Blind Justice (5.7)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fifth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
3
4%
9.5 (One of the Best)
8
10%
9.0 (Excellent)
10
13%
8.5 (Very Good)
16
21%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
22
28%
7.5 (Decent)
12
15%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
4%
6.5 (Not So Good)
2
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 78

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nha trang
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#11 Post by nha trang »

This episode didn't do much for me, I really don't like the "Carol" episodes and don't see what her character added to the series. They even present her character as annoying to Magnum, and it annoys me, the viewer, to watch her whine away. Sorry for the bummer...lol

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#12 Post by AmandaByNight »

I really like this episode and it often comes up when I talk about Magnum with someone. I think because it raises a lot of issues and is poignant in how it presents the way Magnum eventually testifies.

I'd love to see this one again... I only have a couple of seasons on DVD cuz I'm broke, but have many on unlabeled vhs. It might be worth looking for.

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MaiTaiMan
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#13 Post by MaiTaiMan »

J.J. Walters wrote:This is one of my favorite episodes from the fifth season. It's another great Magnum/Carol episode, this one with a domestic violence subplot. The disturbing opening scene still works today. Powerful stuff!
Totally agree! That opening scene is very powerful, and for 80's TV (as well as even today) is very shocking and effective for setting the tone. :shock:

Very captivating Magnum/Carol episode, including a good family murder story--also with a twist of an ending! Very enjoyable and entertaining episode for season 5! :)
"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"

RamblerReb
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#14 Post by RamblerReb »

Couple of points about the Jag:

It is not a Series I, it is a Series II, the giveaway being the large, rectangular taillights below the rear bumper.

When TC is describing the repairs he made to the car, he says he replaced the fan belt. Series II E-types have no fan belt. They have twin electric fans which are not physically connected to the engine. He could have been referring to accessory belts, driving the alternator and whatnot, but no fan would have been connected to them.

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Coops
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#15 Post by Coops »

Hi Rambler, welcome to the group!

I understand what you're saying about the belts. "Fan belts" are often used as a generic term in auto repair sort of like how "Coke" or "Kleenex" is to their respective products. This is especially true of the south from which TC is. When I managed a Mercedes repair shop we would use the term "Replaced all fan belts" on the repair order even though there was only one for the fan.

That being said, Rick thought his 380SL Mercedes had a carburetor!
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miltontheripper
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#16 Post by miltontheripper »

I have to admit I had never liked this episode a whole lot in the past but while watching it again yesterday I thought it was much better than previous viewings. I do like the episode's featuring Carol and this actually was a pretty intense episode with the ultimate morality check for TM. Overall a pretty decent episode for me.

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Sisophous
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#17 Post by Sisophous »

I did not care much for this episode when I viewed it the first time but now that I saw it again it is very good.

Carol really destroys episodes for me but she is more low key and less abrasive in this episode. She does manage to nearly get Magnum killed while running red lights. You have to ask yourself is that a wig on her head or is it a birds nest? I know the 80s had a lot of funky, bad hair but this looks ridiculous.

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Then just 3 plus minutes into this episode we have Magnum being Magnum. Not only does he destroy Higgins flowers, parking the Ferrari at night in the dark, but does not offer to reimburse Higgins for the flowers. Understandably, Higgins goes off the wall and takes the car away from Magnum.

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Then we have that car Magnum picks up to replace the Ferrari and of course TC can't repair cars. Black smoke is emitted from the rear. And Magnum does not even fit in the car, his head is above the windshield.

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The girl in the Black car, looks like a Corvette, really caught my eye. Who is she? What an 80s girl.

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I think the ending is the worst and most incomplete I have seen in this series. Some may call it an open ended conclusion but I found it left me guessing what happened after they built this story up. Did the husband go to jail for murder or not? And what did Magnum decide to do, help put the husband away or not? A tape recorder gets erased and there is no back up? Wouldn't you make a copy just in case something destroyed the evidence? It seems the writers got tired here and wrapped up the episode prematurely.

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ConchRepublican
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#18 Post by ConchRepublican »

Sisophous wrote:The girl in the Black car, looks like a Corvette, really caught my eye. Who is she? What an 80s girl.
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Ahh . . our Mystery Girl returns. There's a whole thread about her! Or, "Lady X" as she's been dubbed.

viewtopic.php?t=2032
CoziTV Superfan spot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTmsykLQ04

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Sisophous
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#19 Post by Sisophous »

ConchRepublican wrote:
Ahh . . our Mystery Girl returns. There's a whole thread about her! Or, "Lady X" as she's been dubbed.
Thanks, I have an idea but will post it on that thread.

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J.J. Walters
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#20 Post by J.J. Walters »

LOL! :)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#21 Post by MaximRecoil »

Are the seats in that particular model of Jaguar really that high in relation to the top of the windshield, or did they have Selleck sit on something (e.g. a stack of books, cushion, whatever) just to create the comedic effect of him looking way too tall for the car? I remember Selleck saying in a TV interview (on David Letterman's show perhaps) many years ago that him driving around in that little Ferrari was supposed to be a joke, because of his size relative to how small the car was. But in the case of the Ferrari the effect is minor, not even close to how cartoonish it looked when he was driving that Jaguar.

I'm 6'2, only 2" shorter than Selleck, and I've never even been close to being too tall for any vehicle I've ever driven.

Also, I loved the scene where Magnum was apparently driving the Jaguar, and then the camera zooms out to show that he's actually being towed on a flat trailer. The scene was also ironic in that they basically just pulled back the veil on the usual method of filming driving scenes when they want to show a closeup of the actual actor (rather than a stuntman in a zoomed out shot where he isn't recognizable) "driving" down a public road at a significant speed; i.e., the car is actually being towed on a low, flat trailer during such scenes.

This is a far more realistic method than the cheaper method of filming the actor sitting in a "buck" in the studio with the passing scenery projected onto a screen. For example, in the early Georgia episodes of the very car/driving centric show "The Dukes of Hazzard", the closeup driving scenes featuring Schneider and Wopat were done in a car on a trailer being towed down real roads. After they moved to a Warner Bros. backlot in Hollywood, they went with the cheaper (and cheesy looking) studio buck method, like so:

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Fortunately, MPI never used that cheap method.

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Doc Fred
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#22 Post by Doc Fred »

[quote="J.J. Walters"]And Ms. Jones, the "Hall of Records" clerk, makes another all too brief appearance.[/quote]

Throughout the series, after seeing her a few times, I kinda figured Magnum would eventually date her... I was surprised that never happened...

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Doc Fred
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#23 Post by Doc Fred »

Tuan Vu wrote:This was a pretty good episode, with the outcome of the trial in doubt and the verdit never revealed at the end. I wanted to see how it ended! :cry:

Anyway, I thought it was interesting what that sleazy defense lawyer told Magnum when he said that he wasn't concerned whether his client was guilty or not, but that his job was just to make sure he wasn't convicted. Being a defense lawyer must pose a lot of ethical challenges for those in that profession.

Also, I loved the scene where the defense lawyer, Aldridge, tries to bribe Magnum to stop investigating the case, and Magnum makes fun of the situation by asking him whether there are any other cases he would like Magnum "not to investigate", and how much he would pay him for "not investigating" because he could spend a lot of time "not investigating." Very funny! :lol:

Finally, it was nice to see many scenes filmed in front of Aliiolani Hale Image, which is the building that houses the Hawaii State Supreme Court. There is a time capsule buried somewhere beneath the building by King Kamehameha V back in 1872, and contains photos of the royal family, Hawaiian coins, the Constitution of the Hawaiian Kingdom, newspapers and books. However, to dig it up would damage the structural integrity of the building, so it has not been disturbed.
Great comments, Tuan. Personally, I'm very satisfied with how Magnum handled things and that the guy on trial wasn't going to be exonerated because of the tape. As others have said, in the totality of things, justice was done... or appeared like it would be done.

I usually like watching the times when Higgy Baby and Magnum have their disputes and the consequences of them, but not this time. I thought the parts about the Jag that Magnum bought and the destructions of the flowers were pretty bad.

Mostly, Tuan, I want to thank you for the history about the artifacts buried under building. I thought that was fascinating. Perhaps in time, engineering will advance to the point where the artifacts will be recovered without damaging the building. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I suspect the state of Hawaii and the people of Hawaii would surely treasure what's in the capsule, and display the contents in an important place.... a true piece of history.

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Re:

#24 Post by Seaver41 »

miltontheripper wrote:I have to admit I had never liked this episode a whole lot in the past but while watching it again yesterday I thought it was much better than previous viewings. I do like the episode's featuring Carol and this actually was a pretty intense episode with the ultimate morality check for TM. Overall a pretty decent episode for me.

A common thought I have as I watch these shows 30 years later again.Being a teenager then you see the world in general through a much narrower scope than as an adult......and now the impact is different from different episodes. That's been part of the fun for me......seeing things I have forgotten over time and looking at things differently.

I enjoyed this episode. It makes you think. I have to believe the verdict was guilty. Carol had said they had overwhelming circumstantial evidence and the sleazy attorney destroyed his own client's alibi.....so IMO Magnum gets to ride off into the sunset with a smug smile on his face. That is how i believe the writers wanted to leave the viewers(or maybe they simply left it up for grabs for either outcome the viewer imagines).

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Re:

#25 Post by marlboro »

Very strong episode. i thought they did a very good job of posing a difficult moral question and finding a fairly satisfactory way of wrapping the story up. It was a bit of a copout, but a satisfying one. Justice was (likely) served and Magnum still kept his hands clean.

A question for you guys: How would you have felt if Magnum had played the tape without interruption and exonerated the defendant?





Sisophous wrote:I did not care much for this episode when I viewed it the first time but now that I saw it again it is very good.

Carol really destroys episodes for me but she is more low key and less abrasive in this episode. She does manage to nearly get Magnum killed while running red lights. You have to ask yourself is that a wig on her head or is it a birds nest? I know the 80s had a lot of funky, bad hair but this looks ridiculous.

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Her hairstyle is very... unfortunate. I always feel like a hypocrite when criticizing someone much better looking than I am about their looks or fashion sense, but, damn, that is a bad hairdo. Disclaimer: I am a hideous freak and even though the actress that plays her is probably 60 years old she is likely still out of my league.


I too dislike the Carol character. She is a bit obnoxious.

I wish they had used Lieutenant Tanaka a bit more instead of her. Have him occasionally enlist Magnum's aid when his own hands were tied by official red tape.

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