Paniolo (6.8)

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I think maybe a gun to the head would be the only thing to get me to wear a shirt like that. I still can't believe Magnum wore it! The belt isn't bad, he just has too much of it "flopping" at the end.

[golfmobile]

It's not just the silver tip on the belt -- it's the buckle too -- shaped like a horseshoe -- that makes it "Western" or "cowboy" compared to Norman's golf belt.

JMO.

golf

[N1095A]

While I agree with every negative thing that's been said about this episode, it is one of my all-time favorites. For the life of me I can't figure out why I like it so much. It lacks most of the usual "Magnumness" of my other favorites, still, there's something about it that just appeals to me. Maybe it's because Tom Selleck does westerns so well, or maybe it's because I was born about 100 too late. Not sure, but this is one I always enjoy.

[steveadl]

This episode would have to be a tie with 'Going Home' from my least favorite episode - didn't care for either of them.

Though interesting to hear they lost access to the estate at one point - surely it would have to have been during season 6 considering the amount of episodes that we didn't see it, especially in a row. Some episodes worked (Hotel Dick) and others like this one certainly did not.

[nha trang]

This is bar none my single least favorite episode up till now in the MPI seasons...I expect episodes like this from the A-team. And yes, can someone tell me why Magnum is wearing a lipstick red chef's apron of a shirt?

This might have flown in a different series with old west Tom Selleck, but as an MPI episode it's almost unwatchable...lol

[MaiTaiMan]

Paniolo is "Cowboy" in Hawaiian...okay, great. But, I am not really a fan of western, cowboy, "hick", hillbilly type stuff. Even though I know there are cattle ranches on certain islands in Hawaii...it just doesn't really go with a show like "Magum".

This was sort of like Magnum meets Roy Rogers...who I believe is mentioned in the episode. It's just not my thing. Cowboys, cattle rustling, masked bandits, etc...I might as well watch an episode of "Gunsmoke" instead.

This episode also was kind of boring as well as silly...not really one of season 6's best for sure.

[miltontheripper]

I guess if I was looking for "serious" entertainment I wouldn't be watching 20 year old reruns of Magnum P.I.

Hehe

One of the great things about Magnum is that it will surprise you with the occasional "serious" theme, however - Personal loss, domestic violence, family issues, "Does the end justify the means?", that kind of thing.

The guy playing Will kind've reminded me of Ricardo Montalban at times, so I guess that's something at least.

Yeah, he kinda does!

And there's something else .... our old friend Ron Pennington has returned from the grave again, and morphed into someone else's body. This time a poor Paniolo ranch hand!



Hehe! I'll stop now with the Ron Pennington jokes.

Great spot! I totally did not catch Ron Pennington's return! And please don't stop, I find it hilairous how many times Ron plays a different character in the series! If I remember correctly he was a gangster selling hot tv's and such in "Legacy From a Friend" with Annie Potts and has a few other random appearances as well. The recurring characters make the show all that much more fun to watch in my opinion.

[miltontheripper]

Even though a lot of the negative feedback regarding the flaws of this episode are true, I still find it pretty entertaining and enjoy it. Magnum as a cowboy just seems to fit, as Selleck is great in most of his Westerns as well! Season 6 episodes have definitely gotten away from the typical Magnum (the estate, the ferrari, the lads) but I have actually enjoyed these episodes. It speaks to how good the characters are that the shows good whether its in England, Virginia, or on one of the other Hawaiian Islands. Season 6 is one of the best!

[Stelth]

After reading all of the negative posts I was pleasantly surprised with this episode. It wasn't great by any measurement but it did hold my attention. I gave it a 7.5. I like episodes with alternate settings and it was interesting to learn a little about the big island.

[Braddah Kimo]

Paniolo is "Cowboy" in Hawaiian...okay, great. But, I am not really a fan of western, cowboy, "hick", hillbilly type stuff. Even though I know there are cattle ranches on certain islands in Hawaii...it just doesn't really go with a show like "Magum".

It was in 1832 when three Mexican-Spanish vaquero (cowboys) named Kossuth, Louzeida and Ramon began working on Moku o Ke'awe (Hawai`i island), first breaking in horses to turn them into working animals, then rounding up and handling the quickly breeding island cattle.

Hawaii's cowboys became known as paniolo, the Hawaiian way of pronouncing the word español, which was the language the vaquero spoke. The term refers to cowboys working in the Islands and to the culture their lifestyle spawned.
Hawaiians became paniolo before the territories of the American West had anyt semblance of cowboy or ranch traditions. Cowboys in the Pacific Northwest got their start in 1846; in California and Texas it was 1848. Because Hawaiians began their work with cattle and horses earlier, their paniolo traditions were strongly shaped by the Mexican vaquero heritage that stemmed originally from Spain.

[SignGuyHPW]

This was a really interesting one. They managed to get all of the main cast together on a different island through different means. It makes sense to me that Magnum would be hired and have to travel to one of the other islands to do the work. Not every case could be done so that he could swing by the club or go home to the estate during points of the investigation.

The main thing that bothered me about it was that it was a pinch hard to follow at times. Too many misdirections as to whom was in charge of the cattle russlers caused it to be hard to follow all of the players and how they were and then were not connected. I also found it weird that the kid was able to pull off that complicated of a scam. I'd think Magnum would've figured it out easily enough the next day when nobody was at the ranch working except the one guy.

I loved the shoot out scene from the quarry. It showed Magnum in a different type of shootout where he had to use a weapon he didn't normally use and fight alongside a guy that he couldn't really trust. Rick being the guy to come up with the plan to head the cattle towards the shootout was a pretty good twist. He didn't normally come through with stuff on the spot like that. Higgins, franticly, trying to protect the interests of Robin Masters was great. He seemed to slowly comprehend that there was something shaky happening on a property Robin owned and he had to let Magnum continue delving into it.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

I'm not sure of the details either. I saw TS do an interview back in 89 or 90. I think it was Johnny Carson's show. He said that they lost access to the estate one time and that made it difficult to continue so they had to get creative. I believe that must have been season 6.

During the same interview he was asked about Robin and Higgins. He said that Higgins was Robin because that is what Magnum believed therefore it must be true. We know the real story since we heard it Chas Floyd Johnson on the commentary for Resolutions2 however.

Hi Luther,
I assume you are referring to commentary on a DVD release? Can you tell me/us what the 'real story' was regarding Robin's status, according to Chas Floyd Johnson?

[Milton Collins]

I really don't know what to say about this one other than I'm not quite sure what they were trying to do here. I gave it a 7.5 as it really isn't a bad episode but more just out of place and awkardly done. It starts out as this mysterious and intruiging job on the big island with an awesome description of Hawaii by TM (talking about the plains of the Dakota's, the moon, etc.) I was totally into it at this point and then it turned into this oddly done cattle rustling western with really goofy (and poorly played in my opinion) characters. Mr. Harveston the 20 year old ranch boss/owner? Will and his overly done worship for the kid? Ugh! Anyway, I liked the western theme as obviously Selleck is a huge fan of Western's and horses/ranches. I just thought they could have stuck to a good, twist and turn plot plot rathern than the somewhat boring cattle rustling friend of Robin Masters rouse then turning out to none other than Will and his out of control "cronies" doing the actual rustling.

- It was fun to see Bob Minor as a cowboy in a small role, love his multiple appearances and resurrections from the dead!

- I'm super happy they involved Higgins, TC, and Rick in this one. It's never the same for me without all four of them. I love Higgins thinking that Magnum meant he was sick when he said "to the docks" lol. The friction between the two of them is always priceless.

- Magnum in chaps riding horses was just flat out cool! I love the comments here about his ridiculous red shirt at the end, I'm dying laughing as I read them. To me it looks like a really crappy version of a chef's shirt but red, ha ha ha ha!

- The end shootout was cool but also ridiculous with TC herding the cattle with his chopper lol! One of my favorite things about Magnum are these sometimes totally unbelievable and semi ridiculous things that would never happen in real life but they seem to pull it off quite well. Not always very believable but still good for some laughs.

Overall this is certainly not an outstanding episode or even close, but it has it's fun points and is off beat and out of the ordinary. I don't mind watching it on my "non favorite but very watchable" list now and then.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Magnum in chaps riding horses was just flat out cool! I love the comments here about his ridiculous red shirt at the end, I'm dying laughing as I read them. To me it looks like a really crappy version of a chef's shirt but red, ha ha ha ha!.

I could be wrong but I think the red calvary shirt, in Quigley Down Under and in this episode, is Tom Selleck's way of a nod to John Wayne. I have never seen anyone but Wayne -and now Tom - wear one. I believe the Duke wore his in The Comancheros and in some of his later films.
Even the Duke couldnt quite bring it off because the damn thing was distracting. Just an aside, for some reason when I mention Comancheros to Western fans hardly anyone seems to have seen it.
It is a darn good flick (John Wayne never looked as hardy/young again as not long after he suffered from lung disease and eventually had a lung removed) with a legendary director, beaut color, Lee Marvin, in-jokes as when Duke's character chides a young Ranger(son Pat Wayne) about his poor spelling, telling him his father should have made him pay more attention in school.

[brianw]

Actually, not a bad ep. I am a big fan of westerns, so that helps. Decent shootout at the end and more action than many eps. The girl was hot too. But that shirt..... wth was that all about???