Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts (8.1)

[sophia]

Carmen,
You are right, that is Tom's father.
Tom's mother and son are also seen, they are fans sitting on the bleachers.

[J.J. Walters]

Maggie answers a phone with, "Commander Poole". Her badge clearly says 'Lieutenant Commander'. Is it acceptable for LCDR's to address themselves as "Commander"?

[MPS]

It seems strange that Magnum appears healthier in the coma than he does after he dies and comes back.

[Tralfaz]

Well his heart stops in between those 2 shots....

T

[MPS]

True enough. I was just taken aback by the rather ghoulish makeup job The makeup person made him look like a zombie.

[IslandHopper]

It seems strange that Magnum appears healthier in the coma than he does after he dies and comes back.

Another great observation MPS. I always thought that Magnum looked like an older version of Eddie Munster in this shot.

[IslandHopper]

Maggie answers a phone with, "Commander Poole". Her badge clearly says 'Lieutenant Commander'. Is it acceptable for LCDR's to address themselves as "Commander"?

In my experience it is okay to do this. I was in the army and Lt. Colonel's are often referred to as Colonel. Lieutenants (2nd Lieutenant and 1st Lieutenant) are referred to as Lieutenant. You would even call a Brigadier General (1-star), "General," whereas the title of "General" belongs to a 4-star. 2-stars is a Major General and 3-stars is a Lieutenant General. In formal situations the precise rank is usually used.

There was a scene with Maggie and Buck where Maggie referred to herself as Commander and Buck sternly corrected her and said "Lt. Commander." I can't remember the episode, but I think the scene took place in Buck's office. It may have been Did You See The Sunrise, but can't remember for sure.

[Frodoleader]

Okay,we watched this over the Thanksgiving holiday and I noticed a flub: In TC's office, after the intruder snuck out with the photo and TC gets on the phone with his family back in LA, did anyone else notice that TC's t-shirt changed colors? He walks in wearing a white Island Hoppers shirt, then there is a cut to a different camera angle and now he is wearing a light blue shirt! Also, initially the lighting in his office is subdued, lit only by a desk lamp. But after the angle change, the office is now well lit, as if all the lights were on.

[Seaver41]

I taped this episode while at college and proceeded to replay it numerous times in the following months.............I will never forget that moment where Higgins runs to the waiting room with the smile on his face.........a picture does paint a thousand words......and then his gathering of himself before relaying the happy news.........that scene never gets old for me.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Another great observation MPS. I always thought that Magnum looked like an older version of Eddie Munster in this shot.

IH that is hilarious! His widow's peak needs s little more defining!

[Jaybird]

They did a good job of bringing the series back for another year with this episode. Very enjoyable

[A P Leyland]

Corker - loved it. Always nice to see Mac instead of Jim Bonnick.

Andy

[Jay-Firestorm]

Not the perfect episode, but at least Magnum is not dead!

[rating=8.5]

Magnum's mother arrives to be at her son's side as he lays comatose. But at the point of death, Magnum makes a miraculous recovery – but while recovering from the trauma, finds there is an old score to settle. Thank goodness they brought him back!...

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This review contains spoilers.

After the outcry from fans about Magnum being killed off in ‘Limbo’ at the end of season seven, and feeling that there was mileage for a few more stories, the producers of MPI thankfully renewed the show for an eighth, final season.

The trouble is, with killing off Magnum when they expected it to be the end of the show, the producers and writers had somewhat painted themselves into a corner. They did get inkling that the show might be renewed halfway through filming ‘Limbo’, and re-edited some scenes accordingly, but even so, if they had known that Magnum would be back earlier, they would probably have woven more threads that would be tied up with his return.
I’m not complaining about the story – it holds up perfectly well, but it just feels like the best they could do with awkward situation.

Whereas most MPI episodes can be watched ‘stand alone’, this story pretty much depends on seeing ‘Limbo’ before it (which in turn is greatly helped if the viewer has seen the previous Michelle-connected episodes).

The story is passable, and the writing and acting are certainly there (although I did feel that Larry Manetti overacted at a couple of points), but as I say, I just think they were making the best of an awkward premise. The bulk of the plot is passable, but there are also definite points where it dips (particularly in the middle), and feels a bit contrived.

But there are still some nice touches – one of my favourites a small but good moment is Higgins when, after seeing that Magnum has awoken from his come, runs excitedly down the hospital corridor to tell the others, beaming from ear to ear, before regaining his composure and entering the room in his typical reserved manner.

The seeds are also beginning to be sown for the wrap-up of the series – for example, T.C. speaks on the phone to ex-wife Tina, reminding viewers that T.C. has children from his failed marriage, which will be bought into play more as the season progresses.

‘Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts’ isn’t really one of my favourite episodes, but I think they made the best of a tricky situation, and it could have been pulled off far worse. Either way, I’m just glad that they brought Magnum back!

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Kwan Hi Lim (Lt. Tanaka) has by now progressed to being billed in the opening guest credits for all of his appearances – even though he only appears in one very brief sequence in this episode, when he races Katherine to the hospital.

[MACattack]

I think Magnum looked pale because he had almost died.

[Seaver41]

honestly I think the makeup ws used to emphasize his brush with death.........I don't think they were going for medical accuracy.