Mixed Doubles (3.10)

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
1
1%
9.5 (One of the Best)
3
3%
9.0 (Excellent)
4
4%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
12%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
20
21%
7.5 (Decent)
20
21%
7.0 (Average at Best)
17
18%
6.5 (Not So Good)
10
11%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
6
6%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 95

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J.J. Walters
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Mixed Doubles (3.10)

#1 Post by J.J. Walters »

This is the official MM thread for Mixed Doubles (3.10). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).

This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.


Original Air Date: 12/2/1982
Magnum plays bodyguard to a young and bratty tennis star who is receiving death threats. The assignment reunites him with an old flame - who is also the prime suspect in the case.
Last edited by J.J. Walters on Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:42 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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#2 Post by J.J. Walters »

Despite having Playmate of the Month (May 1973) Anulka Dziubinska in it, this is probably my least favorite episode of Season Three. Plots revolving around spoiled, bratty, teen tennis stars just don't do it for me, even if the "star" in question is Kim Richards. And the pace of this episode is slower than an Andre Agassi serve!

I tell ya what though, watching Rick hit a tennis ball is pretty darn funny. Probably the highlight of the episode. ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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IslandHopper
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#3 Post by IslandHopper »

James J. Walters wrote:I tell ya what though, watching Rick hit a tennis ball is pretty darn funny. Probably the highlight of the episode. ;)
I watched this episode last night and was thinking the same thing. Rick's forehand stroke looks like a rusty gate swinging in the breeze. :wink:
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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lutherhgillis
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#4 Post by lutherhgillis »

They hired the actors for their speaking ability not their tennis. Those guys swung like old women! Selleck had the only believable stroke on the court. (The guy who played Kenny Phelps also had a good stroke but he was not in very much of the episode).

I like TC in this episode. Roger Mosley gave the show a boost. His portrayal of TC is so convincing. TC was an anchor character in my opinion. Very stable, logical, reliable, and very funny at times.

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Jean-Claude Fornier
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#5 Post by Jean-Claude Fornier »

Interesting episode. I think it was ahead of its time about the teen tennis phenomena of the 90's and of nowadays (Hingis, Kournikova, the Williamses, Sharapova, etc..)

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#6 Post by Shermy »

I actually like this one for a number of reasons. First, it's a somewhat lighthearted case where we get to see Magnum as the overgrown kid he is. Gotta love the number of times he hangs his head in defeat. :lol: And while Carrie is annoying, they at least stay true to the character all the way through. There's no attempt to make her fall under Thomas' spell or become his friend. Instead, she simply admits, "No, he's right, I really am kind've a bitch." :?

It's also great to see Henry Gibson visiting the islands. Despite his long career, my favorite role of his will always be Dr. Werner Klopek in The `Burbs. ("My brother...the Dok-tor!") There's a nice scene where Ronald finally begins to tip his hand, and you can literally see Magnum's little voice trying to warn Thomas that, "Hey, there's something 'off' about this guy!" :idea: :!:

The ending is another one of those that manages to close out a routine episode on a memorable note. After insisting he wasn't much of a hero ("The guy was five-foot-three!" :lol: ), Magnum's final "goodbye" to Ginger is surprisingly poignant. Granted, it's not a great ending, but there's enough truth in it to stick with you longer than it should.

I'm a sucker for the endings where Magnum faces up to disillusionment or loss (ie. Double Jeopardy; Texas Lightning; etc). The show was never afraid to let reality disrupt the fantasy. This is one of the reasons why the show still manages to resonate today, and holds up much better than most of its 1980's peers.

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#7 Post by IslandHopper »

Jean-Claude Fornier wrote:Interesting episode. I think it was ahead of its time about the teen tennis phenomena of the 90's and of nowadays (Hingis, Kournikova, the Williamses, Sharapova, etc..)
Hey Jean-Claude Fornier,

It may have been before your time, but in the "late 70s/early 80s" there was a tennis phenomena by the name of Tracy Austin. I think she was only 15 when she joined the pro circuit. Although I don't remember her being the brat portrayed by the Carrie character, it wouldn't surprise me if she was the inspiration behind this episode. I seem to remember that she had a short career and burned out rather quickly in part because of the tremendous pressure and responsibility she had to face at such a young age. There was a scene in this episode when Carrie is in Magnum's guest house and he says to Carrie, something like: "It's not a game to you anymore!" and Carrie replied "You're right, it's not." I don't know for sure, but maybe Tracy Austin went through something like this. I was only a teenager myself at this time so I don't have a complete recollection of Tracy and her career, but I'm sure someone can elaborate further or correct me if I'm wrong. :wink:
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#8 Post by SelleckLover »

Here's what Wikipedia has on Tracy Austin, for what it's worth....

Tracy Austin
Country Flag of the United States United States
Residence Rolling Hills, California
Date of birth December 12, 1962 (1962-12-12) (age 44)
Place of birth Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, U.S.
Height 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight 120 lb. (54.4 kg)
Turned Pro October 23, 1978
Retired July, 1994
Plays Right-handed
(two-handed backhand)
Career Prize Money $2,092,380
Singles
Career record: 335-90
Career titles: 30
Highest ranking: No.1 (1980)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open QF (1981)
French Open QF (1982, '83)
Wimbledon SF (1979, '80)
U.S. Open W (1979, '81)
Doubles
Career record: 13-16
Career titles: 4
Highest ranking: ?

Infobox last updated on: N/A.

Tracy Ann Austin Holt (b. December 12, 1962, in Palos Verdes, California) is a former World No. 1 women's professional tennis player from the United States who won the women's singles title at the U.S. Open in 1979 and 1981 and the mixed doubles title at Wimbledon in 1980, before a series of injuries cut short her career. Her older sister, Pam, and her older brother, Jeff, were also professional tennis players, as were brothers Doug and John Austin. She is the sister-in-law of fitness author Denise Austin. She is married to Scott Holt and is the mother of his three children.

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#9 Post by IslandHopper »

Thanks for posting that SL. I forgot, her career was cut short due to injuries not due to burn out. I thought I remembered an interview where she talked about the pressures of being a young tennis star, but, it was so long ago I'm not sure anymore. She made quite an impact on the tennis world in those few years in the late '70s to early 80s.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#10 Post by J.J. Walters »

Indeed, there wasn't many teen tennis stars circa early 1980s. Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger, that's about it. Steffi Graf made the Top 10 in 1985 at 16, as did Gabriela Sabatini in 1986.
Shermy wrote:I'm a sucker for the endings where Magnum faces up to disillusionment or loss (ie. Double Jeopardy; Texas Lightning; etc). The show was never afraid to let reality disrupt the fantasy. This is one of the reasons why the show still manages to resonate today, and holds up much better than most of its 1980's peers.
See, this is what I love about you guys. Much as Doc Ibold did with "Birdman of Budapest", here Shermy sways my opinion of "Mixed Doubles". It says something about the show too, I suspect. ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#11 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

So, we finally get to see the Estate's legendary tennis court -- or am I forgetting a prior appearance?

While I was watching that scene, I didn't think it was actually filmed on the Anderson Estate. For one thing, it looked like there was a busy street (glints of sunlight from lots of cars going by) just the other side of the fence at the end of the court that we didn't see very often.

But then I had another look at the satellite view of the Estate (from the link on the Robin's Nest page of the main Magnum Mania site), and I think I have it figured out. The gray house in the background is the gate house (which we don't usually see that close up), and the busy street is the Kalanianaole Highway, which may look even closer than it really is, due to the lens used on the camera.

That's another difference between the real Anderson Estate and Robin's Nest -- on the show, when we see the road in front of the Estate, it seems like there's never much traffic, but in this scene, we can see that it's actually pretty busy.
Last edited by Carol the Dabbler on Fri May 09, 2008 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#12 Post by J.J. Walters »

I just saw this again recently. I missed the boat big time on the tennis/resort scenes. It didn't realize the whole thing was supposed to be at the King Kamehameha Club! This is despite the fact that it's the "Robin Masters Pro-Am Tournament" and there is a big sign on the side of the tennis court that says "King Kamehameha Club"! :oops: For some reason, I thought it was supposed to be at some unnamed resort! This is very interesting because this would be the ONLY time this setting is used for the KKC.

I also noticed a funny little scene, I guess you can call it a flub, that shows the real location of the tennis/resort scenes. Just after Magnum and Carrie are almost run over at the "King Kamehameha Club", Magnum jumps in the Ferrari and gives chase. After a while the bad guy, for some reason, heads right back to the club. As Magnum enters the club grounds, you can clearly see this sign:

Image

The Kuilima Hyatt Resort Hotel (North Shore) is where most of this episode was filmed. This is a new discovery for me, as I thought it was the Turtle Bay Resort. But back in '83, there was no Turtle Bay Resort, it was the Kuilima Hyatt Resort Hotel!

One other thing I noticed. Every other ball that Carrie (Kim Richards) hits is "sky'd"! The ball basically goes straight up into the air!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#13 Post by SelleckLover »

Are you sure you're not IslandHopper posting under James' screen name? Nice flub spotting James! :D

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#14 Post by IslandHopper »

Nice indeed James. Yeah, my son and I crack up every time we watch this episode and see Carrie hit balls up in the air and way off to the right. I suppose that is why the camera cuts in on her so close so we can't see that most of the balls are not even landing on her court. Ginger Grant is not much better.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#15 Post by J.J. Walters »

Zora is dreadful, as well. Come to think of it, all of the supposed tennis pros in this episode have horrible swings! The only one who has a decent tennis swing is Magnum (Selleck)!

That first scene just kills me. In a practice session, Carrie hits one bad return after another (many shooting up to the sky). Then we bewilderingly see her mom and trainer watch on and gloat about how great she is (maybe the best ever!), and how she is going to tear up the tournament. Too funny! :)

I enjoyed this episode a lot more than I remembered it. I'm going to remove it from my "Bottom 10". ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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