sings, too. ;)
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Carol the Dabbler
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#25 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

I don't watch much tv these days, so my initial reaction dates back to Mr. Newton's early days as a young performer, when he did not project a particularly he-man image.

However, from what little I've seen of him lately, he does seem to have grown up! I would say that he has definitely aged, and for the better.

So I would not think of the 70's Wayne Newton as an apt comparison for a stunt man, nor would I think of the long-term Wayne Newton as an example of agelessness. I guess each of us has our own personal set of stock comparisons!
Carol

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