Mr. White Death (3.9)
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- N1095A
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Ernest Borgnine, SAG Lifetime achievement award.
Great to see Ernie last night. He's the best. 94 years old and could still kick your a*s, but he's much too nice a guy to do so.
"But Higgins, I can explain."
- miltontheripper
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This was an "okay" episode, I guess...nothing major or memorable, but decent none-the-less. Good, poignant ending between father and son.
"It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"
always liked this episode.........love the ending and that goose pimple line from Magnum......'....not today"
Borgnine is amazing. He's been around a long time. I loved his character on the Poseidon Adventure. The man has an Oscar as well. Truly a legend that Father Time says won't be around a whole lot longer.
One thing.....go back and look at that fight in the back room of the wrestling place........you can see the body doubles of both Selleck and Roger from the front.....clear facial shots. So many tv shows of the 70's and 80's did a poor job of disguising the body doubles....Magnum P.I. was no exception early on.
Borgnine is amazing. He's been around a long time. I loved his character on the Poseidon Adventure. The man has an Oscar as well. Truly a legend that Father Time says won't be around a whole lot longer.
One thing.....go back and look at that fight in the back room of the wrestling place........you can see the body doubles of both Selleck and Roger from the front.....clear facial shots. So many tv shows of the 70's and 80's did a poor job of disguising the body doubles....Magnum P.I. was no exception early on.
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Ernest Borgnine elevates this to an above-average episode. I can't imagine any other actor pulling this off; he brings instant credibility and likeability to the role.
There are some classic funny moments at the expense of Higgins... and I thought for sure his nickname was going to be "Puddinhead!" And also Rick, who gets punched in the face multiple times (ouch). It's actually pretty funny.
Pro wrestling was a popular "sport" entertainment in Hawaii in the 60s-70s, so a wrestling-themed episode was appropriate if not expected. I was never a big fan myself, but I remember evenings as a kid watching my grandmother yell at the tv. I believe she truly thought they could hear her too. It was great seeing Lord "Tally Ho" Blears in a cameo as the referee. He was a wrestling icon in Hawaii.
Linda Ryan (Cora the secretary) once again plays the villainess (The Big Blow). Always a treat to see her. Margie Impert makes her first appearance as Miss Jones, the Hall of Records Clerk. She does a phone bit with her cheating boyfriend Ray that is too funny.
This episode is also worth watching for the flubs. Magnum's sudden and inexplicable change of clothes at 28 min is a great catch. It's not clear whether it's the same day or the next day and Magnum's dialog only confuses things. The woman looking out from the office window is another good catch.
There are some classic funny moments at the expense of Higgins... and I thought for sure his nickname was going to be "Puddinhead!" And also Rick, who gets punched in the face multiple times (ouch). It's actually pretty funny.
Pro wrestling was a popular "sport" entertainment in Hawaii in the 60s-70s, so a wrestling-themed episode was appropriate if not expected. I was never a big fan myself, but I remember evenings as a kid watching my grandmother yell at the tv. I believe she truly thought they could hear her too. It was great seeing Lord "Tally Ho" Blears in a cameo as the referee. He was a wrestling icon in Hawaii.
Linda Ryan (Cora the secretary) once again plays the villainess (The Big Blow). Always a treat to see her. Margie Impert makes her first appearance as Miss Jones, the Hall of Records Clerk. She does a phone bit with her cheating boyfriend Ray that is too funny.
This episode is also worth watching for the flubs. Magnum's sudden and inexplicable change of clothes at 28 min is a great catch. It's not clear whether it's the same day or the next day and Magnum's dialog only confuses things. The woman looking out from the office window is another good catch.
- J.J. Walters
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Lovin' the episode review Sinjin. They are well-written and insightful.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Agreed. Thoughtful and positive. Your references to classic movies and books are particularly interesting to me.J.J. Walters wrote:Lovin' the episode review Sinjin. They are well-written and insightful.
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
As a long time fan of professional wrestling and as someone that's worked in the industry I enjoyed this one. A large number of TV shows in that era had a "wrestling" themed episode and Magnum PI's was not too bad at all. It had some of the classic Magnum traits that combined together to make it really enjoyable such as action, comedy, mystery, and great dialouge.
As a fan of wrestling and of Magnum here's some things that were *wrong* with the episode that viewers that didn't follow wrestling likely wouldn't have noticed:
~In the early 1980s Hawaii was still a full time wrestling territory and was ran by Peter Maivia's widow. The likelyhood that there'd be a small show ran in a bar in that time frame would be small, but for Mr. White Death to have gone from that show to the main arena for a major match in under a week would not have happened.
~When Mr. White Death helps Magnum, Rick, and TC in the hall way fight he unmasks himself. A masked wrestler from that era would never, ever have taken off his mask where he could be seen by fans. Besides hiding his identity from the mob (I'm guessing) the mask would also hide Earl's true age from the fans so they'd not think of him as some older guy wrestling against much younger men. This was a pretty common practice then.
~Earl saying he was going to make $500 for the one match would've been a rough guess. Wrestlers were paid based on the gate and what posistion the card.
~Earl being so open about the true nature of the buisness to people not connected to it would've not have happened. It's kind of surprising that they were that open during the episode considering when they filmed it.
~The names of the holds used were all fictional. However, the hold that Earl had on Magnum was a form of the sleeper hold which can be a legitamate hold used to render someone unconscience. If it was applied correctly then Magnum wouldn't have been sitting upright and talking after it was released. It was actually more accurately depicted by Rick who wasn't in the hold, but took a simple back body drop which may have knocked the air out of him, but shouldn't have done more than that.
~The set up to catch the mobsters wouldn't have happened like that. Wrestling in the early 80s was far more closed to the public than it is now and it's unlikely to have been like that even today. Outsiders were not going to be allowed entry into the backstage area/locker rooms. The other wrestlers on the card and/or the promoter would have had them arrested or just physically thrown them out themselves.
~Lord James Blears had a really long career in wrestling. It was a couple of years after this episode that he was actually an announcer for the AWA promotion during its run on ESPN.
As a fan of wrestling and of Magnum here's some things that were *wrong* with the episode that viewers that didn't follow wrestling likely wouldn't have noticed:
~In the early 1980s Hawaii was still a full time wrestling territory and was ran by Peter Maivia's widow. The likelyhood that there'd be a small show ran in a bar in that time frame would be small, but for Mr. White Death to have gone from that show to the main arena for a major match in under a week would not have happened.
~When Mr. White Death helps Magnum, Rick, and TC in the hall way fight he unmasks himself. A masked wrestler from that era would never, ever have taken off his mask where he could be seen by fans. Besides hiding his identity from the mob (I'm guessing) the mask would also hide Earl's true age from the fans so they'd not think of him as some older guy wrestling against much younger men. This was a pretty common practice then.
~Earl saying he was going to make $500 for the one match would've been a rough guess. Wrestlers were paid based on the gate and what posistion the card.
~Earl being so open about the true nature of the buisness to people not connected to it would've not have happened. It's kind of surprising that they were that open during the episode considering when they filmed it.
~The names of the holds used were all fictional. However, the hold that Earl had on Magnum was a form of the sleeper hold which can be a legitamate hold used to render someone unconscience. If it was applied correctly then Magnum wouldn't have been sitting upright and talking after it was released. It was actually more accurately depicted by Rick who wasn't in the hold, but took a simple back body drop which may have knocked the air out of him, but shouldn't have done more than that.
~The set up to catch the mobsters wouldn't have happened like that. Wrestling in the early 80s was far more closed to the public than it is now and it's unlikely to have been like that even today. Outsiders were not going to be allowed entry into the backstage area/locker rooms. The other wrestlers on the card and/or the promoter would have had them arrested or just physically thrown them out themselves.
~Lord James Blears had a really long career in wrestling. It was a couple of years after this episode that he was actually an announcer for the AWA promotion during its run on ESPN.
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Does anybody know the name of the song right at the beginning of the episode?
Half a world removed from England
- KingKC
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Any appearance by Ernest Borgnine and any episode where Higgins is called Punkie can't be all that bad!!
KingKC
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Re: Mr. White Death (3.9)
Just watched this on Encore! One of my favorites! Brings back good memories. Got me to try sushi, which wasn't as popular in the early 80's, as it was later to become! Just a nice, fun, little episode, the kind I really like! All the main characters, a great guest star, Ernest Borgnine! I enjoy the fun early episodes, so much more than the later, serious one! To me, that's what magnum was all about!
"pickled egg please"