Season 5 Episode 20: The Big Squeeze (5.20)

[KENJI]

Magnum and Higgins take a major step forward in their relationship. At the same time, the past comes back to haunt them when a previous suspect becomes their client. TC aims to scale up Island Hoppers. Rick gets a new business partner.

[KENJI]

Here ya go Dobie.
It was near the bottom of the thread pile as it was posted months ago.
Look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts on the finale.

[HonoluluLulu]

I enjoyed it. It feels a bit like the ending of the original series. The characters are about to go through some big changes in their lives and it shows the directions they are going to be taking. Otherwise, life goes on in the MPI universe. Although I did notice that Shammy, Cade and Jin were not in the episode (unless I missed them hanging around in the background or something) which seems a shame considering they brought a lot of humour and emotion to the show as their characters developed.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

KENJI wrote - "Here ya go Dobie"
Thank you KENJI.

HonoluluLulu wrote -
"I enjoyed it. It feels a bit like the ending of the original series. The characters are about to go through some big changes in their lives and it shows the directions they are going to be taking. Otherwise, life goes on in the MPI universe. Although I did notice that Shammy, Cade and Jin were not in the episode (unless I missed them hanging around in the background or something) which seems a shame considering they brought a lot of humour and emotion to the show as their characters developed."

I like your monicker. It sounded familiar and then I recalled Jan & Dean had a hit with that title. I think you summed up the last episode pretty well.
I would only add that one possible reason they didn't seem to end every possible story line with a happy ending is because they thought there might be a last minute miracle pick up by another network.
Or maybe 2 future TV movies so they could hit 100 episodes for the rerun package?

End scene, the gang in a circle in front of the bar inside Rick's, bidding adieu both to the series and each other.
"Here we are after, well, an interesting path"...Magnum
All the actors seemed genuinely touched and teary eyed at that point. It was a nice farewell.

The photos above them, over the bar caught my eye, from the poses they seemed 'real' so I wondered if they had some connection to the cast, perhaps.
There was a black and white photo of an older man flexing his arm muscle, I had the impression I had seen it before and had the feeling it was Tom Selleck's Dad.
I can't tell you why other than maybe somewhere else on Magnum Mania somebody had posted it at some point. Of course odds are I'm wrong, why bother with
Tom's dad when they could put up someone from their own cast. Still...nah, forget it, it's probably the studio watchman.

Good luck to the entire cast in future, but if I had to choose I bet Perdita has the best career going forward. She can act, and if she can just refrain from putting her head in cotton candy machines
in the future and instead get a decent haircut she could get seductive female roles as well.
Jay may have a real future behind the camera, already he is far better than Lenkov ever was as a show runner. The improvement in the show is startling since he was allowed his input.

This is not a shot at Jay but I had to smile at the final scene, there was a shot of him standing next to the 5'4" Perdita and without the usual tricky camera angles to make him seem taller it is obvious
they are just about the same height.
Jay's a community minded nice guy, good actor, good director and producer, but it's still a head scratcher how a man 12 inches shorter than the 6 foot 4 Selleck could have snagged the role that
Tom indelibly made his own. However Alan Ladd made a career playing tough guys and he wasn't tall either, it made no difference.
On the other hand if Jay next scores the role of the 6'4'' Jethro on a Beverley Hillbillies remake, or the lead in the Wilt Chamberlain Story, we will know the fix is in.

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"I was born in a hospital. I wanted to be close to my mother"...Curly Howard

[Laohu]

I really don’t see anything in the character of Thomas Magnum that requires the actor to be tall . Tom Selleck is tall and that’s great but it’s not really a requirement to play the character. Jay played the role with out a Mustache as well and did not take away from the character at all . Jay did his take on the role and did not try to copy Tom Selleck and it was the right choice . Going forward I don’t think we will see Jay playing the role of Wilt Chamberlain but we might see him directing it .

[502-to-right]

I was late to the party on the reboot. I watched the first episode this last September (of 2023) after I had finished watching every episode of the original.

Overall I thought the reboot was solid. A decent show and worth the time to watch it. I ended up watching every episode. I really liked that they strongly kept the friendship triangle of Thomas, TC, and Rick alive. I also appreciate the pro-veteran bent of the show (as a former Marine). I was fine with changing Higgins to a woman because, when you think about it, how can you replace Jonathan Quayle Higgins III as played by John Hillerman? He was one of the most unique and well played characters in TV history.

As for the final episode, I thought it was merely OK. I really thought season 5 ended with a wimper. The story lines for the last few episodes seemed very ordinary. Not bad, but not special either. This show needed to go out with a bang. I realize they didn't know if the show would end or be saved for a 6th season at the time the last episodes were recorded, but knowing there was a realistic chance the show would be cancelled, I would have expected more.

I also lamented the absence of Shammy, Jin, and Cade. I'm not saying they needed their own stories, but at least have them present at La Mariana at the end.

[502-to-right]

I also have a question about the end of the show. In season 4 (I think) a mysterious white SUV was following TM. I assumed it was Ivan or Ivan's men. Did this story line ever play out? I don't think it did. Also, did Ivan ever make any type of appearance after Season 2's "Day I Met the Devil"? I don't think so. Which is pretty odd since Thomas totally screwed over Ivan's operation but left him alive to seek revenge. It appears no revenge was forthcoming.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I was late to the party on the reboot. I watched the first episode this last September (of 2023) after I had finished watching every episode of the original.

Overall I thought the reboot was solid. A decent show and worth the time to watch it. I ended up watching every episode. I really liked that they strongly kept the friendship triangle of Thomas, TC, and Rick alive. I also appreciate the pro-veteran bent of the show (as a former Marine). I was fine with changing Higgins to a woman because, when you think about it, how can you replace Jonathan Quayle Higgins III as played by John Hillerman? He was one of the most unique and well played characters in TV history.

As for the final episode, I thought it was merely OK. I really thought season 5 ended with a wimper. The story lines for the last few episodes seemed very ordinary. Not bad, but not special either. This show needed to go out with a bang. I realize they didn't know if the show would end or be saved for a 6th season at the time the last episodes were recorded, but knowing there was a realistic chance the show would be cancelled, I would have expected more.

I also lamented the absence of Shammy, Jin, and Cade. I'm not saying they needed their own stories, but at least have them present at La Mariana at the end.

502-to-right,
You pretty much summed it up as to the last episode.
As for the absence of Shammy, Jin and Cade, maybe by the end the budget was being slashed to the bone and they were the victims of cost cutting. As their absence doesn't make sense.
I have always liked Jin especially, a nice acting job by 52 year old comic Bobby Lee, who made his bones on the old MADtv comedy series.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

There was an Ivan on the reboot too? Let me guess - played by a pretty-boy type?

[jno]

I was late to the party on the reboot. I watched the first episode this last September (of 2023) after I had finished watching every episode of the original.

Overall I thought the reboot was solid. A decent show and worth the time to watch it. I ended up watching every episode. I really liked that they strongly kept the friendship triangle of Thomas, TC, and Rick alive. I also appreciate the pro-veteran bent of the show (as a former Marine). I was fine with changing Higgins to a woman because, when you think about it, how can you replace Jonathan Quayle Higgins III as played by John Hillerman? He was one of the most unique and well played characters in TV history.

As for the final episode, I thought it was merely OK. I really thought season 5 ended with a wimper. The story lines for the last few episodes seemed very ordinary. Not bad, but not special either. This show needed to go out with a bang. I realize they didn't know if the show would end or be saved for a 6th season at the time the last episodes were recorded, but knowing there was a realistic chance the show would be cancelled, I would have expected more.

I also lamented the absence of Shammy, Jin, and Cade. I'm not saying they needed their own stories, but at least have them present at La Mariana at the end.

Just watched the final one, and I have to concur entirely with this post. 100% correct.

it's sad that Magnum has gone, it seems the end of an era, with original H-50, original Magnum, H-50 reboot then Magnum reboot. It's a shame and I would have liked this series to have continued solely as I am a selfish fan of all these shows.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

There was an Ivan on the reboot too? Let me guess - played by a pretty-boy type?

There was no Ivan that I recall unless he was a one off in one of the first seasons.
I am glad as it would be hard to duplicate Bo's performance as the original Ivan.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

There was an Ivan on the reboot too? Let me guess - played by a pretty-boy type?

There was no Ivan that I recall unless he was a one off in one of the first seasons.
I am glad as it would be hard to duplicate Bo's performance as the original Ivan.

Apparently there was an Ivan in a season 2 episode. That's why I asked.

This is what 502-to-right posted above:

"I also have a question about the end of the show. In season 4 (I think) a mysterious white SUV was following TM. I assumed it was Ivan or Ivan's men. Did this story line ever play out? I don't think it did. Also, did Ivan ever make any type of appearance after Season 2's "Day I Met the Devil"? I don't think so. Which is pretty odd since Thomas totally screwed over Ivan's operation but left him alive to seek revenge. It appears no revenge was forthcoming."

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

There was an Ivan on the reboot too? Let me guess - played by a pretty-boy type?

There was no Ivan that I recall unless he was a one off in one of the first seasons.
I am glad as it would be hard to duplicate Bo's performance as the original Ivan.

Apparently there was an Ivan in a season 2 episode. That's why I asked.

This is what 502-to-right posted above:
"I also have a question about the end of the show. In season 4 (I think) a mysterious white SUV was following TM. I assumed it was Ivan or Ivan's men. Did this story line ever play out? I don't think it did. Also, did Ivan ever make any type of appearance after Season 2's "Day I Met the Devil"? I don't think so. Which is pretty odd since Thomas totally screwed over Ivan's operation but left him alive to seek revenge. It appears no revenge was forthcoming."

That'll teach me to always read the last 4 or 5 posts before the latest one, especially as "502-to-right" had just mentioned the new Ivan.

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“There they go into the last great gasp of the wilderness known as Alaska. We all have our own relationship with the wild.
Out there or in here, in our hearts, in our souls.
Wheeling, West Virginia, 1983 - I'm in the joint, prison library, working my way backward from Z. Stendahl, Proust, I'm in the L's and eureka, baby! Jack London, my main man.
If Whitman gave me poetry, then Mr. London took me to a place inside me I didn't know existed but recognized instantly, like I'd been heading there all my lost life.
There was Buck, big civilized mutt from the south land, slapped down in the frigid north to redefine himself for what he really was.
I was Buck, Buck was I, Buck is us.”
...Chris-in-the-Morning(Northern Exposure)

Why Northern Exposure has seemingly been purged from the airways while an ocean of crap washes over all is a mystery to me.
Check out the excellent Aussie take on Northern Exposure, "Sea Change".

[502-to-right]

Yes, there was an Ivan in the reboot. He appeared in only one episode though. Season 2's "Day I Met the Devil." It was definitely a bigger budget/higher stakes episode than normal.



https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11299746/?ref_=ttep_ep11

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Rich Heldenfels of the Tribune News Service in today's newspaper column said Magnum P.I. star Jay Hernandez is currently lobbying/negotiating for a TV movie to wrap things up.

As noted before such a movie would be a win win for all involved.
Even if just a one off it would push the total for the rerun package to 98, just short of the old standard "magic number" of 100 for syndication.
For the relatively cheap cost of a TV movie NBC would very likely draw far more viewers than it would normally on whatever night it ran.
Plus opening the door for a future run of such TV-movies which proved highly profitable for series such as The Rockford Files, Perry Mason.

Even Wild Wild West spawned two TV movies many years after the series ended, they were pretty good and are well worth seeking out.
Do yourself a favor and avoid the Will Smith "steam punk" theatrical version, beyond awful, the producers had no idea how and why the original worked.

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Rupert of Hentzau(Douglas Fairbanks): "I see you let the drawbridge down. I just killed a man for that."
Rudolph Rassendyll(Ronald Colman): "An unarmed man of course."
Rupert of Hentzau: "Of course!"

(The 1937 version of "Prisoner of Zenda", one of the great adventure movies of all time, with a wonderful end scene.)