Mac's Back (5.3)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fifth season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

Post Reply

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
14
12%
9.5 (One of the Best)
18
15%
9.0 (Excellent)
49
42%
8.5 (Very Good)
17
15%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
8
7%
7.5 (Decent)
5
4%
7.0 (Average at Best)
2
2%
6.5 (Not So Good)
3
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 117

Message
Author
SignGuyHPW
Admiral
Posts: 191
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 5:58 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#71 Post by SignGuyHPW »

I really enjoyed this one. It kind of drifted from serious/dark episode to comedy/farce episode, but they'd just had the really dark Echoes of the Mind and probably wanted to ease back into comedy so as to not turn off some of the audience. Magnum being completely over the edge to the point of maintaining a constant drunken stupor was something not many shows would've done with the central character. They even had Higgins showing visable concern at how far gone Magnum had gotten. The one minor point I didn't like about this part of the episode was that Magnum was allowed to drive the Ferrari when, admittedly, drunk. There were a lot of young drivers that watched the show so for Higgins to, apparently, still allow him to drive was not a good message.

For the second part of the episode where Magnum's on the quest to find Mac and then figure out whom he really is I thought was kind of fun. This was kind of a nod to earlier in the series when Magnum swore he saw Michelle and nobody believed him. When he's talking to Bonnick (Bonnig?) on the beach and the other guys can only see Magnum and think he's talking to himself it struck me as pretty funny. I know most people don't like Jeff Mackay's re-introduction and new character, but I found it kind of important. Even though it wasn't Mac, he was the guy that snapped Magnum back to reality. Without him it's hard to say if he'd have gotten better or worse. Magnum was so grateful about this that, even though he's a private investigator, he didn't really ever research Bonnick too much. He just kind of accepted him and let himself get used in the future because of this. It was also pretty funny to see Magnum expecting to get some help in the fight in the alley only to have his "buddy pal" run away and leave Magnum behind. Buck Green coming into play always made for a good episode too. He and Magnum's disdain yet hesitant respect for each other was a great dynamic.

User avatar
EZiller
Captain
Posts: 61
Joined: Tue Apr 15, 2014 9:28 pm
Location: East of the Sandwich Islands

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#72 Post by EZiller »

Strange episode. Starts out very serious, as TM is in heavy depression after Diane's suicide. Then it turns into more of a comedy as TM is trying to prove that they new Mac really does exist. A bit of a silly idea but a staple of tv writers for years, the twin, cousin or in this case a virtual identical double who appears.

I did enjoy seeing TM bonding with Zeus and Apollo. I also loved the look and response by Higgins after Rick thought it was strange that TM was sitting on the beach talking to them. Also cracked up on Higgins line to Zeus & Apollo on the beach:

"Come lads-we can still catch the last 10 minutes of Lassie"

User avatar
308GUY
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1228
Joined: Fri Mar 08, 2013 11:42 pm
Location: OH,USA

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#73 Post by 308GUY »

EZiller wrote:Strange episode. Starts out very serious, as TM is in heavy depression after Diane's suicide. Then it turns into more of a comedy as TM is trying to prove that they new Mac really does exist. A bit of a silly idea but a staple of tv writers for years, the twin, cousin or in this case a virtual identical double who appears.

I did enjoy seeing TM bonding with Zeus and Apollo. I also loved the look and response by Higgins after Rick thought it was strange that TM was sitting on the beach talking to them. Also cracked up on Higgins line to Zeus & Apollo on the beach:

"Come lads-we can still catch the last 10 minutes of Lassie"
Good synopsis, pretty much in line with my own. I also LOL'd at Higgin's comment to the lads. :higgins:
"C'mon TC...nothing can go wrong!"

Dave Anderson
Rear Admiral
Posts: 85
Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2014 10:20 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#74 Post by Dave Anderson »

SignGuyHPW wrote:...The one minor point I didn't like about this part of the episode was that Magnum was allowed to drive the Ferrari when, admittedly, drunk. There were a lot of young drivers that watched the show so for Higgins to, apparently, still allow him to drive was not a good message...
Well, there were worse drinking and driving messages in those days... :shock:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmc00EeFJVE

User avatar
J.J. Walters
Founding Father
Posts: 4196
Joined: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:54 pm
Location: Suburbia, USA
Contact:

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#75 Post by J.J. Walters »

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

User avatar
KingKC
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 571
Joined: Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:16 pm
Location: Third World Country of Arkansas

Re:

#76 Post by KingKC »

MaiTaiMan wrote:
J.J. Walters wrote:Magnum: It's not just Diane! It's Michelle and Mac, Rick's little sister, Dan Cook, the little Vietnamese kid whose name I can't remember....My Dad. All people I loved, or who counted on me, and they're gone.
Higgins: Death is part of life. I know that sounds trite, but the very nature of life means that the older we get, the more loses we can expect. And, if we go to war, or choose a profession such as yours, those loses are going to be higher.
Magnum: Look, Higgins. I know you are trying to help and I appreciate it, I really do. I know this isn't going to solve anything, I know I'm being morose, and stupid, but I just don't give a damn.
See...I actually really find this beginning part of the episode interesting to watch and listen to! It's after he sees the fake Mac that, in my opinion, it takes a serious nose-dive! :? I understand, that they needed a good entertaining or even somewhat funny episode after the seriousness or "darkness" of "Echoes of the Mind"...but this wasn't entertaining or even funny...just irritating and stupid! :x
AmandaByNight wrote:I tend to see Echoes of the Mind and Mac's Back as a turning point for the series. Granted, there were earlier signs of it, but I think season 5 shifted into more "mature" episodes (for lack of a better word) that reveled a little more in the esoteric as Magnum aged and began to redefine himself.

Plus, I love how it starts out so dark and then it turns to something more fun. I think when Magnum thinks he sees Mac it gives him a sense of purpose and he's able to find himself through the search/case... whatever you want to call it.

At any rate, I love this episode!
I agree...by around season 5 the series was a little different, and episodes/Magnum seemed a little more mature. However, in my opinion "Mac's Back", and the introduction to the fake Mac, sort of counteracted that shift in the series. Fake Mac was like an irritating "hang-on" to the goofy slap-stick or even dysfunction of how Magnum would start out handling some of his early/first cases.

Magnum could pull off the goofiness or dysfunction and it was funny or even loveable...but Fake Mac was not funny or loveable--just irritating and annoying as heck! :x Besides, by season 5 Magnum was more "defined" and he was approaching his cases/clients more maturely and professionally. Fake Mac was like his "moron" little voice saying: "Come on...let's still be stupid and immature, just one more time!" :P
Normally I just sat back and enjoyed the ride one week at a time back in the eighties rather than look for some hidden meaning in any one given episode. Now that I can see all episodes at once I agree that this episode was a harbinger of things to come as there was change in the offing.

I think for the first time TM finds out that life isn't fair and the private world of investigations isn't necessarily the answer to living the missed years of 23-33. I think Jim Bonnick is the way TM brings part of the past back and mitigates the death of Mac somehow and that is what keeps him going. Then the show went back to the juvenile approach TM frequently had but that was TM's coping mechanism.

I think a lot of episodes to come will signal the end of MPI (and in one ending the end of TM). Hotel Dick is another attempt by Magnum to handle the private world. Blood and Honor is a definite hint that the NAVY was for TM, not private investigating. L.A. hints clearly at settling down. A.A.P.I is the pinnacle TM can expect from being a PI by being named the PI of the Year. Little Girl Who hints again at the family and settling down issue. Solo Flight is introspection into his PI life. Seasons 5, 6, and 7 clearly had an end in sight.

KingKC

KENJI
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 2048
Joined: Wed Aug 04, 2010 5:38 pm
Location: The Republic of Manana

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#77 Post by KENJI »

Sam found this interesting interview with Bellisario that tells us more about bringing Jeff/Mack back to the show.....he talks about it around the halfway mark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HsmOUMARVY

User avatar
Luther's nephew Dobie
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1245
Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 4:16 am
Location: Swamps of Jersey

Re: Some personal reflections, too...

#78 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

Little Garwood wrote:In light of the fact that Jeff MacKay has died (and on Aug 22; my birthday) I can still remember the night I saw "Mac's Back" when it first aired back in 1984. This then-thirteen-year-old waited anxiously to see how they would bring the character back. I wasn't big on resurrection storylines, having just been burned by one in Star Trek III: The Search For Spock*, but I was a longtime Jeff fan, dating back to his Baa Baa Black Sheep and Tales of the Gold Monkey days. I did like the "ghostly" aspect used in this episode and the episode was embedded in my memory ever since. Having watched it a few months ago, I appreciated the episode on an adult level as the second half of Magnum's "double whammy" of emotional devastation was something that happened to me six years ago (I handled it better than Thomas, I'm happy to say). Funny how the best of art and entertainment stays with you and takes on new meanings as you get older.
Sorry for going on and on, but Jeff's passing got me thinking...I rank "Mac's Back" as "one of the best."

Garwood, you wrote:

"Funny how the best of art and entertainment stays with you and takes on new meanings as
you get older".

Great insight on your part. As I grew older and experienced losses such as family/buddies passing on, scenes in Magnum that I was indifferent to suddenly packed an emotional wallop.
Buck Gibson's para-sailing off to his death, and Magnum letting him only made sense to me when
years after it first aired I saw first hand the horrors suffered by people who were doomed to a lingering and degrading death. I guess that's an indication of the quality of the writing on Magnum, they were writing something true which was what Hemingway always strove to do.












*Which I refused to go and see at the time, even though I was and am a big Trek fan.

User avatar
TSM308
Captain
Posts: 55
Joined: Mon May 23, 2016 1:03 am
Location: Urbandale, IA

Re: Some personal reflections, too...

#79 Post by TSM308 »

Great insight on your part. As I grew older and experienced losses such as family/buddies passing on, scenes in Magnum that I was indifferent to suddenly packed an emotional wallop.
Buck Gibson's para-sailing off to his death, and Magnum letting him only made sense to me when
years after it first aired I saw first hand the horrors suffered by people who were doomed to a lingering and degrading death. I guess that's an indication of the quality of the writing on Magnum, they were writing something true which was what Hemingway always strove to do.
Well said...
"Don't look at the dogs, work the lock."

User avatar
KingKC
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 571
Joined: Mon Feb 29, 2016 10:16 pm
Location: Third World Country of Arkansas

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#80 Post by KingKC »

One of the things about MPI was that it wasn't always an "all's well that ends well" type show where the good guy always wins, gets the girl and everybody recovers from their injury. Yes, there were lighthearted episodes that did follow this pattern but there were also more realistic (and somewhat dramatized) stories and scenes. People suffered emotionally and physically in this show and sometimes they died..and sometimes violently. Maybe it was a little ahead of its time but it was a good mix.

KingKC

User avatar
K Hale
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1117
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:52 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#81 Post by K Hale »

I found this a very, very well done episode, even if I disliked the Bonnig/ick character and found it super weird that Magnum went on calling him Mac...
I didn't realize you were so addicted to pool.
It's not pool.
Billiards.
Snooker!
Snucker.
SNOOKER!

marlboro
Baron Of GIFs
Posts: 655
Joined: Mon Oct 28, 2013 2:31 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#82 Post by marlboro »

Maybe TM really did die in "Limbo" and the guy we see in season 8 is just some dude who everyone insists on calling Magnum?

User avatar
K Hale
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1117
Joined: Thu Feb 01, 2018 6:52 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#83 Post by K Hale »

marlboro wrote:Maybe TM really did die in "Limbo" and the guy we see in season 8 is just some dude who everyone insists on calling Magnum?
Mind = blown
I didn't realize you were so addicted to pool.
It's not pool.
Billiards.
Snooker!
Snucker.
SNOOKER!

Croix de Lorraine
Admiral
Posts: 195
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:49 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#84 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

It's not often I fault Tom Selleck's acting, but I don't think he's very good at acting depressed. He's all spaced out and lethargic and then he speaks and he sounds as energetic as usual, instead of sounding quiet, morose and low energy, like a depressed person would.

Also, I think his pals overreact a bit. They all gather in vigil as if he was fighting for his life. Give him a break, he just saw a woman he had feelings for blow her brains right in front of him. Then on top of that there's his friend being blown up in front of his eyes, the whole business with his wife and daughter and Vietnam. Don't you think he has the right to be a tiny bit depressed without you making a big drama out of it?

Croix de Lorraine
Admiral
Posts: 195
Joined: Sun Jul 31, 2011 6:49 pm

Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#85 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

KingKC wrote:One of the things about MPI was that it wasn't always an "all's well that ends well" type show where the good guy always wins, gets the girl and everybody recovers from their injury. Yes, there were lighthearted episodes that did follow this pattern but there were also more realistic (and somewhat dramatized) stories and scenes. People suffered emotionally and physically in this show and sometimes they died..and sometimes violently. Maybe it was a little ahead of its time but it was a good mix.

KingKC
Yeah, the occasional grittiness they injected into the whole escapism made the show all the more relatable. We all suffer in life and we can relate better to a character when he has to pay his dues too.

Post Reply