Faith and Begorrah (3.23)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
7
7%
9.5 (One of the Best)
18
17%
9.0 (Excellent)
40
38%
8.5 (Very Good)
20
19%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
12
11%
7.5 (Decent)
6
6%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
0
No votes
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
3
3%
 
Total votes: 106

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rubber chicken
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#16 Post by rubber chicken »

James J. Walters wrote:And, can anyone ID this establishing shot?

Image
Found that it's Dunguaire Castle, built in 1520. The google maps image is pretty bad, but it's here on the west coast of Ireland. According to the wikipedia page "It is thought to be the most-photographed castle in Ireland." Here's many large photos.
Last edited by rubber chicken on Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

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J.J. Walters
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#17 Post by J.J. Walters »

Ah, thanks RC! :)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

MACattack
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#18 Post by MACattack »

I dare all Irish MPI fans to drink several pints of Guiness while watching this episode on St. Paddy's day!!!! Erin Go Bragh!!!!
I just don't give a damn!

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IslandHopper
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#19 Post by IslandHopper »

MACattack wrote:I dare all Irish MPI fans to drink several pints of Guiness while watching this episode on St. Paddy's day!!!! Erin Go Bragh!!!!
I'm not 100% Irish, but I am definitely up to the challenge. :D Cheers.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

higgybaby1
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#20 Post by higgybaby1 »

Hi all! I just noticed that in the bar scene and also in the airport scene, Magnum is carrying the same Pineapple box that is used in a later, season 5, episode, "Tran quoc Jones," in which Mac attempts to bamboozle a couple goons out of their racketeering money.
OH MY GAWD!

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Rutledal
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#21 Post by Rutledal »

I just re-watched this and I must say it's one of my Top 5 episodes of season 3, it could make it's way into the all time top 10, not sure. Marvelous ending, and I noticed that the opening preview for this episode was twice as long as it normally is. Usually they only last about 30 sec, but for this one it's a whole minute long.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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Jay-Firestorm
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#22 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

My final review of season three, and what a corker. I’ve always liked this one.

[rating=10]

Hired to investigate whether the wife of a boxer is having an affair, Magnum meets another of Higgins’ half-brothers, Irish priest Father Paddy McGuiness, who is in Hawaii looking for a sacred relic stolen from his parish. A classic ending to the third season…

-----

This review contains spoilers.

Well, the third season was certainly a rollercoaster ride. Although there were the lows (*ahem* ‘Mixed Doubles’ *ahem*), for the most part, the quality was high, and this classic episode rounds off the season perfectly.

In many respects, this is possibly the best of the “Higgins’ half-brothers” episodes (although I do like the season season’s ‘The Elmo Ziller Story’).
John Hillerman (who, rather amusingly, receives ‘Special appearance by’ billing on the closing credits), puts in a star turn as Father Paddy McGuiness, complete with many quirks – such as smoking the butts of people’s discarded cigarettes! It is almost easy to forget that it is Hillerman, who we all know playing the stern Higgins, playing Father Paddy, and is a great example of Hillerman’s dexterity as an actor.

Richard Johnson makes a return appearance as Brigadier Allistair Ffolkes, first seen in the early first season episode ‘No Need To Know’. It is a great touch of continuity to the series, and he makes reference to Magnum helping him out previously.
Also to look out for is series co-creator and episode writer Donald P. Bellisario, playing the owner of the seedy hotel where Father Paddy is staying.

One of the great running touches that I like, is Higgins’ explanations of how he came to have each illegitimate half-brother, refusing the believe the obvious truth that his father “played the field”.

And beyond Father Paddy, the episode also has some great scenes with Clarence, the silent boxer, whom Magnum is scared to tell that his wife seems to be having an affair. These scenes are truly amusing, and had me laughing out loud at several points.

As with many episodes of the third season onwards, things are just as much (maybe more) character-driven than plot-driven, and there is little real action in this episode, but (rather like ‘The Big Blow’ before it), it really works, and is just so much fun to watch.

I particularly like how Father Paddy and the Brigadier, spurred on by Magnum, solve the case of the stolen religious relic from halfway around the world.

In the penultimate scene, with Father Paddy leaving at the airport, he mentions a reunion with Elmo (from ‘The Elmo Ziller Story’), suggesting that Elmo is still alive after all, after it was left rather ambiguously in that story. He also mentions ANOTHER half-brother, Su Ling – who we never get to meet in the series!

One last thing that has to be mentioned – the strange, bizarre and slightly shocking ending, with Clarence’s wife being thrown over a cliff by the man she is seeing. It is a odd and unexpected end to the story, and the season.

Overall, this is a classic episode, with a great performance(s) by John Hillerman, and a perfect end to the third season.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* The plane that Father Paddy flies to Hawaii on changes décor in different shots. The side-on shot (which, if I recall correctly, was also used in the second season’s ‘Double Jeopardy’) is totally different from the plane coming in to land.

* I don’t want to get over-political with this, and I’m no expert, but several points of the story seen to suggest that Father Paddy may be an IRA symphonise. Why would the Army be searching his parish for weapons in the first place; and his conversation with the Brigadier at the dinner table also has some curiosities regarding this.

* The scene in the guest bedroom that Father Paddy is staying in always stuck me as odd. I’m no expert on the layout of the Estate like some people on this forum (lol), but the ocean seems to be directly outside the window – I never thought the Estate was so directly by the sea. No doubt someone can put me right.

* Magnum smokes his ninth cigar of the series.

* Rick only appears in one scene, at the very end of the story (although he is mentioned earlier).

* This episode must have the highest count of “bloody”s used in the series! Although I haven’t had time to check right through yet, when Five broadcast this episode in 2002, they (from what I remember) left it intact.

* I noticed the longer skis from T.C.’s original chopper too, but actually have noticed it in quite a few episodes of the season, where stock footage was used.

-----

Third season overview.

The third and fourth seasons are often considered the show’s “golden era” by many fans, and I’ll agree that the third season is one of the very best (although I personally really like the first season). The story quality was mostly very high, and most episodes had a really polished feel to them.
The season gets off to a flying start with the excellent feature-length / two-part ‘Did You See The Sunrise?’, followed by a run of great episodes – ‘Past Tense’ (although some don’t like it), ‘Black on White’ and ‘Flashback’ to name but a few.
The season also saw a new recurring character, Gillian Dobb as spinster Agatha Chumley, there to sympathise with Higgins when Magnum was getting to him. <br>
The season also began the trend for having more ‘offbeat’ episodes, such as ‘Of Sound Mind’ and ‘Basket Case’, which were quite watchable, but had a rather odd feel to them.
As with all seasons, there were the lows – ‘Mixed Doubles’ is probably one of my least favourite episodes of the entire series, and others such as the well-intentioned-but-flawed ‘Heal Thyself’, don’t quite work.
But overall, this is a top-notch season, and a strong contended for best season of the show’s run.
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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gmt16750
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#23 Post by gmt16750 »

One of the perfect episodes! even if the plot is really simplistic, then comes out all the great acting of all the characters (Hillerman simply is excellent),
When Magnum accuses Higgins to be a "bigot" the answer "Of course i am. Isn't everybody?" reminds me the excuse told to Magnum for having created Robin master's character: Tradition!
Higgins is english attitude cast in one body, and his brother (half-brother!) really acts like another great Brit comedy's character named Father Jack (from Father Ted tv show)
Image
Excuse the dumb question but can't find the answer: what does Begorrah mean?
I'd have also a suggestion:
could it be possible to have a sample of Magnum's burst of laughter- really a contagious one- to be added in Primo Quotes section
(one of the most hilarious when he said "Father Paddy was born!"- other occurrence is in the episode when Higgins destroys his airplane toy.)
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!

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Frodoleader
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#24 Post by Frodoleader »

I'm surprised that no one else has mentioned that "Legs", the straying wife of Clarence the boxer, and the girl that gets thrown from the lighthouse, are so very obviously two different people. The victim at the lighthouse appears to be thinner with longer hair than Legs.

Although I have previously stated that the Higgins half-brother episodes were my least favorite, this one is not so bad. And yes, the Irish characterization is pretty broad and stereotypical.

"Begorrah" essentially means "by God"
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan

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gmt16750
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#25 Post by gmt16750 »

Thanks Frodoleader for translation ;)
Of course it's strereotypical, as Vietnam's veterans and jet set's famous writer and famous playboy Robin Master, but it's a tv serie : story has to fit in 48 minutes.
Though, I think Hillerman is awesome in this episode :lol:
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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#26 Post by MACattack »

The only stereotypes I noticed on the show were the police officer characters. Every character John Hillerman portrayed, he did it with excelllence. Larry, Roger and Tom did their best to portray vets, but Selleck was the only one with a military background. As for Father Paddy's so called stereotype, who cares? He's an interesting character.
Ireland doesn't have a specific stereotype. There are millions of examples, but they don't matter. Not everybody is drunk or a priest, but all Irish are crazy! I know, because I'm Scotch-Irish!

Father Paddy's habit of smoking cigarette butts mad me laugh because I used to have a roomate that did that since he never had any money to buy a pack!
I just don't give a damn!

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#27 Post by MACattack »

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everybody on this site!
I just don't give a damn!

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#28 Post by MACattack »

I really like the shots of Irish castles at the beginning credits of this episode. It sets up the plot dramatically.
I just don't give a damn!

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robspace54
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#29 Post by robspace54 »

Another of Higgin's fathers offspring surfaces... to comic relief. JH must have a had fun playing these roles and he really got to exercise his voice talents. Looks like Pater Higgins, how to say, got around.

Someone asked about the pineapple box? You could call ahead (or buy them right at the airport) prepackaged boxes of pineapples to carry on the plane. We did it ourselves in 1985 - in fact they were stacked at the foot of the plane stairs waiting with our name on it. An important safety tip! If you have had recent throat surgery, as I did then, do not eat fresh pineapple. It is a pain that will impress itself onto your brain forever.

Having finished my season 3 DVDs I now must decide when to pick up season 4.
Sometimes I get so lucky, even I don`t believe it.

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#30 Post by zebra3 »

Just watched the episode, what is up with that ending. Magnum wraps up the Irish story with a couple sentences at the airport, and then the boxers wife gets thrown off a lighthouse? At first I thought they might continue in season 4, ep. 1, but now I realize, that was it. I think they were going for shock and humor. "Something interesting always happens on Thomas' cases."

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