The Hotel Dick (6.5)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the sixth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
1
1%
9.5 (One of the Best)
5
6%
9.0 (Excellent)
7
8%
8.5 (Very Good)
14
17%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
28
34%
7.5 (Decent)
15
18%
7.0 (Average at Best)
4
5%
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
5%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
3
4%
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 83

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ConchRepublican
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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#51 Post by ConchRepublican »

KingKC wrote:I think this episode was decent to pretty good and kind of fun to watch. This is one of the few episodes where I see hidden meaning to MPI. TM tries a "real job" because he senses the private investigator gig is not working out, especially financially. It is that slow realization, starting with Mac's Back, that all is not well in TM's life, he is doubting himself, and changes are needed. TM quickly reverts back to the easier life of a PI but I think he knows things will have to change permanently at some time.

KingKC
Excellent observation, fits in with the larger view I take of the show about a vet readjusting to life post war.
Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:Hi Guys,
I am not aware of anyone on the Magnum Boards finding the below in joke before, so maybe I can get it into the "Notes" section of the Episode Guide for "Hotel Dick".
Around the 29/ 30 minute mark Magnum explains to Clyde the hotel manager that he wasn't talking to anyone in his room, rather

"I had the tv on. You know one of those silly family sitcoms with these cute little kids and the father, see, he's a doctor".

At the time this episode aired, October 17, 1985,The Cosby Show, about a Doctor and his family, was running on NBC opposite Magnum PI.

Luther's nephew Dobie
That's cool, I like when they drop little things like that in . . .
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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#52 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

ConchRepublican wrote:
KingKC wrote:
Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:Hi Guys,
I am not aware of anyone on the Magnum Boards finding the below in joke before, so maybe I can get it into the "Notes" section of the Episode Guide for "Hotel Dick".
Around the 29/ 30 minute mark Magnum explains to Clyde the hotel manager that he wasn't talking to anyone in his room, rather:
"I had the tv on. You know one of those silly family sitcoms with these cute little kids and the father, see, he's a doctor".
At the time this episode aired, October 17, 1985,The Cosby Show, about a Doctor and his family, was running on NBC opposite Magnum PI.
Luther's nephew Dobie
That's cool, I like when they drop little things like that in . . .
Hi Conch,
One might be surprised how many times tv writers slip in in jokes. On the Honeymooners, when they show the Raccoon Lodge, a chalkboard lists members in arrears for dues and the names are the main writers for the series.
I believe I have found the mother of all in jokes, an amazing one considering who is involved, and I figure people who like Tom Selleck westerns will like the following:


Wagon Train - Season 4 E09 The Colter Craven Story - YouTube

Check out the 42:30 mark at the above link for the Wagon Train episode,
"The Colter Craven Story" directed by John Ford.
In the scene where Adams(Ward Bond) meets General Grant at Shiloh,
General Sherman rides up and says, "Sam, Buells up. Means we can resume fighting in the morning."
But it is without a doubt Duke Wayne's voice and knowing that, you can easily discern it's Wayne in the darkly lit scene.
The credits(can't see them on Youtube, I again saw them on tv the other day) say Michael Morris played Sherman.
As you know Wayne's real name is Marion Michael Morrison.
Wayne previously portrayed Sherman in How the West Was Won where he is seen talking with Grant at Shiloh in a scene staged so like this episode there can be doubt the Wagon Train version is an in joke as both were directed by Ford.
Other members(Ken Curtis, Hank Worden,) of the John Ford stock company also appear in this episode with Ford favorite Ward Bond.
Ford also includes in this episode, as he did in many of his films such as The Searchers, a lingering shot of Ward Bond from behind to highlight his enormous rear end, just to again tick Bond off.
I have books on Wayne and Ford, saw many documentaries on their work but no one mentions the above, at least that I have seen. I did send it in to that IMBD or whatever its called movie site, they had it up for awhile, uncredited, then it disappeared.
By the way, just a few years ago some movie mavens determined that given total sales of his movies, how often they are shown world wide on various platforms, public interest/books/blogs/articles about them, that John Wayne is still the biggest movie star in the world, sorry Harrison Ford. Amazing, given he died in 1979.

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#53 Post by eagle »

I'm back around to this episode again, and it occurs to me that early on in the episode, the chase shows a good example of early parkour.

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#54 Post by K Hale »

Carol the Dabbler wrote:For one thing, since when was Magnum ever all that worried about his finances? Sure, he'd like to have more cash, and sure it'd be nice to get Rick, TC, and Higgins off his back -- but those have never seemed to be major priorities. It's not like he has to pay rent or anything. Now, all of a sudden, he's willing to give up his flexible lifestyle for the foreseeable future, just to have a more reliable income. Huh?

Rockford, on the other hand, does have to make trailer payments and pay utility bills every month. He's chronically under threat of having his phone service cut off for nonpayment. Taking a "real" job at least long enough to get his back bills paid would be a believable move for him.
I agree with all this and really disliked this dull episode, but just as an aside, I don't think utilities were included in the free living at the guest house. Remember the episode where it's believed that Magnum has not paid his phone bill, and it becomes a running gag throughout the episode? Can't recall which one, S1 or S2 I think. Turns out the lads chewed up the wires. But, if he pays a phone bill, I bet he has to pay electricity and water too. The guest house must have its own utilities.
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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#55 Post by Sam »

Hi K.Hale... I think it was season 1.. Don't Say Goodbye..Higgins was mad because a call was placed to the estate for Magnum... Agatha Kimball

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#56 Post by K Hale »

The blind lady, yep. That actress was fantastic.
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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#57 Post by J.J. Walters »

eagle wrote:I'm back around to this episode again, and it occurs to me that early on in the episode, the chase shows a good example of early parkour.
LOL! Good observation! That's funny because I was just talking to my daughter about "parkour". I had no idea what it was until she told me. I seriously doubt the term "parkour" was around in the '80's, but it wouldn't surprise me that Magnum was ahead of the curve on it! :)
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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#58 Post by ☨magnum.t »

This episode makes me think TM sometimes has little reverse midlife crisis' he takes jobs that can be dull or mundane, that have a professional setting and structured rules that are not his. I think he takes jobs like this because it's the adult thing, the responsible thing to do. He also quickly realizes he does not like it. Of course he always sees himself as a professional but this is his way of sometimes proving it.
That reminds me of the time....

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#59 Post by K Hale »

What I found funny is the way he was wearing glasses but denied needing them. :lol:
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#60 Post by Little Garwood »

Little Garwood wrote:
IslandHopper wrote:Although not a flub, there is a scene that is worth noting because it appears that TS is either reading from cue cards or he is merely regurgitating his lines in a very mechanical, unnatural way (his lines in Bold). The scene takes place in Magnum's Room/Office at the hotel after he finds the phone number from the bad guy's coat. Magnum dials the phone number and Leslie takes the phone from him and hangs it up whereby the following dialogue takes place between Leslie and Magnum:

LESLIE: "Who cares, I'm gone tomorrow, so are you, it's not our problem anymore. What's it matter?"

MAGNUM: "It matters."

LESLIE: "Why?"

MAGNUM: "It matters. It matters because some time you get to a point where easy rationalizations don't cut it anymore. There's gotta be a place where you stop and examine your life and if it isn't right then maybe you just got to say no, no more, or stop looking in the mirror." What do you think? :?
I just watched the episode--one I like quite a bit--with your criticism in mind but I interpreted Selleck's delivery of the line as something that Magnum was most likely saying to himself the whole time he had the hotel detective job. It was a way of telling himself that sentiment, even though he's speaking to Leslie. It's probably stretching things, but that's how I heard the lines.
Okay, it's eight years after the above post was made, and I find myself agreeing with me more than ever about this! :lol: No one else seemed to agree with me, at least in actually replying to the post. I believe I made a most valid point. It's a great scene in the episode; I love it. It says so much about how far Thomas has come over the past six seasons.

The Hotel Dick is among my top-ten-favorite episodes, and it's always the first one I watch, even before I go back to season one and restart another full series viewing.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#61 Post by J.J. Walters »

Totally agree, LG! LOVE this episdoe, and love the "It Matters" scene! So much so that I ripped the audio of the scene way back when. :)

http://magnum-mania.com/Audio/It_Matters.html

And the denouement, to this day, is still my favorite!

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#62 Post by marlboro »

I like this episode, too. I hate the "Magnum needs to grow up" stuff, so I loved the ending of this episode.

There are a couple of things that hinder my enjoyment of the episode,however.

1) The two guest actors who play the manager and the hooker act as though they are in a farcical comedy, while TM often times plays things fairly understated . MPI always mixed comedy and drama, but somehow the formula was a little off in some scenes here, imo.

2) Too much of the story takes place in TM's hotel room. It's just a boring set, and it seems to have restricted the director's ability to get interesting shots. Too many scenes like a rehearsal for a small time play instead of a big budget tv show.

Maybe both problems stem from poor direction?

Edited to add: Would the episode have worked better without the hooker's part in the plot? Juts have TM dealing with everyday humdrum hotel issues (with the cat burglar/jewel stuff in the background) while Rick, TC and Higgins try to get him involved in wacky misadventures? A complete role reversal. After 6 years of his friends telling him to grow up they spend the entire episode trying to get him to quit his stick in the mud job.


p.s. Candy Clark was ok in this but after seeing Corvette Summer (1978) I think Annie Potts would have been brilliant in her role.

p.p.s. The wardrobe and makeup people did a fantastic job of making the female guest stars look their best in the early seasons, but things have totally gone off the rails at this point. Late 80s women's fashions were giving 70s men's fashions a run for their money in the tackiness department.

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#63 Post by Little Garwood »

marlboro wrote: 1) The two guest actors who play the manager and the hooker act as though they are in a farcical comedy, while TM often times plays things fairly understated . MPI always mixed comedy and drama, but somehow the formula was a little off in some scenes here, imo.
Part of what didn't work for me in seasons five through eight was the shift in tone. I don't mean from one episode to the next, which MPI did well, but rather shifts in tone within one episode. There's a quirkiness about the later seasons that is too self aware for my taste.

"The Hotel Dick", being one of my all-time favorite episodes, attempts to combine content regarding Magnum's evolving character and where he is in his life AND serve as a comedy episode. I feel that this episode is one of the better efforts at doing this.
marlboro wrote: 2) Too much of the story takes place in TM's hotel room. It's just a boring set, and it seems to have restricted the director's ability to get interesting shots. Too many scenes like a rehearsal for a small time play instead of a big budget tv show.
I'll repost my view on this from a previous post in this thread: I think that the drabness of the hotel was by design. If things looked cosy, colorful, and delightful at Thomas' new job, we could understand why he'd leave Robin's Nest, the battles with Higgins, the lads, and another "tawdry divorce case"! By portraying the hotel gig as dull and colorless, not to mention that cruddy boss, Thomas--and the audience--can appreciate what he's left behind.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the episode's director, Douglas Heyes, was also the man who directed the Twilight Zone episodes "The Invaders" and "Nervous Man in a Four Dollar Room", so enclosed spaces were his specialty. :wink:

As always, marlboro, you make good points and astute observations.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."

~Tom Selleck

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#64 Post by Mad Kudu Buck »

marlboro wrote:I like this episode, too. I hate the "Magnum needs to grow up" stuff, so I loved the ending of this episode.

There are a couple of things that hinder my enjoyment of the episode,however.

1) The two guest actors who play the manager and the hooker act as though they are in a farcical comedy, while TM often times plays things fairly understated . MPI always mixed comedy and drama, but somehow the formula was a little off in some scenes here, imo.

2) Too much of the story takes place in TM's hotel room. It's just a boring set, and it seems to have restricted the director's ability to get interesting shots. Too many scenes like a rehearsal for a small time play instead of a big budget tv show.

Maybe both problems stem from poor direction?

Edited to add: Would the episode have worked better without the hooker's part in the plot? Juts have TM dealing with everyday humdrum hotel issues (with the cat burglar/jewel stuff in the background) while Rick, TC and Higgins try to get him involved in wacky misadventures? A complete role reversal. After 6 years of his friends telling him to grow up they spend the entire episode trying to get him to quit his stick in the mud job.


p.s. Candy Clark was ok in this but after seeing Corvette Summer (1978) I think Annie Potts would have been brilliant in her role.

p.p.s. The wardrobe and makeup people did a fantastic job of making the female guest stars look their best in the early seasons, but things have totally gone off the rails at this point. Late 80s women's fashions were giving 70s men's fashions a run for their money in the tackiness department.
Yes, I almost totally agree.

"There are a couple of things that hinder my enjoyment of your post,however." :P

1. I find Annie Potts to be just as annoying as Candy Clark (or even more annoying), so I wouldn't want her in the role

2. I don't like the abbreviation "MPI" for Magnum P.I.. I know - it's not just you and nearly everyone here uses it. MPI was a video distributor (and also Manitoba Public Insurance, etc.), so every time I see "MPI", I automatically think about the video distributor (and Manitoba Public Insurance) and think, "What the hell do they have to do with it?" before mentally converting it to "Magnum P.I.".

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Re: The Hotel Dick (6.5)

#65 Post by Mad Kudu Buck »

I can imagine if you told someone you were going to watch "The Hotel Dick" and then "The Big Blow", you might get a reaction like this:

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