The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
5
5%
9.5 (One of the Best)
13
12%
9.0 (Excellent)
21
20%
8.5 (Very Good)
36
34%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
18
17%
7.5 (Decent)
7
7%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
4%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 106

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Milton Collins
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#41 Post by Milton Collins »

This is a good solid episode, an 8 for me.

- The Tozan character has grown on me the more I've watched this one. I think it was interesting how he taught TM some things and vice versa.

- I totally enjoyed the ninjas and the ridiculous music that played when they were on screen, very fun!

- Good old Rodney Radcliff (whoever plays the antique salesman in this, Rodney Radcliffe in season 6 "Old Acquaintance", and the sailor in season 1 "China Doll")
makes another appearance! I like this role and the season 1 role, I HATE the Rodney Radcliffe character!

- The bath/massage parlor scene cracks me up. Magnum is so clearly EXTREMELY uncomfortable while Tozan feels right at home, hilarious!

- The end of this episode with Big Hig wielding the Samurai sword at Magnum is priceless, one of my favorite endings of the series lol.

Season 3 is so full of great episodes that maybe I lowballed this one at an 8 but regardless a very fun episode!

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KingKC
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#42 Post by KingKC »

I remember this one not for the ninjas but for the suspense, if you will, that a Magnum, PI episode might have an "honorable" suicide. There was a close call in The Taking of Dick McWilliams and by this time in the series you did not know what to expect for the ending of an episode. I think not knowing what to expect, especially with the ever changing weekly plots, was one of the addictive aspects of MPI.

KingKC

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Turkey
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#43 Post by Turkey »

Another great episode - heaps to like, especially the ending :D
Make it two weeks.

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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#44 Post by f14peter »

Wow, long time no post on this ep!

I liked this one when I watched it oh so many years ago, and found myself liking it a bit more when I saw it the other night.

I loved the part when Magnum and Tozan are in the hospital and after Magnum introduces Tozan as "my partner". On two occasions, when Magnum crosses his arms, you can see Tozan notice and then cross his arms ...

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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#45 Post by jeffran »

Another top 10 episode for me (and a rating of 9.5), from a season full of top 10 episodes. Not much more to add to what others have said, Mako is terrific and makes me believe he's a modern-day Samurai.

I've had Saki a few times, and didn't find it particularly potent, not more potent than grape wine anyway. Maybe there are more potent varieties.

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Pahonu
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#46 Post by Pahonu »

jeffran wrote:I've had Saki a few times, and didn't find it particularly potent, not more potent than grape wine anyway. Maybe there are more potent varieties.
Most sake is only slightly higher ABV than a California zin or Aussie shiraz, maybe 15-16%. That's high by wine standards in general, as many lighter varieties are 10-11% or even lower in some cases. There's quite a range, really. Fortified wines like port or madeira are around 20%. I've heard some sakes get that high, but I've not had one.

Anyway, I think it was used to good comic effect, namely, the individual unaccustomed to a foreign alcoholic beverage gets hammered unwittingly and suffers the consequences. GOOOOONG!!! :D
Last edited by Pahonu on Thu Nov 08, 2018 5:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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karolis
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#47 Post by karolis »

robspace54 wrote:I did not remember much of the plot from the original airing in early 1983. But I did recall the discussion in the Ferrari when Tozan tells Magnum that he too is a samurai in his own way, the beautiful scene of the rising sun (did you notice how Rabbit Island looked like Mt. Fuji?), and the demonic wail of Higgins going after Magnum at the end.
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Vertical black line is visible several times throuought the episode. One of the cameras or tapes from them was defective, because when camera changes - there's no black line. Few of the examples:

On the left:

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On the right:

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I don't remember such lines from previous episodes, at least not to this extent.


That blonde on the right looks like checking Tozan up:

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And she is HOOOT!


Coops present: check

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It's obvious that Tozan's sword didn't even touch the candle:

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Is that bearded woman in the picture on the right?

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I like how somebody in the background of this scene says "down there long time, bro, pretty bad shape", but you see that the guy is already waking up

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Season 3 Top up to this episode:

1. Black on White
2-3. Did You See the Sunrise?
4. Flashback
5. Off Sound Mind
6. The Eighth Part of the Village
7. The Arrow That is Not Aimed
8. Past Tense
9. Almost Home
10. Heal Thyself
11. Ki'i's Don't Lie
12. Mixed Doubles
13. Mr. White Death
14. Foiled Again

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karolis
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#48 Post by karolis »

P.S. I forgot that i noticed new T.C. hat, which has on it T.C. initials with Cross of Lorraine and his Helicopter:

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This hat may have been seen in an earlier episodes, but it's the first time i noticed it.

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J.J. Walters
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#49 Post by J.J. Walters »

karolis wrote:Is that bearded woman in the picture on the right?

Image
There was lots of discussion about this painting back in '09 and '10. MM forum member Danno ID'd it as Picasso's 'Seated Woman in a Chemise' from 1923! She doesn't have a beard. It's just shadowing.

https://www.art.com/products/p196898109 ... FID=714164

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It was in HFO too!

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* Pics courtesy of Rubber Chicken :)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Stelth
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#50 Post by Stelth »

I'm watching this one as I post. According to the majority of entries here this seems to be a well-liked episode...but I don't feel that way. It's silly; but not in a good way. To me, ninjas are like cinematic pirates: totally unbelievable. If you can imagine this as a pirate episode, where Magnum is hanging out with Long John Silver (in full pirate regalia, parrot and all) and Magnum is helping LJS find his missing treasure...then you get the way I feel about this episode.

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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#51 Post by ENSHealy »

THE ARROW THAT IS NOT AIMED
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Island Hopper shirts: 0
Body Count: 0
Shirtless: 1
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 0
When I write HTBAWCPI: 2
Investigator corrections: 0
Magnum injuries: 0
Higgins musings: 0
4th wall breaks: 0
Negotiations: 1 the case for the dog repellent
Famous guest stars: .5 Mako
Magnumometer: 5.5

Potential magnumania usernames: Tozan

Enjoyable episode, I enjoyed the parallels between the bathing scene with Thomas and Tozan and the one from You Only Live Twice with Bond and Tiger Tanaka.

CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS:

Magnum: Samurai or not, it was obvious the courier had skipped with the plate. l had as much chance of finding him at his hotel as the Chicago Cubs do of winning a pennant. Nevertheless, working rule number 23 of my yet-to-be-written hand book on how to be a private investigator dictates that you must go through the motions. You never know, you could get lucky. Of course, so could the Cubs.

Magnum: Working rule number 35 stipulates: always enter strange hotel rooms with caution, especially strange hotel rooms with samurai warriors in them. Of course, the last samurai l saw was in a Toshirô Mifune movie.
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LZeitgeist
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#52 Post by LZeitgeist »

This was an OK episode, although I wish TM hadn't been making such a joke of Tozan in the beginning. However, it did show better his growing respect and understanding of the samurai as the episode continued.

One error I saw was when Tozan was at the temple to bless the plate (before it was stolen), the samurai removed his katana from his obi and placed it on a stand. A samurai would know that the sword is to be placed on the stand in the same way it is worn, edge up. One can see that the saya (scabbard) curves down in the middle when on the stand, meaning that the sword was placed edge down.

A very minor nitpick, granted, but so much of the episode focused on how very strict the samurai code is about the smallest detail of honor and respect. A samurai's soul is his sword.

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Luther's nephew Dobie
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#53 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

LZeitgeist wrote:This was an OK episode, although I wish TM hadn't been making such a joke of Tozan in the beginning. However, it did show better his growing respect and understanding of the samurai as the episode continued.

One error I saw was when Tozan was at the temple to bless the plate (before it was stolen), the samurai removed his katana from his obi and placed it on a stand. A samurai would know that the sword is to be placed on the stand in the same way it is worn, edge up. One can see that the saya (scabbard) curves down in the middle when on the stand, meaning that the sword was placed edge down.
A very minor nitpick, granted, but so much of the episode focused on how very strict the samurai code is about the smallest detail of honor and respect. A samurai's soul is his sword.
Hi LZeitgeist,
That's interesting about the nuances of the samurai and his sword, that it is his soul. Thanks to you I better understand Japanese culture regarding an incident with the
legendary Ichiro Suzuki when he was a NY Yankee. The oafish announcer Michael Kaye mocked Suzuki more than once for obsessing over his bats, constantly attending
to them and getting irate when Kaye grabbed one from his locker without asking. The bat, like the samurai's sword, is the tool of his trade, it earned him his living and
his no doubt eventual entry into the Hall of Fame.
LZeitgeist, perhaps you know about another aspect of Japanese culture? I have always held in high regard the Haiku that Magnum quotes at the episodes end.
Magnum tries to reason with an enraged Tozan(Mako) who is about to slay his dishonorable master Fukuda. TM opts to diminish Fukuda and thus lessen the insult
to Tozan's honor:
"Tozan, no! There's a Haiku that says,

Though I thought of you as a gallant warrior
Did you gird your sword just to gather watercress
in the Kaniha rice fields?

Is this a genuine Haiku or did writers Steven and J. Miyoko Hensley make it up? I ask because it doesn't seem to fit this description from online that I swiped:

"What is a haiku? It is a three-line, beautifully descriptive, form of poetry, intended to be read in one breath. If read in Japanese, most traditional haiku would
have five syllables, or sounds, in the first line, seven in the second, and five in the last."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Stop looking in mirrors, Janie. There are windows all around"...Linc Case on Route 66 to a woman wallowing in pity.

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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#54 Post by ENSHealy »

ENSHealy wrote:THE ARROW THAT IS NOT AIMED
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Island Hopper shirts: 0
Body Count: 0
Shirtless: 1
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 0
When I write HTBAWCPI: 2
Investigator corrections: 0
Magnum injuries: 0
Higgins musings: 0
4th wall breaks: 0
Negotiations: 1 the case for the dog repellent
Famous guest stars: .5 Mako
Magnumometer: 5.5

Potential magnumania usernames: Tozan
UPDATE - 3.14 THE ARROW THAT IS NOT AIMED
Famous guest stars: .5 Mako
Hawaiian shirts: 1 green with white flowers
Tigers Cap: 1
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless: 1
OMG/Extraordinarys: 1
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Body Count:
Bullet wounds:
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking:
When I write HTBAWCPI: 2
Investigator corrections: 1 Magnum taking the case in exchange for not telling Robin about the dog repellent
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 7.5
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/379915045

The "famous guest stars" in this and Of Sound Mind are, upon further review, quite borderline, but I decided not to revoke the status given to them in my first run through.

A couple plot quibbles:
If Rick made up the cover story for him and TC, how did they end up getting the info and leaving with all their fingers? The Yokuza says he’s checking out Rick’s story. But Rick’s story wouldn’t check out. Yet he and TC get the info. How?

Thomas says at the end that a samurai’s sword once unsheathed must draw blood, but there are at least two times earlier in the episode when Tozan unsheathed the sword but didn’t draw blood: in the hotel hallway with Thomas, and in the hangar with Fukuda. So I guess it’s more of a guideline, really….
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Re: The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#55 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

I agree that this is a VERY good episode and Mako is great in it!

The triangle/note cards/bell scene is no doubt a masterpiece!! :D But I also crack up when Magnum says "seppuki" and Higgins corrects him LOL! :lol: It's such a little scene but so funny because Magnum is like a little kid that can't properly pronounce a word and Higgins is the adult who corrects him. There's also just something funny about "seppuki" - like some little game for little kids. :lol:

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