The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fifth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
0
No votes
9.5 (One of the Best)
5
7%
9.0 (Excellent)
9
13%
8.5 (Very Good)
12
17%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
16
22%
7.5 (Decent)
12
17%
7.0 (Average at Best)
11
15%
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
6%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
3%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 72

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JT
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#51 Post by JT »

Powder your nose:

Ladies restrooms used to be called "powder rooms" and they had chairs and mirrors so a woman could check out her make-up. Face powder was commonly used rather than liquid make-up. Women didn't want to reveal the true nature of their visit to the restroom. So they would say, "I am going to powder my nose."

So, no, Carol is not doing cocaine.

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J.J. Walters
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#52 Post by J.J. Walters »

"Power my nose", heh. :)

I never thought about it before, but "powder my nose" is pretty funny when the context of cocaine is thrown in. It must have been somewhat confusing in the 70's.

"I'll be right back. I'm going to powder my nose"....
"No, no, just make-up, not blow!"
"Sorry!"
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

kademan100
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#53 Post by kademan100 »

Ah! That makes a lot more sense. For a second I thought she was doing cocaine, and thatMagnum was for some reason okay with it! Haha glad I got it cleared up I would have lost some respect for my favorite TV show! Haha.like I said all this way way before my 90's childhood!

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charybdis1966
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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#54 Post by charybdis1966 »

This, to me, was a so so episode which I vaguely remembering seeing on it's original transmission run on ITV in the Uk in the mid 80's, I remember the boat party at the end and the syringe sticking put of the villain of the episode.

Maybe I've mellowed with continued exposure to the character Carol but I no longer wanted to put my foot through the TV screen when she appeared - well not instantly anyway !

The french detective was played by a chap with a lazy right eye and was balding and yet Carol was swooning over him, huh ?

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#55 Post by Stelth »

charybdis1966 wrote:This, to me, was a so so episode which I vaguely remembering seeing on it's original transmission run on ITV in the Uk in the mid 80's, I remember the boat party at the end and the syringe sticking put of the villain of the episode.

Maybe I've mellowed with continued exposure to the character Carol but I no longer wanted to put my foot through the TV screen when she appeared - well not instantly anyway !

The french detective was played by a chap with a lazy right eye and was balding and yet Carol was swooning over him, huh ?
Pubehead tries to get it anyway she can.

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#56 Post by charybdis1966 »

Stelth wrote:
charybdis1966 wrote:This, to me, was a so so episode which I vaguely remembering seeing on it's original transmission run on ITV in the Uk in the mid 80's, I remember the boat party at the end and the syringe sticking put of the villain of the episode.

Maybe I've mellowed with continued exposure to the character Carol but I no longer wanted to put my foot through the TV screen when she appeared - well not instantly anyway !

The french detective was played by a chap with a lazy right eye and was balding and yet Carol was swooning over him, huh ?
Pubehead tries to get it anyway she can.
Ha ha ah, she is no position to be choosy I guess. :lol:

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#57 Post by EZiller »

Recently watched, only about my 2nd viewing of this episode. I didn't see this mentioned in the other posts and I was a bit groggy when I saw this, combination of being sleepy and several cocktails. But I believe this may have been the first time there was ever any sort of reference to the possibility of Higgins either being Robin Masters or that he was his ghostwriter. There were a couple mentions by Higgins about "my study" at RN and both Jean Paul and TSM are surprised. Also Higgins is quite upset about TSM and Carol checking out Robin's new novel, which TSM later says reads quite differently than RM's usual pulp fiction. The scene at the Karoake bar is funny, no wonder TSM insisted that Jean Paul drink a longneck instead of a brandy, looked quite gay. Not quite sure why TSM was jealous about Carol's interest in JP-he seems to only be interested in her as a friend. They seem to have a brother-sister relationship. 8.5

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#58 Post by Hawaii Winds »

Danno wrote:'Look at me, I'm as helpless as a kitten up a tree...'

Hilarious. :lol:
Don't forget, you have to tap the mike, and start....look, look at me....

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#59 Post by SignGuyHPW »

I couldn't really get into this one. It made Carol seem too dumbed down as opposed to what she normally did. I can see her allowing Magnum to some times see classified material when he's working for her, but I can't see her just letting him and someone she doesn't know look at things in her office for anyone to catch her. Then to have her act like she'd never had a man compliment her in her life was very strange. The ending when Jean Claude "accidently" poisoned the guy with the syringe and they were like, "whoops! ha, ha, ha" about it didn't seem too much in character.

The main thing that REALLY, REALLY bothered me about it was they both planted the seed that Higgins could be Robin Masters (which I hated) and then contradicted it immediately. If he WAS supposed to be Robin Masters and writing all of the books then why would he have to look at the manuscript to see what was written? It makes no sense. Also, it's not out of line for him to refer to it as "my study" since he's the one that uses it. It's not like Carol secretly owns the federal building when she refers to "her office." She is just the one that uses that office in the building. It'd be like a MLB manager refering to "his office" and a player insisting that the manager is really the late George Steinbrenner and the guy we thought owned the team was an actor.

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#60 Post by Hawaii Winds »

Stelth wrote:
charybdis1966 wrote:This, to me, was a so so episode which I vaguely remembering seeing on it's original transmission run on ITV in the Uk in the mid 80's, I remember the boat party at the end and the syringe sticking put of the villain of the episode.

Maybe I've mellowed with continued exposure to the character Carol but I no longer wanted to put my foot through the TV screen when she appeared - well not instantly anyway !

The french detective was played by a chap with a lazy right eye and was balding and yet Carol was swooning over him, huh ?
Pubehead tries to get it anyway she can.
:lol: :lol: :lol:

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#61 Post by Milton Collins »

Little Garwood wrote:I gave this one a 7.0, which is being charitable. As for the DVD, the transfer on this one is subpar and I'm irked at the cut scene w/ Tanaka. Still, it's IMO the worst episode of S5 and one I barely remembered during the series' original run.

I agree I gave it a 6.5 the worst rating to date. I've seen it a couple times over the years and I'm re watching randomly and I'm calling this one a flop mid episode lol I just find Jean Claude to be downright dumb and annoying. But I always say that any Magnum even a less than average episode is better than most other shows. Side note: is it just me or is Larry magneto extremely red faced or sunburned in this one?

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Re: The Man From Marseilles (5.20)

#62 Post by Milton Collins »

Meant Manetti not Magneto lol (this isn't x men lol)

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#63 Post by Dave Anderson »

kademan100 wrote:This is one of a few episodes in the series where someone says they are going to the restroom to "power their nose". Is this a reference to Carol using cocaine?! Sorry about the fact that I sound like an amature, because I am haha. I was born in 1993, so Magnum PI was far before my time, and I do not know how the culture and lifestyle of the 80's played out from a personal account. But, through modern technology and the era of Netflix, Magnum PI has become my all-time favorite T.V. show, hands down!!! I watched the first episode of my life a month ago. I work full-time and I have already watched and enjoyed myself to the beginning of season 6. Oh, and in addition to my question, can anyone tell me which characters, and what previous episodes have used the phrase, "powder my nose". Just curious. I am very glad to have never heard Magnum mention this personally.
I see someone already explained it to you, but I find it interesting that you wouldn't have heard of going to the powder room. I didn't realize the term was no longer in general use. Interesting. Also makes me feel, aaargh, old, or at least as Magnum once put it, "its not that we're old, we're just not young anymore."

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#64 Post by Dave Anderson »

Milton Collins wrote: I agree I gave it a 6.5 the worst rating to date. I've seen it a couple times over the years and I'm re watching randomly and I'm calling this one a flop mid episode lol I just find Jean Claude to be downright dumb and annoying. But I always say that any Magnum even a less than average episode is better than most other shows. Side note: is it just me or is Larry magneto extremely red faced or sunburned in this one?
Haven't watched this one in a while but I remember I didn't particularly care for it. It does have a few high points, such as the sleezy bar scene; even a not so great sleezy bar scene is worth a few brownie points. The basic premise though is rather dated, ie the French guy automatically being considered sexy. This was a stereotype through much of the 20th century, but I don't think it works anymore and probably was already wearing thin by the time the show originally aired.

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#65 Post by ENSHealy »

MACattack wrote: Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:14 am I was totally shocked by the sce where Jean injected the villain with poison.
I've always assumed it was heroin in the syringe, i.e. taste of his own medicine, or ironic revenge for the overdose of his wife.
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