I’ve been looking forward to covering this one; my favourite episode after ‘Home From The Sea’.
[rating=10]
Magnum is a near wreck after Diane’s suicide, until he spots a man who looks exactly like his deceased friend, “Mac” MacReynolds. Everyone else is concerned that he’s going mad, but Magnum is determined to prove what he saw. My second favourite episode…
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This review contains spoilers.
After the fourth season’s classic ‘Home From The Sea’, ‘Mac’s Back’ is my second most favourite episode from the entire series. It has it all – drama, comedy, mystery… the perfect ‘Magnum, p.i.’ package.
Even before we get on to the story itself, one thing to note is that the regular theme tune is replaced by a rare alternative version. Playing both on the opening and (in a slight variant) on the closing episodes, this is the only time in the entire series that this particular version is used. Whether they were considering using this for the fifth season, or if it was just used to mark such a notable episode, is anyone’s guess.
Anyway, the story itself continues on from the previous two-part ‘Echoes of the Mind’, with Magnum suffering depression over the suicide of Diane. The story can be viewed ‘stand alone’, but for best effect is viewed directly after ‘Echoes of the Mind’.
It is the first time in the show’s run that a story continues on from the previous episode; something that would go on to occur more in the eighth, final season.
I love the opening music of this episode. It starts off peaceful, turns – as we pan across the beach of empty beer bottles – to sad, and as we see what a wreck Magnum has become, turns quite dark and worrying.
It also contains some nice name checks of previous episode – beyond Diane and Mac, we have mention of Michelle; Rick’s little sister (from the fourth season’s ‘Distant Relative’), Dan Cook (from the Pilot), Magnum’s father (seen in flashback in aforementioned ‘Home From The Sea’), as well as a “little Vietnamese kid” who doesn’t seem to come form a particular episode.
I believe that the first act, with Magnum on the edge of sanity, and everyone believing he has gone mad after claiming to have seen Mac, to be one of the show’s all-time greatest sequences.
The reason Mac makes a return (of sorts) is down to Jeff MacKay returning to the series after appearing as Corky in another Bellisario show, ‘Tales of the Gold Monkey’, which only lasted one season (1982-83); so the producers had to come up with a way to be able to write ‘Mac’ back into MPI!
When Five here in the U.K. broadcast this episode in 2002, I hadn’t seen this far down the series before. I was signed off work ill and suffering depression (something I could relate to Magnum with), videotaped this episode when it was on, and ended up watching it for the first time at about four in the morning! I had no idea if Magnum had really seen a ghost, or what it was; I was gripped, and it immediately became my second most favourite episode of the show’s run.
And then, there is the classic final sequence, where the ghost of Mac lights Magnum’s cigar. It could have been a disaster, but is well handled and becomes a classic moment. (Mac’s ghost would go on to appear to Magnum several more times in the series).
All-in-all, although I know there are some that don’t care for this story, personally it is set in stone in second place on my Top 10 favourite episodes list. Like ‘Home From The Sea’, I can watch it over and over without getting bored.
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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* On the DVD version of this episode, the final act break is abridged.
* The site’s main page for this episode lists six versions of the theme. In fact, there are quite a few more. I think the comprehensive list is:
- Original Ian Freebairn-Smith theme (Pilot opening credits, edited for the early episodes opening credits, and various edits on early closing credits)
- Pilot closing version of the Freebairn-Smith theme (only used on closing of Pilot)
- Extended ‘looped’ Mike Post & Pete Carpenter theme (first season’s ‘The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii’ and ‘Don’t Say Goodbye’)
- First season opening credits theme (also used on some first season closing credits)
- Second season opening credits theme
- Second season extended closing credits theme (used on ‘Billy Joe Bob’, ‘The Sixth Position’ and ‘Computer Date’)
- Second season shorter closing credits theme (sounds similar to second season opening, but in a shorter form)
- Seasons three-eight opening credits theme
- Seasons three-eight shorter closing credits theme (sounds similar to opening, but in a shorter form)
- Seasons three-eight extended closing theme (used in several different edits)
- ‘Mac’s Back’ opening credits theme variant
- ‘Mac’s Back’ closing credits theme variant (different guitar sections)
…okay, so I have way too much time on my hands!