Paradise Blues (4.15)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fourth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
0
No votes
9.5 (One of the Best)
2
2%
9.0 (Excellent)
9
10%
8.5 (Very Good)
8
9%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
20
22%
7.5 (Decent)
22
24%
7.0 (Average at Best)
12
13%
6.5 (Not So Good)
11
12%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
5
5%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 92

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J.J. Walters
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Paradise Blues (4.15)

#1 Post by J.J. Walters »

This is the official MM thread for Paradise Blues (4.15). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).

This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.


Original Air Date: 2/9/1984
Love is truly blind when T.C. drags Magnum to a meeting with a gorgeous jazz singer, Alexis Carter, whom T.C. fell in love with years ago in Vietnam. Magnum warns that trouble follows Alexis wherever she goes, and sure enough, she reveals she's on the run from dangerous Detroit drug dealers.
Last edited by J.J. Walters on Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Frodoleader
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#2 Post by Frodoleader »

This episode is in my top 5 MPI episodes. I always just loved this, even with Chuck Mangione in it. He can't act, but he certainly can play that horn!!!
I loved Leslie Uggams too, especially the Viet Nam concert scene. This epsiode also had one of those suprise endings, where everything did not turn out okay.

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J.J. Walters
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#3 Post by J.J. Walters »

I like this episode more than I probably should. I love all the flashback scenes. The ending was unexpected to say the least! After the car crashes, there is a great aerial "zoom out" shot of T.C. and Magnum standing on the edge of the cliff. Roger and Tom must not be afraid of heights, because they were right on the edge of a small "shelf"! That would have freaked me out big time!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#4 Post by Tuan Vu »

At the beginning of this episode, the scene where Leslie Uggams runs through a church to escape her pursuer, is filmed at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace in Fort Street Mall in downtown Honolulu. It looks pretty much the same today, with statues and the pews having been rearranged.

It is the oldest Catholic cathedral in Hawaii (built 1843) and Father Damien was ordained there in 1863. You can go here to see what it looks like today:

http://www.vthawaii.com/OAHU/Churches/Curches18f.htm

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rubber chicken
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#5 Post by rubber chicken »

Great find Tuan Vu! Thank you for sharing that.

Here it is in google maps, and it has an informative, in depth wiki page too. Very cool. :)

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Magnums Little Voice
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#6 Post by Magnums Little Voice »

Not a great episode this one for me. Just couldnt get into it like normal, perhaps it's just me... roll on the next episode.

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J.J. Walters
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#7 Post by J.J. Walters »

The scene with Higgins and Alexis discussing blues singer Alberta Hunter.... great stuff. I love the story she tells from her childhood:

"In our neighborhood when I was growing up, there was this record store right on the way home from school. I'd stop in there every afternoon, pretending I was going to buy something, and I'd take Alberta Hunter albums into their listening room. I memorized every album, every song. I really thought I was puttin' one over on them. Can you see this skinny little ten-year old, "I can't decide between "Downhearted Blues" and "Bring Back the Joys". I'll just have to come back." Trottin' out of that store like I had two pennies to rub together. When we had our first gold album, I went back there to see if they carried it, but the store wasn't there. They turned it into a parking lot."

The guy who kidnaps Alexis at the end...

Image

Today he is Chief of Security (Malik Farrakan) for the legendary Hip Hop group Public Enemy!

Image

I'm not really a Hip Hop fan (I'm more of a Rock guy), but man do I still really love It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)! A landmark, masterpiece recording.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Steve
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#8 Post by Steve »

I'm betting that Mike Judge got some of his inspiration for the running Chuck Mangione joke on King of the Hill watching this episode........
Anyone else crack up when Chuck enters the Dressing Room playing his Flugelhorn.........

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Frodoleader
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#9 Post by Frodoleader »

Steve wrote:I'm betting that Mike Judge got some of his inspiration for the running Chuck Mangione joke on King of the Hill watching this episode........
Anyone else crack up when Chuck enters the Dressing Room playing his Flugelhorn.........
You're right! When I saw that King episode, I about died laughing and thought immediately of Paradise Blues!
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan

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Jay-Firestorm
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#10 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

A slightly shorter review for this one; one of my least favourite episodes, I’m afraid.

[rating=6.0]

T.C. drags Magnum to see Alexis Carter, a jazz singer whom T.C. fell in love with in Vietnam. Magnum is not keen, insisting that Alexis always leads to trouble – and sure enough, she is mixed up with some Detroit drug dealers. One of the dullest episodes…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

I am surprised that some fans seem to hold this episode in high regard, as personally, I find it to be one of the dullest and weakest of the entire series; certainly one of the weakest from the first four seasons.

I know I’ve said this for several episodes around this point, but I really didn’t remember this one until I came to watch it to review recently. Although I’ve had recordings of all of the episodes for some years now, it has to be one of my least watched episodes of the show’s run.

T.C. is a good character, and I generally like stories based around him, but even he can’t save this one. The story is drawn out and long-winded, and I’m afraid I cared very little about Alexis and what happened to her.

The story is lacking any remote touches of humour that is one of the series’ trademarks, and also is low on action, two more points that mark this episode down in my view.

This episode also marks the first of several appearances of James Grant Benton as Kika, a local pedicab driver who Magnum goes to for information. He would make three appearances in total, and not become as recognised as some of the show’s other recurring characters.

The ending, with Alexis and the bad guys plummeting over the cliff in the car, is tragic and unexpected, but sadly, the story beforehand led me to care very little about Alexis, leaving the ending rather lacking the emotional punch that it should have.

All-in-all, one of my least favourite episodes of the entire eight seasons.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Once again, the Region 1 DVD version has no opening trailer. I’ll probably get the R2 version to check if there is one.

* At the beginning, when the bad guy is chasing Alexis across the road, a car grinds to a halt so not to hit him. The car is only travelling slowly, and the long skidding sound does not match the speed that the car was travelling at.

* During the flashback to Alexis’ concert in ‘Nam, there is an obvious pre-existing stock footage shot of soldiers enjoying the performance. Notice the difference in film quality.

* The main page for this episode says that the Ferrari was updated with this story; I’m not sure (and I’m no car expert), but I’m sure that there have been a few shots of the later model for a few episodes previously. I may be wrong.

* The DVD version of this episode has all of the commercial breaks abridged (i.e. no gap between the acts).

* When the knife-conscious Five broadcast this episode in 2002, they edited the two sequences where the bad guys have a flick-knife, but in odd ways. They deleted shots of where the knife was flicked out, and some of the surrounding dialogue, but it could still clearly be seen in surrounding shots. Presumably they couldn’t edit it much more without leaving huge holes in the story.
Last edited by Jay-Firestorm on Thu Jul 02, 2009 1:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Doc Ibold
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#11 Post by Doc Ibold »

This episode IS notable because it is the first time that it was noted that T.C. was married at some point.

Aside from the T.C. backstory portion of it, this episode is a bit of a let-down.

I had to snicker at the "Detroit" scenes.

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#12 Post by Rutledal »

Jay-Firestorm wrote:* Once again, the Region 1 DVD version has no opening trailer. I’ll probably get the R2 version to check if there is one.
I can confirm that the R2 release does have the opening trailer.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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Styles Bitchley
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#13 Post by Styles Bitchley »

Not bad, but not great. I loved seeing Mangione, but he could have been written into the story a bit better. Walking in the dressing room playing the horn was poorly thought out. Still, kudos to whoever snagged him for a jazz-themed episode. The end really catches you off guard. Its a truly spectacular crash...I'm surprised the parks department (or whoever is responsible for such things) actually let them run that car off the cliff!
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

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good questions....

#14 Post by brunoffrance »

Styles Bitchley wrote:Not bad, but not great. I loved seeing Mangione, but he could have been written into the story a bit better. Walking in the dressing room playing the horn was poorly thought out. Still, kudos to whoever snagged him for a jazz-themed episode. The end really catches you off guard. Its a truly spectacular crash...I'm surprised the parks department (or whoever is responsible for such things) actually let them run that car off the cliff!
I agree and think like that.
As all sundays, we see an episode but this time, we 've forgotten to vote... so ecxeptionaly, I vote alone and it's an 8.
Not a military fan but I've loved the 'nam concert where there are only few soldiers in the color story remember and a few hundred in the archive concert document in B&W...
Sure the crash surprised me and I always wonder how they do that after the explosion.... is there a company paid to clean all that ? is it possible to do that on a protected environmental coast ???
Good questions .... thank you Bruno...

Bruno.
Very american 4 a french...

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#15 Post by Coops »

I have to say I really, really enjoyed this episode but that's mainly from my experience in the military. When you're away from loved ones and in some far off foreign land you tend to get attracted to what reminds you most of home, or at least something that seems familiar. I completely got what T.C. was going through and having friends there trying to tell me what the real deal was, even though I didn't want to listen. I also really enjoyed the shocker ending, the bittersweet ending of it. That's sort of a Magnum trademark, the bittersweet ending?

Also, in the flubs section regarding T.C. saluting with his left hand, as long as he's not formally saluting another person in unifrom (either initiating or returning the salue), it doesn't matter which hand you salute with, obviously, since he was with Alexis, he was just goofing around.
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