Mixed Doubles (3.10)

[IslandHopper]

Zora is dreadful, as well.

Maybe it was because Zora looked like she was cold the whole time she was playing. :shock:

[Doc Ibold]

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".

Oh yeah, baby!

First "Birdman of Budapest", then this one.

What's next? "One More Summer?"

[J.J. Walters]

LOL IH!

Actually, they ALL looked cold - Carrie, Ginger, Zora.

Doc, I seriously doubt I'll change my opinion about "One More Summer", but hey, you never know!

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

You think they could've came up with a better name than Ginger Grant. Why not just name her competitor Mary Ann?

[tomaui]

It's fun watching these again after my latest visit to Hawaii making notes about each episode. After looking at the biography of Kim Richards and realizing that she is Paris Hilton's aunt, it seems that Paris has modeled her career after her aunt's role as Carrie Reardon.

[lutherhgillis]

When you guys were mentioning teenaage tennis phenoms, don't forget Chris Evert from the 70s. She was 16 I believe when she began to gather attention.

I remember Tracy Austin very well. She was a great young player. Too bad the back injury cut her career short.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Tracy Austin is the first young phenom I remember. I always thought athletes were old until she came along. Now all of them are so young!

[Operation Chessboard]

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.

That's a very astute analysis, Shermy. I enjoyed reading it! And I'm with you on Henry Gibson. Every time I see that guy I always think of his character from 'The Burbs.' My god that movie was hilarious! The only reason I really enjoy this episode is because of Kim Richards. Man, she was a babe. I wonder whatever happened to her?

[Doc Ibold]

Well, apparently she's Paris Hiltons aunt or godmother, or something along those lines.......

As for the Burbs w/ Henry Gibson I am TOTALLY on the same page.

I love that movie, however cheesetastic it is!

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Count me in as another one that liked the Burbs. Bruce Dern's character cracked me up.

[Operation Chessboard]

There were so many great scenes of dialog in that film. And Bruce Dern was very funny. That scene with him sitting up on the roof posting surveillance while eating animal crackers always makes me laugh.

"About a nine on the tension scale, Rube."

[Steve]

Just watched this one again today, ugh, it was always ranked near the bottom for me as well. Funny thing is, I always thought Kim Richards was a Demi Moore look-a-like with blonde hair and she got on my nerves, but I guess that is a sign of a good actress. I do appreciate that this is another episode that shows Tom Selleck has a lot of athletic ability and they didn't have to resort to creative camera angles to make him look good, he actually has a great tennis swing..........

[Autumn Warrior]

I just watched this episode again. I don’t like it, but it does have one good scene at the end. When Agatha and a few other ladies are about to board the helicopter, there is a very amusing exchange between Agatha and TC.

Agatha: “You do promise not to go too fast, don’t you Mr. Calvin, or too high?

TC (dumbfounded): “I’ll just skim right along the tree tops.”

Agatha: “Oh, delightful.”

This leads to a brief exchange between TC and JQH. James includes it in the episode quotes. ("TC baby, ....")

Although I know it's coming, I still laugh.

[J.J. Walters]

Yeah, that's a nice little scene at the end Autumn Warrior.

One other thing about this episode, it's not hard to notice, but none of the female tennis players wear bras; Carrie, Zora, Ginger, Mary Ann... all flyin' free on the court.

[Rutledal]

I noticed that to James. Carrie does wear a bra in the opening sequence, but for the rest of the episode it is, as you put it, "flyin' free". A small, uhm, redemption in an episode I really didn't care for.