Thanks for investigating James. I saw the movie a few months ago on AMC, TMC, FOX-Movie Channel or some similar channel. When I first saw Tim Matheson in it, I immediately thought that he was the person in the photo as Nuzo.
Since my last post I was thinking that it very well may be him because Tim Matheson was in "Yours Mine And Ours" in 1968, so it makes since that a photo from that same time period would be used, as the real Nuzo could have joined the military in 1968 and served in Vietnam during that time period.
I checked Tim Matheson's IMDB profile and did not see any reference to MPI. If his photo was actually used as the real Nuzo, would he have received a credit for that? I doubt it, but since I am not in that business, I don't know for sure.
I'll see if I can rent the movie or buy it somewhere and compare it to the photo. Unfortunately, I am unable to download particular screen shots on my computer and then post them. I've tried. I like to think it's my computer, but it very well may be because I am not the most computer savvy person out there.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)
Not sure if this a flub in the shooting but in the scenes where TC and Magnum are in TC's van they are driving along the sea so that the land is on TC's side and the sea on Magnum's side. However when there is a side shot looking directly at both TC and Magnum you can see the sea behind both of them!
Before TC and Magnum arrive at TC's house, Nuzo is waiting on the balcony when he sees a Marine helicopter (OH-58 Kiowa) fly by. The same type that we discussed in the "Don't Eat The Snow In Hawaii" thread. Nuzo confirmed that the helicopter is a Kiowa as he told Magnum and TC it was a "58." As in OH-58 Kiowa.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)
Noticed another odd flub. Maggie says that "2,150,000 Marines, Soldiers, Sailers and Airmen" served in the Vietnam War between March of 1965 and January of 1973. Her number is off by several hundred thousand. Almost 3 million U.S. military personnel served in the war. Also, she says "2,150,000" like that is the exact number. What are the odds of that happening, for anything?
Not to be picky, or anything, but without a decimal point after the number-- 2,150,000. , it's only an approximation. It doesn't matter how Maggie said it. It's only good to plus or minus 50,000 people.
Excellent point, James. Now if only my students understood it! Just taught this to a bunch of freshmen chem students today.
Higgins: You've washed the car?! How extraordinary. Why would you do such a thing?
So the decimal point after the number means its an exact amount rather than an estimate? I never new this. Then again I took as little chemistry as I could get away with.
I'm pretty tough on the show after watching it again, 20 years later. I am amazed at a lot of the cheese and stuff. However, this episode stood the test of time. In fact, could be the best episode on any series ever. Just revolutionary and a great, great, great show. It makes up for the plethora of cheese that we had to put up with in other episodes
I just want to get it out there that despite what is claimed in this episode the bridge in The Bridge on the River Kwai was not at any point blown up by William Holden, or any other "American sailor" for that matter. It's blown up by a dying Alec Guinness.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.
Second half of this great feature-length story. A shorter review this time, I’d said most of what I have to say about this one on Part I.
[rating=10]
Magnum, T.C. and Nuzo set about finding Ivan before he kills them first, but there is an unseen twist that neither Magnum nor T.C. see coming. Conclusion of this excellent story…
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This review contains spoilers.
The story continues with the second half of this excellent story.
There are some great action shots, such as the undercover Naval officer posing as a workman getting shot and hanging off the phone poll, with Magnum trying to get to him before the sniped finishes him off; and some great helicopter work.
We see Jean Bruce Scott as Lt. Maggie Scott for the first time. Scott would go on to play Caitlin in the second and third seasons of Bellisario’s ‘Airwolf’ a couple of years after this story was produced.
T.C. being so far under Nuzo’s drugs that he can be duped into believing he is carrying out a mission in ‘Nam, may be stretching believability very slightly, but thankfully it is pulled off credibly.
And then there is the ending. One of the most unexpected and shocking endings of the entire series, and one that anyone who has ever seen the episode remembers.
All-in-all, although Part I is a bit padded, this ultimately winds up as one of the best MPI entries, and sets the high standard for the great third season.
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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* On my review for Part I, I questioned if there was originally an opening trailer, as the DVD version doesn’t have one. Re-watching the beginning last night, I noticed that the end of some music can briefly be heard before the main titles, suggesting something indeed was removed. I’m not sure if this is the same on the R2 versions (I fall under R2, but buy R1 as they come out sooner and often have extra bonuses).
* We hear T.C.’s full name, Theodore Calvin, on-screen for the first time.
* When T.C. and Nuzo charge through the Reserves entrance in Rick’s car, we hear the tyres screeching on the ground. Maybe I’m wrong, but the tyres would surely only screech like that on concrete – the car is on a dirt track. Either way, the actual sound is a stock effect that can be heard in many Universal shows.
* Many shots of T.C. in the helicopter are noticeably reversed back-to-front, as the microphone on his helmet changes sides.
* Also, shots of Magnum and Rick in the back of the Naval chopper are also back-to-front – notice that the lettering on Magnum’s Da Nang hat is reversed. Towards the end of the sequence, at the Valley of the Temples, they suddenly swap sides – this is the correct way around.
* There is also a brief shot of Buck and the chopper pilot back-to-front as well!
* As mentioned on my review for Part I, Channel 5 in the U.K. took the feature-length version and edited into two halves themselves. Part I ends as T.C. arrives at the Estate and says that Nuzo is after them, after which a ‘home made’ (i.e. added by 5) caption reads ‘To be continued…”. Part II opens with a ‘home made’ series of clips recapping Part I, lasting 2:38. After that, it plays the opening credits, and the rest of the episode plays complete, except for removal of Ivan calling T.C. the n-word several times.
I just saw this episode on the UK satellite channel DMAX today, I had never seen it before or read about it on this site. Sadly, the episode is heavily edited and the final gun shot from Magnum wasn't shown, so I was left to wonder "did he do it or not?". Even without the gunshot my jaw dropped because I just thought "would he do it? no way, this is Magnum, but just maybe!"
This led me to this site and a viewing and discovery of the unedited ending! Amazing! No marks to UK channel DMAX for editing it. In the versions I have seen there is no mention of the "N" word anywhere.
Honestly, edited or unedited - what an excellent bit of TV this is - the ultimate TV good guy who everyone loves being forced to treat the exact opposite of everything he stands for to a bit of rough justice. What happened thereafter is anyone's guess, it is murder, but for some reason, I think it is OK for Magnum to do it - amazing.
