J. "Digger" Doyle (1.17)

[Jaybird]

Really did enjoy this episode and rated it 9.5! It seemed that all the voters like it, too. I gravitate toward the episodes with a more serious tone and this one had that, but it also had lighter moments. It just wasn't one of those episodes that is silly right from the start, like the one about "Anglo Hawaiian Cat Lovers Award" type show. Plus, Erin Grey is totally hot but come on, she is NOT any kind of athlete. No way she could outrun TM and she is totally an arm paddler. TS actually has a fairly good stroke on the ski where he engages his core and back and uses his arms primarily to hold the paddle. I will give Erin credit, she had to practice but she actually stayed on the ski. Nonetheless, she is pretty but not a jock!
This episode has me wondering if my conclusion that Higgins is Robin Masters was correct. Guess we'll never know even though I was fairly sure after the last episode in Season 8. It will always rank as one of those great mysteries of our age, like where Jimmy Hoffa is buried or is Elvis really dead. Is Higgins Robin Masters?
Robin Master's plane's N number in the show (N5527L) was changed to
N777AY, a Lockheed Jetstar, now owned by the New Orleans Hornets.

[Henry Lewis]

2. This Flub is one of my favorites. After J. Doyle cons her way into Higgins' study and pulls the gun on Magnum and Higgins, she uses the red telephone to call Robin Masters. After a brief conversation with Robin, she hands the phone to Higgins, who speaks to Robin for 7 seconds. From Higgins' 7 second conversation with Robin, Higgins launches into a 61 second, detailed dialogue about the attempt on Robin's life, StarGuard, J. Doyle, Robin's plan to pick-up all of his tapes from one of his estates, etc. During Higgins' dialogue, Magnum interrupts Higgins briefly, but then Higgins continues with his dialogue. The question is: How could Higgins have gotten 61 seconds of very detailed dialogue from a 7 second conversation with Robin? This scene requires you to abandon all logic. I love it.

I don't believe this is a flub or a Higgins is Robin Masters clue. When Magnum first walks in with Digger, Higgins is on the phone with Robin Masters. One can assume that Robin called Higgins to inform him of the attempt on his life, that he hired Starguard to increase security, and his plans for his tapes. So, when Digger hands the phone to Higgins all Robin had to say was something like, "I see you met Ms. Doyle from Starguard, do whatever she says." Higgins reples, "Yes, I understand", hangs up, and then has to inform Magnum of the details of the situation which he learned in the previous call with Robin. This is the only reason the writers would have had Higgins on the phone with Robin when the scene opened.

[J.J. Walters]

Great observation Henry Lewis! You're absolutely right.

I've removed the flub. Bummer, it was one of my favorites!

[Doc Ibold]

Great observation Henry Lewis! You're absolutely right.

I've removed the flub. Bummer, it was one of my favorites!

Boooo! Bring it back!

[Milo Minderbinder]

I watched this episode yesterday for the first time since it aired and now, of course, with the question of Robin Master being Higgins in my mind. While it could have been an elaborate deception by Higgins/Masters to conceal the truth, I was wondering if Masters was supposed to be a celebrity recluse or not? The audience is always kept in the dark about what Masters looks like, but what about the rest of the world? It seems like if Masters was super famous and travelled the world all the time, that he would have been recognizable, especially to anyone who would have a reason to know what he looked like, i.e., Magnum.

[Donuts ensucrats]

It's hard to believe that Magnum can't watch Robin Masters anytime in 8 years.

[charybdis1966]

Ah Erin Gray; I never saw the the series you call Silver Spoons so I only remember her as Colonel Deering in Buck Rogers, another Glen Larson production.

[MACattack]

Erin Grey is super hot!!!!

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Erin Grey is super hot!!!!

+1

[Donuts ensucrats]

A little thin for my taste

[charybdis1966]

Erin Grey is super hot!!!!

+1

+1 more

[MACattack]

I use to fantasize about her in my grade school days. I wonder if she's still as gorgeous nowadays, or has time ravaged her good looks?

[J.J. Walters]

Robin's car appears to be a pre-1962 Rolls-Royce Phantom V, an extremely rare car! I've been told that the bodywork is by James Young rather than the standard factory bodywork. The car is not listed on the IMCDb for some reason.



This car is also used in Season Three's "Of Sound Mind"...





Way cool!

[Little Garwood]

I was surprised at hearing that his full name was Jonathan Quayle Higgins III. If his father was Albert Stanley Higgins and Higgins was a second son, who was our Higgins named after?

I voted this one an 8.0 because I had a huge crush on Erin Grey as a kid. I still have the glossy Buck Rogers era pics she sent when I wrote her in 1980.

[timm525]

Additional Flubs for J. "Digger" Doyle:

1. There are several flubs in this one scene. WATCH FOR THE GLASS OF FRUIT JUICE AND THE AMOUNT OF JUICE IN THE GLASS AND THE COLOR OF THE JUICE. After Magnum finishes his run on the beach he sits down at a beachside table with Rick, where Rick is drinking fruit juice and reading a book on fruit juice.

(i) When Magnum first sits down at the table Rick's glass is full and is a dark color. With the camera behind Rick and focusing on Magnum across the talbe, you can see Rick take a small sip of his drink. At this point the glass is still full and dark in color. While talking, Rick then holds up his glass and you can tell the glass is not as full as it was before Rick's small sip. The sip Rick previously took would not have accounted for the visible decrease in the glass. The color of the fruit juice looks lighter also.

(ii) Then the camera angle is from behind Rick again, looking at Magnum, and the glass once again has more juice in it then it did just prior in the other shot. Then the camera is looking at Rick as he hands the glass to Magnum and the glass is only about half-full. Now, when Magnum takes a sip from the glass, the glass is full again and the color is once again darker.

(iii) When Magnum hands the glass back to Rick the camera is once again behind Rick and the glass is full and dark in color. Once Rick takes the glass the camera goes to a frontal shot of Rick taking a sip, and the glass is about half-full again and lighter in color. As Rick puts the glass down the camera cuts to a shot of both Rick and Magnum, and the glass that Rick is taking a sip of is suddenly full again and dark in color.

2. This Flub is one of my favorites. After J. Doyle cons her way into Higgins' study and pulls the gun on Magnum and Higgins, she uses the red telephone to call Robin Masters. After a brief conversation with Robin, she hands the phone to Higgins, who speaks to Robin for 7 seconds. From Higgins' 7 second conversation with Robin, Higgins launches into a 61 second, detailed dialogue about the attempt on Robin's life, StarGuard, J. Doyle, Robin's plan to pick-up all of his tapes from one of his estates, etc. During Higgins' dialogue, Magnum interrupts Higgins briefly, but then Higgins continues with his dialogue. The question is: How could Higgins have gotten 61 seconds of very detailed dialogue from a 7 second conversation with Robin? This scene requires you to abandon all logic. I love it.

3. And of course, the most famous flub of this episode, which has already been mentioned by JAMES J. WALTERS in the Episode Guide, occurs when Magnum is climbing the mountain stairs with Higgins on his back after rescuing Higgins from Lazeronics. In this scene, Higgins was portrayed by a dummy. Not the most realistic dummy either.

I think this is one of the better plots of any episode in the 1st season. Maybe not the best, but one of the best. I don't know if it came across as well on TV, but it was still a good episode.

I just watched this again tonight and I noticed the dummy on his back. The left leg flopping around in one scene was just too much. It looked like the leg was broken and dangling!