Wave Goodbye (2.8)

[J.J. Walters]

This is the official MM thread for Wave Goodbye (2.8). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).

This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.

Original Air Date: 11/19/1981
An ex-surfing champion and friend of Magnum's turns up dead on the beach and Magnum investigates. The prime suspects are a local drug pusher and a Vietnam vet, but Magnum believes someone else may be involved.

[rubber chicken]

I found a very short promo for this episode on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCDegQXx8Wk

Simon & Simon also included.

[J.J. Walters]

A decent episode with a great twist ending. This was one of the last film or TV roles for Vic Morrow before his tragic death during a Twilight Zone movie shoot.

And who could ever forget Kacy. We barely saw her, but her star shined bright.

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

[A P Leyland]

Whilst the plot telegraphed the bad guy from quite early on I really enjoyed this episode and am surprised this isn't rated higher. The show received many accolades for its portrayal of Vietnam Vets, and rightly so. In this episode we get to see a character depicting the more commonly held conception of vets as slightly unhinged but in tue Magnum fashion this is turned on its head and he's revealed as a sympathetic character who would rather spend time in jail than potentially hurt somebody or live with his demons. An interesting contrast to other popular Vietnam Vets such as Stringfellow Hawke, John Rambo or even Thomas Magnum.

Kacy was merely the MGuffin to get Magnum involved in the story and it dissapointed me that the ending was about her rather than Nick. I would have much rather seen the Tag be Magnum helping Nick get the help he so needed rather than a perfunctory mention of a character that we'd never hear about again.

Andy

[J.J. Walters]

When Magnum enters Gary's beach house, a human silhouette can be seen in the reflection on the glass door....



You can see it when he closes the door, also. Kind of creepy, as the house is supposed to be empty!

Anyone happen to know the name of the theatre where Rick, T.C. and Magnum meet Gary? It's not mentioned by name in the episode and I can't quite make out the letters on the marquee...

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Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

[rubber chicken]

It was the Haleiwa Theatre, built in 1931 and located on the north shore here in Haleiwa town until it was demolished in 1983 despite protests (more on that in the first link). Here's a great painting of the theatre and area. It was replaced by a McDonald's and 7-11.

I think that first photo is a building (since destroyed) that has been seen in at least three episodes. It was near Pua'ena Point, where Operation: Silent Night took place. But I'm not 100% sure about this building because I haven't fully researched that yet.

[J.J. Walters]

[rubber chicken]

Yep, I see the episode first aired on 11-19-1981, and they date the page gives for when most of the theatre was destroyed was 11-10-1983, so nine days less than two years after the show first aired. This episode was probably shot a few months before it aired (?) so the theatre was gone two years and a few months after the scene was shot.

As far as the events that caused it's demise, it is kind of confusing, I'm not sure I have it perfectly correct either, and of course that page may be biased and telling a selective story although the results seem unarguable... but I think you've got it about right.

It must have been something to watch surfing movies there in the 70s. They maybe showed The Endless Summer and many surfing movies I'm sure I've never heard of. I saw Riding Giants a few years ago and it was an almost "religious" experience for me. The first time I saw it was on dvd, and when it ended I started it again and watched a second time back to back. I don't think I've ever done that before.

[Jay-Firestorm]

It seems an age since I reviewed my last episode. Anyway, here’s my first review of the week!

[TV.com rating=7.5; Average]

When a casual surfer friend of Magnum is murdered on the beach, he takes it upon himself to investigate, and becomes convinced that the Police are handling the case badly and are after the wrong person. An average episode with some very good bits…


‘Wave Goodbye’ is in many ways an average episode of ‘Magnum p.i.’, but thankfully there are a few very good elements which save it from being mundane.

Things begin with a casual friend of Magnum’s, Kacy, being murdered. You know the type – the friend that is never mentioned before or since the episode.
I found the early stages of the story hard to get into, and a bit dull in places. From the first act or so, I had the episode down as a rather boring one, but thankfully things pick up quite a bit later on in the plot.

The story is one of the more serious and in places more gritty of the season (especially noticeable coming after the comedy episode ‘Tropical Madness’); and in some respects it feels like an offering from one of the show’s later seasons, with the humour quite toned down compared to many earlier episodes.
The only real comedy of the story comes as Higgins (in his only scene in the episode) bartering with Magnum to do a favour, and Magnum – after a speech about how they should just do good deeds for each other out of kindness – coming off the worse, as it would have been in his favour.

The story is also notable for being the first real time that Rick and T.C. are given something to do without Magnum, as they pose as drug peddlers (Rick even mentions his old bar’s nickname, “The Snow Palace”). It is a sign of the confidence in the pair that the writers and producers by now had; later we would see a couple of episodes totally based around them.

Anyway, the episode really picks up as Magnum tracks down drifter Nick, a shell-shocked Vietnam Veteran, who Magnum is sure is innocent but may have witnessed the murder. Nick is played by regular 1980s guest star Wings Hauser; Hauser has a number of credits (he did a couple of ‘A-Team’s and ‘Airwolf’s, one alongside ‘Tropical Madness’ guest Devon Ericson), and he is outstanding as the tragically shell-shocked Nick. Out of all of Hauser’s guest spots that I’ve seen, I would rank this as his best.
Magnum also makes an unexpected admission when he admits to Nick that he himself has spent time in a psychiatric hospital.

The episode is dated in one area, in that Kacy had sexual intercourse before she was killed; these days, the Police would be able to use D.N.A. to identify who she was with, but this was not about in 1981.

When I watched this episode for the first time, I was surprised as to who the real culprit was, and didn’t see it coming. It was a good twist ending that worked well.

All-in-all, this is in many ways an average, and not instantly memorable, example of the series, but several elements save it from being totally forgettable.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Higgins only appears in one scene of this episode.

* As mentioned, the Police nowadays could use D.N.A. to find out who Kacy had sex with.

* The final two shots on the closing credits are not featured in the actual episode. One is stock footage of Magnum in the Ferrari from the first season; and the second features Magnum in the shirt that he wears in the final scene, but (unless I missed it) is from a sequence that does not appear in the actual story.

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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!!

[MACattack]

The plot ended without resolving an issue. What happened to the Vietnam vet named Nick? Did he voluntarily go to a hospital or did he run off into the rainforest?

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I just don't give a damn!