Thicker than Blood (1.12)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the first season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
2%
9.5 (One of the Best)
8
8%
9.0 (Excellent)
16
16%
8.5 (Very Good)
19
19%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
28
27%
7.5 (Decent)
16
16%
7.0 (Average at Best)
7
7%
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
4%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 102

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Little Garwood
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#46 Post by Little Garwood »

I voted Thicker Than Blood a 6.5 (Not So Good)

It had been quite some time since I'd last watched it, so when it opened with ten or so minutes of laborious, padded scenes of T.C. and the ship crew and absolutely no sign of TM, Higgins, and Rick, I knew I was in for a below-par episode. The episode could have been much improved had it started with Thomas and Rick worrying about T.C. instead of showing those ship guys scribbling over those charts and shots of the helicopter flying. The "Three-Other-Characters-Getting-Together-When-One-of-Them-is-Missing" scenes would subsequently be a proven MPI hallmark and one I absolutely treasure in this series (the only other series that did this as well as Magnum, P.I. was Bonanza)

T.C. was shrill and irrational in this and while I can understand some season one uncertainty--I am dying to know the production order on MPI--I think the problem lies within the script, because, as the saying goes, "if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage." I did like the (sadly last-minute) reasoning offered for why T.C. went all out for this junkie and ex-Vietnam buddy but it would have made the episode so much better if Magnum and Rick had known about Joey--it's always Joey in these bad episodes, isn't it?--and how he saved T.C.'s life and perhaps even tied that in with Magnum and Rick's memories of the incident, though I don't recall if the guys were all serving together at the time in Vietnam.
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#47 Post by Doc Ibold »

Little Garwood wrote:I voted Thicker Than Blood a 6.5 (Not So Good)

It had been quite some time since I'd last watched it, so when it opened with ten or so minutes of laborious, padded scenes of T.C. and the ship crew and absolutely no sign of TM, Higgins, and Rick, I knew I was in for a below-par episode. The episode could have been much improved had it started with Thomas and Rick worrying about T.C. instead of showing those ship guys scribbling over those charts and shots of the helicopter flying. The "Three-Other-Characters-Getting-Together-When-One-of-Them-is-Missing" scenes would subsequently be a proven MPI hallmark and one I absolutely treasure in this series (the only other series that did this as well as Magnum, P.I. was Bonanza)

T.C. was shrill and irrational in this and while I can understand some season one uncertainty--I am dying to know the production order on MPI--I think the problem lies within the script, because, as the saying goes, "if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage." I did like the (sadly last-minute) reasoning offered for why T.C. went all out for this junkie and ex-Vietnam buddy but it would have made the episode so much better if Magnum and Rick had known about Joey--it's always Joey in these bad episodes, isn't it?--and how he saved T.C.'s life and perhaps even tied that in with Magnum and Rick's memories of the incident, though I don't recall if the guys were all serving together at the time in Vietnam.
Hey LG, maybe I'm reading it wrong, but from my recollection, Magnum did know about Joey. I believe the quote was something along the lines of "It took a lot of guts to pull you out of that chopper. But he used up what little he had right there"

I do think you're right about that being before Ricks time though it's alway hard to pinpoint when Rick joined the team.

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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#48 Post by ConchRepublican »

Doc Ibold wrote:
Little Garwood wrote: T.C. was shrill and irrational in this and while I can understand some season one uncertainty--I am dying to know the production order on MPI--I think the problem lies within the script, because, as the saying goes, "if it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage." I did like the (sadly last-minute) reasoning offered for why T.C. went all out for this junkie and ex-Vietnam buddy but it would have made the episode so much better if Magnum and Rick had known about Joey--it's always Joey in these bad episodes, isn't it?--and how he saved T.C.'s life and perhaps even tied that in with Magnum and Rick's memories of the incident, though I don't recall if the guys were all serving together at the time in Vietnam.
Hey LG, maybe I'm reading it wrong, but from my recollection, Magnum did know about Joey. I believe the quote was something along the lines of "It took a lot of guts to pull you out of that chopper. But he used up what little he had right there"

I do think you're right about that being before Ricks time though it's alway hard to pinpoint when Rick joined the team.
I re-watched this episode in the last few weeks and I recall the same scene.

I kind of agree with Little Garwood in that the episode was a little disjointed, but overall I think it was a good one. It held true to the core of the characters and added more to TC's backstory.
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#49 Post by Rocket »

As far a pacing goes, this far into season one, this episode is by far the best. I am watching all the episodes in order so can't compare to other seasons yet. Yes the drugs still being in the chopper is suspect, but other than that, a very good episode.

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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#50 Post by KingKC »

This one will stay in my memory forever. As I wrote in the Welcome Wagon thread, I had just moved to Kansas City as a career move and had spent my first day alone unpacking and trying to find the grocery store, the gas station, the pizza parlor, etc., etc., when I sat down that evening to watch TV. It was Thursday, February 26, 1981 and I turned on the familiar faces of Thomas, TC, Rick and Higgins and it was almost as if I had brought part of my comfort zone with me on the move from my hometown. I had started watching MPI and Hill Street Blues prior to the move. TC showed an unusual propensity for hostility as this characteristic showed up often but in softer, sarcastic comments. The fight with Magnum was something to remember! It displayed the loyalty and camaraderie of those from Vietnam. It had good investigation and an "all's well that ends well," "buddies again and forever" finish.

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Re:

#51 Post by Danny Lin »

On the "Budapest" - "Evelyn H" flub.
Magnum T. wrote:
Visiting Stewardess wrote: Just one thing I have noticed which no-one else has mentioned yet (I think):
The name on the ship in the opening scene is clearly "Budapest". Yet later Magnum says it's the "Evelyn H"...
Well, clearly I wouldn't say so (the scene is very dark :lol: ) but I checked and you are right, Hawkeye.
I´d say that it is quite clear, since the camera focusses in on the name "Budapest", holding it right in the middle of the screen, covering one quarter of the width of the screen. Additionally there is no other content to see on the screen to distract the audiences attention during that sequence. For sure that is a flub. I didn´t really understand either why they chose the name "Evelyn H" later in the episode instead of just to stick with "Budapest". The name of the ship can´t even be read anywhere during the sequences in the docklands...
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#52 Post by Danny Lin »

On TC being on probation:
IslandHopper wrote:
...

Since the writers ask the audience to abandon all logic at times (like believing that the Coast Guard wouldn't have searched the chopper for drugs), I thought it was unfortunate that they couldn't have somehow exonerated TC of the felony charge(s) without having him on probation for 5 years for smuggling a deserter. The writers could have gotten away without even mentioning it (Rick mentions it in the last scene in the guest house). In reality, I'm sure the FAA would have stripped TC of his license to fly, and he would not have been able to fly in the Marine Reserves, as in "Did You See The Sunrise" (Season 3).

...
But shouldn´t we be thankful for every single time the writers don´t ask us to abandon all logic?! Nobody needs that kind of bad writing, right? It just simply would have been incredible to let TC get away without any kind of punishment. And to just simply not mention him being on probation wouldn´t have made TC flying in the Marine Reserves later on more credible, since the audience knows and would remember that he once smuggled a deserter...
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Re:

#53 Post by Danny Lin »

On Magnum breaking the fourth wall at the end:
J.J. Walters wrote:
...

And then the episode ends with Magnum putting on the Groucho Marx "mask", saying "How about that!?", and looking at the camera. A great tearing-down-the-fourth-wall "final frame".

Image
What Magnum says before that tearing-down-the-fourth-wall "final frame" is: "Well, I´ll be damned." It is a reaction to Higgins telling him that he´ll just have to stay. He´s not asking the audience: "How about that!?"
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#54 Post by Danny Lin »

On the authorities not searching the chopper for drugs:
Carol the Dabbler wrote:
...

Still, it does seems odd that "they" didn't give the copter a thorough going-over -- and, as IH pointed out, the dope wasn't even really hidden, just stored in some obvious compartments! Stuff like this drives me nuts, but I think I've figured out a plausible scenario.

The feds *had* found the drugs in TC's copter, and were waiting to spring it on him and his lawyer as late as allowed by the disclosure laws (just before the trial?). But when Magnum et al. clued them in on their theory that the real smuggler would bid on the copter, the feds played along -- even to the point of putting the drugs (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) back into the compartments.

Of course, they can't put everything that happened into the episode, due to time constraints. :wink:
But that fictional scenario that was figured out here wouldn´t be able to explain why the drug smugglers would have been silly enough to store the drugs in those obvious compartments. Nobody can ever believe that that way to smuggle drugs could ever work out and nobody would ever take that risk!
Stuff like this drives me nuts too,
Seaver41 wrote:
...

I can't get past the drugs in the floor board and never being discovered. Now I get it that the show asks you to extend your imagination with thr supernatural and afterlife here and there, but this was just an insult to one's basic intelligence.

...
but it is not the audiences task to figure a story that fits. It is the damn task of the writers and directors and if they handle things like they did here, we have to just call it what it is: BAD WRITING!!
It is as bad as no one taking care of the shot Eric in "Missing in Action" or Choi getting so distracted by TC´s helicopter that Magnum has time to pick his gun in "China Doll".
Bad stuff like this thrice in the first twelve episodes... :roll: :roll: :roll:
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#55 Post by Danny Lin »

On Joey, not having fresh tracks on his arms:
SignGuyHPW wrote:
...

The thing that really bugged me was that Joey showed his arms to have no new tracks on them as well as showing his eyes yet they were telling him that Joey was never clean and just used eye drops. If that's so then how'd he only have old tracks?

...
That Joey only had old tracks on his arms is clearly explained later when we see that he puts the injections in his legs. He certainly can have done so for a while back just because he wanted to avoid visible fresh tracks on his arms.
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#56 Post by Danny Lin »

Sisophous wrote:
burny wrote:i just watched this ep again - i feel like i missed something - why is TC so very hostile to Rick and TM for trying to help? - like over the top hostile. i can understand how he would not want to implicate them in what he considers to be his problem and his decisions, but why is he so hostile about it instead of just explaining and saying "its my problem" ? ....just seems awkward and "out of nowhere to me.....
It's called bad acting. It could be the director wanted TC to be hostile and it called for it in the script. I think the intended effect was to show TC as losing it and not thinking rationally. He did the same hostile, irrational act toward the group of kids who were at his Helicopter hanger and at one point breaks down in this episode.
SignGuyHPW wrote:
...

I thought TC being so openly hostile as a way to try to keep his friends out of being co-conspirators was really good. TC didn't really want them to not help so much as he wanted them to not get caught in his trouble.
Exactly! TC acted as hostile as he did, just because he wanted to not let the officers around even get the idea that Tom and Rick could be accessaries.
And different from what Sisophous wrote Tc´s acting in those sequences is not at all to be called bad! Especially his acting towards the kids, impersonating that very intensely emotionally shaken person, in fact is part of the more advanced acting we´ll see from our beloved TV-show actors throughout the series!!
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#57 Post by Danny Lin »

On additional flubs and the Team Ring worn upside down by Thomas or his double:

First flub: When Magnum puts the ingredients for that supposedly healthy drink into the jug of the blender the jug stands on the dining table. When the jug is positioned on the blending machine and Magnum pushes the button to start the blending process the machine is positioned on the same table. After a cut, when Magnum takes the jug off the machine the machine suddenly magically stands on a work bench.

Second flub: The second flub is that work bench itself. In "Don´t Eat the snow in Hawaii" (1) there is no real kitchen to find in the guest house. The wall in which the kitchen will be found in "No Need to Know" is still a plain white wall with just a lamp on it. At the end of "No Need to Know" Rick cooks for Magnum. That sequence is filmed at a downward angle and one can see only a bit of that kitchens work bench. It is plain white.
The work bench on which the blender is positioned in "Thicker than Blood" is a wooden bench that stands in the room and is not built in like the kitchen is since "No Need to Know". I´m not sure if that bench standing in the room will be seen in later episodes.

Team ring upside down:
In the sequence in which Magnum pushes the button on the blender, he wears his team ring upside down in despite of the fact that he was wearing it the right way just some seconds before, when he was pouring the Tabasco in the measuring cup. The sequence in which he pushes the button on the blender seems to be produced at a different point of time as the rest of the sequences having to do with the blending of the drink. Firstly the blending machine is positioned on the work bench and not on the dining table in all sequences in which Magnums face and body can bee seen and secondly the team ring is worn upside down when only Magnums hands can be seen. Perhaps that sequence was shot with the same person as a double who wore the team ring upside down through those stock footage sequences in the Ferrari that were used in the trailer too since the first episode.
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#58 Post by Danny Lin »

On Rick´s "space-lemon" shirt:

Rick is wearing another crazy shirt which deserves some attention: In different sequences, for example when he calls Magnum at the docklands, when he tries to separate the fighting Magnum and TC from each other and also in Joey´s room in the Hotel Street, Rick is wearing a dark blue shirt featuring some kind of space wheels that look like thick slices of lemon that are surrounded by red "planet rings"... :lol:
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#59 Post by K Hale »

Flub in the episode guide. http://magnum-mania.com/Episodes/Season ... Blood.html

Under "Quotes 3," it says, "Magnum is packing up after being told to leave the estate by Higgins earlier." This isn't accurate; in the darkroom conversation, Higgins never told Magnum to leave the estate, Magnum said he would leave if Higgins developed the photograph.
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Re: Thicker than Blood (1.12)

#60 Post by #1 Buzzettes Fan »

Now we are cooking! This is one of the most memorable episodes for me. I love the interior ship scenes, the dock scenes with the union bros, the Coast Guard elements and the multiple helicopter shots. Plus we get to see Rick crammed in the 308 with his torso halfway out of the car. I'm a small guy myself so I can relate lol.

Finally we have the proper theme for the intro and it is firmly established that Higgins and the Magnum have bonded.
Fantastic ending.

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