Did You See the Sunrise? (1) (3.1)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
60
41%
9.5 (One of the Best)
59
40%
9.0 (Excellent)
11
8%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
8%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
3
2%
7.5 (Decent)
0
No votes
7.0 (Average at Best)
1
1%
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 146

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Kifaru
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#41 Post by Kifaru »

An observation, during the Vietnam War, despite countless close calls, no SEAL was ever captured by the enemy. So with the information we have on the Magnumverse, this would make TM the only SEAL to have been a POW.

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MaiTaiMan
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#42 Post by MaiTaiMan »

This 2-hour season premiere was definitely memorable! I thought it really portrayed some of the "horrors" of Vietnam realistically, and everyone gave outstanding performances!

I also thought Roger E. Mosley did an awesome job--especially with his flashbacks to what Ivan had done to him and the others when they were POW's. The plot twists and the ever "evil" Col. Buck Greene (who should have been shot too somewhere along the line during the show's run :wink: ) also made this one interesting. Towards the end the storyline suddenly makes a few unexpected turns--and makes for a good "Hitchcockian" style twist of the characters.

I did not like the fact, though, that Mac was killed. :( I was not expecting that when I first watched this when it originally aired. But, that was part of the more seriousness to this episode. :? I also did not like it when they brought Mac back later in the show...but it was really this other "fake" guy who just looked like Mac. That character annoyed the heck out of me, and he was nothing like Mac. :x That was stupid and they should have let the character go...or they could have brought him back, and his death was actually faked and Mac was really still alive. But, the fake one was a moron! :roll:

But...the actual last few scenes of "Did You See the Sunrise?" are the most memorable and famous for this episode! I remember growing up watching this one, and for a while it was somewhat controversial! :o Some people didn't like the idea that Magnum shot Ivan in what is technically referred to as "cold blood". However, considering the situation and who/what Ivan was...I think it was totally justified--and should have been done long before that!

This episode many times is "darker" and more serious than many of the others...but Vietnam wasn't exactly a "laughing" matter. I thought this one was captivating and excellent! :)

(I put this same post for Pt. 2, as well.)
Last edited by MaiTaiMan on Sat Jun 25, 2011 7:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
"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"

KENJI
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#43 Post by KENJI »

I caught a few more flubs in Pt. 1. the other day.

When Higgins comes storming over to T.C. as he is landing the chopper, you can hear the engine and rotor blades turning, BUT if you look at the reflection in the windshield you can see the blades are not turning at the speed we are hearing, in fact they are turned off and gently moving from the wind off the ocean.

Another flub is when they hooking up the ski to the chopper, the ski is way past the front of the chopper and landing legs which is very dangerous, BUT when T.M. is about to unhook the ski into the ocean, the ski is basically flush with the front of the landing legs.

The last flub is when T.M. is walking on the beach and meets Higgins.
T.M.'s facial cut (more like road rash) changes from being bright red and very sore looking to almost not there. This continues into the study scene as well. I guess they had to do a few retakes.

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Doc Fred
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#44 Post by Doc Fred »

You found it, Rubber Chicken...

That's the house... for anyone searching, here are the coordinates to enter into Google Earth search: 21 32' 58.49"N 158 08' 31.56"W

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Doc Fred
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#45 Post by Doc Fred »

In it's own way, definitely the best show of the series.

I absolutely LOVED seeing Thomas terminate Ivan. It was so fitting, and justice prevailed.

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Coops
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#46 Post by Coops »

Indeed. Of all the tv shows I've watched over the decade not a single one hit me with such force as the ending. To me, to this day, it's the greatest single moment of television I've ever seen. Truly stunning.
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Coops
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#47 Post by Coops »

Although I must say watching what happened to Mac really shocked me as well. This really is the high water mark of the show, not that the rest of the show is much below it as a whole.
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Doc Fred
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#48 Post by Doc Fred »

Agreed about Mac. When I first saw it, I said to myself they did it because his contract wasn't being renewed, or something of that nature...

This, to me, was the best tv show, best tv series ever. Yes, the content of the stories was pretty consistently very good, but it was the interaction between the four major characters, and their personalities, that really made the show for me. A truly great show.

grambax
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#49 Post by grambax »

Not a comment yet, but a question (well, actually, two questions) -

We'll be getting to this memorable episode soon as we work our way through the series. I've seen an remember it (boy, is it memorable) but my OH hasn't and its one of the ones I'm most looking forward to sharing.

I suppose we should watch it as originally aired, as a feature, but I am tempted to split it, both to basically get an extra week's episode out of it, and to have a major surprise in both episodes.

First question is - do you think it spoils the episode to split it? Any thoughts?

Secondly, can anyone tell me where did the episode break in the syndicated version come? I originally thought with the bomb, but that's a little too early, so I'm guessing it was with the Japanese dignitary's arrival, but thats a non-climax. But the way the DVD has been edited, I'd guess any major fade/break has been removed.

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

Ok, this is just a flat-out perfect episode!! What is it with these 2-hour episodes? The pilot episode is my favorite from season 1, "Memories are Forever" is my favorite from season 2 (though I haven't seen the whole season yet), and this one is my favorite from this season (though I haven't seen the whole season either).

But this one has to be the best MPI episode ever! I really can't imagine it getting any better. You've got top military brass, Japanese dignitaries, Russian villains, POW flashbacks, brain-washings, plot twists, action, and some of the most intense scenes you'll ever see in the MPI world. Can't get any better than that!!

Mac's death and Ivan's execution must be the most powerful stuff this show has ever done! And you just gotta love the Nuzo twist!

Yep, the darker the episode the more I like it. And this one is as dark as it gets! It's almost more Five-0 than MPI.

Seaver41
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#51 Post by Seaver41 »

this is maybe the best example of what made Magnum the best..........not afraid to shake the viewer from their comfort zone. The series encompassed it all and could make you laugh and damn near cry as well as shock. I guess maybe then for me it is that unpredictability that the show could provide that had me hooked back in the day.

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J.J. Walters
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#52 Post by J.J. Walters »

Bo Svenson (Ivan) is a really interesting guy...

- U.S. Marine Corps 1959-1965.
- U.S. Armed Forces Far East Heavyweight Division Judo Champion (1961).
- High-ranking black belt in judo and other martial arts, inducted into the Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Won silver (65-69-year-old 90kg division) in the 2009 USA Judo National Championships despite three broken ribs suffered days earlier.
- Ph.D. candidate in Meta-Physics at UCLA 1970-1974.
- Chairman of the board and CEO of Motion Picture Group of America from 1984-1994.
- He was television's highest-paid actor for his reprisal of Buford Pusser in the television series "Walking Tall" (1981). Only Johnny Carson was making more than he was at the time.

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

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Styles Bitchley
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#53 Post by Styles Bitchley »

J.J. Walters wrote:Bo Svenson (Ivan) is a really interesting guy...

- U.S. Marine Corps 1959-1965.
- U.S. Armed Forces Far East Heavyweight Division Judo Champion (1961).
- High-ranking black belt in judo and other martial arts, inducted into the Martial Arts Masters Hall of Fame in 2009.
- Won silver (65-69-year-old 90kg division) in the 2009 USA Judo National Championships despite three broken ribs suffered days earlier.
- Ph.D. candidate in Meta-Physics at UCLA 1970-1974.
- Chairman of the board and CEO of Motion Picture Group of America from 1984-1994.
- He was television's highest-paid actor for his reprisal of Buford Pusser in the television series "Walking Tall" (1981). Only Johnny Carson was making more than he was at the time.

:shock:
Wow! All that and going for a PhD in Meta-Physics! I wonder if he ever got it? Thanks James.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

Seaver41
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#54 Post by Seaver41 »

I loved those Walking Tall movies as a kid...........the series....not so much.

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snp389
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#55 Post by snp389 »

This and part 2 are THE BEST episodes of the whole series in my opinion!
I was only 11yrs old when this first was broadcast in Australia in 1982.
The entire series left deep impact on a young adventurous Aussie kid in the early '80's. And this particular 2-parter stood out to me the most.
I think it was the mixing of all the greatness of the production/writing/directing and acting team.
We saw a great Wartime history of mateship; we saw how that has evolved ten years later in peacetime; we saw an intricate subterfuge plot that could be relevant today; we saw the great character of Higgins at his 'big brother/fatherly' best; and we see more to TM's Naval history.
The sad losing of Mac and intro of Maggie P is well done, seamless and believable. Realistic.
I love the small things - TM watching a classic movie "stalag 17" whilst eating what looks like chocolate drops; Higgins inviting TM to some Devonshire Tea and Scones, and the 'Lads' being so supportive lying with Higgins whilst he is "decapitating" the match heads.
The surf-ski practise run, with TC asking if TM is bothered by "all those big fish..."
And of course TM 'breaking the 4th wall' to include US - the audience at the best moments. You always feel integral to the moment and feeling. Brilliantly done. Wonder whose idea that was? I know that Higgins and TC have also done it, even with TC looking to the audience and asking the question - "Did it ever occur to you that that boy cannot count past one...?" Bloody funny and believable.
The denouement and resolution with TM shooting ‘Ivan’ is THE BEST ENDING of any show EVER! A Veteran, who had seen a recent mate killed, that was meant for himself, and thence being a part of something that is beyond political lines, and discovering the truth, thereby not allowing any real justice be applied, TM acts! As a Retired Australian Army Infantry Soldier and SNIPER, I still watch this show with love and respect - like an old Army mate that I can always talk to, without any disrespect nor critical condemnation.
Good on ya mates! To all of you who made this show. Especially Belisario, a former US Marine. His personal influence, experiences and imagination made this series.
And this is what I believe to be the best of the best!
Last edited by snp389 on Tue Feb 19, 2013 8:01 am, edited 2 times in total.

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