I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

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)
0
No votes
9.0 (Excellent)
3
4%
8.5 (Very Good)
13
17%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
17
23%
7.5 (Decent)
16
21%
7.0 (Average at Best)
12
16%
6.5 (Not So Good)
5
7%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
7
9%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
3%
 
Total votes: 75

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mandolabar
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#31 Post by mandolabar »

layne wrote:And Higgins after realizing Magnum may be trapped in the burning funhouse turning around to go back in after him. That was really touching. It's fascinating to me how much their relationship changed from the beginning seasons. Higgins hated the ground Magnum walked on the first season and now he wants to run into a burning building to save him. I loved that.

I really can't think of any other characters on television (especially men) who evolve so much in their relationship with each other. MPI really is one-of-a-kind.
While I don't disagree at all--being a huge Higgins fan--I think that Higgins would have gone back into the building for anyone. That's who Higgins is. But you can tell that it *matters* that it's Magnum, the way he says it, and that is what I loved.

Also that Magnum knew that Higgins would do that, he was looking for him as soon as he came out, otherwise he knew Higgins would be headed back in.

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#32 Post by AmandaByNight »

I like this episode, mostly for Clive Revill, who is always so charming and also because the killer reminds me of the killer in the Funhouse, so I thought he was extra creepy.

Haven't seen this one in forever... need a revisit!

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#33 Post by Bes »

I thought this was a great episode and one of the most memorable of series 6 alongside Way of the Stalking Horse and The Hotel Dick! Love Geoffrey Lewis in this and indeed everything he appears in.

Tanner68
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#34 Post by Tanner68 »

JJ, I am the guy that originally emailed you the Clancy Brown inquiry. I was at the veterinarians the other day, and Clancy Brown came in. I didn't realize who he was until he left. I missed my chance to put the mystery to rest.

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#35 Post by MaximRecoil »

If you watch the knife throwing scene with Rick frame-by-frame you can see that the "knives" come through the back of the board through pre-existing slits. I wonder if that is something the MPI production crew rigged up, or if that's just the standard method of doing the knife throwing act at carnivals, in which case it would have already been rigged up to work that way.

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Doc Fred
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#36 Post by Doc Fred »

J.J. Walters wrote:He sure is wilko! He's downright frightening!

Image

:shock:

If I was a kid, and I saw him, I would just drop my ice cream cone and run in the opposite direction!
He looks like he could be the Joker's cousin.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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Doc Fred
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#37 Post by Doc Fred »

Carmen wrote:IMO this episodes is filled up with flubs. For example when Rick wakes up Thomas he says it`s 6.00 a.m., they hear voices, go outside and half of the crew tells Inky they are leaving. Clowns in full makeup?? That early in the morning? Next minute they start "to go" - nobody has a suitcase.
I also was stunned to see the entire crew out there at that time of the morning. The carnival people would have been sleeping after closing late.

In addition, the sun wouldn't be that high in the sky at 6am.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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Doc Fred
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#38 Post by Doc Fred »

mandolabar wrote:
layne wrote:And Higgins after realizing Magnum may be trapped in the burning funhouse turning around to go back in after him. That was really touching. It's fascinating to me how much their relationship changed from the beginning seasons. Higgins hated the ground Magnum walked on the first season and now he wants to run into a burning building to save him. I loved that.

I really can't think of any other characters on television (especially men) who evolve so much in their relationship with each other. MPI really is one-of-a-kind.
While I don't disagree at all--being a huge Higgins fan--I think that Higgins would have gone back into the building for anyone. That's who Higgins is. But you can tell that it *matters* that it's Magnum, the way he says it, and that is what I loved.

Also that Magnum knew that Higgins would do that, he was looking for him as soon as he came out, otherwise he knew Higgins would be headed back in.
100% in agreement about Higgins going back in for anyone. Higgins is a man of honor. Yes, he can be annoying, but in the clutch, he's one good guy. I also agree with you about it being doubly important to get Magnum out.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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Doc Fred
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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#39 Post by Doc Fred »

Regardless of the quality of the plots, when Higgins displays his honor and courage, it's a great show to me, and this was no exception. Perhaps I'm different from most folks, but I look for characters to show character, and all four of the main characters do that time and time again. This time it was Higgins' turn. When you consider all the things he did in his lifetime, you have to be impressed, very impressed. His respect for Magnum showed again when he recommended Magnum to Inky and called him "the best"... something he'd never tell Magnum directly.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...

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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#40 Post by marlboro »

If I followed the plot correctly it seems like Inky would have received a buyout if the circus failed. Magnum sees this as a motive for inky to commit the killings. I don't get that. If all he had to do was make sure the carnival failed, why didn't he just do a crappy(-er) job of running the business? Have Higgo the Clown read to the children from his memoirs from the time he was working for Ringling Brothers during the Clown-Mime Skirmish of '53 or something. Why would Magnum think he would go to all of the trouble of committing multiple homicides if the business was going under anyway?


For that matter, why the heck would Geoffrey Lewis go to the trouble of killing all those people, including his own brother, if he was going to receive a portion of the buyout? Greed? Revenge? After 44 years of living as a geek, he just now decides he's had enough? I'm not buying it.

p.s. Geoffrey Lewis was great as always. I've enjoyed both of his appearances so far.

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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#41 Post by marlboro »

Holy crap. I just did an image search for the chick who gets knifed at the beginning of this episode. They killed her off way way too early.

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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#42 Post by Tidal Pool Lifeguard »

There was some really great guest acting in this episode from Geoffrey Lewis and Clive Revill. That was always one of the show's strengths, bringing people in who did great work and just "clicked" with our regular guys. This was a fun one, although we could have used a little more T.C. at the carnival!

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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#43 Post by Stelth »

This is probably common knowledge to most people but I just learned Juliette Lewis is Geoffrey Lewis' daughter.
Image

J. Rickley Schneider
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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#44 Post by J. Rickley Schneider »

I liked this episode because it contained a mystery that I couldn't figure out until the big reveal.

I assumed that the killer couldn't be the scary guy because I assumed the scary guy was an obvious red herring. And I thought his display of marksmanship was foreshadowing how the scary guy was going to somehow save the day at the end.

I especially like Magnum, PI episodes that feature a good mystery or contain some plot twist that I didn't see coming.

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Re: I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway (6.12)

#45 Post by Doc Ibold »

J. Rickley Schneider wrote:I liked this episode because it contained a mystery that I couldn't figure out until the big reveal.

I assumed that the killer couldn't be the scary guy because I assumed the scary guy was an obvious red herring. And I thought his display of marksmanship was foreshadowing how the scary guy was going to somehow save the day at the end.

I especially like Magnum, PI episodes that feature a good mystery or contain some plot twist that I didn't see coming.
By the Scary Guy, do you mean "Higgo the Demonic Clown"? He was by far the freakiest thing in this episode for me.


:magnum:

I know in another thread there was a discussion about holiday episodes.. to me, this is the closest thing to a Halloween themed episode.

By the way.. LOVE the handle!

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