Two Birds of a Feather (3.20)

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)
4
4%
9.0 (Excellent)
3
3%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
10%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
10
9%
7.5 (Decent)
12
11%
7.0 (Average at Best)
14
13%
6.5 (Not So Good)
21
19%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
15
14%
5.0 (Just Awful)
17
16%
 
Total votes: 109

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Jay-Firestorm
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#31 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

It’s Double Review Friday (TM), and here is the second review. I wonder what this episode would have been like if it made it to a series.

[rating=8.0]

Magnum meets pilot Sam Hunter, who he indirectly knew in Vietnam, when the plane Hunter is flying crashes into the Estate’s tidal pool, narrowly missing Magnum. But it turns out the crash was no simple accident. The pilot for a series that didn’t sell…

-----

‘Two Birds of a Feather’ is a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off series that did not sell.
William Lucking (who many will recognise as Colonel Lynch from ‘The A-Team’) had already played a very similar character, Grady Dancer, in two of Donald P. Bellisario’s one season wonder, ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey’ (1982-83), ‘Legends Are Forever’ (where the character met his demise), and ‘Honor Thy Brother’ (where Grady was seen in flashback).

Bellisario obviously liked the character enough to try and spin him off into his own series. The character was updated to the 1980s (‘Tales of the Gold Monkey’ was set in the late 1930s) and fleshed out, but is very much Grady Dancer mark II, complete with cowboy hat and interest in ancient ruins.

Anyway, this episode, being a pilot for a series revolving around Lucking as Sam Hunter, features very little of Magnum and co. The opening trailer features Magnum heavily, no doubt to try and hook the regular viewers who tuned in to see Thomas Sullivan, but the story itself more revolves around Hunter and his family and associates.
It is the first of just a few ‘Magnum-lite’ episodes of the series (in terms of the character), with Magnum and Higgins only seen in a few scenes. T.C. and Rick are only seen in flashback in the opening ‘Nam sequence (T.C. is mentioned in the present, but not seen).

The bulk of the episode sets about giving background to Hunter’s character. His boss is played by ‘Shaft’ actor Richard Roundtree (who deserved to be used in a better and more prominent MPI story).

The climatic jet chase is quite exciting and well shot, and is probably the highlight of the story.

Lucking is likable enough as Hunter, and one can only wonder what it would have been like if he got his own series, but people who tuned in to see Magnum, Higgins, T.C. and Rick may be disappointed.

The pilot for a series set around Sam Hunter did not sell, but Bellisario did take the very basic notion of an ace combat pilot, and worked it into ‘Airwolf’ (1984-86). As a fan of both ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey’ and ‘Airwolf’, I find these connections to MPI fascinating. One can only wonder what the series would have been like, if it had every emerged.

-----

Others notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Nothing else to note on this episode, except to say, N1095A, it very much depend what season of 'Airwolf' you are watching. I'd very much recommend the first season, which was dark and ahead of it's time. The quality slowly went down by the third season, and the TERRIBLE Canadian-produced fourth season is some of the worst television ever produced.
JAY FIRESTORM

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My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!

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Little Garwood
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#32 Post by Little Garwood »

Jay, you're much too kind to this episode! MPI audiences were being snookered, hoodwinked, and just plain bamboozled by this bait and switch of an episode! It remains my most-despised MPI, though I can barely even think of "Birds of a Feather" as a Magnum, P.I. episode. Still, it would've been hugely improved by actually having TS and Lucking onscreen together and actively working on a case instead of Magnum literally phoning in his lines!

BTW, IIRC Lucking's Gold Monkey character was Gandy, not Grady.

I always enjoy your reviews, even when I disagree with them.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

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All About the Stache
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#33 Post by All About the Stache »

So this was an attempt at a pilot episode for another show? I sat there thinking just that. It was either a pilot episode or a "filler" episode that some seasons have. Either way, easily the worst episode of this season.
Magnum: Ivan...
Ivan: Yes?
Magnum: Did you see the sunrise this morning?
Ivan: Yes... Why?
*BANG*

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steveadl
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#34 Post by steveadl »

Couldn't agree more.

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Honolulu Lulu
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#35 Post by Honolulu Lulu »

Just want to echo what most have said about this episode . . . a real rip-off! It might not have been so bad if the pilot characters had been likeable, but they couldn't hold a candle to TM and Co. I give this episode a double karate chop! :x
Rack em up!

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MaiTaiMan
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#36 Post by MaiTaiMan »

This one is not really one of season 3's best. :shock: I am not sure about this, but this episode seemed to be a 'try' of a "Pilot" for a different show--starring William Lucking??

Anyway, this episode has hardly anything to do with Magnum or the rest of the gang...so it's really kind of boring to me. :? The only aspects I remotely found interesting were guest stars Joanna Kerns (better known as Mrs. Seaver in the popular sitcom "Growing Pains" with Kirk Cameron) and Chad Sheets (who starred with Dolly Parton and Lee Majors in my family's favorite Christmas movie "Smoky Mountain Christmas"--LOL! :lol: --long story :wink: ).

The cool ruins at the beginning were also awesome...and I somehow wish the episode had gone back there and focused on exploring that for some treasure or archeological find instead.
"It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"

Croix de Lorraine
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#37 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

Waco, TX looks an awful lot like Oahu...as does Ireland, for that matter...

Oh hi guys!

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Doc Fred
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#38 Post by Doc Fred »

Lt. Dupree wrote:James, the 'Birds' episode was my first speaking role. In the show, I played 'Pepe' -- the 'Nam' scene at the beginning of the show. I still have a light scar on my left forearm from a hot casing fired from Tom's M16.

The sequence was filmed out in Haleiwa (North Shore) at an old Naval training airport. I have seen some pictures of the area on Rick Romer's site. The site was used in numerous episodes for Nam among other stages.

Bill Lucking indeed was hoping to get a series out the special. On set, I met a special forces commander whom advised.

It took two readings for Don to accept me for the role. Virgil was actually pulling for me and he deserves the thanks for supporting me in getting my SAG card.


Thanks for the background.... interesting! And thanks also for the guide to Rick Romer's site....

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Doc Fred
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#39 Post by Doc Fred »

Well, I guess I'm a bit different from most of you in that I really enjoyed this episode... the tie to Nam.... the family situation.... the "I love you but can't live with you" relationship... Agreed that Magnum could have been more involved, but still a show I rank pretty highly.

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#40 Post by grundle »

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-10-08/us/u ... a?_s=PM:US

Man ditches plane into ocean off coast of Hawaii after running out of gas

October 08, 2011

By Greg Morrison, CNN

A 65-year-old man flying from California to Hawaii was forced to ditch his plane in the Pacific Ocean on Friday night 13 miles off the coast of Hilo after running out of gas, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The man was flying for delivery a Cessna 310 twin-engine aircraft from Monterey, California, to Hilo when he radioed federal aviation authorities that he was 500 miles out and low on fuel, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Angela Henderson, a spokeswoman for the Coast Guard.

He estimated he would run out of fuel 100 miles short of the island, according to a Coast Guard statement.

The Coast Guard deployed rescue crews aboard a C-130 Hercules and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to intercept the pilot and escort his plane with the hope of coaching him to a safe landing, said Coast Guard Lt. Gene Maestas. A Coast Guard ship was also at the scene.

The plane didn't make it, running out of fuel as the pilot had predicted.

"The pilot ditched his airplane at approximately 5:23 p.m. and climbed out of the cockpit onto the wing," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Video released Saturday by the Coast Guard shows the small aircraft skimming along the water before coming to a stop. It eventually settles and floats in the water, seemingly intact and with its nose pointed in the opposite direction from which it came.

A man is then shown being pulled from the water toward the helicopter.

After being rescued, the pilot was transported to Hilo Medical Center for evaluation, Henderson said.

"He was reported to be coherent with no significant injuries," the statement said.

American King Air Services, an airplane ferry service, said on its website Saturday that the pilot had "successfully ditched." It said that he is "in good condition," and that the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident.

The plane was registered to the Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, company. Neither American King Air nor the Coast Guard immediately released the pilot's identity.

"We are waiting right now to hear from the Coast Guard about the aircraft," Pablo Bassabe, a company vice president, told CNN.

Hilo is about 2,300 miles west of Monterey, where the pilot's flight began.

According to the aviation site Airliners.net, Cessna 310 aircraft have a range between 760 to 1955 miles, depending on various factors including cruising altitude, weight, amount of reserve fuel and the specific model.

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Styles Bitchley
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#41 Post by Styles Bitchley »

grundle wrote:Hilo is about 2,300 miles west of Monterey, where the pilot's flight began.

According to the aviation site Airliners.net, Cessna 310 aircraft have a range between 760 to 1955 miles, depending on various factors including cruising altitude, weight, amount of reserve fuel and the specific model.
Uhhh, you think someone would have done the math a few times before leaving!

Thanks grundle. I love it when real life stories echo Magnum episodes.
"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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#42 Post by Seaver41 »

yeah, I remember this one vividly. Only redeeming thing is seeing Magnum figure him out in the end......one of those hair on the neck moments this series was good at.

Man...another less than stellar episode as season winds down..........the last third of this season is not strong....but is still overshadowed by the tremendous first 2/3

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#43 Post by J.J. Walters »

Seaver41 wrote:Only redeeming thing is seeing Magnum figure him out in the end......one of those hair on the neck moments this series was good at.
Let's not forget about the cool airplanes (Boeing/Hughes Super Stearman, Cessna 172 Skyhawk, P-51 Mustang)! And Joanna Kerns and William Lucking are good guest stars. But those are about the only decent things that can be said about this episode, unfortunately. Heh.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#44 Post by Seaver41 »

J.J. Walters wrote:
Seaver41 wrote:Only redeeming thing is seeing Magnum figure him out in the end......one of those hair on the neck moments this series was good at.
Let's not forget about the cool airplanes (Boeing/Hughes Super Stearman, Cessna 172 Skyhawk, P-51 Mustang)! And Joanna Kerns and William Lucking are good guest stars. But those are about the only decent things that can be said about this episode, unfortunately. Heh.
and somebody should've been fired for casting that kid as their son.......I mean, come on. 2 blondes spawned Howdy Doody's brother.

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Soon-Tek Oh

#45 Post by Faceman »

Yeah, this was a weird episode in that TM and the gang are hardly in it, which i only realised as they ranch scene in texas was going on for so long. In saying that, it started good with the flashback and i thought it was a nice enough story in itself, just poor by magnum standards.

What i love about watching this old stuff is the guest stars, and it wrecks my head as when i seen sato (Soon-Tek Oh ), i was thinking, 'where have i seen him before?'. Thanks to the episode guide i then found out this was the 2nd of 4 characters in plays in magnum, i'm only just finished season 3. He was also in season 5 of the A-team which i only seen this year, so that explains it. Like a lot of the guest stars he did the rounds in my other favourites McGyver and airwolf (well, only a small airwolf fan really), but he didn't make it to knight rider!

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