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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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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J.J. Walters
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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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Milton Collins
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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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Doc Ibold
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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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#91 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

MACattack wrote:Why does everybody hate this episode so much? Granted I've only watched it once, and usually skip over it when watching Season 3. I just don't have a solid opinion on it.
Is MACattack short for Macaw Attack??? :lol:

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#92 Post by Mrs. Higgins »

I liked this episode. Made me laugh out loud several times. Plus, it's always fun to see the Robin3 in action too.
I'm a Boxley Girl....

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#93 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

This was a very good episode! I'd put it on par with "Of Sound Mind".

I mean what can one say about the macaw attack that hasn't been said already?? Or Higgins' peregrine falcon call that freaks out the "KGB macaw" :lol:?? Or the macaw getting minced by TC's chopper blades?? That entire sequence alone raises the episode to an above average rating! It HAS to be the single oddest, most "out there", most hilarious scene in the history of the show!! When those odd sounds began to come out of Higgins' mouth I almost fell off my chair!! :lol: I had to rewind and watch that whole scene again. I tell ya that nothing could have prepared me for what I saw!! An absolute "never saw that coming" moment! But that's the beauty of this show - no matter how outrageous you can somehow buy all this. I mean we've had episodes with ghosts and Magnum waking up in the 1930s on this show! Somehow it all works!!

The KGB plot is pretty flimsy and not very well developed but what really makes this episode exciting and not dull is the interaction between Higgins and guest-star Sylvia Sidney! Any scene with the two of them together is a riot!! :lol: We've never seen Higgins so helpless before (except maybe in "Foiled Again" but those were different circumstances) - when was the last time you saw Higgins despising (or even disliking) one of Robin's guests?? Never!! A friend of Robin's is a friend of Higgins' - that's his motto. So you can imagine what it would take for Higgins to so strongly despise a guest of Robin's. It sure was a treat to see Higgins become an ally of Magnum's - he was willing to do ANYTHING to escape that woman from hell! :lol: Lest he go irretrievably, irrevocably mad. :)

Joseph Wiseman as Dr. Tessa was a special treat for me (as a die-hard Bond fan) because he played the very first 007 villain Dr. No in 1962's DR. NO - that was my introduction to the world of 007 back in the summer of 2001 when I rented out these movies from my local library and watched them in order. Ah, great memories! Wiseman was so cold and cool and composed as the title villain - you could tell he was a great theater actor (which he was).

I agree that this episode proves that Higgins is NOT Robin Masters. I haven't seen the later episodes but it just seems to me really dumb to suspect that they would be one and the same. The early season episodes do so much to negate this theory. Especially this episode! If Higgins is Robin then why doesn't he realize that "Elizabeth" is not his teacher??? He just decides to go along with this charade?! Yeah right!!

Funny thing about Jacqueline Selleck (Tom's ex-wife) is that in the season 1 episode "J. Digger Doyle" (when she was still married to Tom) she was credited as Jacqueline Ray. In this episode (after they got divorced) she is credited as Jacqueline Selleck. Weird, huh? :? By the way, I thought she was pretty hot and I really liked her performance here and that whole subplot which T.C. and Rick also got involved in. When she blew a giant hole in the Ferrari's windshield I thought Higgins would hit the roof. Nope, not a word of protest. That's when you knew the poor old chap was on the verge of losing his sanity. What's a hole in a windshield compared to the old bat occupying his study (with an assassin macaw)?? :D

If there wasn't already plenty of humor we get another hilarious scene at the Honolulu Zoo with Fritz Feld playing the absent-minded zookeeper Lars!! Great stuff there complete with the "mouth pop". I love Magnum breaking the 4th wall after Lars tells him that the old guy living in the Haiku Valley (Dr. Tessa) is a weird guy. :magnum:

I have to point out that the Byodo-In Temple was not featured anywhere in this episode, despite being listed as #5 in the Notes section on this episode's main page. Byodo-In was featured in "The Arrow That is Not Aimed" two episodes earlier. I think J.J. should correct this.

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#94 Post by Milton Collins »

IvanTheTerrible wrote:This was a very good episode! I'd put it on par with "Of Sound Mind".

I mean what can one say about the macaw attack that hasn't been said already?? Or Higgins' peregrine falcon call that freaks out the "KGB macaw" :lol:?? Or the macaw getting minced by TC's chopper blades?? That entire sequence alone raises the episode to an above average rating! It HAS to be the single oddest, most "out there", most hilarious scene in the history of the show!! When those odd sounds began to come out of Higgins' mouth I almost fell off my chair!! :lol: I had to rewind and watch that whole scene again. I tell ya that nothing could have prepared me for what I saw!! An absolute "never saw that coming" moment! But that's the beauty of this show - no matter how outrageous you can somehow buy all this. I mean we've had episodes with ghosts and Magnum waking up in the 1930s on this show! Somehow it all works!!

I agree that this episode proves that Higgins is NOT Robin Masters. I haven't seen the later episodes but it just seems to me really dumb to suspect that they would be one and the same. The early season episodes do so much to negate this theory. Especially this episode! If Higgins is Robin then why doesn't he realize that "Elizabeth" is not his teacher??? He just decides to go along with this charade?! Yeah right!!

Funny thing about Jacqueline Selleck (Tom's ex-wife) is that in the season 1 episode "J. Digger Doyle" (when she was still married to Tom) she was credited as Jacqueline Ray. In this episode (after they got divorced) she is credited as Jacqueline Selleck. Weird, huh? :? By the way, I thought she was pretty hot and I really liked her performance here and that whole subplot which T.C. and Rick also got involved in. When she blew a giant hole in the Ferrari's windshield I thought Higgins would hit the roof. Nope, not a word of protest. That's when you knew the poor old chap was on the verge of losing his sanity. What's a hole in a windshield compared to the old bat occupying his study (with an assassin macaw)?? :D

If there wasn't already plenty of humor we get another hilarious scene at the Honolulu Zoo with Fritz Feld playing the absent-minded zookeeper Lars!! Great stuff there complete with the "mouth pop". I love Magnum breaking the 4th wall after Lars tells him that the old guy living in the Haiku Valley (Dr. Tessa) is a weird guy. :magnum:
Great points Ivan!

-Totally the funniest scene ever when the bird gets chopped due to Higgins insane bird call lol. I totally love this episode for it's humor, just hilarious.

-It's funny to me as the more I watch Magnum, the more I HATE the whole Higgins is Robin thing. It just bugs me more and more as it arose in the later seasons as episodes such as this one CLEARLY disprove it. Just took away from the reality of the show for me and I liked the Robin and Higgins characters as seperate entitites.

- And Jaqueline Selleck/Ray is absolutely stunning!! Wonder what happened there with Tom Selleck, guess we'll never know. I read he was awesome to her son and maintained contact after the divorce which just shows what a cool guy Selleck really is!

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Re: Birdman of Budapest (3.16)

#95 Post by KingKC »

Even after reading the synopsis and some forum postings all I really remember about this episode was a windshield getting shot out and bird getting chopped up. Not exactly memorable for me. Just another episode of MPI

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