I found the location of the beach shots. The place is Puaena Point, the northern tip of Waialua Bay, on the north shore of Oahu. Here's where Higgins write his will and talks to TC. And here's where they launch Higgins' doomed "sailing" craft.
Some more info: In the interview Sam posted, of David Romas interviewing Roger Mosley, Mosley mentions Operation: Silent Night stands out as one of his favorites.
MOSLEY: Well, obviously, okay, take the obvious ones out, the ones that I wrote and directed. But the one that stands out is the one that we did about the Christmas show where the helicopter broke down on this island.
....
MOSLEY: And we had so much fun because we literally went to the back of the island and we stayed there. We stayed there, like, maybe three or four days and shot that. And there was nobody but us, the principals. And all the rest of the stuff was shot "second unit," you know, about the boat and the guys planning to bomb the island and stuff like that. The four of us worked that whole show. And we were sort of isolated.
....
MOSLEY: Well, that was my favorite show, that one right there, 'cause we went around Turtle Bay. And, uh . . .
....
MOSLEY: He builds a boat and goes marching out . . . [Chuckles]
1) There is no alcohol on naval vessels.
2) The captian would've been in the wardroom or his stateroom.
3) An Ensign would not have been clearing the captians plate.
4) That ship had too much open space and glass. A real navy ship is much more closed quarters.
Love this episode. It's my favourite next to LIMBO. Yes, it's contrived and it really doesn't need the 'Jeapordy' plotline but as a character study it's brilliant.
The Higgins/TC relationship is great in this episode (I always liked the TC/Higgins stuff - they seem to have a lot of respect for each other), the comedy is genuinely funny and it's just such a fun episode. My kids all liked this one as well so there's a vote of confidence for you.
IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:Didn't Manetti say somewhere that this was his favorite episode?
I don't know about Larry Manetti, but Roger Mosley basically said this was his favorite besides the ones he wrote and directed (more in my post on the second page).
Golf, The landing is easily explainable. Hughes MD 500 series helicopters don't have hard mounted skids. They're mounted to Hughes' shock absorbing system. What you saw was simply the mechanisim doing what it was designed to. This was a revolutionary safety item that Hughes aircraft pioneered.
Last edited by N1095A on Fri Dec 26, 2008 6:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
lutherhgillis wrote:Also, isn't the ensign a little old to hold such a rank. He appears to be late 30s at the least. Maybe he is in his 40s.
Bruce French who played Ensign Jensen (anyone see the humor in the character name?) according to IMDB was born 4 July 1945 making him 38 in this episode. Of course we know how the MPI series played around with peoples' age.
During the scene where T.C. crash-lands the chopper on the island, the stunt pilot briefly drags his tail rotor through the trees! Tail rotors on Hughes 500D's are pretty fragile. This probably explains why different tail rotors are seen throughout the episode.
Justw atched this last night, and it was even better than I remember. Rick in particular, sometimes he really tries to be a tough guy, but in this episode he was liek a kid borther who was scared of everything and needed direction. One of the better acting jobs from him. Obviously Higgins acting like an "overgrown Boy Scout" was great, and I liked TM being the sane, practical one.
All in all, the reason this is a favorite is quite obvious, becaus eit focuses solely on the 4 principals and their interplay. i will admit I do get frustrated at some of the episodes where TC or Rick are only in them for a minute or two, those are rarely my favorites.
great episode!
Something occurred to me when we watched this episode this past Christmas Eve: when Higgins leaves to forage for food, I thought, "what about all the unexploded ordinance (artillery shells) that were probably lying all over that island?" Not super important for the context of the story, but in reality, it would be part of the expanation for the island being off limits.
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan
Alot of bad can be said about this episode, contrived etc.
My biggest complain is probably Higgins, he seems like, drunk or something in this episode, like a parody of himself (except for after his "ship" sinks). His character would tend to bend in that direction a lot more in later episodes, but this is really the first time i noticed him being more silly than serious. Compare Higgins in this episode to the Higgins from season 1, and it is almost two different characters.
All that aside, this is a great episode. I mean I/we can rant on it all we want, be it just haves a great charming atmosphere and some really funny moments. I voted it a 9, though very close yo 8.5
Was vaccinated with a phonograph needle one summer break
Same summer that I kissed her on her daddy's boat
And shot across the lake
Singing all the way...
Oh I say mama
Living Ain't a luxury
Oh I say mama
And a lil' ain't enough for me
There's a flub in the sequencing dialogue involving the navy destroyer.
We are shown the stock footage of the destroyer at sea but then the Captain gives the order to cancel all leave and set sail for Frenchman's Isle. Leave is only given when the ship is in port so obviously there is a flub in the dialogue.
Tail rotors on Hughes 500D's are pretty fragile. This probably explains why different tail rotors are seen throughout the episode.
