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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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.

Seaver41
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#52 Post by Seaver41 »

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

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

Mark R.Y. wrote:McShane had also been prominent in THE LAST OF SHEILA, a hit movie from 1973.
Thanks for the reminder. Just added that film to my Netflix queue. I love mystery whodunits!

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J.J. Walters
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#57 Post by J.J. Walters »

Love your episode reviews, Ivan. Good stuff!

Speaking of Ian McShane, I recently saw him in a Season Six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head. It's a failed Quinn Martin production TV pilot from 1977. The movie is pretty bad, but it's filmed in Oahu (St. Andrews, Waikiki, Hotel Street, all the usual suspects). Despite the horrible plot and direction, McShane is great. Zulu's in it, too, as is France Nuyen. The riffing from Mike and the Bots is great (as always) and I laughed hard many times. One of the recurring jokes is that almost everytime McShane's character appears the Bots say, "Lovejoy" (in reference to his famous British TV show). It's one of the 30-40 MST3K episodes available on streaming Netflix if anybody is interested.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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

J.J. Walters wrote:Love your episode reviews, Ivan. Good stuff!

Speaking of Ian McShane, I recently saw him in a Season Six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head. It's a failed Quinn Martin production TV pilot from 1977. The movie is pretty bad, but it's filmed in Oahu (St. Andrews, Waikiki, Hotel Street, all the usual suspects). Despite the horrible plot and direction, McShane is great. Zulu's in it, too, as is France Nuyen. The riffing from Mike and the Bots is great (as always) and I laughed hard many times. One of the recurring jokes is that almost everytime McShane's character appears the Bots say, "Lovejoy" (in reference to his famous British TV show). It's one of the 30-40 MST3K episodes available on streaming Netflix if anybody is interested.
Thanks, J.J. :) Love your site! Keep up the great work!

Yes, I've heard of CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD. I believe it starred Roy Thinnes who was at one point considered for the role of James Bond - as Connery's replacement I believe. In addition to Zulu the show also had Harry Endo I think. Endo played Che Fong - the lab technician/forensics expert on FIVE-0.

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#59 Post by Marco »

This is my all-time favourite episode. After all these years I guess I have a solid Top-10 list and this one tops it since many years.

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J.J. Walters
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#60 Post by J.J. Walters »

IvanTheTerrible wrote:Thanks, J.J. :) Love your site! Keep up the great work!

Yes, I've heard of CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD. I believe it starred Roy Thinnes who was at one point considered for the role of James Bond - as Connery's replacement I believe. In addition to Zulu the show also had Harry Endo I think. Endo played Che Fong - the lab technician/forensics expert on FIVE-0.
Hey, thanks! :)

Endo is in for all two minutes. Thinnes is not bad, but he just doesn't have much to work with. The dialog and plot is truly terrible! Also, for some reason, they don't film many scenes in the beautiful parts of Hawaii. Much of it takes place in ship yards, bland buildings and other nondescript areas. One rather long scene, which I thought was cool, took place in a rundown part of Hotel Street, to which the Bots proclaimed, "Where are we, Fargo?" Heh. It was another running joke in the episode: it just never seemed like they were in Hawaii! Anyway, the episode is truly hilarious, especially if you're into Hawaii filming locations.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#61 Post by Bes »

Can't believe I forgot how good this episode was! For some reason it wasn't in my mind as one of Magnum PI's best episodes but rewatching it, it most clearly is. Great pace, structure, music, acting: A masterpiece.

McShane is superb as usual: that's 2 for 2 in terms of McShane MPI episodes!

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"You keep it exact to the penny???"

#62 Post by runawayselleck »

one of the best episodes ever. Has my favourite ever scene with Magnum and TC at the end, with Thomas trying to scam TC

Anyone got any screen grabs from this scene?

Excellent episode

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#63 Post by Stelth »

Lovejoy really went 'round the bend in this episode. Poor chap.

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Re: "You keep it exact to the penny???"

#64 Post by Kudu buck »

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Last edited by Kudu buck on Fri Jul 19, 2013 10:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Black on White (3.6)

#65 Post by Kudu buck »

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