Distant Relative (4.4)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fourth season

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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

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Hawaii Winds
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#61 Post by Hawaii Winds »

IslandHopper wrote:This is one of my favorite episodes from season 4 for all of the reasons stated above. I have a question about Wendy. My understanding is that Wendy really was a "mule" carrying drugs for her boyfriend as indicated by the federal agent, Ice Pick and Magnum, and that Magnum toward the end of the episode tells Rick that Wendy was just an innocent bystander, and really was a "good kid" to make him feel better so he could go on with his life. Right? Magnum was so convincing when he said she was just an innocent bystander, it makes you believe that maybe she wasn't a mule. :?

Additional Flubs for Distant Relative:

1. The two RC planes Higgins and Agatha are flying at the beginning of the episode are not perfect replicas of WWII fighters as stated by Higgins. These two planes are very crude planes and not WWII replicas at all.

2. The RAF (Royal Air Force) plane Higgins is flying that crashes is not the same plane that he is repairing in his study when Magnum comes in and tells him about Wendy. The plane that crashed has a thin fuselage and narrow rectangular wings. However, the plane in Higgins' study, is a replica of either a RAF "Spitfire" or "Hurricane." You will notice the wings on the plane in the study have wide/convex wings that taper and narrow toward the ends.

3. After Magnum arrives at the KKC he is sitting at the Beach Bar with TC, and Rick is behind the bar talking about his sister Wendy and says that "she is innocent." Magnum chuckles, and a you can hear Rick say "well she is." This line of Rick's does not have the same sound quality, and appears to have been looped in post production. In addition, Magnum's next line also appears to have been looped in post production: "how do you know, she's grown up, she lives in Chicago, you havent seen her in ten years."

4. When Rick is talking about the school his sister attended "The Mother of Mercy College for Girls" and explains he sent her there because he said "Chicago's a tough town to grow up in without any parents." However, in Jororo Farewell (season 4), Rick, while at the scrimmage between TC's team and the Jororo team, Magnum accuses Rick of handicapping the game in order to place bets. Rick replies that he is writing down a recipe for veal marsala (or something like that) for his mother. What Mother?

5. Still at the Beach Bar, after Rick says the name of Wendy's school he says "if you're not innocent you don't graduate." Magnum giggles, then Rick says "I'm tellin' ya." This last line of Rick's also appears to have been looped in post production. As he said this line, the camera was still on Magnum.

6. When Rick and Magnum go to Wendy's hotel room looking for her, Rick enters the room and yells "Wendy, Wendy, are you alright, it's Rick, Wendy." Rick then tries to open the bedroom door and jiggles the door knob and even tries unsuccessfully to force it open with his shoulder. He and Magnum break the door down and tumble into the bedroom. After all of this effort and loud noise while yelling for Wendy and trying to break the door down, the guy (federal agent) rummaging through Wendy's drawers :shock: seems oblivious to the racket created by Rick and Magnum, and was surprised when they broke into the room. He then runs out. How could that guy not have heard Rick yelling, and he and Magnum breaking the door down?

7. The first two shots of TC's chopper as he and Magnum are flying to Moloki to find Rick, show it with the skids without the extra fittings (skinny skids). However, the third and fourth shots of the chopper show it with the extra fittings on the skids (fat skids). As the chopper flys over Rick's boat, it does not have the extra fittings (skinny skids).

8. After Rick crashes into the beach shack and starts shooting it up, Magnum appears outside with TC. Magnum stands up first and then TC. As TC stands up he says "yeah Ricks relax." Ricks?

9. As the chopper is chasing the two drug dealers in the jeep, toward the end of the chase, the chopper drops down right behind the jeep and you can just tell that the pilot is wearing a black ski mask.

10. As Rick is firing at the rear of the jeep we see a close-up of the right rear tail light blowing out, then the left tail light and the license plate (MDX 776) is mangled and twisted. However, when the jeep rolls over just before it blows up, you can see the rear license plate (not the same as before) is intact and not damaged.

Toward the end of the episode while Rick, TC and Magnum are at the KKC, Rick is stacking beer cans. The Beer appears to be Tiller Beer and Flagler Beer. I have never heard of either, and don't know if these beers really exist, but thought it was worth noting. We know Magnum drinks Coops and Old Dusseldorf. Now we can add Tiller and Flagler, although it may have been Rick who drank all of the beer.
Did you also note that in the last scene where TM shoots down Higgies plane, it show the plane in flight was a single wing aircraft, but when TM blows it up in mid air, its a Biplane with dual front wings!

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charybdis1966
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#62 Post by charybdis1966 »

I can't believe it took me all this while to realise the paradoxical name of this eposode, i.e how can you say a sister is a "distant relative" ?

Obviously it's saying that she is "distant" to Rick in the sense that he didn't really know her.

Wow, the older I get the dumber I get. :roll:

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Turkey
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#63 Post by Turkey »

Great episode, loved it first time and second time around. Larry's performance is one of his better ones - and loved the Magnum shotgun coda!
Make it two weeks.

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Milton Collins
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#64 Post by Milton Collins »

I'm not crazy about this one. I know it's bound to happen from time to time but I don't care for the episodes where the main characters are at odds with each other (other than Thomas and Higgins, that's one of the lifebloods of the whole show and I love their going back and forth!). I just couldn't get really into this one. Rick's sister that he had made lots of sacrifices for turning out to be a total louse? It's completely realistic but I just didn't find this storyline all that entertaining. I will say that the scenes showing Magnum being mad at Higgins for flying his toy plains is great! That giggle of Magnum's when Higgy crashes with Agatha is one of the funnier scenes ever! And the end where he is just completely fed up and blows the plane away is just awesome!

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#65 Post by SignGuyHPW »

Ok, the age thing has bugged me so watching a few episodes this week I'll try to set it up here. In Distant Relative they establish Wendy is 22 so when the episode aired it means she was born around 1961. Rick said in "All For One" that he joined the Marines in 1969 after the World Series which means he would've been 18 (at least) in 1969 making him have a birth year of 1951. This puts Rick at 10 years older.They also talk about Icepick taking care of Rick and Wendy when their parents died at which time Rick was 13. That'd put wendy at 3 years old. Now if they establish that Rick is about 8 years older. So going based on clues from episodes that discussed ages this would have put Rick at 32 years old. Larry Manetti was born in 1943 so he was actually 40 years of age at the time Distant Relative aired and seems closer to where the character's age should be. They must have thought people would buy Rick being that much younger than TC and Magnum.

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Pahonu
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#66 Post by Pahonu »

Rembrandt's Girl wrote:
308GUY wrote: Question which has been touched on previously here: the two scenes where TM is looking out at Higgins (and Agatha for the first one) flying the planes, is supposed to be looking from the questhouse, yes? So that kind of helps establish the physical location of it, (the guesthouse), or at least what we are supposed to accept it to be, but where were these shots actually taken from?
The shots look like they were really taken from inside Pahonu, through a window on the ocean side. Of course they want us to think TM is looking at them from the guesthouse. TM looks like he was superimposed.

Image
Image
Just saw this and wanted to point out that the scene with Selleck couldn't have been from the windows in the two-story section highlighted in blue. They have wrought iron grills over them, a very popular element in the Spanish Colonial Revival style of the home. He could very easily be standing inside one of the other window or doors in the one-story ell, also seen in the screen cap.

The foliage beside Agatha could also be a clue, because if I remember correctly, the seawall beside the main house doesn't have plantings all along it. It has foliage mostly toward the end with the one-story ell.

thechickinthemiddle
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#67 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

Here's the first scene with Higgins' plane. Shame someone didn't upload the end scene with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDv5kizY8oE

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#68 Post by KingKC »

This was clearly a great Rick-Centric episode. Killing off a sister that quickly was a little on the stunning side but it sure got my attention because I wondered how they were going to solve not only the murder but the potential damage to the Rick - TM relationship. Rick did go a little over the top with his Rambo routine. This episode added dimension to Rick and he needed it. Up on the top end of the scale for me.

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#69 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

Here's the first scene with Higgins' plane. Shame someone didn't upload the end scene with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDv5kizY8oE
Remedied with an upload of mine ;)

https://vimeo.com/168136762

Think I found an audio flub too. When Magnum is disturbed again by the plane and waves through the window at Higgins, you can hear "Morning, Higgins!" at the tail end of that shot, while his mouth isn't moving. :lol:

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#70 Post by TSM308 »

Rick barreling through the window and going crazy with the uzi is one of those scenes you never forget!
"Don't look at the dogs, work the lock."

thechickinthemiddle
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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#71 Post by thechickinthemiddle »

So from my understanding, Wendy was indeed a mule making a delivery to the two guys, but arrived to see them killing the two other undercover federal agents, so the two guys had to kill her to cover their tracks. It does lend credence to Magnum's saying about the lie having a bit of truth to it.

I actually really like Carol's hair in this episode. Shame we don't really see it again.

Image

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#72 Post by Milton Collins »

I posted a few years back that I didn't like this one WOW did I feel different when I watched it two days ago. I REALLY enjoyed it and wish I could re rate, mustve been in a bad mood that night in 2014 lol.

- The opening scene is in my top 5 funniest scenes of the show. Higgins and Agatha playing with the toy planes and TM being awakened and the ensuing argument ending in the crash is just amazingly funny! Thomas' laugh just KILLS ME ha ha ha!

- I also enjoy the scene where Rick introduces TM to Wendy, The way Rick introduces her and talks about seeing Bambi and getting a soda and being in by 10:30 lol And then TM calls Rick Orvi ha ha totally cracks me up!

- Really intense about her getting killed. I still get a small feeling of shock when they find out she is dead. The first time I watched it I figured she was a messed up bad kid but that they would find her!

- Sellecks acting when he tries to tell Rick the truth at the beach bar and Rick punches him is so good! Same for when he tells Higgins what happened. He truly is an amazing actor!

Overall very good episode, season 4 is really solid!

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#73 Post by jeffran »

The role of TC as the voice of reason and peacemaker of the group really struck me in this episode, as well as the excellent acting work by Roger Mosley. Solid episode (8.5 for me), and I agree with the comments about this episode as a two-part episode.

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#74 Post by Algernon Farnsworth »

I like this episode -- I think the New Wave club scene in Tijuana Tokyo sort of acknowledges that even if Magnum woke up at 33 realizing he'd never been 23, he still isn't 23. :) Having him seem confused and out-of-place. Then they defused it by throwing Carol Channing in there, with the "Why are you here?" "Well why are you here?" scene. :)

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Re: Distant Relative (4.4)

#75 Post by .45caliber »

This is a great episode. I give it 9.0. From the RC plane scenes at beginning and end, to the shocker that Wendy is dead. TM, TC, Rick and Higgins all give great performances and we see Carol and Ice Pick too. All around just an outstanding episode of Magnum P.I. and has to rank very high in the whole series. Maybe top 25.

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