Who is Don Luis Higgins? .... (6.19)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the sixth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
2%
9.5 (One of the Best)
9
10%
9.0 (Excellent)
14
16%
8.5 (Very Good)
28
31%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
17
19%
7.5 (Decent)
10
11%
7.0 (Average at Best)
3
3%
6.5 (Not So Good)
1
1%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
2
2%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 89

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gmt16750
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#41 Post by gmt16750 »

Magnum's calf injury is really excellent when he bounces out of his chair to take a congratulatory cigar (5 games to 1 for him!) and his laughing scene is one of the best with the episode where he saw Higgins' toy airplane crashing into the sea.
Another great moment is Magnum's idea to teach Don Luis his trick when Don Luis wants to learn chess to tie again with his brother Higgins!
Uncle Lyle's castle blitz as a revenge for the concert tickets given to charity when they were promised to Magnum :lol:
Great interpretation of Hillerman in both spanish and english characters :D
Agatha: Why does he always do that, Jonathan?
Higgins: I don't know, Agatha. I think sometimes our creator is testing me. Indeed it could be for no other reason. If i thought otherwise i believe i truly would go irrevocably irretrievably mad!

MACattack
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#42 Post by MACattack »

I especially like the last scene where Higgins sneezes and mutters "damn plants!" in a spanish accent. It seems to suggest that he and his brother Don Luis pulled a switcheroo. Maybe Higgins had political business in Costa de Rosa. I wonder how many times they pulled this off without Magnum noticing.
I just don't give a damn!

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Zudobug
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#43 Post by Zudobug »

I enjoy all of the episodes where John Hillerman plays multiple roles. It shows him to be a great actor with the ability to even put on suitable accents for the characters he portrays.

MACattack
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#44 Post by MACattack »

Hillerman is a good lad! Nobody could fill his or Selleck's shoes!
I just don't give a damn!

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Jay-Firestorm
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#45 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

I know some like it, but personally I find this one a disappointing final Higgins ‘half-brother’ episode; some okay moments, but mostly a letdown IMO.

[rating=7.0]

Magnum is hired to root out the would-be assassin of an important visiting dignitary. But then he meets yet another of Higgins’ estranged half-brothers, Don Luis Mongueo, who is the prime suspect. The weakest of the ‘Higgins’ half-brothers’ episodes…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

‘Who Is Don Luis Higgins… …and Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things To Me?’ (which wins the prize for longest episode title in the series – it’s so long that it appears over two separate captions on-screen)… is the third and final in the line episodes revolving around Higgins’ estranged half-brothers.
We had previously met Texan rodeo owner Elmo in season two’s ‘The Elmo Ziller Story’, and Father Paddy McGuiness in season three’s ‘Faith and Begorrah’ (Paddy also made a cameo in part two of season five’s ‘Echoes of the Mind’). Of these stories, I find ‘What Is Don Luis Higgins…’ to be by far the weakest of the episodes.

This is also the third of three episodes in the show’s run in which Roger E. Mosley does not appear as T.C. (He had previously missed season two’s ‘Dead Man’s Channel’, and neither he, Higgins or Rick appeared in ‘Going Home’ earlier this season).
Rick does appear, but is little more than set dressing in this one, having very little to do.

Some seem to find this episode hilarious, but although there are a few okay moments, personally I found this one to be quite a disappointment in comparison with the first two half-brother stories. The “Is it really Higgins putting on an act?” plot seemed a little worn and tired by now (and, unusually, it is given away that it is not actually Higgins, in the opening trailer).

John Hillerman is a fine actor, and made good work of Elmo and Paddy and their accents. But here, faced with Don Luis’ more exotic accent, he seems to struggle a little more, and at a couple of points, Don Luis’ accent goes all over the place.

Magnum’s limp is strange – we get some vague hint that he injured his leg playing some game, presumably with Rick and T.C., but it is never fully explained; there is unconfirmed rumour that it was written in when Tom Selleck injured himself in reality.

This is certainly not bottom-of-the barrel – there are several humorous touches, and I like how the story later on has you guessing who is Higgins and who is Don Luis – but compared to the previous half-brother tales, this one never feels to fully hit its stride in my opinion. It is also very talky – something that affected many episodes in the later seasons of the series – and even drags a little in places.

It does pick up a bit towards the end, and the final scene is a nice one (have Higgins and Don Luis swapped places?), but all-in-all, this is a far more average tale when compared to the first two excellent half-brothers stories. And we didn’t even get some amusing story from Higgins about how his half-brother came about this time ‘round!

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Magnum smokes his thirteenth cigar of the series in this episode. He goes to get one to celebrate beating Higgins at chess, but never actually gets it. A little later though, he has one – and shuts it in the study doors!

* Magnum comments that Higgins never drives the Ferrari – Yes he does, in a number of other episodes. The third season’s ‘Forty Years from Sand Island’ springs readily to mind.

* We see in this episode that the dark room is located off of Higgins’ study; I never realised this – for some reason, I always imagined it to be on the next floor up.

* In the final scene, we get a good shot of Agatha’s car parked in front of the main house (see earlier threads discussing Agatha’s car).

* As with ‘Round and Around’ and ‘This Island Isn’t Big Enough…’ previously this season, this episode has a feature-length-style version of the closing credits theme.

…Well, that’s me done. I’m away for the week next week; I won’t have an internet connection where I’m staying, but I’m taking my laptop to watch next week’s batch of episodes and to write my reviews, and will post them when I get back.
:)
JAY FIRESTORM

Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/

My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!

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Rutledal
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#46 Post by Rutledal »

Did see it mentioned anywhere so I thought I'd just say that the episodes title is a play on the title of the Dustin Hoffman movie "Who Is Harry Kellerman and Why Is He Saying Those Terrible Things About Me?".

IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067980/
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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#47 Post by MACattack »

Don Luis 's accent sounds alot like Ricardo Montalban on fantasy island. I keep expecting Tattoo to pop out of nowhere and say "de plane, de plane!"
I just don't give a damn!

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Little Garwood
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#48 Post by Little Garwood »

Jay-Firestorm wrote:Magnum’s limp is strange – we get some vague hint that he injured his leg playing some game, presumably with Rick and T.C., but it is never fully explained; there is unconfirmed rumour that it was written in when Tom Selleck injured himself in reality.
That the injury was constantly mentioned as if to "explain it away" in some abstract fashion and not have any kind of payoff was much more...lame..than if there was just some half-hearted explanation at episode's end. But what can I say? It's another bit of "cutesy" crap endemic of season six.

I still enjoyed the episode, though. 8.5...
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

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#49 Post by Tuan Vu »

Ha, ha! What a great episode this was! With Higgins, you never know if it's really him or someone else, which keeps Magnum second-guessing.

I like how Higgins has to prove himself to Magnum by telling him the Gunga Din story. I also like how Magnum knew Higgins would never resort to an amateurish move like the Uncle-Lyle-whatever-you-call-it move. And also I like how Magnum could understand what Higgins was mumbling through the mouth gag. All these things show how well they really know each other.

But it's ironic that they are really close and yet there are times Higgins can pull the wool over Magnum's eyes...and vice versa.

Without John Hillerman, I am not sure how good Magnum, p.i. would have been. I am glad he finally won an Emmy back in 1987.

Only thing is that T.C. was not in this episode, but I guess he just didn't fit into the story.

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MaiTaiMan
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#50 Post by MaiTaiMan »

Somewhat funny episode, where we get to meet another one of Higgins' goofy half-brothers. Decent action and enjoyable chess scenes between Higgins, Magnum, and Don Luis. I also noticed Anthony LaPaglia as supposedly as a young Higgins' father. That was interesting. :lol:
"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"

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miltontheripper
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#51 Post by miltontheripper »

This was a pretty decent episode. I always enjoy meeting another "Higgins brother". While Patty McGinnis is my personal fav I enjoyed Don Luis and his allergic reaction to the "Damn Plants". Watching TM use some very basic trick move to continually best Higgins at chess was pretty entertaining too. Seeing Higgins on TV playing chess was quite enjoyable also.

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mandolabar
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#52 Post by mandolabar »

Okay, I was not expecting to like this episode--we've done Higgins brothers before, we've had him dress like them before, etc.--but I am totally eating my words. I loved it. I have a new favorite Higgins! Don Luis was wonderful.

I loved the "Oh, my God!" "Deus Mio!" I loved Magnum understanding Higgins even through the gag, and the speculative look at the gag after Higgins starts complaining...I loved "Any time is the right time if you're Higgins" and the lightning recitation of Gunga Din. I loved Don Luis and Higgins being *each other* and Hillerman managing to be a Spaniard faking an English accent. I loved Don-Luis-dressed-as-Higgins, coming out with Don Luis' accent! And I found the Don Luis accent well done, personally.

Maybe it's just me? And that I find the dark-haired, bearded Hillerman just dashing as hell? But this episode was a blast.

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Doc Fred
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#53 Post by Doc Fred »

lutherhgillis wrote:I agree the whole castle blitz thing is rediculous for all the reasons you guys mention. And to think Mag could beat Higgins several times using the same move ? :shock: :shock:

And Higgins is supposed to be the best in the Islands ? :shock: :shock:

And Don Luis learns the game one night and wins a tournament match the next day ? :shock: :shock: :shock:

Maybe its tropical madness...
Uncle Lyle's Castle Blitz really works!!! No kidding.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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#54 Post by Doc Fred »

N1095A wrote:One of the things that really made this show great was the characters. Sure it was TS who was the "star" of the show, but it truly was all of them that made the show. The more I watch it the more I love it. It's not biased, it's fact. This is the greatest television show ever made.
Amen!!! It's my all-time favorite, and nothing else is close...
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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#55 Post by Doc Fred »

MACattack wrote:The thing I liked most was how Don Luis was different from Higgins. I guess growing up in a tropical South American republic caused him to be a little laid back. He actually sat down and had a beer with Magnum. This is something Higgins would never do. He has too much pride.
MPI really has warm characters. People I wouldn't mind having a beer with, or go kayaking with. I just wouldn't invite Higgins to any keggers at the guest house!
You see the same things in the characters that I do, and it's the characters that make this series so great. The stories, to me, are secondary to the story of the characters.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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