Black on White (3.6)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
22
16%
9.5 (One of the Best)
35
26%
9.0 (Excellent)
34
25%
8.5 (Very Good)
20
15%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
9
7%
7.5 (Decent)
6
4%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
2%
6.5 (Not So Good)
2
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 134

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Hawaii84
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#41 Post by Hawaii84 »

Pretty sure this is my favorite episode......Picked up this little jewell on ebay for $10 last Thursday...Had it in my hand on Monday...works!!
Image

Not sure if the wife will let me keep it on the nightstand, though....But it sure looks good!
Image

Opened the package and my 7 year old yelled "Magnum's game! Yea!"
Last edited by Hawaii84 on Wed Nov 30, 2011 1:07 am, edited 1 time in total.

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All About the Stache
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#42 Post by All About the Stache »

This episode felt... weird. THe Mau-Mau stuff anyway, I loved all the scenes where Magnum was sharing his guest house with Higgins :) The ending felt a bit abrupt though. Thankfully, the episode ended on a good note with TC hiring Magnum for a full 5 seconds to find his woman and Higgins playing the gameMagnum got from Rick. Good stuff!
Magnum: Ivan...
Ivan: Yes?
Magnum: Did you see the sunrise this morning?
Ivan: Yes... Why?
*BANG*

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Hawaii84
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#43 Post by Hawaii84 »

Ian McShane makes a pretty good Blackbeard in the new Pirates movie.

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MaiTaiMan
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#44 Post by MaiTaiMan »

I love this episode...and it's one of my all-time favorites! :) The plot is superb, and the action and suspense is captivating! You truly believe there's a Mau Mau after Higgins and Ian McShane's character.

I love the spear coming through the door at Ian McShane at the beginning...it makes me jump everytime, even though I know it's coming! LOL! :lol:

I also love the humor between Magnum and Higgins in this one...the gorilla mask, the whoopie cushion Higgins sits on, Magnum purposely making a mess of his house to irritate Higgins, and the Pac Man game--that brings back memories!

But, I also love the care, respect, and even love Magnum, T.C., and Rick truly have for Higgins by going to all that trouble to try and help save his life! I love the plot twist at the end--when who the real Mau Mau is, is finally revealed!

The title is somewhat oddly named, however. I suppose it could refer to race (the black or African Mau Mau coming after the white Brits for what they did to the African Village back in '53), or perhaps it refers more to "good" and "bad" (black--meaning the horror and massacure the Brits did to that African village, and white--the innocent villagers that were brutally butchered or raped by the out of control Brits)? Whatever the case, "Black On White" is one of the best and most suspenseful of the series! Love it everytime! :D
"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"

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N1095A
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#45 Post by N1095A »

Hawaii84 wrote:Ian McShane makes a pretty good Blackbeard in the new Pirates movie.
Does he have a spear?
"But Higgins, I can explain."

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J.J. Walters
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#46 Post by J.J. Walters »

MaiTaiMan wrote:I love the spear coming through the door at Ian McShane at the beginning...it makes me jump everytime, even though I know it's coming! LOL!
Image

:shock:
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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MaiTaiMan
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#47 Post by MaiTaiMan »

N1095A wrote:
Hawaii84 wrote:Ian McShane makes a pretty good Blackbeard in the new Pirates movie.
Does he have a spear?
No, McShane did not have the spear...the supposed Mau Mau did and came through the door at him.
J.J. Walters wrote:
MaiTaiMan wrote:I love the spear coming through the door at Ian McShane at the beginning...it makes me jump everytime, even though I know it's coming! LOL!
Image

:shock:
LOL! :lol: Awesome...thanks for the bone-chilling scene clip, J.J.!! :D
"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"

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miltontheripper
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#48 Post by miltontheripper »

I like this one, very intense and keeps you guessing the whole time. Always like learning more of Higgins military past. The prospect of he and Magnum being quaranteened together is pretty hilarious. Good guest actors and a really good off beat plot. A solid 9.0 for me.

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MaiTaiMan
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#49 Post by MaiTaiMan »

miltontheripper wrote:I like this one, very intense and keeps you guessing the whole time. Always like learning more of Higgins military past. The prospect of he and Magnum being quaranteened together is pretty hilarious. Good guest actors and a really good off beat plot. A solid 9.0 for me.
Agreed...very intense and suspenseful! Awesome plot and superb action/suspense! This also really delves into an interesting aspect of Higgins' military past...as most of the time his ramblings are as boring or goofy as Magnum thinks they are, even though stated humorously enough. :) This is also one of my all-time favorites! :D
"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"

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Little Garwood
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#50 Post by Little Garwood »

I'll vote this a [9.0]

I remember this episode well from childhood (I was 11 in 1982), but "Black on White" is even more powerful now.

I love when the music is playing as Clutterbuck "sees" the Mau-Mau getting ready to throw the spear at him and when the Mau-Mau disappears, the music stops...then chillingly resumes as it is revealed that Clutterbuck is the "Mau-Mau."

Like the golden lighting used throughout the Estate scenes, as if it reminds us that the fire from the massacre is still burning, albeit as an afterglow.

Is this the only time we see the intercom in the guesthouse being used? I don't recall it ever being used in any other episode. The intercom is located--hidden--on the left side of the refrigerator cabinet in the kitchen.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

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Mark R.Y.
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#51 Post by Mark R.Y. »

A definite 10 from me! Higgins and Magnum quarantined together, Pac-Man, the stone-cold gorgeous Lynne Moody, the ever-snide Ian McShane, a brisk pace, great character interactions, a stunning denoument and a cute tag scene. Classic! :)

The notes for this episode say that Doc Ibold contracted the fever in 1963 while in the Peace Corps. Maybe. Or maybe he just said that to explain to Higgins why he didn't need to be quarantined either.

Perfect casting, by the way, for the unnamed actor playing the young Ian McShane in the flashback scenes.

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#52 Post by Seaver41 »

very good episode.......enjoyed it and had many laughs througout.

Braddah Kimo
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#53 Post by Braddah Kimo »

Just watched this tonite on tv.... Again. Fun ep. Love Lovejoy. Both magnum and... Tc broke the 4th wall.

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ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)
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#54 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

Indeed a top-notch episode. So far season 3 seems to have the best episodes!!

This episode and the next two ("Flashback" and "Foiled Again") are some of the best episodes of the whole series. Not to mention the powerful season-opener "Did You See the Sun Rise?" which is the absolute #1 MPI episode. So far at least. I haven't seen anything past season 3. But I've heard that the first three seasons are the show's best seasons.

The plot twist in this one is right up there with the awesome twists in "Never Again... Never Again" and "Skin Deep" back in season 1. And again (like in "Skin Deep") Ian McShane is playing a baddie. Although obviously a confused/disturbed baddie this time. Just a great mystery flavor with nice spine-tingling moments involving various flashbacks and Mau Mau illusions.

Also someone asked about how Ian McShane got on this show. I noticed that MPI more than any other show of the 80s had a tendency to attract British actors. I believe much of this is due to Higgins himself being a Brit. So many of his colleagues or foes would naturally be British. You had the likes of Richard Johnson, Julian Glover, Ronald Lacey, Roy Dotrice, Paxton Whitehead, Dana Wynter, Patrick MacNee, etc. All respected British actors who graced the world of MPI. So there's nothing odd about McShane landing on the show.

Also McShane had already made a name for himself in England by that point. He played the head terrorist opposite Sean Connery in the 1974 thriller THE TERRORISTS (or the UK title which was RANSOM) and was also in THE FIFTH MUSKETEER in 1979 and the hit mini-series JESUS OF NAZARETH (playing Judas Iscariot) in 1977.

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Mark R.Y.
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#55 Post by Mark R.Y. »

McShane had also been prominent in THE LAST OF SHEILA, a hit movie from 1973.

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