Mac's Back (5.3)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fifth season

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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

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Kevster
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#61 Post by Kevster »

I agree with the neckhair/beard, but the striking part of the look TS had were the red eyes... They were very red and irritated. Better than most 80's shows!!!!
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Seaver41
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#62 Post by Seaver41 »

Wow....talk about a change of heart. I HATED this episode long ago because I wanted the real Mac...and even though he blew up, this show has tripped the limits of the imagination on occasion. Hell, i was a teenager then so it was wishful thinking. Jim Bonnick is not a good character.........NOW......knowing the fullrun of the show and how the real Mac still played a role down the road......I loved watching this over the weekend (back on my Magnum kick). I forgot just how powerful this episode truly was.....and of course the perfect ending of seeing Mac and then the 4th wall broken. I love those moments.

It is so cool now to see these episodes after so much time and be able to see them in a different light. Some transcend the years the same, but this is one that is a 'feel-good' because we do get the real Mac.

There were some good liones in this as well........I chuckled when Buck Green, Mr Macho himself mentioned it gave him goosebumps to see the resemblance. Maybe the most lasting memory of a line was Magnum replying to Higgins when he asked wouldn't whiskey do the trick faster......and Magnum replies "...it's easier to maintain a buzz with beer" Being a beer lover myself, it's one of those fist pump moments.

I thought the writers did a great job of handling Magnum on the edge...........maybe a not so direct look at post traumatic syndrome.

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charybdis1966
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#63 Post by charybdis1966 »

I watched this straight after Echoes of the Mind and of course the series continuity and a minor story arc(the aftermath of Diane Dupres suicide) is well served here.

The only thing I have to add is that the plot mechanism for reintroducing a Mac "looking" character was rather clunky; I'd rather he actually was Mac or Magnum was hallucinating, and as for Jim Bonnick saying "you can call me Mac", I had to cringe.

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#64 Post by marlboro »

I like tha actor, but not enough to want to see him reintroduce into the series they way they did. I think they should have only used Jeff Mackay in fllashback or prequel episodes. I really wish they had done more of those type of episodes. "Dream A Little Dream" was the only one, right?

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charybdis1966
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#65 Post by charybdis1966 »

marlboro wrote:I like tha actor, but not enough to want to see him reintroduce into the series they way they did. I think they should have only used Jeff Mackay in fllashback or prequel episodes.
That's a good idea, it would have filled out the backstory of the main characters nicely.

The flashback idea was under used IMHO.

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J.J. Walters
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#66 Post by J.J. Walters »

marlboro wrote:"Dream A Little Dream" was the only one, right?
And "Holmes Is Where the Heart Is".
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#67 Post by MagStache »

I voted a near perfect. I used to think it was rather stupid that they killed mac off only to bring him back later, but at the same time that was part of the great writing of the show in that the good guys didn't always win. But it was interesting to bring him back as a con man of sorts where magnum was the one usually playing that game in a way with the original mac
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#68 Post by Hawaii Winds »

N1095A wrote:Ah, the 80's. Nowadays, if Magnum stopped in traffic looking the way he did, and (had to be) smelling of beer, he'd have been arrested for DUI. Lucky he knew the cop who came up to him.

At the end, when Mac's ghost is lighting Magnum's cigar, we very briefly see the medals on his uniform. Although it is a super quick look, you can see a Vietnam campaign ribbon. According to Magnum in "Did You See The Sunrise?" Mac "wasn't in 'Nam"
Was the cop "kenny"?

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Milton Collins
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#69 Post by Milton Collins »

Good solid episode, 8.5 for me. I love spotting the repeat actors, anyone notice "Bart Lindsey". (One of the partners of the Jan Kona fashion company from season 2 episode Three Minus Two who gets blown up with a car bomb)? Always loved the Mac character and even though Jim Bonnig was a different spin on Mac he was great for the show too! The initial exchange between Higgy and TM on the beach when TM is pounding beers is pretty classic. His list of tragedies makes Thomas Magnum such a real character that you can relate too. And I have one comment on "Olga"....wow!!!!!

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Milton Collins
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#70 Post by Milton Collins »

Btw "Bart Lindsey" was working in the jewelry store

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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.

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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"

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308GUY
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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!"

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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

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J.J. Walters
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#75 Post by J.J. Walters »

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

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