Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
0
No votes
9.5 (One of the Best)
11
10%
9.0 (Excellent)
12
11%
8.5 (Very Good)
25
23%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
26
24%
7.5 (Decent)
17
16%
7.0 (Average at Best)
9
8%
6.5 (Not So Good)
6
6%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 108

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Stelth
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#76 Post by Stelth »

Excellent piece of trivia, Sinjin! I didn't know she was in "Dead End"; I haven't seen it in years but I love that movie.

Scotophor
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#77 Post by Scotophor »

I can't resist beating a dead horse (or bird :wink: )... lots of issues and a few misinterpretations in this topic and this episode's page regarding Merlin the macaw. Firstly, did "Ms. Barrett" actually say the bird was "KGB trained"? I wouldn't be surprised if a KGB agent such as her, who happened to own a macaw, would take it upon herself to train it to attack or do other useful tasks, on her own. But it IS a bit outlandish to say that the KGB would go to such lengths, considering the bureaucratic waste such a training program would entail for very little gain - not to ignore the conspicuity that traveling with such pets would bring upon unfortunate agents so assigned.

Secondly, since the instant of the bird's demise was not explicitly shown, we can't be sure whether it was supposed to have met the helicopter's rotor blades from below or above, so calling the collision itself a flub is a mistake. Kudos to Carol the Dabbler for pointing this out, and a raspberry to J.J. for failing to amend the episode page accordingly.

Thirdly, a flub of the feathers which no one else has mentioned yet: when Merlin meets his end, the plumage so liberated falls past T.C.'s window much too slowly to have been blown down by the main rotor of a hovering helicopter. However, this is an understandable cheat by the show's makers -- at a realistic speed they would hardly be recognizable as feathers in such a close-up shot.

So in my opinion, this scene is in some ways less flawed but in another way more flawed than what has been mentioned here up to now. But the burst of multi-hued feathers blasting by T.C.'s window is still hilarious!
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J.J. Walters
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#78 Post by J.J. Walters »

Yeah, that was a dubious flub. I've removed it.

I still say it's a "KGB-trained" macaw though. "Ms. Barrett" was a KGB agent. She trained the macaw to attack on command. Hence, it's a "KGB-trained attack macaw"! It doesn't matter if it was sanctioned by the KGB or she did it on her own. She's still KGB. Plus, it just sounds good, "KGB-trained attack macaw"! :)
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terryfromkerry
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#79 Post by terryfromkerry »

Lets not forget it was the 80's people were queuing for bread etc in Russia. Or course Macaws were queuing to join the KGB.
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#80 Post by ConchRepublican »

marlboro wrote:This episode is worth watching for Higgin's bird call alone.

Here's a pic of Higgin's arch nemesis from younger days:

Image
Borrowing from Kim Carnes;

"She's got Peter Lorre eyes . . . ."
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTmsykLQ04

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Doc Ibold
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#81 Post by Doc Ibold »

ConchRepublican wrote:
marlboro wrote:This episode is worth watching for Higgin's bird call alone.

Here's a pic of Higgin's arch nemesis from younger days:

Image
Borrowing from Kim Carnes;

"She's got Peter Lorre eyes . . . ."
Ha!

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#82 Post by J.J. Walters »

Hehe!

She may have "Peter Lorre eyes", but she looks like Bette Davis! And her eyes! :)

Image

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please ya
She's precocious, and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy...
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

luckyg71
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#83 Post by luckyg71 »

It looks like they divorced in August of 1982 so this could be right after that. Awkward.

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Milton Collins
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Re:

#84 Post by Milton Collins »

Doc Ibold wrote:Come on, you have to give this episode some bonus points for Higgins hunting cry of the peregrine falcon when he's running.

Absolutely hilarious!

:lol:

I love this site. Great work!

YES! Outside of the ridiculous rymes of Milton Collins in Death and Taxes this is the FUNNIEST scene ever! I actually prefer the second time he does it when Merlin is attacking and clawing Magnum (possibly the worst filmed and most ridiculous scene of the entire series but I love it) and he does it to distract the bird. I literally have tears running down my face and then it get's even better as the bird gets taken out by TC's chopper and the Elizabeth and Higgins exchange their mutual hatred for each other. I absolutely love it! From beginning to end this is one of the funnier and most overall entertaining episodes of the entire series for me. Seeing a "respected" guest who was a friend of Robins (Higgins always takes these people so seriously and worries about Magnum being the one having issues with them) not get along with him instead is just priceless!

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Milton Collins
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Re:

#85 Post by Milton Collins »

J.J. Walters wrote:Hehe.... He also uses it at the end to scare the KGB-trained attack Macaw, which then gets pureed by T.C.'s chopper! That whole scene is one of my all-time favorite "Campy" Magnum scenes. I actually have a flash video clip of it in the Video page - direct link here.

Overall though, a weak episode, IMHO.


YES YES YES, I love this scene as well!!

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#86 Post by SignGuyHPW »

I really did enjoy this one. It was mainly a comedy episode, but it still had its serious moments packed in there too. The B story of Magnum having to track down a client that stiffed him was a really good one.

The main thing that I didn't understand in this one was how the agent knew she could pose as Robin's English teacher and have a private investigator there to lead her to the target. It seemed like a huge stretch that she'd have done that much meticulous research to discover that. It was also never explained if it was Robin that was fooled into her visit or if Higgins and Magnum somehow blew their security duties in allowing someone to pose as a known guest.

This was one of the better realisation moments that Magnum ever had. When it dawned on him that she was perhaps one of the people after the refugees. Higgins having a complete metal breakdown from the constant ill tempermant of the guest was great. He didn't even care that the windscreen of the Ferrari was shot. Rick and TC being given the task of tracking down the deadbeat client was really good for the B plot I thought. It was never explained why such a prominent guy at the club was so hard to track down or why he'd not pay the fee right away, but the employee refusing to let Magnum collect the fee was almost creepy. They never out right said this during the episode, but I took it to mean at the end that the woman was the widow of the man blown up at the begining of the show. It made the most sense to me that she was looking for revenge more than working for the Russian government.

As for the argument about this disproving the theory that Higgins was really Robin Masters, it should help disprove it easily. If this teacher was Robin's English teacher then you'd think they'd have declined a visit to the estate. Higgins would've known that she'd have realised something was amiss there. She, clearly, didn't think Higgins' actual writing was any good and openly comared it to the other Masters works.

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#87 Post by Milton Collins »

SignGuyHPW wrote:I really did enjoy this one. It was mainly a comedy episode, but it still had its serious moments packed in there too. The B story of Magnum having to track down a client that stiffed him was a really good one.

Rick and TC being given the task of tracking down the deadbeat client was really good for the B plot I thought. It was never explained why such a prominent guy at the club was so hard to track down or why he'd not pay the fee right away, but the employee refusing to let Magnum collect the fee was almost creepy. .

And it's extra cool as that was Jacqueline Roebuck (Tom Selleck's 1st wife) playing that role. She's a knockout and as you said, played a creepy/crazy employee of Maynard. I mean, shooting out the "windscreen" to keep TM away from her boss, that's crazy! Pretty hilarious when Rick gets mud spewed all over his face at the end as well, poor poor Orville lol.

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#88 Post by SignGuyHPW »

Milton Collins wrote:
SignGuyHPW wrote:I really did enjoy this one. It was mainly a comedy episode, but it still had its serious moments packed in there too. The B story of Magnum having to track down a client that stiffed him was a really good one.

Rick and TC being given the task of tracking down the deadbeat client was really good for the B plot I thought. It was never explained why such a prominent guy at the club was so hard to track down or why he'd not pay the fee right away, but the employee refusing to let Magnum collect the fee was almost creepy. .

And it's extra cool as that was Jacqueline Roebuck (Tom Selleck's 1st wife) playing that role. She's a knockout and as you said, played a creepy/crazy employee of Maynard. I mean, shooting out the "windscreen" to keep TM away from her boss, that's crazy! Pretty hilarious when Rick gets mud spewed all over his face at the end as well, poor poor Orville lol.
She did play the role well, but I just wish I understood why exactly she was like that. It didn't make a lot of sense.

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#89 Post by Milton Collins »

SignGuyHPW wrote:
Milton Collins wrote:
SignGuyHPW wrote:I really did enjoy this one. It was mainly a comedy episode, but it still had its serious moments packed in there too. The B story of Magnum having to track down a client that stiffed him was a really good one.

Rick and TC being given the task of tracking down the deadbeat client was really good for the B plot I thought. It was never explained why such a prominent guy at the club was so hard to track down or why he'd not pay the fee right away, but the employee refusing to let Magnum collect the fee was almost creepy. .

And it's extra cool as that was Jacqueline Roebuck (Tom Selleck's 1st wife) playing that role. She's a knockout and as you said, played a creepy/crazy employee of Maynard. I mean, shooting out the "windscreen" to keep TM away from her boss, that's crazy! Pretty hilarious when Rick gets mud spewed all over his face at the end as well, poor poor Orville lol.
She did play the role well, but I just wish I understood why exactly she was like that. It didn't make a lot of sense.

I'm really not sure why they made her so mean and nasty either, was kindve senseless I agree! What a cool bar that TC and Rick went to, the "Dragon Bar" looked like a fun place!!

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#90 Post by Doc Ibold »

I always found it a little tongue in cheek that TS had his ex in roles where she was either shooting in his general vicinity (J. Digger Doyle) or making his life miserable (BoB).

From what I read, the divorce wasn't too contentious and they remained somewhat close, so good for that!

(I love that this episode is getting props now. This was one of my favorite episodes.. Simply for Higgins losing it, "Whoops" and a trained KGB Attack Macaw - That's straight out of a Roger Moore era Bond Film)

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