Smaller Than Life (4.3)

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)
1
1%
9.0 (Excellent)
2
2%
8.5 (Very Good)
6
6%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
14
14%
7.5 (Decent)
20
20%
7.0 (Average at Best)
20
20%
6.5 (Not So Good)
18
18%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
9
9%
5.0 (Just Awful)
8
8%
 
Total votes: 98

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brunoffrance
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Only in a TV show...

#11 Post by brunoffrance »

just seen this episode ( we are sunday...) with the short familly ( vacation season) and the vote was not great : 7 only that is upper the average ! Sure it could be called " Rick P.I" and it was interresting to see him controling the action; Great actor and what a class !.
A bit surprised by a modem ( even an old one ), used in an hospital bedroom as it was a classic option, in the 80's. I knew that you were in advance compared to my old continent, but i doubt that situation was possible, even today.... try to do that with our actual wifi in a motel... and replace that in an hospital ....oups !
It's only TV show and we like that !
Very american 4 a french...

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Jay-Firestorm
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#12 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

My first review of the week. I don’t HATE this episode, but it’s not overly great either.

[rating=7.5]

While Magnum is in hospital after a hang-gliding accident, Rick's old friend, the vertically challenged Waldo, a small-time burglar, convinces him to help recover a priceless figurine – but nothing about Waldo's story is the complete truth. A mixed ep...

-----

Ahh… ‘Smaller Than Life’, an episode that generally has a mixed response from viewers.

Other than the third season’s ‘Two Birds of a Feather’ (a pilot for a potential series that did not sell), this is the first ‘Magnum-lite’ episode of the series, in which we see very little of T.M. himself. He is hospitalised after a hang-gliding accident while trying to impress his new girlfriend (by the way, this is one of the very few episodes in which Magnum is actually shown to have a girlfriend).

So with Magnum out of the picture for the bulk of the story, Rick takes the spotlight. I personally don’t mind this too much, as the ‘supporting’ characters of Higgins, T.C. and Rick had all grown enough to support an episode on their own. But even so, Magnum’s usual easy-going charm is noticeably missing from the story.

The short Waldo Norris, played by Cork Hubbert, is a character that will split viewers – I can image there is a large section who found him extremely annoying! I personally find him quite an amusing character, but did start to tire of him by the end of the episode.

One thing I did find, was that there were several blatant ‘convenient’ plot points in the story; Lee (the boy who Magnum is sharing a hospital room with), just happens to have a modem on his computer, is excusable enough (although very dubious and dated), but what stuck out to me more was that Higgins ‘just happened’ to be hosting a showing of sketches of various building layouts – one of which just happens to be the one Waldo needs!

I think this episode’s main flaw is that it comes far too early in the season. They might have got away with it better if it had been tucked down the end of a season, but only the third episode into the season and already Magnum is absent – it didn’t sit too well with me.

When I first saw this episode, some years ago now, I didn’t mind it too much, but it doesn’t really hold up to repeat viewings, and watching it this time to review, I didn’t enjoy it so much.

Overall, this is a watchable episode, but hardly outstanding. It has a ‘filler episode’ feel to it, that would have been better tucked away down the end of the season.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* The opening trailer features a clip of Higgins and Rick driving along at night (possibly in the Audi), with Higgins talking about Magnum lying in his hospital bed, that was not included in the actual episode. Presumably it was dropped for timing reasons.
JAY FIRESTORM

Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/

My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!

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Rutledal
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#13 Post by Rutledal »

Doc Ibold wrote:
James J. Walters wrote:So..... when Waldo and Rick were kids/teenagers, hanging out together on Taylor St. in Chicago, Waldo was working for the CIA?? Please tell me I missed something.
Nope, its flubalicious!

(A 12 year old CIA agent?)
Image

As the screenshot clearly states Waldo joined the CIA at the age of 18.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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lutherhgillis
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#14 Post by lutherhgillis »

I liked this one. Yea, the computer equipment is hilarious to see. Man, the modems where you place the telephone handset into...wow those are old!

Does anyone remember the first generation of laptops (getting slightly off subject)? They did not have a hard drive; they booted off the floppy drive with a boot disk. They also had a carry handle and were very bulky.
Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

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J.J. Walters
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#15 Post by J.J. Walters »

Blackie "Spider" Dammett (William Skuler) is the father of Anthony Kiedis, lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Until 2005 he was head of Rockinfreakopotamous, the official Red Hot Chili Peppers fan club.

Image

Image

Rock on!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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zebra3
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#16 Post by zebra3 »

Just an okay episode, the fight at the end had some cheese to it, Magnum struggling with that woman and then the outcome was funny. Rick certainly can carry an episode better than most of today's secondary characters. It just goes to show that even if he isn't the main character, they all share an importance to the show.
"Burn the land and boil the sea, but you can't take the sky from me."

AmandaByNight
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#17 Post by AmandaByNight »

J.J. that was a neat tidbit about Anthony of Red Hot Chilli Peppers and his dad! Thanks!

I liked this episode. I'm sweet on any Rick episode because I'm in love with him... :)

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nha trang
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Average episode but wally is annoying

#18 Post by nha trang »

I think I've seen some worse episodes so far, for instance with the precocious little basketball playing girl, but waldo doesn't exactly pull off the Nicholas Cage "National Treasure" bit in any manner resembling convincing.

I don't know if you'd consider it a flub, but evidently waldo doesn't do his own stunts, as can be seen to horrifying effect ( :lol: ) in the fight scene in the dark mansion where waldo brandishes a cane kung-fu style, as he has quite clearly become possessed ala some Steven King "the shining" effect...

I can't believe they start season 4 with home from the sea, then luther gillis (tacky but I like it for the humor) and then this episode?

It makes me wonder if they came up with episode ideas just to pick up ratings, like this week on magnum we'll have a really short little person ninja guy?

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Honolulu Lulu
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#19 Post by Honolulu Lulu »

It makes me wonder if they came up with episode ideas just to pick up ratings, like this week on magnum we'll have a really short little person ninja guy?
In Larry Manetti's book he says J. Rickely Dumm wrote this story line after Larry told him how much he wanted to work with little people. I guess Larry was tired of being the shortest member in the cast.

And for those of you who have read Larry Manetti's book, did you wonder what happened to the scene he referenced in his episode guide in which he "got stuck in a chimney with the little guy and had to go on a diet afterwards"?

I guess after that fiasco they changed the storyline all together to show Waldo emerge from the chimney alone while Rick breaks into the house with Higgins. Bummer, I was looking forward to seeing Rick and Waldo in a chimney! :D
Rack em up!

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MaiTaiMan
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#20 Post by MaiTaiMan »

The action, plenty of humor, and even Higgins getting in on the action makes this a fairly enjoyable episode I like to watch when going through season 4.

However, to be honest, for the most part this episode is really outlandish! :lol: This midget/dwarf dude (that supposedly has been working for the CIA since he was a kid??--yeah, right! :shock: ) pops in and tells all of these wild lies...then of course everyone ends up believing him at the end. :roll: Also, his name cracks me up...Waldo? :roll: Was this "Magnum's" ode to the idea of "Where's Waldo?" :P

But, the other aspects I mentioned above help this one for me a bit...I rated it as "pretty good". :)
"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"

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miltontheripper
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#21 Post by miltontheripper »

Love your comments about the fight scene in the mansion nha trang. I almost started crying when his ridiculous stunt double had the kung fu/cane fight with the other guy. what a horribly ridiculous scene. as if higgins would help them break in to that mansion? i mean, come on what a stupid (but funny!) episode. I do love Rick though he did a good job of carrying the episode even though I didn't like it very much.

AmandaByNight
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#22 Post by AmandaByNight »

The fight scene is indeed hilarious. I didn't really notice the obvious stunt double until I watched the episode with a friend of mine, who was quick to point it out. I felt a bit like a dolt, but when I watch a lot of shows, I just tend to immerse myself in them and I miss a lot of flubs or obvious, silly things. Now it's all I can see when I watch the scene. It hasn't lessened my love for the episode though. I don't think anything could!

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MaiTaiMan
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#23 Post by MaiTaiMan »

AmandaByNight wrote:The fight scene is indeed hilarious. I didn't really notice the obvious stunt double until I watched the episode with a friend of mine, who was quick to point it out. I felt a bit like a dolt, but when I watch a lot of shows, I just tend to immerse myself in them and I miss a lot of flubs or obvious, silly things. Now it's all I can see when I watch the scene. It hasn't lessened my love for the episode though. I don't think anything could!
I usually purposely try to immerse myself in an episode of whatever show I'm watching...not caring about whatever so-called mistakes or flubs may or may not be in it. Noticing or being made aware of every single flub or mistake there might be sort of ruins the epsiode for me, and I don't like that. :wink:

Nothing's perfect...so just watching and "going with it" is the best way to enjoy a show. If all you do is look for mistakes or flubs...you miss out on the show and purpose of the episode completely! All you're doing is watching for the slightest mistake possible, just to point it out. :roll: Most of the time, I really don't care!

But, sometimes certain mistakes or obvious flubs are funny and/or even entertaining! :) This stunt double scene was one of those...and I not only laugh when that scene comes on, but I laugh and shake my head throughout most of this episode! :lol:
"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"

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miltontheripper
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#24 Post by miltontheripper »

I agree with you completely MaiTaiMan. If you focus only on errors, you don't really enjoy the show and it's too great not too! This (the midget stunt double) was my first "flub" I have ever brought up and I only did because I agree with you that it compeletly enhanced the episode for me and I laughed my ass off. Most of the humor of the show comes from some of the ridiculousness of it lol. BTW I think were watching the seasons in order at almost the same pace as this is my most recent episode so enjoy! Lots of great ones ahead.

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MaiTaiMan
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#25 Post by MaiTaiMan »

miltontheripper wrote:I agree with you completely MaiTaiMan. If you focus only on errors, you don't really enjoy the show and it's too great not too! This (the midget stunt double) was my first "flub" I have ever brought up and I only did because I agree with you that it compeletly enhanced the episode for me and I laughed my ass off. Most of the humor of the show comes from some of the ridiculousness of it lol. BTW I think were watching the seasons in order at almost the same pace as this is my most recent episode so enjoy! Lots of great ones ahead.
Exactly! Some flubs are okay or funny to point out...I don't really care that much. But, some members or posters primarily focus on mistakes and that's all they report or post on. That's what I don't care for and usually chose not to read those posts.

Actually I'm part way into season 5 now...so it's been at least a couple weeks since I've seen this episode. But, I still found it humorous and fairly entertaining. :)
"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"

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