Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the sixth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
0
No votes
9.5 (One of the Best)
7
8%
9.0 (Excellent)
11
12%
8.5 (Very Good)
21
23%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
23
25%
7.5 (Decent)
15
16%
7.0 (Average at Best)
6
7%
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
4%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
1
1%
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 91

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steveadl
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#21 Post by steveadl »

RC, I think you're right - the scene with Agatha was not filmed at the same place the establishing shot of the front was taken. You can see mountain range behind the house, when they're having their discussion - presumably in the backyard - they're facing the sea. PS Agatha must have a few $$'s to have a nice place like that. :)

I agree with the others, haven't watched this episode for a while so when I watched it the other night up until about 30min mark I was still expecting it to be a double episode.

May resemble A-Team (haven't really watched much of that show yet), but the final scenes with Higgins and Magnum taking down all the enemy soldiers looks so much like the final battle scene of 'Commando' with Arnie mowing down dozens of enemy troops. :D

Enjoyed the epsiode, but felt the second half may have been a bit rushed.

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J.J. Walters
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#22 Post by J.J. Walters »

steveadl wrote:May resemble A-Team (haven't really watched much of that show yet), but the final scenes with Higgins and Magnum taking down all the enemy soldiers looks so much like the final battle scene of 'Commando' with Arnie mowing down dozens of enemy troops. :D
Indeed!

The only thing this episode needs is a Rae Dawn Chong. ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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rubber chicken
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#23 Post by rubber chicken »

steveadl wrote:RC, I think you're right - the scene with Agatha was not filmed at the same place the establishing shot of the front was taken. You can see mountain range behind the house, when they're having their discussion - presumably in the backyard - they're facing the sea. PS Agatha must have a few $$'s to have a nice place like that. :)
Yep, that location was included in the last chicken guide update, as "6.14 - gazebo at Agatha Chumley's home". It took place here, at the (now demolished) Cannon Club, for Army officers. Not a bad place to have tea. :)

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MaiTaiMan
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#24 Post by MaiTaiMan »

Love this episode! Total shocker at the beginning...and it only gets more interesting with Higgins' reason for leaving and getting back into the action! :wink: Awesome! :)

This has superb plot twists, action scenes, and the perfect ending...with Higgins and the "Lads"! :D

Very good, and I rated it as such.
"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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Frodoleader
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#25 Post by Frodoleader »

This episode was fun, but more of a "silly" fun for me. It just seemed too improbable to me that this group was capable of taking over some island chain when they could not defend against one former SEAL and an elderly British Army veteran.
One thing I thought would have been cool was if the US Army made an entrance by way of helicopter. It would have been so Viet Nam-like with Magnum, TC & Rick (along with Higgy baby) on the ground with reinforcements coming in by chopper!
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan

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J.J. Walters
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#26 Post by J.J. Walters »

Frodoleader wrote:One thing I thought would have been cool was if the US Army made an entrance by way of helicopter. It would have been so Viet Nam-like with Magnum, TC & Rick (along with Higgy baby) on the ground with reinforcements coming in by chopper!
Oh man, that would have been just great! :) Still, exciting action scenes in this one! Gotta love it.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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miltontheripper
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#27 Post by miltontheripper »

I was intrigued with the beginning where Higgins was fired but his one was too unbelievable for me. Higgins being selected to be the "Chancelor" of some rebel army? Come on. Let's get back to the outstanding episodes of season 6. I can't say much for this episode!

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Mark R.Y.
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#28 Post by Mark R.Y. »

Very enjoyable ep! I was intrigued by Robin mentioning the possibility of Ian Mackerras flying in from England. That would have made a great episode with Peter Davison in Hawaii! :)

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runawayselleck
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#29 Post by runawayselleck »

I thought this was a good episode although the ending seemed a bit rushed when suddenly Magnum and Higgins are killing everyone in sight. In fact this is something which seems a bit odd with the series sometimes. TC is a pilot, Rick runs a bar, Magnum is a PI and yet all three with Higgins just easily slips back into character killing hundreds of people (at one point Magnum has a smile on his face!) and then they all get into the helicopter and fly back like nothing has happened. I know Magnum has his moments (Macs Back) when he struggles with all the killing, but he does seem to be a strange man, one who is very nice, and also someone who can kill lots of people and shake it all off with a quick swim!

Good episode though...

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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#30 Post by Croix de Lorraine »

This episode is a welcome break after the very sub-standard Summer School. Intrigue, commando action and camaraderie - what else can you ask for?

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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#31 Post by marlboro »

I liked the beginning of the episode but the last act was too rushed and over the top.

I do like the idea of Higgins returning to MI6 though. I think a more subdued "cloak and dagger" style episode would have fit the character better.Higgins is a lot more John le Carré’than Ian Fleming.

The last scene was very cute. It seems like the lads haven't had nearly as much screen time the last couple of seasons.

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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#32 Post by SignGuyHPW »

I thought that it was kind of a silly premise, but it was a well acted episode. Magnum's inability to drop the subject of Higgins being fired was very typical which made it surprising that Higgins seemed surprised that the cover story hadn't stopped him from tracking him. I thought that the battle scene towards the end was more of a spoof on shows like The A-Team than anything. Why would MI6 recall a man in his 60s that was out of shape and had been out of a military setting for so many years to infiltrate and stop an entire rebel army? Then that man and three people whom had been out of the military for a good 7-10 years were able to stop that army within minutes without any aid? That's pretty A-Team, but the bulk of the acting was top notch so it was easier to take a nod to other shows for something like that.

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charybdis1966
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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#33 Post by charybdis1966 »

Oh dear, I think I'm going to be swimming against the tide as I found the last 10 minutes of this quite a struggle to watch and thought that MPI's excursion into A team territory wasn't too successful, IMHO.

The shame of it was the first 35-40 minutes were very good, excellent character interplay and the clever cross episode references, as mentioned above, e.g. Mackerras from Deja Vu being mentioned.

Higgins apparently being dismissed for embezzlement was a good start and TM not believing it showed how much he couldn't believe what he was told by Robin.

trevor2448
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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#34 Post by trevor2448 »

I did find this episode kind of far-fetched but I did enjoy the set up of Higgy being dismissed by Robin Masters.
I also didn't see it coming that the woman taking over for Higgins was an agent.
Not one of my favorite episodes but hey, it's Magnum---they'd have had to screw up pretty bad for me to totally not like an episode.

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EZiller
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Re: Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

#35 Post by EZiller »

Very entertaining episode, although the notion of Higgins backing a band of insurgents training in Hawaii to take over some fictional islands is totally implausible. The opening with Higgins have being terminated from his position at Robins Nest was the best part and it may have made a better story if someone had done this to discredit Higgins. Instead it was a ruse by Higgins and Robin so Higgins could infiltrate the insurgents. 9.5

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