Innocence... A Broad (8.3)

[rubber chicken]

I didn't mean to put down your investigative skills, hehe. It's cool that it's still a Safeway - the "Day-n-Dark" location is no longer a convenience store but we can visit this location as a substitute. I wonder if they carry Fig Newtons? I'll leave that as an open mission to anyone traveling to Oahu, should anyone choose to accept.

The great thing about slasher & horror movies of the 80s is that even though people die etc., they mostly had a good heart underneath. Some good comedy was often included and other aspects made for a reassuring "we're having fun" kind of attitude. Like you said, today's horror movies are different, more realistic and more serious, and with a mean attitude. Even crime shows on TV are more realistic and gruesome. Which explains in part why I don't watch much of today's TV or movies.


Edit: I remembered after writing about Born Yesterday that the self made man was in scrap metal, instead of garbage. At least that's what I'm thinking now.

[rubber chicken]

I saw The House on Sorority Row last night. Not bad if you like 80s horror, it was a little better than I expected, and in general I'm not a big fan of horror. BTW I joked about nudity in an above post but there were only a few brief shots in the movie, Janis Ward not being one of them (not that it's important to me either way, honestly!)

Janis Ward is one of seven sorority sisters who all get about equal time in the movie except one who is featured more prominently in the story. Meaning most of the girls are in and out of the story-line but mainly as a group, until it's their time to, umm, exit stage left.

Here's the group before things start to go wrong. Janis is second from right.


Debating what to do with a stiff:


And shortly after pushing a dumpster into a police car (there may or may not be a dead body inside the dumpster, my lips are sealed):

[J.J. Walters]

Wow, 1983 Janis Ward looks a lot different than 1987 Janis Ward! :shock

[N1095A]

I sincerely hope someone in wardrobe was fired for this:

[golfmobile]

N1095A,

What? You can't wear that outfit and get away with it??? (Larry would because his couture skills are about as good as his golf drive -- and he's oblivious to his appearance. I think being able to wear something like this outfit is attributable to either a great deal of confidence or a great deal of unawareness [if that's a word . . . . ]!)


"It takes a REAL man to wear [baby] pink [and baby blue at the same time]."



golf

[N1095A]

N1095A,

What? You can't wear that outfit and get away with it??? (Larry would because his couture skills are about as good as his golf drive -- and he's oblivious to his appearance. I think being able to wear something like this outfit is attributable to either a great deal of confidence or a great deal of unawareness [if that's a word . . . . ]!)


"It takes a REAL man to wear [baby] pink [and baby blue at the same time]."



golf

The colors are bad enough, but the shorts look like underpants. There are are a couple of season 8 episodes where he wears those shorts with a Hawaiian shirt . He also has a pair of light tan shorts that have the same white waistband. TM's wardrobe really changed in season 7 and 8. Not always for the better.

[N1095A]

Another primo quote in the bar scene.

(To Rita)"...and remember never lie. Unless you absolutely have to, never lie."
(next words out of TM's mouth to the bartender)"Hi, My cousin lives in the neighborhood. I hear he comes in here a lot. His name's Chester, or Chet. Ya' recognize him?"

Then later on...
(Rick) "I'm takin' off like a toupee in a hurricane."

[J.J. Walters]

I sincerely hope someone in wardrobe was fired for this:

LMAO!!

Yeah, what in the world is up with this outfit!? Even for the late 80s, this is just plain horrendous!

[rubber chicken]

He's like a Ken Doll dressed for a day of yuppie yachting with the New York Yacht Club.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

That is pretty hidious. I'm sure I had something similar in the 80's.

[Steve]

He's like a Ken Doll dressed for a day of yuppie yachting with the New York Yacht Club.

OMG..That is my big laugh for today..Touche'

[lutherhgillis]

I agree with all about the wardrobe decision. I was around for all of the 80s and I NEVER wore anything even close to this...

I did not love this episode. It was, let me see, PREDICTABLE from start to finish...yea, that's it.

[MyGod!]

The most disheartening things about season 8 were Magnum's increasing responsibility, and the terrible decline in his wardrobe. Like they wanted to make him a grandpa all of the sudden. Yeesh. TM deserves better!

[Jay-Firestorm]

As others have said, very predictable, but I like this episode!

[rating=9.5]

While Thomas is investigating a conman who is suing Robin Masters over a fake injury received on the Estate, a loudmouth businessman pays him to take his glamorous but downtrodden wife along. But the pair soon uncover a much bigger case. Silly, but fun...

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This review contains spoilers.

After the whole plot of Magnum seemingly dying at the end of season seven, and coming back to life at the start of this final season, ‘Innocence… A Broad’ sees things settling back down into a more familiar ‘Magnum, p.i.’ fare.
In fact, other than for the odd reference of Magnum’s (near) death, this episode could easily have come from any of the earlier seasons of the show’s run.

Janis Ward is good fun as the glamorous but downtrodden Rita, who joins Magnum on his investigation, and unlike some of the show’s other one-off female guest stars (Cassie Yates, anyone?) does not come across as too annoying.

The plot is silly, and – as some have said – predictable, but at the same time, it is great fun, and I really like this episode. Compared to some of MPI’s clever, sophisticated stories, it is pretty straightforward, but that doesn’t matter, as it is hard not to like this one, especially with it’s many good lines and humorous moments, such as Higgins teaching Zeus and Apollo hand commands, Magnum’s bug mask to scar Rick, and lots of great lines (Rita to Magnum: “Do you supply a gun, or should I bring my own?”).

Combined with that, there is a reasonably decent case to investigate – and even has a well-shot car chase, the sort of things that is often absent from these later examples of MPI.

At one point towards the end, the story does seem to make a coincidental connection, as Rita’s obnoxious husband Joe turns out to seemingly be in cohorts with the mob boss who is behind all the trouble that Magnum and Rita are investigating. However, in the last scene, Joe explains that as part of his business, he makes it a habit to pay the local mob to leave him alone, which is why he was meeting the mob boss, so maybe it wasn’t such a coincidental plot point after all. But at the time it seemed like a tenuous connection.

With that explained, the only real thing that doesn’t quite about this story is after the climax, like there was a section missing; after Joe comes good and drives up in the garbage truck for Magnum and Rita to escape the mobster thugs in, we suddenly cut to the final scene on the Estate, being told how the mob guys are now in jail. Personally, I would have liked to have seen an in-between scene of how Magnum captured the thugs; but I suppose you can only fit so much into a 48-minute episode!

On a sad note, this was the last episode to be scored by Pete Carpenter, who passed away a few days after it was originally aired. With partner Mike Post, they wrote many classic TV themes (‘The Rockford Files’, ‘The A-Team’, etc.); Post would continue to score the show alone for the rest of its run.

Anyway, all in all – I really like this one. As I said above, yes it’s silly and predictable, but at the same time it’s really good fun, and one that I can watch over and over again. I know some may argue that it doesn’t deserve such a high 9.5 rating, but personally I think it is one of the best of the final season.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Didn’t spot much else with this one.

[Jay-Firestorm]

Possible mistake on this episode's main page: It says that 'Innocence... A Broad' is the only episode of the season not to feature any recurring characters.

'A Girl Named Sue' also does not contain and recurring characters, assuming by 'recurring' you mean frequent guest stars. Carol Burnett appeared in season four's 'Rembrandt's Girl', but is not a regular guest.