Carol the Dabbler wrote:[copied over from the aforementioned other thread] I have recently had the pleasure of watching two pre-
Magnum Tom Selleck pilots, recorded off the Sleuth channel by a thoughtful friend. The two shows --
"The Gypsy Warriors" (1978) and
"The Chinese Typewriter" (1979) -- have quite a bit in common:
1. Both star Tom Selleck and James Whitmore, Jr. In both, Whitmore plays the brains of the operation.
2. Both were written and produced by Stephen J. Cannell. (BTW, I just found out that his name is pronounced like "candle" without the "d" -- not "k'NELL" as I had always assumed.)
3. Both have catchy theme music by Pete Carpenter & Mike Post.
4. Both have a military connection. In GW, Selleck and Whitmore play American soldiers in WWII France. In CT, Selleck plays a Vietnam-era veteran who served in Cambodia.
5. In both, the good guys establish a phony identity by contacting the baddie ahead of time, asking if so-and-so is there.
But there are also some differences. For example:
1. Even though GW was made only a year before CT, it has a
much older feel to it. This may have been somewhat intentional (it is, after all, a period piece), but it comes across as dated and amateurish.
2. The version of GW that I saw appears to have come from video tape; the colors are washed-out and run-together compared to the crisp look of CT.
And here are a few random comments:
1. Tom Selleck's first scene in CT shows him coaching a Little League team called the Tigers. The kids are wearing bright-red uniforms supplied by their sponsor(s), Al's Automotive & Muffler King!!! The coach has a matching shirt, of course, and a
very familiar-looking cap.
2. In GW, a slightly pre-WKRP Richard Sanders does a fine job of playing a German scientist, a role very different from "Les Nessman."
3. Much as I enjoyed seeing these pilots, I'm sure glad they didn't sell, because I like
Magnum a whole lot better!
Carol,
As I mentioned on the other thread, the other thing these two pilots have in common are a lot of flubs. It has been several months since I have seen either pilot, so please bear with me.
Did you also notice that much of The Chinese Typewriter was shot in Hawaii, and featured "Robin's Nest," "The Marks Estate," which is one of the locations of the KKC. In addition, there are several Magnum alums in the Chinese Typewriter, such as Kathryn Leigh Scott who played Christine in “The Black Orchid” and George Fisher who played in “Thank Heaven For Little Girls And Big Ones Too.”
Chinese Typewriter Flubs:
1. When TS, JWjr and their pilot (Miller) land on the island, stock footage is used that is supposed to represent the fictional island, however, one of the shots is from underneath the wing of a jet as it is taxiing and you can clearly see the building/air traffic control tower at Honolulu Int’l Airport. This is a familiar sight often seen in Hawaii Five-O.
2. After TS, JWjr and Miller walk out of the airport you will see two guys in suits sitting in a car (Chevrolet) watching them (CIA, I think). The license plate on the car is clearly a California license plate. The problem with that is they are supposed to be in a foreign country, not California. In addition, the same footage of these two guys in the car is also used later in the movie.
3. When TS, JWjr and Miller are initially scouting the airport and devising their plan, they break into the hangar and see all of the military guys sleeping. Before they are discovered they are on their way out and you can see the big sliding door right in front of them. No one else is there. They are discovered by the guards and have to hurry out of the hangar. As they slide the door open the camera cuts to a shot from outside of the hangar as the three are running out, and as they run out, you will see a guy in shorts and a golf shirt with his hands in his pockets standing there very casually. It is obvious that he is not supposed to be in the shot.
How stuff like this gets into the movie is beyond me.
4. The footage of the female pilot taking off in the 737 when they first commandeer it is the same footage used at the end when she and William Daniels' character steal it back. Note the cars chasing them down the runway after the tower clears them for take-off.
5. The footage of Tom Selleck and James Whitmore, Jr. from their first meeting with Don Ameche in the RV is used again at the end when they meet for the second time with Don Ameche in the RV. When TS and JWjr first meet with Ameche, TS is wearing his red Tigers jersey over a ¾ sleeve shirt with red sleeves, and JWjr is wearing an ash colored sweat-shirt. However, when they are picked up by the two CIA agents from their baseball practice, TS is not wearing his red Tigers jersey, only the ¾ sleeve shirt with red sleeves and JWjr is wearing a button-down shirt with a collar.
Gypsy Warriors Flubs:
1. The story was supposed to take place in 1940 Europe during the early stages of WWII. The problem with that is the United States didn't enter the war until December 1941. I believe the two were stationed out of London at the time. They could have been covert agents, but if they were then they probably wouldn't have been wearing their U.S. Army uniforms while in London, advertising the fact that they were Americans, since we had not declared war on Germany at that point. Therefore, I believe that is a flub.
2. During the movie, TS, JWjr or their commanding officer, Ted Gehring, mentioned that their orders came from the
Pentagon (Washington, D.C.). The problem with this is that the Pentagon wasn't built until 1943, three years after this was supposed to take place.
3. At the beginning of the movie you see some secret agent infiltrating the U.S. (New York). They show a clip of the skyline and you can see the "Twin Towers" (World Trade Center). Now, this is an inexcusable flub as the Twin Towers were not completed until 1974.
Golf has provided the screen shot of the skyline with the towers visible. It is just above, dated January 15, 2008.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)
