Never Again ... Never Again (1.7)

[Jay-Firestorm]

Another great episode – the quality of the first season barely lets up (maybe with the exception of ‘Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too’!!). I really enjoy this episode. A shorter review this time, but that’s not to say I don’t love this ep!
And yes, I was always curious about the ending too – did Lena kill herself?

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[TV.com rating=9.5; Cleverly Plotted]

An elderly Jewish couple that Magnum and Rick are friends with are seemingly being hunted by modern-day Nazis. Magnum protects the woman as he searches for her captured husband, but there is an unexpected twist. A very well written story…

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This review contains spoilers.

'No Need to Know' and 'Skin Deep' were excellent episodes, and the quality doesn't let up – ‘Never Again... Never Again' is a brilliant episode, and with possibly the best twist ending of the entire series.

The story plays out perfectly, and you really feel sympathy for this poor Jewish couple. That is, until the end when all is revealed and we find that they are actually the Nazis! Watching this episode for the first time, I really didn't see that one coming (though I did pick up that the photo of the pair that Magnum finds was somehow a little over-obvious).

To look out for is Glenn Cannon as the seeming villain, Dr. Kessler. Cannon would go out to become the recurring Dr. Ibold in many future episodes.

There are also some great Higgins moments (who, even by this early stage, was already becoming a favourite with fans), both at Robin's Nest as he plays host to Lena, and in his hospital bed when T.C. is unwittingly moving the controls to his hospital bed ("What the bloody hell!"). Not to mention asking Magnum to feed "the lads" their steaks – "Very well, you can have one too".

I was a little confused by the ending, when Thomas confronts Lena on the boat. I always thought that she committed suicide and that my TV recording was edited, but the DVDs play exactly the same way.

All-in-all, this is a top-notch episode, and extremely well written. Even once you know who the true villains are; it is one that you can watch over and over again – a true testament to the quality.

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Notes, bloopers, and other misc.

* This is the first time in the series that T.C. drinks coffee as an alternative to beer. He would be a teetotaller for the rest of the show’s run.

* On the DVD release, there are no ad break gaps as with other episodes.

* The already mentioned blooper, of Magnum going from wearing jeans to shorts, seems to be due to the shots of him in the Ferrari being stock footage, with a tint on the film to make it look like night-time.

* On the subject of night-time, watch the light at Robin’s Nest – although it is supposedly late at night, there seems to be some daylight peeking through in many shots. TV shows often film night-time scenes during the day or half-light.

* Channel 5 edits – on this occasion, they left in Higgins’ “What the bloody hell!” (when T.C. is moving the hospital bed without realising it!). Yes, very contradictory.

* As well as the doorbell (at Dr. Kessler’s house) being totally out of sync to when Rick pushes it, on the opening trailer is a buzzer, not a chime sound as in the episode! This buzzer seems to be the original sound, as it is in time to Rick pressing it.

Thank you and goodnight

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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!!

[Jaybird]

This is one of the better, single episode, "serious" MPI episodes. It actually was believable and touched on a subject that won't go away...nor should it. Yes, I too am glad that he did not have to shoot her.

[lutherhgillis]

About whether or not Magnum shot Lena at the end of the episode...Lena was a Nazi on a mission. I doubt she gave up willingly. Agents usually do not go down without a fight. On the other hand, she was distraught at the death of Saul so she might have given up. I do not remember seeing the original broadcast of this episode. The DVDs should be the same as the original broadcasts, shouldn't they?

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Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?

[Higgy_baby]

Could it be that she turned the scalpel on herself? She did agree with Magnum that it was over. I think it's great mystery to leave us guessing.

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Of course this changes nothing between us. I still expect you to respect the rules and regulations pertaining to your stay on the estate. There will be no wild parties, no outragous liberties, no unauthorized overnight guests...

[Carmen]

Like I said before, to me it always has been cristalclear it was suicide. Watch the scene: Lena agreed "yes it is finally over" or something like that and in the next shot you see the boat without any sound. And Magnums reaction to it in the last scene (on the beach with Higgins) just fits. IMHO

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Sometimes I get so lucky, even I don`t believe it (TSM)

[Higgy_baby]

Carmen,
I'm in the suicide camp with you. That's exactly how it hit me.

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Of course this changes nothing between us. I still expect you to respect the rules and regulations pertaining to your stay on the estate. There will be no wild parties, no outragous liberties, no unauthorized overnight guests...

[J.J. Walters]

Can anyone ID Higgins' gun? It kind of looks like a Luger, but it's hard to tell with the poor lighting.

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

[N1095A]

Kind of hard to tell, but it looks a bit like a Webley.

[Sam]

Hi Mike....Here it looks like a Luger.

[N1095A]

Yeah, especially the front sight, and where the barrel meets the frame.
Maybe it's just the angle, but the trigger guard looks a little bigger than the Lugar.
I am however, quite confident that during WWII Higgins most likely took a Lugar from a German officer. That just fits.