Of Sound Mind (3.13)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
8
7%
9.5 (One of the Best)
18
16%
9.0 (Excellent)
34
30%
8.5 (Very Good)
31
28%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
8
7%
7.5 (Decent)
4
4%
7.0 (Average at Best)
4
4%
6.5 (Not So Good)
3
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 112

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KingKC
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#81 Post by KingKC »

thechickinthemiddle wrote:
KingKC wrote:Whatever you rate the episode is your business but the masquerade ball gets a 10 from me.

KingKC
Especially Magnum in that suit of armor! :lol:
AMEN!!!!!!

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#82 Post by BWheelz54 »

I didn't have the time this morning to really sift through this thread, but does anyone mention if that rock band at the masquerade ball has a name? Probably not, seeing that the band's just kinda likely thrown together for the episode, if the folks moving around on that stage can play any kind of instrument at all even. But, seeing this is such a fun site, I think we need to give that band a name.

Watched this episode again last night. Many funny moments. To me, I get a kick out of the transition to the jazz being played in the background at the start of the episode to the notes Thomas is choking out of his pawnshop saxaphone when the shot transitions into the guest house.

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#83 Post by MagnumILWU »

Sadly, Donnelly Rhodes passed away Jan 8, 2018, at the age of 80!
"pickled egg please"

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#84 Post by K Hale »

SignGuyHPW wrote:Why was Higgins so blatantly rude towards Carlton?
I didn't see this addressed elsewhere in the thread so I will take a crack at it. From Higgins' perspective, Carlton would be the one who was rude by talking down to him. Carlton is a servant, remember, while Higgins is not only the boss of the estate, he's also a baron and grew up in a family that was part of the peerage.

In the scene where Carlton is packing Magnum's clothes, he verbally identifies himself as a manservant, and is told that Higgins is the majordomo of Robin's Nest. He then asks Higgins to help him carry Magnum's bags, as if Higgins were his social equal, i.e. another servant, and he says it in a politely condescending tone of voice to boot. I can't imagine any other reason why Carlton would do this except that he seems to like Magnum's lack of pretentiousness and is purposely insulting Higgins because he doesn't approve of the way Higgins was mocking Magnum. For a servant to speak to someone of Higgins' upper class background in this way ("Give us a hand with the bags, Higgins, there's a good chap"!!) is very out of line. Which of course is just the way Carlton intended it to be taken.

Later in the party receiving line, Carlton greets Higgins with a faintly insolent familiarity by again calling him merely Higgins instead of Mr. Higgins, continuing to imply that they are equals. Higgins replies in kind, but with an edge of contempt to let Carlton know he understands what he's doing and he's not buying it. I would like to have seen more of these two together!

Despite what Luther Gillis thinks, Higgins ain't the butler, lol.
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#85 Post by Turkey »

Cracking episode - but who operates the zoom when MacLeish is on camera telling Magnum he thinks he's been murdered? :lol:
Make it two weeks.

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#86 Post by Milton Collins »

KingKC wrote:
thechickinthemiddle wrote:
KingKC wrote:Whatever you rate the episode is your business but the masquerade ball gets a 10 from me.

KingKC
Especially Magnum in that suit of armor! :lol:
AMEN!!!!!!
Agree so much that was awesome! I would be so into going to a party like that how fun!

Question, was that the same ballroom where TM held his fake wedding reception in season 3's I Do? Sure looks like it!

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#87 Post by jeffran »

A top 10 episode for me (rated a 9). Not perfect, but fun, and the entire ensemble is present (essential for a great episode IMO).

Also has the distinction of being the first MPI episode I saw as a 13 year old. My policeman dad was visiting one of his buddies on the force, and this episode was on in the living room. I was hooked from then on, and watched the show regularly until the end of its run (and in college, and now as well). I loved the light tone of this episode, as well as the atmosphere and sense of mystery.

A great supporting cast - Roscoe Lee Brown in great (amazing voice) as is Donnelly Rhodes.

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#88 Post by karolis »

golfmobile wrote:I LOVED the costumes on the "regulars" -- and Larry Manetti was a good sport to be Marie Antoinette (I assume that was what his "drag" costume was).
golfmobile wrote:And Magnum's clumsiness in the suit of armor -- while Higgins stands there as Henry VIII, just watching his ineptitude -- is very clever! It's probably a pretty early effort to have an "action hero" be the joke.
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Jay-Firestorm wrote: For fans of Magnum’s little quirks, this is the first of a few episodes where we see him with his saxophone, which he has just bought from a pawn shop – even though he owes Higgins money for a telescope which got melted (!) on his previous case.
IvanTheTerrible wrote:the emasculating of a rodent/saxophone scene
Magnum plays his saxophone for the first time. He will play it again in "I Do?" (3.17), "Rembrandt's Girl" (4.14) and "Autumn Warrior" (7.13).
- from Episode Guide

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MaximRecoil wrote:
James J. Walters wrote: The gun was real, and loaded with dummy bullets (not to be confused with blanks). However, during the closeup shot of the gun squirting Wilson, it is a fake gun; the bore is mostly plugged aside from the tiny hole for the water to come out, and the chambers in the cylinder are too small, and the gun is of course, not loaded with anything but water (because it is not a real gun). It is quite realistic looking for a squirt gun however. As soon as it cuts back to Magnum holding the gun after the closeup of the squirting, it is the real Colt SAA again.
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That white one with the guitar on the left really reminds me of one of the artists of Finland group Lordi, which won Eurovision in 2006.

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Compare to the left one:

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You can see MacLeish double in the plane, MacLeish doesn't have moustache, just compare:

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Double with moustache

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Rubber Chicken present: check

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Flub -
Marina has glass in her hand:

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Two seconds later she has not:

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Rick and Magnum's shoe:

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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. Past Tense
8. Almost Home
9. Heal Thyself
10. Ki'i's Don't Lie
11. Mixed Doubles
12. Mr. White Death
13. Foiled Again

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#89 Post by ENSHealy »

Italian Ice wrote:21 things I think most people liked about this episode

Tristan and Isolde
I missed this. It's been almost 10 years since your post, but if you're still out there, Ice, let us know where you spotted this.
* Just a thought, but there are several ways the final scene with Carlton and the gun can be read.
It could be taken that Carlton had finally having enough of his selfish master, and was holding a gun to him. Magnum persuades him to put it down, only for it to turn out that it contains custard (or whatever) anyway.
The other way that the scene can be read, and the one that I go by, is that the whole thing was set up by Magnum and Carlton, and Magnum knew all along that it was a prank.
I think it can only be read the second way, because Magnum pulls the trigger after taking the gun from Carlton. If he wasn't in on it, wouldn't he have thought he was shooting MacLeish? I suppose you could assume that once he took the gun, he could tell from the weight of it that it was fake, but it seems like that's a big gamble to take?

Speaking of the gun, I'm assuming there's a tube leading somewhere behind Magnum's arm and the fluid is being pumped in. At first I thought it might be possible the gun could be carrying it all, because we only see fluid coming out of the gun for less than 2 seconds, most of the flow is delivered with the gun off-screen and we just see it hitting MacLeish, so it could be coming from anywhere in those shots. But after using the blessed gift of frame-by-frame review delivered to us by the technology gods, I see that TM's trigger finger never moves, he doesn't actually squeeze anything out of the gun (well, his trigger finger twitches, but just barely - not even enough to get a small toy squirt gun to fire). (Although now I look again and I see that perhaps the twitch would be enough to open a valve, but I still think the fluid is being pumped, not squeezed, from the gun.) (And I do wonder about my sanity in that I just spent a good 10 minutes dissecting the workings of a gun prop in a 30 year old TV episode...there's a phD thesis in there somewhere for some aspiring young Freud, I imagine.)
308GTS wrote:Great, great fun episode. Way back in 1984 when it first aired I taped it of course and along with Woman On The Beach it was the most viewed episode in my household. I must have watched it at least 10 times during that summer! Excellent and easily one of my favs.
I would love to be able to watch taped versions of the original broadcasts with the 80s commercials. I would imagine, given the deep fan base here, we could put together a pretty good collection of converted VHS-to-digital to share within the group. If anyone has a bunch of VHS Magnum sitting around, I have the conversion equipment, let's team up and put together something awesome.
308GTS wrote:Having just watched this episode again I can honestly say that it still holds up so well, easily one the best of S3. Perfect, just perfect. One thing I did notice this time was when Magnum shot Wilson with the water pistol it seemed to be with some truly yukky brownish liquid, ew!
I was right there with you, 308, thinking "what in the name of all that is holy are they spraying on the poor man?" Apple cider or vinegar is the best we can hope for, but why the heck not just use water?
RocketMan wrote:(enough with the armour already, take it off!)
I had the same thought. I kept thinking, if you really want to catch the guy, ask Higgins to help you get the armor off, not help you up.
Sisophous wrote:Ok, one fakes his death and does so by crashing his plane while he has spectators. Where was the body? Where did the body of the pilot go?
I had this same thought. Also, they never really explained how he either a) got out of the plane, or b) pulled a switcheroo with another plane. My assumption, given the cuts between shots, is that we are supposed to assume that when he goes over the horizon/out of sight that either he bails out where he can't be seen, or another plane takes his place. But either way there has to be a full size remote control airplane to be piloted and blown up. Maybe there's an aviation expert out there that can tell us if that was even remotely possible in the pre-Predator-drone era.
SignGuyHPW wrote:How could the money have been legally distributed per the will only for the dead person come back and instantly get it all back?
I think we are supposed to assume (and rightly so given that the Simon the nephew mentions at one point that he had already filed suit) that the money hasn't been distributed yet, the only thing that's really happened is TM has moved in to the house. So there's no money that needs to be given back.
K Hale wrote:
SignGuyHPW wrote:Why was Higgins so blatantly rude towards Carlton?
In the scene where Carlton is packing Magnum's clothes, he verbally identifies himself as a manservant, and is told that Higgins is the majordomo of Robin's Nest. He then asks Higgins to help him carry Magnum's bags, as if Higgins were his social equal, i.e. another servant, and he says it in a politely condescending tone of voice to boot. I can't imagine any other reason why Carlton would do this except that he seems to like Magnum's lack of pretentiousness and is purposely insulting Higgins because he doesn't approve of the way Higgins was mocking Magnum. For a servant to speak to someone of Higgins' upper class background in this way ("Give us a hand with the bags, Higgins, there's a good chap"!!) is very out of line. Which of course is just the way Carlton intended it to be taken.
I think you are on the right track here, with one minor quibble: no doubt Higgins is offended because Carlton is treating him as an equal, but I can totally see where Carlton is coming from. I don't think you can make the leap from TM introducing Higgins as "sort of the majordomo around here" to Carlton understanding Higgins isn't your regular majordomo, i.e. the peerage, et. al. Therefore Higgins mocking Magnum would be totally out of line, so I think Carlton's approach is understandable given what he knew.
Milton Collins wrote:Did anyone notice the midget Frankenstein dancing in the crowd at the party? I have to wonder if this is the same midget from season 2's "Tropical Madness" and a couple other episodes.
I failed to spot him, but I did notice he got a credit:
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and he is in fact the same actor from Tropical Madness:
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#90 Post by ENSHealy »

Oh yeah, one more thing, which I think is flub-worthy. At the end of the episode, Carlton says:

"What I expected, however, was just a little something in the will. Just a little something."

Apparently, Carlton has high standards for "a little something", as he did get $40,000 ($99,680 today!) and a collection of prints at the will reading. For what it's worth, I'm thinking the housekeeper took home the biggest prize.

Carlton: $40,000 and collection of English hunting prints
Hiroshi: $10,000 and a pickup truck
Ruth: $10,000 and the small Rodin bronze in the sitting room
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#91 Post by ENSHealy »

OF SOUND MIND
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Island Hopper shirts: 0
Body Count: 1
Shirtless: 0
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 1
When I write HTBAWCPI: 0
Investigator corrections: 0
Magnum injuries: 1
Higgins musings: 1 broken right foot
4th wall breaks: 2
Negotiations: 0
Famous guest stars: 1 – half point each for Roscoe Lee Brown and Donnelly Rhodes.
Magnumometer: 8

Potential magnumania usernames: Carlton, Hiroshi Taka, Hungarian Acrobat

A truly enjoyable episode. Roscoe Lee Browne absolutely steals the show, and Donnelly Rhodes gives a Kim-Richards worthy-performance. But I suppose he's not bad, he's just written that way, to paraphrase Jessica Rabbit.

CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS

Magnum: I know what you're thinking. Wilson MacLeish leaving me $50 million was a practical joke. I had the feeling the real reason was on the tape that he left me. I hoped it wasn't so funny that I was gonna be left in stitches.

Magnum: All you have to prove your worth, is the friends you leave behind.

Anybody else think the lighting changes in the climactic scene were odd? It looks like half the scene was shot in a sound stage and half outdoors. Maybe I just don't know enough about stage lighting? In the first three shots below, the lighting looks like sound stage. The shot where you can see the house appears to be at the Walker estate, but the lighting is totally sound stage. And then the final two shots look totally outdoors, real light (the screen caps are not in the same order as they appeared in the episode, it was more back-and-forth live). In fact in the live shot of Carlton close up with the gun, you can see the leaves blowing on the trees. Perhaps it was nearing dark when they shot it and that's gives it the variability?

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#92 Post by K Hale »

ENSHealy wrote:
K Hale wrote:
SignGuyHPW wrote:Why was Higgins so blatantly rude towards Carlton?
In the scene where Carlton is packing Magnum's clothes, he verbally identifies himself as a manservant, and is told that Higgins is the majordomo of Robin's Nest. He then asks Higgins to help him carry Magnum's bags, as if Higgins were his social equal, i.e. another servant, and he says it in a politely condescending tone of voice to boot. I can't imagine any other reason why Carlton would do this except that he seems to like Magnum's lack of pretentiousness and is purposely insulting Higgins because he doesn't approve of the way Higgins was mocking Magnum. For a servant to speak to someone of Higgins' upper class background in this way ("Give us a hand with the bags, Higgins, there's a good chap"!!) is very out of line. Which of course is just the way Carlton intended it to be taken.
I think you are on the right track here, with one minor quibble: no doubt Higgins is offended because Carlton is treating him as an equal, but I can totally see where Carlton is coming from. I don't think you can make the leap from TM introducing Higgins as "sort of the majordomo around here" to Carlton understanding Higgins isn't your regular majordomo, i.e. the peerage, et. al. Therefore Higgins mocking Magnum would be totally out of line, so I think Carlton's approach is understandable given what he knew.
Certainly it is understandable, which I was trying to convey by saying Carlton's fondness for Magnum led him to do it. But he doesn't need to know anything about Higgins other than he is the majordomo of the estate. Google defines this as "the chief steward of a large household." Carlton is aware that this is someone who gives orders to others. I don't think a person typically goes to someone's place of business and expects the people in charge to fetch and carry, even if you throw in a "there's a good chap" pat on the head as incentive. :wink:
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#93 Post by ENSHealy »

ENSHealy wrote:OF SOUND MIND
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Island Hopper shirts: 0
Body Count: 1
Shirtless: 0
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 1
When I write HTBAWCPI: 0
Investigator corrections: 0
Magnum injuries: 1
Higgins musings: 1 broken right foot
4th wall breaks: 2
Negotiations: 0
Famous guest stars: 1 – half point each for Roscoe Lee Brown and Donnelly Rhodes.
Magnumometer: 8
UPDATE - 3.13 OF SOUND MIND
Famous guest stars: 1 – half point each for Roscoe Lee Brown and Donnelly Rhodes
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Tigers Cap: 1
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless:
OMG/Extraordinarys:
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings: 1
Negotiations:
Body Count:
Bullet wounds:
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking: 1
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections:
4th wall breaks: 2
Magnumometer: 7

Potential magnumania usernames: Carlton, Hiroshi Takei, Hungarian Acrobat
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/379640880
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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#94 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

IvanTheTerrible wrote:I gave this one a 9.0 (excellent) rating which is the same rating I gave the previous episode - "Heal Thyself".

This was a very entertaining "comedy" episode with a bit of mystery thrown in for good measure. Those who are nitpicking it (why didn't Magnum take off his armor when pursuing the Grim Reaper? why didn't the authorities look for the body when the airplane blew up?) are missing the point - this episode isn't trying to be very realistic. Just the opposite. It's surreal. It feels more like a dream. In a dream things almost never add up or make sense. Hey, if someone just told me that a total stranger gave me his entire fortune I'd be convinced that I'm dreaming too. No way! Things like this just don't happen in the real world. Not even in the world of MPI, unless it's the surreal world of MPI.

One thing that I don't quite get is the love for the ballroom scene. It seems to be everyone's favorite scene - especially Magnum in the suit of armor. Personally I could take it or leave it. They seemed to really be going for the yuk-yuks in that scene. Magnum trying to smash through the door in the armor wasn't all that funny the first time. Even less so the second and third time. Next please... It's like they were trying too hard with the humor there. I like my humor to be more subtle - usually involving a look that Magnum or Higgins give one another. But that's a minor quibble. Everything else was excellent - the reading of the will with MacLeish seemingly from his grave conversing with his family members and later with Magnum via the TV, the emasculating of a rodent/saxophone scene, the big spooky house at night, and every scene with Carlton (Roscoe Lee Browne was fantastic!). I really love when Carlton introduces himself to Higgins as Magnum's "manservant". That whole scene is a riot!!

Thinking between this episode and "Heal Thyself" I'm tempted to give a slight edge to the latter (probably because I prefer the more serious 'Nam-themed episodes and because it feels more like a typical MPI episode) but I rated both equally (9.0) and enjoyed both for different reasons. Season 3 is excellent ("Mixed Doubles" and "Two Birds of a Feather" notwithstanding).
Well, I just rewatched this episode for the first time since my initial viewing back in 2015 (hence my review above) and honestly I didn't enjoy it as much this time around. I found it kind of middling (certainly not bad, but not great either) so I came here to see what I rated it initially and was really surprised at my extremely favorable initial review as well as the 9.0 (excellent) score that I gave it! :shock: :lol: I definitely don't think that I can now call it among the best of season 3. I still like the idea of Magnum inheriting millions and the reading of the will and some of the mystery elements (there actually isn't enough of that here) and the sax scene is still great! As is Roscoe Lee Browne as Carlton! But overall I just don't feel it's a top-tier episode (even for a "comedy" MPI episode) so I'm not sure why I gave it a 9.0 score. Guess I liked it more the first time. :) At least I'm glad to see that even on my initial viewing of it I didn't care for the ballroom scene and the awfully forced attempt at humor with that dang clanging suit of armor. Ok, let's just agree that continually running into a closed door with a suit of armor on will not make it any funnier. :roll: Nor laying on the ground in said suit while wiggling your arms and legs like a dying cockroach. It's just too juvenile even for a "kid at heart" like TM. I think they took the "comedy" there a tad too far, especially since it wasn't funny to begin with. And does anyone really find dress-up balls comical or creative? Or Rick dressed as a woman?? Is that supposed to get cheap yucks out of me?? Sorry, lads. No dice.

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Re: Of Sound Mind (3.13)

#95 Post by bjs »

As enjoyable as I find this episode, there is just no way that the airplane explosion would have fooled anybody. Planes don't blow up in the sky, and the NTSB would certainly have investigated it thoroughly. The fact that there was no trace of the body would prevent a declaration of death. McLeish would have had to blow up the plane with a bomb, which the NTSB and FBI would find immediately. There also may have been a witness to his parachuting out of the plane first. BTW, where was the parachute, or if there wasn't one, how did McLeish get out of the plane, a Star Trek transporter?

Also, this episode really adds up to nothing. There was no conspirator. Nothing was at stake. At the end Magnum say to McLeish "the point is, you are a worthless human being." Yeah, but who cares?

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