Blood and Honor (6.10)

[Jay-Firestorm]

Here goes another week of reviews. How could I have overlooked this episode for so long?

[rating=9.5]

Magnum is recalled to active Naval duty by Admiral Hawkes, who wants him to investigate a security leak. The prime suspect seems to be Hawkes’ daughter-in-law-to-be, but the true culprit lies even closer to home. I really enjoyed this episode…

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My interest must have been waning slightly when I first saw the sixth season, as this seems to have been a(nother) episode that I overlooked first time around. I don’t know why, as it is a very good story, possibly one of the best of the season.

It is good to see Magnum back in the Navy – an element of the series that could maybe have been played upon a bit more. It makes a welcome change from the standard ‘investigation-of-the-week’ setting.

Paul Burke puts in a good guest performance as Admiral Hawkes, returning from the third season’s feature-length / two-parter ‘Did You See the Sunrise?’ (he also played another Admiral in season two’s ‘Memories Are Forever’ which could easily be mistaken for one and the same character by the more casual viewer).

I like the ‘bed race’, organised by Higgins, that Magnum manages to get out of. It is only featured at the beginning and end of the episode, but it is the little touches like this that make the series so good, even after all these years. It is also these sorts of little touches that I felt were missing from the fifth season.

The episode is maybe a bit more talky that I would ordinarily like, but it doesn’t really matter here, as the story is well-written and plays out well. And it does at least have a few good action sequences (the fight in the men’s room, before Magnum leaps onto a passing truck to make his escape) – yet another element that was missing from many fifth season episodes.

Without giving it away here, I guessed who the real culprit of the security leak was pretty early on, but it didn’t really matter, as it was just interesting to see how the story unfolded.

All-in-all, I found this to be a very decent episode. To my surprise re-watching it, I’d probably rank it as one of the best of the sixth season.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Nothing much to note here, other than another contradictory Five moment – surprisingly, they didn’t edit the fight in the men’s room, not even when Magnum slams Lt. Jameson’s head into the wall; on other occasions, Five would edit moments such as this very heavily!

[MACattack]

The episode was so-so but I thoroughly enjoyed the scene Magnum got to duke it out with the guy from the Allstate ads. Magnum had the upper hand this time!

[MaiTaiMan]

Interesting to see Magnum in uniform again...and gave us an idea of what he did for the Navy before retiring.

However, I really don't care for episodes where Magnum has to spend his time trying to prove his own innocence for murder or a crime...I like him trying to help others with that instead.

Interesting plot and a few good plot twists. This was a decent episode, and I rated it as such.

[Coops]

Additional Flubs for "Blood and Honor."

When Magnum and Alex leave her apartment in her car, she drives Magnum to Admrial Hawkes' office, which is being guarded by a Marine sentry (Magnum is narrating). The next shot is of a Navy Enlisted Service file. The camera then cuts to Magnum opening the file to the first page which is a DD-214, which is the service record for a member of the military. In this case, the service record (DD-214) he is looking at is his own as you can see his name (Magnum, Thomas Sullivan) in the upper left hand corner. The fact that Magnum is reviewing his own service record is confusing because in his narration he is talking about Andy (Adm. Hawkes' son), which leads you to believe that he is reviewing Andy's service record looking for clues as to why he would be leaking the top secret information. It is possible that Magnum was looking at his own record to determine his status and to find a way out of his current active duty status. The DD-214 appears to be authentic, however, the problems or flubs with the DD-214 are:

1. Magnum's date of birth is listed as 5-7-1947, which contradicts the DOB's identified in "Memories are Forever" and "Try to Remember";

2. Magnum's pay grade appears to be listed as O-10 (difficult to tell as it is a little fuzzy), however, as a Commander, Magnum's pay grade should be O-5, not O-10;

3. Magnum's SSN (upper right hand corner of the DD-214) is different than the SSN identified in "Memories are Forever." It is difficult to tell the SSN exactly, as it is a little fuzzy, but the SSN here appears to start with 571- and is definitely not the same SSN as identified in "Memories are Forever";

4. The section of Magnum's DD-214 that lists his decorations, medals, badges and citations only includes: (i) Vietnam Campaign, (ii) Vietnam Service, and (iii) Purple Heart. It fails to mention Magnum's S.E.A.L. qualification and badge or his Surface Warfare Badge that he wore on his uniform in the pilot episode. Magnum's other ribbons are not listed either.

5. YOU NEED TO WATCH CAREFULLY FOR THIS NEXT FLUB. As Magnum turns to the next page in the service record, you will see that it has nothing to do with military service at all. It is a trial docket from June 1984 regarding a mortgage foreclosure lawsuit. This was obviously added as filler for the file, but you can tell that it is a trial docket and has nothing to do with military service.

"Blood and Honor" is one of my favorite episodes from season 6. It involves a good mystery/espionage plot. The writer(s) cleverly lead you to believe in the beginning that Alex is the source of the leak of the top secret information. It also provided a great fight scene between Magnum and Dennis Haysbert's character (Lt. Jameson).

Follow up:



I've taken the photo that is posted for this episode of his DD-214 and blown it up. On his paygrade it actually says "S-10" which we all know isn't an officer's paygrade, it's a Robin 2 (Get it, Chevy S-10?)! Anyway, I don't know why it says that but it does.

Box 2 "DEPARTMENT, COMPONENT AND BRANCH" says "WEATHER BUREAU NAVY" whatever the hell that means.

Box 6 "PLACE OF ENTRY INTO ACTIVE DUTY" says "PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII" no big surprise there.

Box 8 "STATION WHERE SEPARATED" says agin, "PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII"

Box 9 "COMMAND TO WHICH TRANSFERED" says, interestingly, "INACTIVE DUTY" which translates, to me, into an inactive reserve status. If he was fully discharged I think it was say just that.

Box 10 "SGLI COVERAGE" is marked for $100,000.

Box 11 "PRIMARY SPECIALTY NUMBER, TITLE YEARS AND MONTHS IN SPECIALTY" is interestingly blank.

Box 12 "RECORD OF SERVICE" is where is time in various important times in his career should have number corresponding to dates of that event. On this DD-214 there are just "X" in the spaces. Makes no sense.

Box 13 "DECORATIONS, MEDALS, BADGES, CITATIONS AND CAMPAIGN RIBBONS AWARDED OR AUTHORIZED" is as stated above but the entries aren't done accurately. It should look like this:

NCM-1//PHM-1//NDM-1//VSM-1//VGC(?)-1//VNCM-1
(Navy Cross, Purple Heart, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross (unit award w/palm), Vietnamese Campaign Medal)

Using this image:


Box 14 "MILITARY EDUCATION" is blank as well. Hmmmmmm...???

After that there's really nothing else worth noting.

[Styles Bitchley]

Follow up:

I've taken the photo that is posted for this episode of his DD-214 and blown it up. On his paygrade it actually says "S-10" which we all know isn't an officer's paygrade, it's a Robin 2 (Get it, Chevy S-10?)! Anyway, I don't know why it says that but it does.

Box 2 "DEPARTMENT, COMPONENT AND BRANCH" says "WEATHER BUREAU NAVY" whatever the hell that means.

Box 6 "PLACE OF ENTRY INTO ACTIVE DUTY" says "PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII" no big surprise there.

Box 8 "STATION WHERE SEPARATED" says agin, "PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII"

Box 9 "COMMAND TO WHICH TRANSFERED" says, interestingly, "INACTIVE DUTY" which translates, to me, into an inactive reserve status. If he was fully discharged I think it was say just that.

Box 10 "SGLI COVERAGE" is marked for $100,000.

Box 11 "PRIMARY SPECIALTY NUMBER, TITLE YEARS AND MONTHS IN SPECIALTY" is interestingly blank.

Box 12 "RECORD OF SERVICE" is where is time in various important times in his career should have number corresponding to dates of that event. On this DD-214 there are just "X" in the spaces. Makes no sense.

Box 13 "DECORATIONS, MEDALS, BADGES, CITATIONS AND CAMPAIGN RIBBONS AWARDED OR AUTHORIZED" is as stated above but the entries aren't done accurately. It should look like this:

NC-1//PH-1//NDM-1//VSM-1//VGC(?)-1//VNCM-1
(Navy Cross, Purple Heart, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Gallantry Cross (unit award w/palm), Vietnamese Campaign Medal)


Box 14 "MILITARY EDUCATION" is blank as well. Hmmmmmm...???

After that there's really nothing else worth noting.

Wow! Nice sleuthing Coops! Like the new avatar, btw!

[Coops]

Thanks! I also have one (French Cross) on my Camaro but it's under the hood.

[miltontheripper]

Interesting to see Magnum in uniform again...and gave us an idea of what he did for the Navy before retiring.

However, I really don't care for episodes where Magnum has to spend his time trying to prove his own innocence for murder or a crime...I like him trying to help others with that instead.

Interesting plot and a few good plot twists. This was a decent episode, and I rated it as such.

I completely agree! We seem to definitely be on the same page as to what episodes we like. I would prefer to see TM involved in an action packed case where he's helping others rather than proving himself innocent of a crime. I thought this was a decent episode though. Good acting all around and a couple of unexpected twists. Great bathroom fight scene with the Allstate guy! And the admiral's would be daughter in law sure wasn't terrible to look at either. I'm not as big a fan when Higgins, Rick, and TC only play minor roles like this one though. They're such great supporting characters and add a ton to the show in my opinion.

[Croix de Lorraine]

2. Navy NEVER salutes any other Navy member that is uncovered. Why? In the Navy as soon as you walk indoors you uncover. That's why the officer was uncovered to begin with. If a Navy member is assigned to an Army or Air Force unit the saluting uncovered rule isn't in affect as those 2 branches salute uncovered and indoors.

Do you know whether this is an international protocol or just US Navy? I say this becaue I was once host to a delegation of a foreign navy on a professional capacity and they stayed covered indoors - they only uncovered in the presence of a lady.

Another flub - Admiral Hawkes addresses Magnum as "Thomas" instead of "Commander", even in the canteen in front of strangers.

Other minor "flubs" and quirks:

- Higgins running a race in a three-piece suit? That's crazy even for Higgins!

- The KKC team changes "racers" mid-race. That should have got them disqualified as it's an unfair advantage.

Very enjoyable episode. Season 6 quite strong so far. A couple of points for my dislike list though:

- The blonde wasn't too convincing as an undercover government agent. She seemed too immature and emotional. Perhaps it's just poor acting.

- Magnum getting his panties on a twist about the agent going for Hawkes' son. He's a spy - are they supposed to let him go just because he's someone's son? Every spy is someone's son. As former intelligence, Magnum should know better...

[Croix de Lorraine]

Interesting to see Magnum in uniform again...and gave us an idea of what he did for the Navy before retiring.

However, I really don't care for episodes where Magnum has to spend his time trying to prove his own innocence for murder or a crime...I like him trying to help others with that instead.

Interesting plot and a few good plot twists. This was a decent episode, and I rated it as such.

I completely agree! We seem to definitely be on the same page as to what episodes we like. I would prefer to see TM involved in an action packed case where he's helping others rather than proving himself innocent of a crime.

He is helping others. He got mixed into it to help Hawkes, remember?

[Sisophous]

The episode was so-so but I thoroughly enjoyed the scene Magnum got to duke it out with the guy from the Allstate ads. Magnum had the upper hand this time!

Yes indeed, it is Dennis Haysbert and I did not recognize his face at first but he has a distinct voice and seconds later I knew it was the Allstate guy. Haysbert and Magnum both stand 6'4 and why on earth did the Allstate guy think he could take on Magnum.



The younger and slimmer Allstate guy.



The Allstate guy fights dirty with a blow to Magnum's groin with a mop but Magnum shakes it off. That had to hurt.



After finishing off the Allstate guy, Magnum uses the mop to shatter the window to escape.



And sheer luck, a truck approaches with no time to spare.



A brave Magnum makes the leap for life, only one chance to plummet 50 feet.



A perfect landing.



And this was a scary stunt if for real, Magnum nearly got decapitated. This is how stunt men die. This was a close miss for real and the truck was moving.



I really liked this entire scene, I thought Magnum had no chance but he defied the odds.

[Doc Fred]

eegorr wrote: I wonder what their reasoning was in changing his name?

I was speaking to my husband, who works occasionally as a movie extra (you can actually see him in "Mighty Ducks Part II"), and has written movie and various television scripts (all unsold, BTW) and he says that sometimes there are legal implications in using names. That's why you sometimes see the names of characters are the same as some of the crew members. (The name Doc Ibold comes to mind...Douglas Ibold was part of the crew for Magnum.) They may have had to change it for legal reasons, and since back then you only saw an episode once, (or twice if you were lucky) the continuity didn't matter as much. The pace at which television shows are filmed is grueling and they don't have time or money to go back and reshoot any flubs a viewer probably won't catch anyway. I'm only assuming that most viewers are like me.....I don't know who outranks whom in the military (kind of like I don't know what beats what in Poker!). When Magnum was on in the 1980's, I watched it on a tiny 12 inch screen, and couldn't possibly see what written in files, etc.

Some of you were probably very young back then, but I was an adult raising a family in the 1980's. DVD's hadn't even been thought of yet, and a VCR cost between $600-$800 (Too expensive for a family with a modest income to afford.) I remember going to the Video store and RENTING a VCR along with the movies! Bellisario probably never dreamed that the series would have the popularity it still does, and couldn't conceive of it being released to the public on DVD in it's entirety in the next century. We had bigger fish to fry in the 80's....trying to recover from double digit inflation left over from the Carter years, gasoline rationing, and I can go on and on......LOL Anyway, maybe this will explain why there are so many blatant flubs in the episodes. Viewers weren't likely to catch them, so they left them in.

I very much enjoyed your post, and learned some interesting things.... although I DO know the rank of the poker hands (and can calculate the odds for each).

[Doc Fred]

This was an excellent episode, a combination of serious with a bit of humor mixed in. I liked the plot and the problems Magnum got into and escaped from. It was a fine adventure. And him taking the AllState guy was cool... although, I can't blame AllState's reason for trying to hurt Magnum; his motive was positive in my mind, mistaken but positive. I would have liked to have seen some kind of reconciliation between them, although it would have been difficult to squeeze that in.

What really added to the episode was the hospital bed race, the way TC kept seeing Magnum during the race, and then Magnum taking over for Higgins in the final. But, the ultimate was seeing Higgy Baby joining in the race, and how he suffered more and more with each heat in the competition, all the way up to the very end where he showed his suffering from the running and his anger at, I guess, Magnum.

This was definitely worth a good, solid 9.

[Stelth]

This was a really enjoyable episode. It was also good because the female lead was actually attractive. I liked when Magnum kicked the serious Allstate guy's ass. Well done.

[Doc Ibold]

He'll always be Pedro Cerrano to me. (Or the president in 24)

See what happens to your career when you get WHUPPED by Magnum?

[Milton Collins]

I rates this one as decent. The best part for me was the race lol. Rick and TC I'm those red and white KKC outfits was priceless. Not to mention Higgins subbing for TM and wearing a suit while doing it, quite hilarious!