Ghost Writer (2.12)

[Carol the Dabbler]

Note also that Rick's reference to muscatel is a follow-up to the ringer's expressing a preference for muscatel during Magnum & what's-her-name's visit the previous day -- one of his handlers had said that they'd order some tomorrow -- so Magnum presumably figured that even if they hadn't really ordered any, whoever accepted the delivery would assume that somebody else had done so.

I cannot swear that Caroline Elias the writer is the same person as Carolyn Elias the Magnum hair stylist. But do note that the page that lists most of Carolyn's hair styling credits (including Magnum) mentions that she is sometimes credited as Caroline (as a hair stylist). And in addition to the page with Caroline's single writing credit, there's a third page with a single hair styling credit for Caroline. I strongly suspect that they're all the same person. What a kick that must have been for her, actually seeing them film her story!

[J.J. Walters]

I'm sure you are right Carol. What are the odds of two different Caroline Elias' working on the same show? She probably wrote in her spare time and just handed it to the producers, or maybe even Selleck. I'm sure she was ecstatic when they greenlighted it!

The writer of "Ghost Writer" is a no longer a "ghost".

[Carol the Dabbler]

She probably wrote in her spare time and just handed it to the producers, or maybe even Selleck.

I would just love to hear the whole story!

I see that you have identified the episode's author as "a Magnum hair stylist" on the episode page. Unless/until somebody can actually confirm that Caroline is the same person as Carolyn, it might be more accurate to say something like, "...written by Caroline Elias, presumably the same person as Magnum P.I. hair stylist Carolyn Elias."

Come to think of it, Caroline-the-writer could be Carolyn-the-hair-stylist's daughter or niece (named for her), in which case, Carolyn probably did hand in the script, but had not written it.

[J.J. Walters]

On the slim chance that it is a different Caroline/Carolyn Elias, I've added the wording "who is presumably the same person...." to the note.

Thanks

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks for humoring my obsessive/compulsiveness!

[AlohaSpirit]

I watched this episode on RTN today. I'm a little confused about one thing: in the first scene, TC makes a delivery, which he is told to keep secret because of industrial espionage. Was this for Farber Industries? Is that why he was reluctant to return when Magnum asks him to land on the Farber building? Was there a connection between this delivery and what was in the metal cases and the rest of the story? I feel like I missed something

[Doc Ibold]

TC was to deliver an unknown shipment to the Farber building for a large sum of money, as long as he kept the delivery secret.

His reluctance came when Magnum asked him to pick him up at the Farber building, which would have voided TC's confidentiality agreement.

(Which, he fortunately voided)

[Italian Ice]

The only question I have is:

"Dinner? Or open heart surgery?"

[N1095A]

Awesome, thanks again guys!

(employer of Oscar, the man who's found by Magnum in the guesthouse)

This is one of my favorite scenes of the entire show! It made me laugh so hard, my sides hurt! After nearly being sniped to death on his own couch, Magnum finds this myserious older guy (Oscar) lurking in the shadows of the guesthouse. Still half asleep, Magnum fumbles around looking for his .45 while continually telling the guy, "stay right there .... you stay right there" (while waving his finger at him). He finally finds his .45 in a duffel bag in his closet. He pulls it out, cocks it, and tells the guy, "Now, why are you here?". He soon realizes the gun isn't loaded, so he tells the older guy (who, by the way, through this entire time seems infinitely more scared and befuddled by the situation than Magnum is) again to "stay right there" as he loads his gun! LOL! After finally finding and loading his gun, he at last gets to question the old guy as to why he's in his house late at night! Oscar never moves an inch the entire time. LOL!

Magnum's expressions and the look on Oscar's face as all of this is going down is just hilarious! Oh, and Patch McKenzie (in a night gown) is also observing this whole bizarre situation going down, which just adds to the greatness of the scene.

This HAS to go down as one of my top 2 or 3 favorite scenes. I'd forgotten about it until just now. I found myself not believing what I was seeing. Only Thomas Magnum the way Tom Selleck played him could get away with that. This scene alone is all the proof you need that TS HAS to play TM in the movie!

[J.J. Walters]

This HAS to go down as one of my top 2 or 3 favorite scenes.

I've added this scene to the video clips page. Classic early Magnum!

"You Stay Right There!"


The first part of the scene is equally amusing; Magnum is subtly propositioned by his client Virginia in the guesthouse. He declines and then later tells us this in narration, "I have this very strict policy about not having relationships with my clients, anything else just wouldn't be professional.... I know what you're thinking and you're right." Hmm, what are we thinking at this point? Is he having doubts about his rebuff? Magnum will, of course, break this "strict policy" several times in future episodes.

[Jay-Firestorm]

The second review of the day. I remember this episode as being much better, but watching it this time (for the first time in quite a while) I found it pretty silly.

[rating=7.5]

T.C. is in the money making hush-hush deliveries to a high-rise. But the ghost writer of an eccentric millionaire hires Magnum when someone tries to stop the book being written, and the high-rise is at the centre of the trouble. A very silly ep…

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This review contains spoilers.

In its mid-second season, the series hit a lull with a string of mediocre episodes. Although this story is a notch up from ‘The Sixth Position’, it is still a shaky and silly affair.
I saw this episode as a kid and remember is as being a good one; when I came to re-watch it recently, I saw how daft it was – and not all in a good way!

The episode at times fells like a piece of amateur fan fiction. Which may not be all that far from the truth, as it is written by one Caroline Elias, who usually worked as a hair stylist on the series! This was her first and only foray into TV writing, and compared to some of the clever writing seen in other episodes, her lack of experience shows through much of this story.

The episode opens with T.C. making a top secret delivery to a high rise building. I love the music to this opening scene, and whenever I watch this episode, I have it echoing around my head for ages afterwards.

Of the cast, notable is Elisha Cook Jr. (credited as just Elisha Cook), playing (the supposed) eccentric millionaire Harold W. Farber. Cook would, of course, go on to play the recurring retired mobster “Ice Pick” from the fourth season onwards (another actor played the part in the third season’s ‘Past Tense’).

One of the episode’s problems is that it tries to be too ‘wacky’. From the ancient, bumbling servant Barker, to the bizarre and equally ancient Farber, the story tries way too hard to be quirky.

Then there is Magnum’s policy of “not having relationships” with clients … since when?! He seems to get romantically involved with clients every two or three episodes!

The story could also do with a b-plot, which brings me back to T.C. For much more fun could have been had with him suddenly finding himself in the money, but for the majority of the story, we hardly see him.

When Magnum and co. find the real Harold Farber, encased in some kind of chemical deep freeze, and learn that the other Farber is a clone of sorts, the story dives into science fiction territory. Now, I love science fiction in shows where it fits in, but I don’t think it works in MPI. Yes, the occasional ‘ghost’ might work, but not this kind of plot.

The story is also filled with convenient moments – such as Magnum moving in the guest house just as the sniper takes a shot at him; T.C. changing his mind about not helping Magnum and arriving *dead on time* with Rick; and villain Arthur’s gun not firing when he has the whole party cornered on the roof.

For all I’ve said about it, I actually do like this episode a little more than some of the other offerings from this season, but it’s still not great.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* The main page for this episode is wrong – another actor played Ice Pick in the third season’s ‘Past Tense’. Elisha Cook did not play the character until the fourth season’s ‘Distant Relative’.

* This has already been mentioned on the main page, but the scene with the camera watching Magnum has always bugged me – it is mounted on the roof, so how could it look at Magnum sideways on?!

[J.J. Walters]

* The main page for this episode is wrong – another actor played Ice Pick in the third season’s ‘Past Tense’. Elisha Cook did not play the character until the fourth season’s ‘Distant Relative’.

Thanks for the correction.

[Jay-Firestorm]

* The main page for this episode is wrong – another actor played Ice Pick in the third season’s ‘Past Tense’. Elisha Cook did not play the character until the fourth season’s ‘Distant Relative’.

Thanks for the correction.

You're welcome

[J.J. Walters]

Does anybody happen to know what happened to Patch MacKenzie? She's had like three credited film or TV roles since 1989. I can't find anything about her online. Where is Patch MacKenzie??

[Styles Bitchley]

Does anybody happen to know what happened to Patch MacKenzie? She's had like three credited film or TV roles since 1989. I can't find anything about her online. Where is Patch MacKenzie??

It's undoubtedly a stage name (Patch?), so if she hung up her acting hat for something more conventional you might have a hard time tracking down any info.