Seasoon 5 Episode 10: Charlie Foxtrot (5.10)

[KENJI]

An armed hit team lays siege to Robin's Nest; TC is badly injured while Rick fights for his life.



This episode has the potential to be very good. They are going to leave us hanging on Rick and T.C.'s condition until episodes 11 to 20 come out. They'll recover.
TM & Higgy will probably turn into ghosts while going on offense, hunting the hunter, no more out in the open driving a red Ferrari either....game on!.......looking forward to it!

[KENJI]

Charlie Foxtrot is also known as a cluster f*#k. Calling something a charlie foxtrot implies that it is not only disorganized/chaotic, there is also very little hope that whatever the objective is will be reached and there is a very high probability that everyone will regret their involvement later.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created a phonetic alphabet in the 1950s that became adopted by military and civilian radio communication. The alphabet uses words in place of letters to minimize various forms of miscommunication.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet, Charlie is used for the letter C and Foxtrot, the letter F. That makes the compound clusterf*#k a Charlie Foxtrot. Charlie Foxtrot begins as a euphemism in 1960s US military slang for a poorly-managed operation during the Vietnam War.

[Amian]

Pretty solid ending to the season (or half season?), but the ending was rushed. With 5 or 10 minutes left, I was thinking, okay, setting up a cliffhanger nicely. Then, badda bing badda boom, cue the soothing music and Juliette saying "everything's okay." Would like to see a bit more creativity with the endings. One of the joys of the original was the unexpected endings or even just endings that were ambiguous or unresolved. It feels like half the episodes in the reboot end with comedown music and knowing smiles for everyone. I guess that's the wheelhouse of network TV nowadays, but I'd like to see a bit more teeth.

That said, this season (half season) has been better than the CBS run, overall. I saw some comments about Jay Hernandez directing in another thread, which I hadn't realized, but perhaps he may be on his way to a new career path. To be honest, I find him fine as Magnum, but I think he might be the weakest actor of the main three (plus Higgins). He's not "bad," but I think he's one note and doesn't have the natural charisma of the others. I found it interesting that Rick's storyline was made central this season (and especially in the last two episodes) because he has the chops to play drama, comedy and action. Featuring him is a good idea. Same goes for TC, who I think does a lot with limited material. Same goes for Higgins... the writing for Juliette is nowhere near what Hillerman's Higgins got, but she is convincing enough.

Last quick comment on this episode... the action pieces were surprisingly good!

[Aloha Friday]

I was surprised by the blood in this episode...lots of pink mist for a network TV show. I agree the guy that plays Rick has gotten a lot of attention in the scripts this season. I think he would have been good as TSM. I have not been grading the reboot shows, but this episode was a good one and did seem to tie things up at the end...curious what the storyline will be for the next 10 episodes. I guess we have to wait 'til Fall to find out. I'd like to see the show get extended. It is better than most of the current stuff on network TV.

[KENJI]

Pretty solid ending to the season (or half season?), but the ending was rushed. With 5 or 10 minutes left, I was thinking, okay, setting up a cliffhanger nicely. Then, badda bing badda boom, cue the soothing music and Juliette saying "everything's okay." Would like to see a bit more creativity with the endings. One of the joys of the original was the unexpected endings or even just endings that were ambiguous or unresolved. It feels like half the episodes in the reboot end with comedown music and knowing smiles for everyone. I guess that's the wheelhouse of network TV nowadays, but I'd like to see a bit more teeth.

That said, this season (half season) has been better than the CBS run, overall. I saw some comments about Jay Hernandez directing in another thread, which I hadn't realized, but perhaps he may be on his way to a new career path. To be honest, I find him fine as Magnum, but I think he might be the weakest actor of the main three (plus Higgins). He's not "bad," but I think he's one note and doesn't have the natural charisma of the others. I found it interesting that Rick's storyline was made central this season (and especially in the last two episodes) because he has the chops to play drama, comedy and action. Featuring him is a good idea. Same goes for TC, who I think does a lot with limited material. Same goes for Higgins... the writing for Juliette is nowhere near what Hillerman's Higgins got, but she is convincing enough.

Last quick comment on this episode... the action pieces were surprisingly good!

Hi Amian,

I agree that they rushed this one! They could've made it a 2 part episode, slowed things down a bit and milked this storyline for one more episode in the second half of this season.
Rick being chased by the dogs was a real stretch. The dogs would've caught him in no time from that short distance! They should've shown them way off in the distance, and it would've been more believable. If you look closely you can make out that the dog on the right closest to the bush is on a leash. You can't see it, but just the way the dog stopped and then started to lean to one side as if he was pulling while being restrained and then finally him lifting off from his back legs as if someone let go of the leash were big tells. I'm sure with today's tech, they can erase a leash from the scene. I can picture the trainer hiding in the bushes while holding the leash and then hearing the command release the hound. lol. Speaking of dogs.........I was disappointed they didn't use Zeus and Apollo in the Robin Nest scene! They could've had the dogs come out of the dark to help Juliette with one of her attackers or they could've even had the dogs help Thomas in the wine room with his attacker as they are always lurking down there waiting for Magnum to pilfer a bottle......He could've even said "Thanks Lads" as he was running up the stairs to help Higgy. It would've been one of those rare moments when the dogs take his side, plus maybe they are warming up to him as Thomas and Higgy are now a couple. TM using the cork screw on the guy's body was a bit weak for me.....it even looked like the killers had bullet proof vests on. Stick him in the eye!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was pleased that they at least let Magnum shoot him in the end. Getting back to Rick running (if you could call it that) down the path with quads chasing him......head for the bushes where they can't easily get him. I wish we could've seen more sniper skills from that scene......get rid of the red shirt or cover it in mud (snipers are known for their camo skills).....hide in head high water to avoid the dogs etc.. Getting back to when Rick was just about to get tortured and the troops come to rescue.....they should've pulled the trigger on him right there instead of saying lets get out of here......mission complete. They are trained mercenaries who know their mission.....complete it. Obviously they can't kill one of the main characters, but they could've at least shot him. Another thought while he is at the hospital getting sewn up and we think everything is going to be okay, they could've had the lady killer slip in and try and kill him after Magnum leaves the room. They could've left us hanging there for Part 2 or maybe they rap it up with Magnum's spider senses going off when he gets a quick look at who was going into Rick's room. Maybe the lady killer wasn't caught or I wish her son was older than 7 so she or he could've continued with the revenge mission in the second half of the season. I didn't like they had Susie driving up in squad car seconds after the fire fight. Have them meet up at the hospital which is more believable! Magnum and Higgins tracking down Rick in the bush with no guns wasn't believable either....come on....you're dealing with trained killers here......a walkie talkie isn't going to help you in that situation. I still enjoyed the episode, but they could've done more with it. Having said that the writers might be running out of time and have to keep things to one episode. If they knew for sure they were getting renewed yet again then maybe they could slow things down, but they don't get that luxury which makes it challenging to say the least. Looking forward to the second half of the season whenever that might be!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

One of the joys of the original was the unexpected endings or even just endings that were ambiguous or unresolved. It feels like half the episodes in the reboot end with comedown music and knowing smiles for everyone. I guess that's the wheelhouse of network TV nowadays, but I'd like to see a bit more teeth.

That was definitely a Bellisario thing on the old show. He loved to surprise his audience like that. Very daring! Episodic television didn't do things like that back in the day. I'm still surprised the suits at CBS allowed him to get away with things like that. I remember watching "Faith and Begorrah" with my niece some years back. When Rick and T.C. are watching the Makapu'u Lighthouse through the binoculars at the end and all of a sudden the guy picks up the gal and tosses her off the lighthouse and then you see Rick's shocked/confused reaction and then freeze frame and end credits... my niece turns around and looks at me with that same expression... like what just happened??? Then she asks me what happens next. I tell her that's it. There is no "next". She thought this was "to be continued". I don't think she was even paying attention to the episode but she definitely caught that part at the end and of course she wanted to know what happens next. Then she asked "what was the point?" if that's all there is. So this scene in particular I'm always surprised how Bellisario got the CBS suits to approve it. Because on the face of it it does seem kinda pointless. You see someone get tossed off the lighthouse and then nothing happens. No resolution. TV always had resolutions back in the day. But I really like this scene because it mirrors real life - sometimes something sudden happens and there's no resolution or closure. It just happens. We don't always get the answers. Folks and Bellisario himself always mentions the execution of Ivan as being daring and open-ended but to me it's pretty conclusive - TM kills Ivan in cold blood. Definitely daring and shocking but even though we don't see what happens next (did they cover up the crime? bury the body?) it's enough for us to know that Ivan met his end. But with "Faith and Begorrah" they really just leave the story open. I think the CBS suits were really scratching their heads with this one.

[Amian]

Rick being chased by the dogs was a real stretch. The dogs would've caught him in no time from that short distance!

I thought so, too. It must be hard to edit a sustained dog chase scene because I find that sort of "flub" happens a lot (not just in MPI). I just overlook it at this point. Your comments about Rick being a little smarter while on the run are accurate, too. I guess we could chalk it up to his being concussed from the car wreck. I would have thought he'd be a little more battered after the car rammed into a tree and he was totally prone without any sort of seat belt or other cushioning... but again, we have to overlook some things.

Speaking of dogs.........I was disappointed they didn't use Zeus and Apollo in the Robin Nest scene! They could've had the dogs come out of the dark to help Juliette with one of her attackers or they could've even had the dogs help Thomas in the wine room with his attacker as they are always lurking down there waiting for Magnum to pilfer a bottle......He could've even said "Thanks Lads" as he was running up the stairs to help Higgy. It would've been one of those rare moments when the dogs take his side, plus maybe they are warming up to him as Thomas and Higgy are now a couple.

Great ideas!

TM using the cork screw on the guy's body was a bit weak for me.....it even looked like the killers had bullet proof vests on. Stick him in the eye!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this was okay as they shot it (and for my sake, I'm glad there was no eye gouging... that scene in Cronenberg's Eastern Promises still haunts me).

Another thought while he is at the hospital getting sewn up and we think everything is going to be okay, they could've had the lady killer slip in and try and kill him after Magnum leaves the room. They could've left us hanging there for Part 2 or maybe they rap it up with Magnum's spider senses going off when he gets a quick look at who was going into Rick's room. Maybe the lady killer wasn't caught or I wish her son was older than 7 so she or he could've continued with the revenge mission in the second half of the season. I didn't like they had Susie driving up in squad car seconds after the fire fight. Have them meet up at the hospital which is more believable!

Again, great ideas! The writers were really trying to wrap it up quickly for this episode.

I still enjoyed the episode, but they could've done more with it. Having said that the writers might be running out of time and have to keep things to one episode. If they knew for sure they were getting renewed yet again then maybe they could slow things down, but they don't get that luxury which makes it challenging to say the least. Looking forward to the second half of the season whenever that might be!

I'm with you there.

[Laohu]

Best hour of network TV that I have seen in a very long time . Everyone involved with the show should be happy with how this turned out . . I am starting to think that the end of the season episode might feature a wedding for Rick not TM .

[Amian]

That was definitely a Bellisario thing on the old show. He loved to surprise his audience like that. Very daring! Episodic television didn't do things like that back in the day. I'm still surprised the suits at CBS allowed him to get away with things like that. I remember watching "Faith and Begorrah" with my niece some years back. ... No resolution. TV always had resolutions back in the day. But I really like this scene because it mirrors real life - sometimes something sudden happens and there's no resolution or closure. It just happens. We don't always get the answers. Folks and Bellisario himself always mentions the execution of Ivan as being daring and open-ended but to me it's pretty conclusive - TM kills Ivan in cold blood. Definitely daring and shocking but even though we don't see what happens next (did they cover up the crime? bury the body?) it's enough for us to know that Ivan met his end. But with "Faith and Begorrah" they really just leave the story open. I think the CBS suits were really scratching their heads with this one.

Agree with all this. The "F&B" episode really stands out, and I wonder if there was some intention in the writers' room of bringing this up again later. Or maybe it was an inside joke of some kind. As for Ivan, yes, very conclusive. One of the more cathartic moments in the series (depending on your ethics). Actually, even if you recognize it as ethically wrong (cold blooded premeditated murder!), you can't help but feel some sort of release... it's a complicated thing.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

That was definitely a Bellisario thing on the old show. He loved to surprise his audience like that. Very daring! Episodic television didn't do things like that back in the day. I'm still surprised the suits at CBS allowed him to get away with things like that. I remember watching "Faith and Begorrah" with my niece some years back. ... No resolution. TV always had resolutions back in the day. But I really like this scene because it mirrors real life - sometimes something sudden happens and there's no resolution or closure. It just happens. We don't always get the answers. Folks and Bellisario himself always mentions the execution of Ivan as being daring and open-ended but to me it's pretty conclusive - TM kills Ivan in cold blood. Definitely daring and shocking but even though we don't see what happens next (did they cover up the crime? bury the body?) it's enough for us to know that Ivan met his end. But with "Faith and Begorrah" they really just leave the story open. I think the CBS suits were really scratching their heads with this one.

Agree with all this. The "F&B" episode really stands out, and I wonder if there was some intention in the writers' room of bringing this up again later. Or maybe it was an inside joke of some kind. As for Ivan, yes, very conclusive. One of the more cathartic moments in the series (depending on your ethics). Actually, even if you recognize it as ethically wrong (cold blooded premeditated murder!), you can't help but feel some sort of release... it's a complicated thing.

Yeah I wonder if they didn't consider providing some kind of resolution to the "Faith and Begorrah" ending at the start of season 4. Talk about a season ending cliff hanger. I wonder if lots of folks were waiting for the start of season 4 to see a resolution to this and were perplexed that it was never brought up again. DALLAS had the famous "Who Shot J.R.?" cliff hanger to end the season. I think they resolved it at the start of the next season. Not so with MPI. I think it was for the best. Some things are better left a mystery.

[KENJI]

Best hour of network TV that I have seen in a very long time . Everyone involved with the show should be happy with how this turned out . . I am starting to think that the end of the season episode might feature a wedding for Rick not TM .

Hi Laohu,
I agree with you on the Rick wedding comment. You could see the writers planting a few seeds in there hinting towards that outcome. 5.20 could be the very last episode for the reboot.......flashback to the original MPI show and the very last episode was........Rick getting married!!! I'm sure present Rick won't struggle with his vows like Manetti's Rick did....."I"......"I"........ Maybe Juliette catches the bouquet.

[KENJI]

Rick being chased by the dogs was a real stretch. The dogs would've caught him in no time from that short distance!

I thought so, too. It must be hard to edit a sustained dog chase scene because I find that sort of "flub" happens a lot (not just in MPI). I just overlook it at this point. Your comments about Rick being a little smarter while on the run are accurate, too. I guess we could chalk it up to his being concussed from the car wreck. I would have thought he'd be a little more battered after the car rammed into a tree and he was totally prone without any sort of seat belt or other cushioning... but again, we have to overlook some things.

Speaking of dogs.........I was disappointed they didn't use Zeus and Apollo in the Robin Nest scene! They could've had the dogs come out of the dark to help Juliette with one of her attackers or they could've even had the dogs help Thomas in the wine room with his attacker as they are always lurking down there waiting for Magnum to pilfer a bottle......He could've even said "Thanks Lads" as he was running up the stairs to help Higgy. It would've been one of those rare moments when the dogs take his side, plus maybe they are warming up to him as Thomas and Higgy are now a couple.

Great ideas!

TM using the cork screw on the guy's body was a bit weak for me.....it even looked like the killers had bullet proof vests on. Stick him in the eye!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I thought this was okay as they shot it (and for my sake, I'm glad there was no eye gouging... that scene in Cronenberg's Eastern Promises still haunts me).

Another thought while he is at the hospital getting sewn up and we think everything is going to be okay, they could've had the lady killer slip in and try and kill him after Magnum leaves the room. They could've left us hanging there for Part 2 or maybe they rap it up with Magnum's spider senses going off when he gets a quick look at who was going into Rick's room. Maybe the lady killer wasn't caught or I wish her son was older than 7 so she or he could've continued with the revenge mission in the second half of the season. I didn't like they had Susie driving up in squad car seconds after the fire fight. Have them meet up at the hospital which is more believable!

Again, great ideas! The writers were really trying to wrap it up quickly for this episode.

I still enjoyed the episode, but they could've done more with it. Having said that the writers might be running out of time and have to keep things to one episode. If they knew for sure they were getting renewed yet again then maybe they could slow things down, but they don't get that luxury which makes it challenging to say the least. Looking forward to the second half of the season whenever that might be!

I'm with you there.

Hi Amian,

Did you catch the scene near the end of the episode where Magnum is fighting with that big guy and you can see the wall behind this guy has cross pieces built into the wall at the 4 foot high level......fast forward to where this guy goes through the wall in the exact spot where not only the cross piece is missing, but also a vertical 2x4 too. It was basically a doorway covered up in drywall. Sorry, but I can't overlook it when it's so obvious. I would've preferred a more real scenario instead of the guy flying through the "wall" from a kick or punch from Mini Mag or anyone else. Have Magnum take him down with a martial arts move or hit him with the missing 2x4 or cross piece instead. Like I said before....it was still an enjoyable episode.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

One of the joys of the original was the unexpected endings or even just endings that were ambiguous or unresolved. It feels like half the episodes in the reboot end with comedown music and knowing smiles for everyone. I guess that's the wheelhouse of network TV nowadays, but I'd like to see a bit more teeth.

That was definitely a Bellisario thing on the old show. He loved to surprise his audience like that. Very daring! Episodic television didn't do things like that back in the day. I'm still surprised the suits at CBS allowed him to get away with things like that. I remember watching "Faith and Begorrah" with my niece some years back. When Rick and T.C. are watching the Makapu'u Lighthouse through the binoculars at the end and all of a sudden the guy picks up the gal and tosses her off the lighthouse and then you see Rick's shocked/confused reaction and then freeze frame and end credits... my niece turns around and looks at me with that same expression... like what just happened??? Then she asks me what happens next. I tell her that's it. There is no "next". She thought this was "to be continued". I don't think she was even paying attention to the episode but she definitely caught that part at the end and of course she wanted to know what happens next. Then she asked "what was the point?" if that's all there is. So this scene in particular I'm always surprised how Bellisario got the CBS suits to approve it. Because on the face of it it does seem kinda pointless. You see someone get tossed off the lighthouse and then nothing happens. No resolution. TV always had resolutions back in the day. But I really like this scene because it mirrors real life - sometimes something sudden happens and there's no resolution or closure. It just happens. We don't always get the answers. Folks and Bellisario himself always mentions the execution of Ivan as being daring and open-ended but to me it's pretty conclusive - TM kills Ivan in cold blood. Definitely daring and shocking but even though we don't see what happens next (did they cover up the crime? bury the body?) it's enough for us to know that Ivan met his end. But with "Faith and Begorrah" they really just leave the story open. I think the CBS suits were really scratching their heads with this one.

Ivan,
Excellent post!
Regarding that moment in "Faith and Begorrah", it riveted me to the spot when I viewed it on it's first showing on CBS. TV aficionados in general, not just Magnum Maniacs,
should note it as one of the great scenes of 1980's television. If I was writing for television today I would swipe it in a heartbeat for my own series, as outside Magnum Mania I have
never seen it cited.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Best hour of network TV that I have seen in a very long time . Everyone involved with the show should be happy with how this turned out . . I am starting to think that the end of the season episode might feature a wedding for Rick not TM .

Hi Laohu,
I agree with you on the Rick wedding comment. You could see the writers planting a few seeds in there hinting towards that outcome. 5.20 could be the very last episode for the reboot.......flashback to the original MPI show and the very last episode was........Rick getting married!!! I'm sure present Rick won't struggle with his vows like Manetti's Rick did....."I"......"I"........ Maybe Juliette catches the bouquet.

I think you guys are spot on regarding your wedding theory. I enjoyed this episode, as well as all the episodes of the "first half", behind the scenes and visually things have gotten a lot better.
If anybody asks me I now recommend the reboot as a good series worthy of one's time.
It's not the original, but what series is or could be, it's 40 years later and the reboot is what it is.
I have kept on looking for articles regarding the new production team but curiously NBC still has put nothing out there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Allen:
Do not allow children to mix drinks. It is unseemly and they use too much vermouth.

[KENJI]

Best hour of network TV that I have seen in a very long time . Everyone involved with the show should be happy with how this turned out . . I am starting to think that the end of the season episode might feature a wedding for Rick not TM .

Hi Laohu,
I agree with you on the Rick wedding comment. You could see the writers planting a few seeds in there hinting towards that outcome. 5.20 could be the very last episode for the reboot.......flashback to the original MPI show and the very last episode was........Rick getting married!!! I'm sure present Rick won't struggle with his vows like Manetti's Rick did....."I"......"I"........ Maybe Juliette catches the bouquet.

I think you guys are spot on regarding your wedding theory. I enjoyed this episode, as well as all the episodes of the "first half", behind the scenes and visually things have gotten a lot better.
If anybody asks me I now recommend the reboot as a good series worthy of one's time.
It's not the original, but what series is or could be, it's 40 years later and the reboot is what it is.
I have kept on looking for articles regarding the new production team but curiously NBC still has put nothing out there.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Allen:
Do not allow children to mix drinks. It is unseemly and they use too much vermouth.

Hi Dobie,
It will be interesting to see if they continue with a few of CBS storylines that were left hanging in the wind.....i.e. the white Escalade stalker or even there return of Mia from Judge Me Not (S4E13). I guess we'll know when the second half of the season comes out. I would like to see the Escalade Magnum stalker story for sure....it would be a good one for the finale with Rick's wedding included in the mix. Actually the oriignal finale had Rick's wedding and Magnum tracking down Linda Lee Ellison's stalker!