Distant Relative (4.4)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fourth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
2%
9.5 (One of the Best)
6
6%
9.0 (Excellent)
32
32%
8.5 (Very Good)
37
37%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
12
12%
7.5 (Decent)
5
5%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
3%
6.5 (Not So Good)
1
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 101

Message
Author
No need to know!
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 232
Joined: Fri Aug 06, 2010 6:47 am

#31 Post by No need to know! »

Agree with some of the earlier posts that it would have been better or i say even top notch with a 2 hour episode. This one as a 2 hour start to the season followed up by Home from the Sea, now that would have been perfect.
But the episode still is very good indeed.
Onion´s extra?

User avatar
Frodoleader
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 441
Joined: Thu Jul 05, 2007 4:47 pm
Location: Central Ohio

#32 Post by Frodoleader »

One thing I appreciated in this episode was when Rick stated that if any guys came within 100 feet of the girls at the college the "whole 5th Armored Division would come down on them!" I appreciated this since my father served in the 5th (Victory Division) during WWII.
This episode again showed how MPI changed the TV lanscape, with the totally unexpected death of Rick's sister. Although I always felt the scene with "Rick as Rambo" was a little over the top, I liked it. It also has one of the absolute best endings: TM shooting down Higgin's Spitfire with the shotgun! That was great!!
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan

User avatar
IKnowWhatYoureThinking
Macho Taco & Coops Connoisseur
Posts: 1885
Joined: Tue Apr 01, 2008 9:19 pm
Location: NC

#33 Post by IKnowWhatYoureThinking »

I too concur with the ending. I think the shooting down of the Spitfire, and Magnum blowing up Higgins' Bridge Over the River Kwai are two of the funniest Magnum moments.

User avatar
robspace54
Vice Admiral
Posts: 143
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2009 7:18 pm
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio

#34 Post by robspace54 »

Rick dodging over the lava filed looking like he was running on eggs... Egad! Carol Channing in a punk club?

The 'drama' of Rick over his sister's death was so unrealistic. Only when TM gioes to see Higgins and tells him what has happened is there any believable emotion.

And 'they had it coming' when the bad guys get caulked was over the top and I think the jeep explosion was too much. But little police investigation?.

Of course the shotgun blast at the end restore balance to the whole thing.

Not my fav episode. I gave it an 8. Did you check out the computer the police seargent was using - an Apple II with TWO external drives. Wow! Big deal in 1986.
Sometimes I get so lucky, even I don`t believe it.

User avatar
timm525
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 33
Joined: Fri Jun 11, 2010 7:37 am

#35 Post by timm525 »

I really loved this one. 9 for me.

I have a few picks though. First is Rick getting an Uzi and shooting up the bad guys. How did he explain having an automatic Uzi to the feds??? ATF would have been all over him like they were at the end of season 7 for that.

Also, who the H*ll stitched up his forehead at the end of the ep??? :oops:
Frankenstein's zipper looked favorable to that hack job. :shock: I can't believe no one here mentioned that. It stood out like a sore thumb to me when I saw it.

I loved the shooting of the plane at the end my Magnum with the shotgun. :lol:
Image

User avatar
steveadl
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 557
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 11:27 am
Location: An Island

#36 Post by steveadl »

Watched this one again last night. I think the opening scene of this one with the toy air planes would have to be one of the funniest of the series for me. :D

User avatar
burny
Commander
Posts: 42
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:12 pm
Location: NashVegas, TN

#37 Post by burny »

man,,,,,i have such a hard time watching the rick-centric episodes.

i like larry as rick when his character is just normal and casual.
but when his character is pushed into being emotional - angry, sad....
i find larry's acting really hokey and teeth-grittingly painful to watch.
the other 3 really outclassed him as an actor. i do avoid the rick-ish
episodes because of this.

just my opinion - not meant to bum out any rick fans! to each his own.....

User avatar
MaiTaiMan
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 419
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 12:43 am
Location: Mid-West

#38 Post by MaiTaiMan »

This episode is awesome, and one of my favorites from season 4! It's also one of the more shocking (in my opinion) than most! :o

There were times when Magnum was at odds with his friends...but nothing compared to this! "Distant Relative" captivates me everytime I watch it, and Tom Selleck and Larry Manetti give superb performances throughout!

The very first time I watched this one, I never expected Wendy to actually be killed...that was the most shocking! :shock: Then getting Rick to understand that his sister was a (pardon the crude phrase :oops: ) ho-bag, wild-child was interesting and even bizarre! It's like, dude...your sister isn't 5 years old--she's 22!

Part of me truly realizes that Magnum didn't really do anything...nor could he have done much different to prevent Wendy from running out on him, and getting herself killed during a drug deal. But, part of me also understands where Rick is coming from, and I can't totally blame him for choosing Thomas to blame for his sister's death. :(

I love the action towards the end...especially where Rick smashes through the window of that old beach shack with the uzi--awesome!! :) That scene was later implemented within the montage of pics during the starting theme song.

"Distant Relative" is a very touching and heart-felt episode that gave a bit of seriousness to the several other goof-ball episodes of the season. This and "Letter To a Duchess" are two of my favorite episodes of season 4! :)
"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"

User avatar
miltontheripper
Vice Admiral
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Feb 06, 2011 9:48 pm
Location: Michigan

#39 Post by miltontheripper »

Agreed with all of you who liked this episode. The beginning where Thomas wakes up to Higgins and Agatha flying the remote control airplanes and then Higgins crashing his with Magnum laughing hysterically is one of the funniest scenes of the entire series. And almost as good is the end where Magnum blows the airplane away, love it! I thought the anger/feud between Magnum and Rick was very well played and very realistic. Overall, a gritty and very entertaining episode that I've enjoyed more and more over the few times I've seen it.

User avatar
MaiTaiMan
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 419
Joined: Mon May 16, 2011 12:43 am
Location: Mid-West

#40 Post by MaiTaiMan »

miltontheripper wrote:Agreed with all of you who liked this episode. The beginning where Thomas wakes up to Higgins and Agatha flying the remote control airplanes and then Higgins crashing his with Magnum laughing hysterically is one of the funniest scenes of the entire series. And almost as good is the end where Magnum blows the airplane away, love it! I thought the anger/feud between Magnum and Rick was very well played and very realistic. Overall, a gritty and very entertaining episode that I've enjoyed more and more over the few times I've seen it.
Exactly! I like how you entertwined gritty, humorous, and entertaining together...this episode was exactly all of those! :)
"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"

User avatar
mandolabar
Captain
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:28 am

#41 Post by mandolabar »

I'm working my way through the DVDs, and I found this episode just amazing. Devastating, hysterically funny--whoever called it a rollercoaster ride was right.

I didn't see anyone mention this, so I wondered what you all thought--when Magnum is walking in to the morgue to see if the girl is, in fact, Wendy, the shot opens low, you see his hand, and then moves out. I had initially thought he might be crossing his fingers (that it not be her), but I think he's touching his team ring. Maybe for luck?

Anyone else see that, anyone have an opinion?

~Amanda

User avatar
Styles Bitchley
Magnum Wristwatch Aficionado / Deputy SpamHammer
Posts: 2674
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
Location: Canada

#42 Post by Styles Bitchley »

mandolabar wrote:Anyone else see that, anyone have an opinion
I don't remember seeing it, but for some reason I can see him touching the ring as a sort of "fraternal" gesture. Sort of like, "I'm doing this for you buddy."
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

User avatar
Styles Bitchley
Magnum Wristwatch Aficionado / Deputy SpamHammer
Posts: 2674
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
Location: Canada

#43 Post by Styles Bitchley »

Probably the best example of the Magnum giggle in the whole series.

Image
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

Sam
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1454
Joined: Thu Nov 22, 2007 5:00 am

#44 Post by Sam »

Styles Bitchley wrote:
mandolabar wrote:Anyone else see that, anyone have an opinion
I don't remember seeing it, but for some reason I can see him touching the ring as a sort of "fraternal" gesture. Sort of like, "I'm doing this for you buddy."
I don't have this episode so I can't comment but one thing I have noticed..With or without a ring..Selleck is always rubbing his ring finger with his thumb.

User avatar
Little Garwood
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1261
Joined: Thu Apr 17, 2008 9:53 pm
Location: The Magnumverse

#45 Post by Little Garwood »

robspace54 wrote:Rick dodging over the lava filed looking like he was running on eggs... Egad! Carol Channing in a punk club?

The 'drama' of Rick over his sister's death was so unrealistic. Only when TM gioes to see Higgins and tells him what has happened is there any believable emotion.
As a kid, my friends and I called this episode "Rick Goes Nuts." I even wrote that title on the VHS tape when I recorded it off of TV in 1995!

I think the writing for Rick's character let him down. The whole "We got 'em guys, didn't we?" is like a line of dialogue from a 1940s WWII movie and wouldn't even do the likes of Olivier or De Niro any favors! Manetti did well, especially when he slumps in despair after they take out the jeep. Larry doesn't get much credit in fandom, but he excelled at the body language to convey what he's feeling. Another example of that is his stunned look at the end of S3's Faith and Begorrah.

Another aspect of the writing I didn't care for was Thomas and T.C. hiding the fact that Wendy was in fact a drug "mule."

I voted Distant Relative an [8.5]
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

Post Reply