Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the first season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
23
19%
9.5 (One of the Best)
25
21%
9.0 (Excellent)
38
31%
8.5 (Very Good)
23
19%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
6
5%
7.5 (Decent)
4
3%
7.0 (Average at Best)
1
1%
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 121

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ConchRepublican
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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#51 Post by ConchRepublican »

Pahonu wrote:
Primbud wrote:Thanx for the welcomes.

The lithosphere.

Am going thru the series on the new set and am just kicking it into the middle of the inaugural season.

The community here seems quite knowledgeable about Magnum. I must admit most of what I know about Hawai'i' is because of this show. Does the community here like the first half of '[Please] Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii' or the 2nd? Reading through the threads, I think it's either split due to the setups that are clarified in the 2nd half or leaning towards the first half due the introduction of all those characters.
The opening scene alone makes the first part superior for me.
Same here. It does a great job capturing who TM is.
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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#52 Post by Little Garwood »

I voted Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii a 10 (Perfect!). This supersedes whatever I voted for part one. :)

What makes it so amazing is that it not only sets up so much of what Magnum would become, but also because there's so little that's jettisoned in subsequent episodes. It just sets up nearly everything. This, along with Memories are Forever, Did You See the Sunrise? , and--perhaps shockingly to everyone else here at Magnum-Mania--Ki'is Don't Lie (which I rate a perfect 10 for personal reasons) are all Magnum, P.I. perfection.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

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#53 Post by Robert »

IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:I know that is one thing I like about the show is the evolution of the characters. Had they kept the same personalities I don't think the sow would've been as successful.
I'm weird in that I've been watching since the mid-80's but never got to see anything from Season one, including the pilot, until I bought the DVD set.

One thing I constantly heard in regards to the pilot was that it lacked a lot of the personality that the characters developed later. One thing caught my eye as I watched it though: One line was uttered that summed up Magnum's personality better then anything I've ever heard:
Tom, Why'd you leave the Navy?" Magnum: "I woke up one morning and I realized I was 33 and had never been 23."
Puts the shirts, rubber chickens and assorted antics in a middle aged man in a different light when you think about it.

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#54 Post by Robert »

Magnum T. wrote: Note: in many tv-series of 70/80s it happens that the same actor is used to play different characters.
Funny you mention this, Last night I was watching an old A-team episode and caught Jack Bing in an episode I hadn't seen before.

This makes a total of three characters he played on there, (So far, I'm only on season 2)

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#55 Post by Dave Anderson »

So, I'm not clear was Rick a drug dealer? Did it just go on in his club and he permitted it? Not clear on this.

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#56 Post by eltonsean »

Dave Anderson wrote:So, I'm not clear was Rick a drug dealer? Did it just go on in his club and he permitted it? Not clear on this.
you're right, it's not clear, but I'd venture to guess that Rick was not actually a dealer. Just like Bogie's character Rick in "Casablanca", whom MPI's Rick is mimicking, he just owns the club but is also aware that some under-the-table dealings are happening. At least that's my assumption. I don't think TM or TC would be okay with Rick dealing drugs either. That wouldn't fly with them, wouldn't you agree?
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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#57 Post by ConchRepublican »

eltonsean wrote:
Dave Anderson wrote:So, I'm not clear was Rick a drug dealer? Did it just go on in his club and he permitted it? Not clear on this.
you're right, it's not clear, but I'd venture to guess that Rick was not actually a dealer. Just like Bogie's character Rick in "Casablanca", whom MPI's Rick is mimicking, he just owns the club but is also aware that some under-the-table dealings are happening. At least that's my assumption. I don't think TM or TC would be okay with Rick dealing drugs either. That wouldn't fly with them, wouldn't you agree?
I agree. I don't think Rick personally dealt, but that he knew things were going on in the place, very much like Bogie. That said, being that blatant that he was running the "Snow Palace" does go against what the guys are about, especially TC.

I assume it was an idea for the pilot that once the series was picked up they scrapped, like TC's drinking later on. They still kept his connections and downplayed the Snow Palace angle without making like it didn't happen.
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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#58 Post by eltonsean »

ConchRepublican wrote:
I agree. I don't think Rick personally dealt, but that he knew things were going on in the place, very much like Bogie. That said, being that blatant that he was running the "Snow Palace" does go against what the guys are about, especially TC.

I assume it was an idea for the pilot that once the series was picked up they scrapped, like TC's drinking later on. They still kept his connections and downplayed the Snow Palace angle without making like it didn't happen.
well said, Conch. And I'm so glad they DID scrap that club. The King Kamehameha Club is WAY better! The tropical beach bar theme is so much more "Hawaiian" and beautiful to film at than a dark and dingy nightclub. Good decision by the producers or network or whoever decides those things :)
"Living well is the best revenge".

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#59 Post by Turkey »

Just re-watched these two and found some things interesting - like, TC being pretty damn horny half the episode? Of course, Rick's drug den is amusing and I'm glad they switched it out. Funny to see Judge Reinhold and odd seeing Mack as 'ski' but overall, awesome stuff.

Hard to top that opening sequence/introduction to Magnum's character.

(Glad they later pulled back on the amount of reverb for the narration too.)
Make it two weeks.

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#60 Post by Turkey »

Also the old theme song struck me as having much more of a Charlie's Angels kinda sound than it usually does.
Make it two weeks.

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#61 Post by marlboro »

I wish they had kept the snow palace. I like the rough around the edges version of Rick. Loved how he just ran into the street with an uzi blazing at the end. He turned into comic relief by the end of the series.

I'm also not a fan of the Goody Two-Shoes version of T.C.

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#62 Post by Little Garwood »

I rated Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii a 10 [Perfect!]

Long-winded and random-observations post alert. :twisted:

The series debut is a ninety-minute movie and is the only long-running tv series which captured its essence from the very start: TM's narration, his character background with the US Navy, his Vietnam experience, his "beach bum" persona and nearly every other identifying concept that made Magnum, P.I. what it is are all present in Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii.

Higgins is immediately said NOT to be Robin Masters 8) but rather "the majordomo who sort of runs the place." Of the four principal characters, Higgins would take the longest to "find himself" though even those tweaks are minor. Higgins smirks and laughs more than usual and some of his dialogue is un-Higgins like (smacking the riding crop on the second-story metal railing for example) but they're not dramatically different from the Jonathan Quail Higgins we will come to know and love.

I liked Thomas' scenes with T.C. Their helicopter banter while searching for the wreck is one I'd previously taken for granted. Selleck and Mosley are tremendous fun to watch. T.C. ribbing Magnum about their being on a "mission" instead of a case is pretty funny stuff. I loved it.

Rick and T.C., like Higgins, remain in their basic role playing here which establishes who they are and what they do. Rick runs a sleazy disco but dresses and acts like Casablanca-era Humphrey Bogart--except he is the first member of the MPI main cast to take a life. He does so with what I believe is an Ingram MAC-10 which Rick uses to waste the thug played Peter Kalua.

"Snow" must have been filmed in early 1980 but disco was already dead, at least on the pop music charts, since mid 1979. They wisely chose to jettison the "Snow Palace" disco angle and move to the friendlier and more upscale King Kamehameha Club. It's the death of the Seventies and the birth of the Eighties, for better or worse. Whatever the case, it's strange seeing disco being popular in 1980. It must have been an in-between time, pop culturally speaking.

Pamela Susan Shoop does a fine job playing the slain Dan Cook's sister, particularly in her many scenes with Selleck. She's an engaging performer who should have had return appearances on Magnum.

Other notable supporting actors include Fritz Weaver (Captain Cooly). Weaver has a small but important role. Actingwise, Weaver mops the floor with Selleck in their one big scene together. Baa Baa Black Sheep member and Bellisario stock actor W.K. Stratton plays a rare good guy in his Ensign Healy role. He shares a nice scene with Pamela Susan Shoop out in the rain.

While it's amusing to see that 1970s Robin's Nest decor, the way the camera was set up in Higgins' study--I guess this was the actual home's study--gave me the impression that the study was too small to accommodate a TV film crew. Plus it looked to have been shot from floor level. The whole scene is just awkwardly yet interestingly filmed.

Of course, "Snow" boasts numerous iconic opening-credit images that are forever burned into every Magnum fan's brain. It's actually a treat to see those scenes in their original context. I still laugh every time Thomas dumps the Ferrari's top on the ground and proceeds to drive off!
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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#63 Post by jno »

Just thought you might like this photo included here perhaps.

Image

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#64 Post by KingKC »

Little Garwood wrote:

"Snow" must have been filmed in early 1980 but disco was already dead, at least on the pop music charts, since mid 1979. They wisely chose to jettison the "Snow Palace" disco angle and move to the friendlier and more upscale King Kamehameha Club. It's the death of the Seventies and the birth of the Eighties, for better or worse. Whatever the case, it's strange seeing disco being popular in 1980. It must have been an in-between time, pop culturally speaking.
Having lived through the Seventies and Eighties I can assure you the Eighties were definitely a time for change. You are correct that disco died in 1979 but just like it peaked with John Travolta and Saturday Night Fever, country western music became oh so popular in the south, southwest and midwest in 1980 with John Travolta and Urban Cowboy. MPI did not even recognize the country western fad until much later with the Episode Let Me Hear The Music with Dennis Weaver. That was in spring of 1985 when the country western fad had pretty much died out. Maybe music fads took a little longer to get to Hawaii??? Moreso than enjoying the demise of disco was the end of the god-awful clothes we wore in the Seventies. Double knit polyester, large collars, wide lapels, silk shirts, flared pants, platform shoes and gold medallions (except by Mr. T!) were gleefully discarded and I hope they never return. I think some of that dress wear was even present in the first few episodes of MPI.

What is more astonishing is the change and increases in technology in the Eighties. CNN is still re-running a show on that. Things like cable television, microwaves, VCRs, cordless phones and answering machines all seemed to evolve and expand dramatically during the eight years MPI was on. Personal/home computers were still rare even in the late 1980s.

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Re: Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) (1.2)

#65 Post by jno »

A few scans from the British TV TIMES magazine from when this episode first aired on British TV on 27th February 1981:

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