The Big Blow (3.22)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
2%
9.5 (One of the Best)
11
11%
9.0 (Excellent)
24
24%
8.5 (Very Good)
24
24%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
19
19%
7.5 (Decent)
12
12%
7.0 (Average at Best)
5
5%
6.5 (Not So Good)
2
2%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 101

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J.J. Walters
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#41 Post by J.J. Walters »

I watched it. Great episode, great guest stars!

Now it's time for some "Riding the Storm Out" and "Shelter From the Storm"! ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Styles Bitchley
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#42 Post by Styles Bitchley »

J.J. Walters wrote:I watched it. Great episode, great guest stars!
Wish I knew you were on board. Would have done the same!
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

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Doc Fred
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#43 Post by Doc Fred »

Pahonu wrote:Steve,

There are a couple of clues to be seen in that picture. First the column to the right has no base moulding or other trim as are present on the garage wing connected to the main house. Also, the window at the upper-left is glazed rather than an open vent with the triangle patterned grill that can be seen in many shots of the garage wing. Another thread on this forum shows a picture with the street side of the gatehouse garage and it has these kind of windows, not vents.

The actual scene itself also shows Higgins approach the area and it seems not to be behind the garage wing. It does lead you to believe they are in that area, though. Of course, the guest house is also implied to be back there behind the garage wing as well!
I thought that was shot in the boathouse.

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#44 Post by Doc Fred »

Much to my regret, I must believe that Higgy is not Robin.

One could argue that Thomas didn't know what Robin looked like and an imposter was upstairs in the bedroom. But, the smoking gun is that Candice recognizes him when she goes up there to kill him, and their dialogue is proof they know each other from, what was it?, 1957?

Were it not for this episode, we'd still be up in the air about the Higgy-Robin situation.

I like Higgy more now after discovering he has a PhD in Mathematics... we share that achievement.

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Pahonu
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#45 Post by Pahonu »

Doc Fred wrote:
Pahonu wrote:Steve,

There are a couple of clues to be seen in that picture. First the column to the right has no base moulding or other trim as are present on the garage wing connected to the main house. Also, the window at the upper-left is glazed rather than an open vent with the triangle patterned grill that can be seen in many shots of the garage wing. Another thread on this forum shows a picture with the street side of the gatehouse garage and it has these kind of windows, not vents.

The actual scene itself also shows Higgins approach the area and it seems not to be behind the garage wing. It does lead you to believe they are in that area, though. Of course, the guest house is also implied to be back there behind the garage wing as well!
I thought that was shot in the boathouse.


Take a look at the SketchUp model image in the episodes section for The Kona Winds and you can see the area in a wider view. It's note number 5. The screen shot is from that episode.

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#46 Post by Seaver41 »

memorable episode from back in the day. I now find the Barry Van Dyke character EXTREMELY annoying with the over the top baseball cliches. R\eally Barry? The royal couple were well, a couple of maroons....though that red hair........WOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEEE. Wowza wowza wowza. That's the perfect shade of red.......hubba hubba.

Now that I've composed myself. Episode is ok, but suffers from terrible overacting.......but was that by design as it parodies an old flick?

Is there a prison on the North Shore? I found that circumstance with a pregnant girl a bit much.

This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.

Overall, not bad......but as I've been writing my opinion on recent episodes for season 3, this season really tanks in the last 1/3 of it....IMO

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#47 Post by snp389 »

I've always loved this episode since I first saw it aired when I was a kid.
The whole Agatha Christie mystery feel to it, with the hurricane, the escaped convicts, and the banter between TSM and JQH is some of the best.
I remember when I was a ten year old kid first seeing this, I felt SO bad for Higgins when he knocked over his beloved Bridge on the River Kwai model.
Funniest part is the final scene where TSM and JQH observe the 'Lads' in the wine cellar completely pissed. One of them is totally cactus, whilst the other is slowly licking his paws and has a small belch, hahahah classic.

I myself have a Siberian Husky, and he loves red wine too. Must be the anti-oxidants....

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#48 Post by MaximRecoil »

IslandHopper wrote: This is one of the episodes along with "J. Digger Doyle," "Birdman of Budapest" and "Squeeze Play" which I think really negates the possibility of Higgins being Robin Masters for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that after Candice attempts to shoot Robin, she reveals that her hatred for Robin goes back to 1957. In 1957, Higgins was still in the British Army, and it would have been unlikely that he would have been in the position to hire an actor to portray Robin Masters. Antoher reason is that Higgins was not even aware Robin was at the estate. Only Magnum knew. If Higgins was really Robin Masters, he would have obviously known this.
robspace54 wrote: But this one does reinforce my thoughts that Robin is Robin and Higgins is ... NOT.
Doc Fred wrote:Much to my regret, I must believe that Higgy is not Robin.

One could argue that Thomas didn't know what Robin looked like and an imposter was upstairs in the bedroom. But, the smoking gun is that Candice recognizes him when she goes up there to kill him, and their dialogue is proof they know each other from, what was it?, 1957?

Were it not for this episode, we'd still be up in the air about the Higgy-Robin situation.
Seaver41 wrote:
This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.
Neither this nor any other episode dispels the notion that Higgins is Robin Masters, at least, not the spirit of it. Higgins could be Robin Masters for all intents and purposes without actually being Robin Masters. I've posted this a few times before, but here it is again:
MaximRecoil wrote: Imagine this scenario:

Robin Masters, a real writer, strikes gold with his first novel or maybe first couple of novels, but then hits a slump. He maybe writes a few stinkers, or perhaps, can't seem to write anything at all to completion, and it is beginning to seem like he was a flash in the pan that got lucky.

While discussing his misfortune with Higgins, Higgins offers to help by doing research, reading over his manuscripts and giving suggestions on how to improve it, etc.

Robin Masters becomes a success again, and it is primarily due to Higgins' work. Eventually, very little of what Robin Masters churns out is his own work, essentially being ghost-written by Higgins. Higgins, being no fool, makes sure he is getting most of the income from the novels, but sees value in keeping the Robin Masters image around, to keep his own name from being associated with the lurid novels, along with the fact that the name recognition of Robin Masters helps publicity and sales.

By the end of the series, Robin may still technically own the estate, but we also know that Higgins has "Power of Attorney" over Masters' affairs, which is a huge step above simply being the "majordomo" of the estate (for example, he can withdraw money, e.g. $300,000 in one episode, from Masters' account without needing his consent).

So maybe, in effect, Higgins gradually becomes Robin Masters for all intents and purposes, in that, he's the one that, by the end of the series, actually writes the novels and calls the shots.

This theory doesn't violate any of the continuity of the series and also allows for Magnum to be right in a sense when he claimed that Higgins was Robin Masters.

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#49 Post by J.J. Walters »

I've been saying the same thing for years MaximRecoil. But like the number of licks it takes to get to the bottom of a Tootsie Roll, we'll just never know for sure, will we. ;)

It's a mystery that will never be solved and is open to several different interpretations. I kind of like how they set it up like that.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#50 Post by ConchRepublican »

Let's get Larson and Bellisario in for questioning!
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#51 Post by ConchRepublican »

Actually, I think I'll try tracking down Jay Huguely . . .
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#52 Post by ConchRepublican »

Short search . . . he died in 2008 suddenly @ 68.
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#53 Post by Kalai-pahoa »

MaximRecoil wrote:
IslandHopper wrote: This is one of the episodes along with "J. Digger Doyle," "Birdman of Budapest" and "Squeeze Play" which I think really negates the possibility of Higgins being Robin Masters for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that after Candice attempts to shoot Robin, she reveals that her hatred for Robin goes back to 1957. In 1957, Higgins was still in the British Army, and it would have been unlikely that he would have been in the position to hire an actor to portray Robin Masters. Antoher reason is that Higgins was not even aware Robin was at the estate. Only Magnum knew. If Higgins was really Robin Masters, he would have obviously known this.
Seaver41 wrote:
This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.
I totally agree with you: Robin Masters is Robin Masters and Jonathan Quayle Higgins III is Jonathan Quayle Higgins III. No way to argue that they are the same person.
Maybe I missed something but... was never told in the show if RM is British or American? I can't remember that.
All the guests at the party knew Robin, including the baseball player Duke Davis. Talking about RM he says: "I promised I'd work with him on his stroke. He tends to inside-out on his swing.".

In the italian dvd box set edition 'The Big Blow' is the last one episode of the season and 'Faith and Begorrah' is the second last.
This would have been the same airing sequence because this episode is the best season finale than 'Faith and Begorrah'.
I think the authors made the same mistake of the season 1 finale.
And in each episode is involved RM :?
I know what you're thinking, but this time you're wrong.

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Re: The Big Blow (3.22)

#54 Post by Sinjin »

This episode brought back memories of Hurricane Iwa, which hit the islands in November 1982. It knocked out water, power and phone service on the North Shore for several days. It was a pretty big deal, especially considering hurricanes are relatively rare events in Hawaii. It no doubt inspired this episode.

I'm a big fan of Key Largo and I thought the "big storm" scenario offered a lot of promise. But the story didn't live up to my expectations. If I recall correctly the body count was positive 2. Unlike Key Largo, neither the bad guys nor the storm seemed threatening enough. And there was no potential love interest.

On the plus side there was James Doohan playing Mr. McPherson. I also thought Linda Ryan was great as Candice Wingate. She starred in several other episodes (One Picture Is Worth, Jororo Farewell, Mr. White Death), and was a frequent guest on the original Hawaii Five-O. Okay I could be biased, as she was my college drama professor. :)

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Re: The Big Blow (3.22)

#55 Post by Randy »

This is one of my favorite episodes, Randy lines cracks me up every time.
You've got no place to go, no way to get there, and a real mean head wind.

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