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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ConchRepublican
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#71 Post by ConchRepublican »

Croix de Lorraine wrote:From the pictures, I think it's the same lilac shirt. Maybe the lighting makes them look slightly different.
Seconded
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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#72 Post by marlboro »

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

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

Image

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#73 Post by marlboro »

Just rewatched this, and I noticed that Magnum has a Sherlock Holmes style "deerstalker" hat hanging on his hat rack; it's visible in the scene where Higgins knocks and asks politely to come in.

I did a quick search and saw that Jay-Firestorm spotted the hat in "Luther Gillis: File #001." Are these the only two appearances of the hat, or is it always there and I have just missed it?

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#74 Post by Stelth »

I missed this episode the first time Cozi played it but I got to watch it last night. I LOVED it. How could you dislike this episode?

It has the Beetlejuice slit-throat lady:
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And a killer KGB attack-parrot gets frappéd by T.C.s chopper! What more could you want?

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#75 Post by Sinjin »

^^That is a great photo of the legendary Sylvia Sydney in her prime. I remember her from Dead End with Bogart.

Fritz Feld has a cameo as Lars the zookeeper... and does his signature "pop" to the bad monkeys! There is an ornithologist who makes an amazing bird tonic and lives in the remote Haiku valley, on government land. The views of this unspoiled valley are spectacular. There is an "unlikely" undercover KGB agent and Merlin, the attack macaw. Merlin attacking Magnum, Higgin's peregrine call, and TC's helicopter scene is classic tv cheese at its finest. The actor who played Dr. Tessa, Joseph Wiseman should be familiar to 007 fans as Dr. No.

There is a wider plot involving the Hungarian Revolution, but by the time Merlin attacks things have become so outrageous it hardly seems to matter. And what to make of the appearances by Jacqueline Ray, Tom Selleck's ex? Art imitating life? I thought her scenes were hilarious. I recommend this episode for the classic Merlin scene, plus some other funny moments too.

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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.

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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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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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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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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!

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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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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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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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