The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
5
5%
9.5 (One of the Best)
13
12%
9.0 (Excellent)
21
20%
8.5 (Very Good)
36
34%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
18
17%
7.5 (Decent)
7
7%
7.0 (Average at Best)
0
No votes
6.5 (Not So Good)
4
4%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
2
2%
 
Total votes: 106

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J.J. Walters
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The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14)

#1 Post by J.J. Walters »

This is the official MM thread for The Arrow That is Not Aimed (3.14). 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: 1/27/1983
Magnum gets a lesson in ancient Japanese culture when a valuable Kenzan artifact is stolen from a Samurai warrior by a Ninja.
Last edited by J.J. Walters on Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:46 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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#2 Post by J.J. Walters »

The Mag hangs out with a Samurai Warrior! A Samurai played by the great Mako! Do you need to know any more? Of course this episode is good. ;)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Shermy
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#3 Post by Shermy »

I had just watched this episode the night before Mako passed away. It was a little strange to wake up and find that Tozan had indeed died with the rising sun.

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#4 Post by Jean-Claude Fornier »

I liked a lot this episode which was a real hommage to the japanese culture and especially an hommage to the ancient Samurai who had to perform the horrible sepukku, chosing an honorable death rather than a life in shame.

Magnum was chosed by Tozan to perform the role of the attendant, the "kaishakunin". If he would have accepted, he should have stood behind him then decapitating him after the samurai opened his stomach with a dagger, making a left to right cut ...
Higgins seemed to respect Tozan's choice but not Magnum !

And of course, Samurai who had no kaishakunin to provide a quick end, had to agonize a long time after opening their stomach ...

Seppuku was abolished in 1873, shortly after the Meiji Restoration, but voluntary seppuku did not completely die out.
The last suicide by ritual seppuku may be the one of famous japanese writer Yukio Mishima in 1970.

This Magnum episode about japanese ritual suicide is to bring closer to the episode n.28 (2.10) "The Taking of Dick McWilliams" where japanese Mitsu wants to commit a ritual suicide too because of dishonour for her family.

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#5 Post by J.J. Walters »

Higgins says Tozan is a "Ichinaga" Samurai. Tozan says the "Ichinaga" practice the old discipline of "The Arrow That is Not Aimed" - "The bow is pulled. The archer has no thought of his aim, the arrow, his game, or even of himself. All is one. All is emptiness. Yet, the arrow always finds its target".

I can't find anything on the "Ichinaga" Samurai, or anything similiar to it. Did they just make all this up?
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#6 Post by rubber chicken »

I found this page which is about stuttering therapy, but uses an introduction written by Daisetz T. Suzuki for the book Zen in the Art of Archery. Down the page there's a sentence (search for "enlightenment") written I think by the creator of this particular web page, but paraphrasing what Suzuki wrote.
The Master refused to teach Herrigel to aim, insisting that the target was not the goal, and the goal cannot be aimed at, and that the goal doesn't have a name, except maybe "enlightenment".

But even though the Master did not aim, all of his shots lodged in the black center of the target, from sixty feet away.
So it seems to be part of Zen philosophy. I couldn't find anything more though after a short search.

Also, since you couldn't find anything on "Ichinaga" maybe it was spelled incorrectly in the subtitles? Or maybe they created a name...

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#7 Post by J.J. Walters »

Well, it appears that the "world renowned" "Ichinaga" samurai are fictional. I just find it odd (and confusing) that they found the need to make up a type of samurai. Especially since so many other historical Japanese references in the episode were not made up - Ogata Kenzan, the Edo Tokugawa period, Seppuku, Kaishakunin, etc.

It's still one heck of a good episode, however. ;)
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#8 Post by Quigley Down Under »

This episode was great! It sort of reminded me of the mini series Shogun from 1980 which if anyone is interested in Samurai is definatley worth a look.

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#9 Post by Italian Ice »

Working rule #35 stipulates that you always enter strange hotels with extreme caution, especially strange hotels rooms with samurai warriors in them.
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#10 Post by Styles Bitchley »

I like this episode as well, but found it hard to ignore the fact that Samurai had been abolished for about a hundred years!

On a trip to Japan several years ago I stumbled upon a group of Kyudo practitioners http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ky%C5%ABd%C5%8D in a Zen temple in Kamakura. I had never known of this meditative-archery practice before and found it fascinating. I think it was likely the inspiration for archery metaphor.
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#11 Post by Rutledal »

I re-watched this episode today and I really enjoyed it. Especially great was the ending, John Hillerman looked completely insane.

Also I had no idea Seth Sakai had so many appearances on Magnum, P.I. I knew he was in this and Billy Joe Bob, but I had forgotten that he was in episodes like All Roads Leed to Floyd and All For One.
So I made a Topic Page about Magnum, P.I. Check it out here.

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#12 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

Fridays for me have become double-review days, and here’s the first. A good episode, with the great Mako.

[rating=9.0]

When Robin Masters' valuable Kenzan porcelain plate is stolen by Ninja warriors, Magnum works with the Samurai to whom the plate was entrusted to get it back, before the Samurai’s custom dictates he takes his own life. An enjoyable Japanese-themed episode…

-----

I really like this episode. Although not a fanatic, I am casually interested in Japanese culture, and more than anything else, the late, great Mako really makes this story. He has such presence, and really brings his character alive.

I enjoy the scene where Higgins scorns Magnum for having dog repellent – Higgins insisting that it is “contraband and subject to confiscation” is wonderful, suggesting he runs the Estate like a prison!

Watching the episode nowadays, it is maybe amusing that Magnum finds it to hard to believe that Ninjas are involved. Ninjas had faded from culture in the early 1980s, before they became recognised again in the 1990s (spearheaded by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze).

I probably sound like a record saying this on various episode reviews, but the story has plenty of the three key ingredients: drama, comedy, and action.
The plot itself in this episode is passable but maybe not one of the greatest, but that doesn’t really matter, as this is more a character driven piece. Tom Selleck and Mako work well together, and it is a shame that this is Mako’s only appearance in the series, as I would have loved to have seen Tozan make a return appearance later on.

There are also some very artistic shots in this episode, especially the one of Tozan’s silhouette at sunrise, as he plans to take his own life.

One thing I did pick up on – Seth Sakai is used AGAIN. Although he is a very capable actor, it seems that just about every time they needed someone to play a Japanese villain, they turned to him! He appears in six episodes in total, each time playing a different character.

The last scene is maybe disappointing in that we don’t get to see Tozan before he leaves; instead we get Higgins’ ire over Magnum’s dog repellent (I won’t spoil the scene). Although this is reasonably funny, I would have much preferred to see Tozan’s departure, and his farewells to Magnum and Higgins.

Overall, this is a very likable episode. I give it a decent 9.0.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* Magnum mentions one day writing his “handbook to being a world class Private Investigator”. He had mentioned this once previously in the second season, but from this episode onwards, it’s mentions would become more regular.

* Possibly flub: When Gallagher goes to escape through the door at the back of his shop and Tozan charges after him, the whole wall moves!

* I’m not as familiar with this as with the other third season episodes; When I recorded it from Channel 5 in 2002, I didn’t realise that the video tape I was using was damaged, causing the episode to play in shaky high speed! Luckily I noticed before I recorded any more episodes on it.
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#13 Post by Jay-Firestorm »

Just one thing I forgot in today's review - do I presume that Mako is wearing his headpiece, or did he really style his hair like that for this episode?

(Sorry to mention that other love of mine), but a few months later, he appered in 'The A-Team's early second season episode 'Recipe For Heavy Bread', where he had regular hair.
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#14 Post by 308GTS »

Just watched this episode again as part of my random watchathon and it is a great episode. The comic banter between TC and Rick at the beach club was superb, easily one of the best laughing scenes in the entire series.

Great stuff
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#15 Post by MaximRecoil »

Jay-Firestorm wrote: Watching the episode nowadays, it is maybe amusing that Magnum finds it to hard to believe that Ninjas are involved. Ninjas had faded from culture in the early 1980s, before they became recognised again in the 1990s (spearheaded by the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles craze).
I see you're from the UK so I don't know how it was there, but ninja were huge in the '80s in the US. By the '90s it had died down (TMNT notwithstanding).

The movie "Enter the Ninja" (1981) is what kicked it off here in the US. This was the first of what became known as "The Ninja Trilogy" all featuring Sho Kosugi. "Revenge of the Ninja" followed in 1983 and was bigger than the first movie (and is the best one of the genre IMO); and then "Ninja III: The Domination" in 1984.

"American Ninja" was probably the next big one, and that was in 1985, and was followed by a sequel: "American Ninja 2: The Confrontation" in 1987. There were dozens of lesser known ninja movies throughout the '80s as well, including such stinkers as "Ninja Mission" (1984); a Swedish ninja movie that is quite possibly the worst movie I've ever seen. Here is a list of extremely bad ninja movies made in the '80s. In fact, they were so eager to cash in on the '80s ninja craze, that they slapped the word "ninja" into the title of some movies that didn't even have ninja in them:
Q: Are there any movies with "ninja" in the title, but few or no actual ninjas in the movie?

A: Yes! Picture this. You walk out of your local video store with Death Mask of the Ninja clutched under your arm. After buying a Coke Slurpee and Hickory Sticks, you make your way home to enjoy some ninja-tainment. You sit back, press play, and slowly realize your greatest nightmare has come true: there are no ninjas in the movie! The following is a list of films with no (or very few) stereotypical ninjas.

Black Ninja
Bruce Le Vs Ninja
Death Mask of the Ninja
Empire Of The Spiritual Ninja
Ghost Of The Ninja
Leopard Fist Ninja
Lone Ninja Warrior
Ninja Apocalypse
Ninja Enforcer
Ninja Exterminators
Ninja Fist of Fire
Ninja In The Claws Of The CIA
Ninja Knight Heavens Hell
Ninja Supremo
Ninja Swords of Death
Ninja The Kung Fu Emperor
Ninja Turf
Ninja Vampire Busters
Ninja Wars
Ninja Wolves
Screaming Ninja
Shaolin Challenges Ninja
The Ninja Strikes Back
To Catch A Ninja


There was even a short-lived ninja TV series; "The Master" (1984) featuring the unlikely Lee Van Cleef as a ninja master, as well as several appearances by the ubiquitous Sho Kosugi. And don't forget the '80s videogames, such as Ninja Gaiden, Shinobi, Bad Dudes vs. Dragonninja, etc.

BTW, pretty much all '80s ninja movies I've seen have an obligatory scene where someone either has never heard of ninja or doesn't believe they exist anymore. It is standard fare; so Magnum's lines in this case were taken straight from the ninja movie playbook.

I believe that this particular episode of MPI was simply capitalizing on the burgeoning ninja craze at the time. It is a particular favorite of mine, because it combines two things from the '80s that I'm nostalgic about: Magnum, P.I. and ninja movies.

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