MaiTaiMan wrote:I love the spear coming through the door at Ian McShane at the beginning...it makes me jump everytime, even though I know it's coming! LOL!
Black on White (3.6)
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J.J. Walters
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No, McShane did not have the spear...the supposed Mau Mau did and came through the door at him.N1095A wrote:Does he have a spear?Hawaii84 wrote:Ian McShane makes a pretty good Blackbeard in the new Pirates movie.
LOL!J.J. Walters wrote:MaiTaiMan wrote:I love the spear coming through the door at Ian McShane at the beginning...it makes me jump everytime, even though I know it's coming! LOL!
Awesome...thanks for the bone-chilling scene clip, J.J.!! 
"It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"
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miltontheripper
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Agreed...very intense and suspenseful! Awesome plot and superb action/suspense! This also really delves into an interesting aspect of Higgins' military past...as most of the time his ramblings are as boring or goofy as Magnum thinks they are, even though stated humorously enough.miltontheripper wrote:I like this one, very intense and keeps you guessing the whole time. Always like learning more of Higgins military past. The prospect of he and Magnum being quaranteened together is pretty hilarious. Good guest actors and a really good off beat plot. A solid 9.0 for me.
This is also one of my all-time favorites! "It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"
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Little Garwood
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I'll vote this a [9.0]
I remember this episode well from childhood (I was 11 in 1982), but "Black on White" is even more powerful now.
I love when the music is playing as Clutterbuck "sees" the Mau-Mau getting ready to throw the spear at him and when the Mau-Mau disappears, the music stops...then chillingly resumes as it is revealed that Clutterbuck is the "Mau-Mau."
Like the golden lighting used throughout the Estate scenes, as if it reminds us that the fire from the massacre is still burning, albeit as an afterglow.
Is this the only time we see the intercom in the guesthouse being used? I don't recall it ever being used in any other episode. The intercom is located--hidden--on the left side of the refrigerator cabinet in the kitchen.
I remember this episode well from childhood (I was 11 in 1982), but "Black on White" is even more powerful now.
I love when the music is playing as Clutterbuck "sees" the Mau-Mau getting ready to throw the spear at him and when the Mau-Mau disappears, the music stops...then chillingly resumes as it is revealed that Clutterbuck is the "Mau-Mau."
Like the golden lighting used throughout the Estate scenes, as if it reminds us that the fire from the massacre is still burning, albeit as an afterglow.
Is this the only time we see the intercom in the guesthouse being used? I don't recall it ever being used in any other episode. The intercom is located--hidden--on the left side of the refrigerator cabinet in the kitchen.
"Popularity is the pocket change of history."
~Tom Selleck
~Tom Selleck
A definite 10 from me! Higgins and Magnum quarantined together, Pac-Man, the stone-cold gorgeous Lynne Moody, the ever-snide Ian McShane, a brisk pace, great character interactions, a stunning denoument and a cute tag scene. Classic!
The notes for this episode say that Doc Ibold contracted the fever in 1963 while in the Peace Corps. Maybe. Or maybe he just said that to explain to Higgins why he didn't need to be quarantined either.
Perfect casting, by the way, for the unnamed actor playing the young Ian McShane in the flashback scenes.
The notes for this episode say that Doc Ibold contracted the fever in 1963 while in the Peace Corps. Maybe. Or maybe he just said that to explain to Higgins why he didn't need to be quarantined either.
Perfect casting, by the way, for the unnamed actor playing the young Ian McShane in the flashback scenes.
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Braddah Kimo
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ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)
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Indeed a top-notch episode. So far season 3 seems to have the best episodes!!
This episode and the next two ("Flashback" and "Foiled Again") are some of the best episodes of the whole series. Not to mention the powerful season-opener "Did You See the Sun Rise?" which is the absolute #1 MPI episode. So far at least. I haven't seen anything past season 3. But I've heard that the first three seasons are the show's best seasons.
The plot twist in this one is right up there with the awesome twists in "Never Again... Never Again" and "Skin Deep" back in season 1. And again (like in "Skin Deep") Ian McShane is playing a baddie. Although obviously a confused/disturbed baddie this time. Just a great mystery flavor with nice spine-tingling moments involving various flashbacks and Mau Mau illusions.
Also someone asked about how Ian McShane got on this show. I noticed that MPI more than any other show of the 80s had a tendency to attract British actors. I believe much of this is due to Higgins himself being a Brit. So many of his colleagues or foes would naturally be British. You had the likes of Richard Johnson, Julian Glover, Ronald Lacey, Roy Dotrice, Paxton Whitehead, Dana Wynter, Patrick MacNee, etc. All respected British actors who graced the world of MPI. So there's nothing odd about McShane landing on the show.
Also McShane had already made a name for himself in England by that point. He played the head terrorist opposite Sean Connery in the 1974 thriller THE TERRORISTS (or the UK title which was RANSOM) and was also in THE FIFTH MUSKETEER in 1979 and the hit mini-series JESUS OF NAZARETH (playing Judas Iscariot) in 1977.
This episode and the next two ("Flashback" and "Foiled Again") are some of the best episodes of the whole series. Not to mention the powerful season-opener "Did You See the Sun Rise?" which is the absolute #1 MPI episode. So far at least. I haven't seen anything past season 3. But I've heard that the first three seasons are the show's best seasons.
The plot twist in this one is right up there with the awesome twists in "Never Again... Never Again" and "Skin Deep" back in season 1. And again (like in "Skin Deep") Ian McShane is playing a baddie. Although obviously a confused/disturbed baddie this time. Just a great mystery flavor with nice spine-tingling moments involving various flashbacks and Mau Mau illusions.
Also someone asked about how Ian McShane got on this show. I noticed that MPI more than any other show of the 80s had a tendency to attract British actors. I believe much of this is due to Higgins himself being a Brit. So many of his colleagues or foes would naturally be British. You had the likes of Richard Johnson, Julian Glover, Ronald Lacey, Roy Dotrice, Paxton Whitehead, Dana Wynter, Patrick MacNee, etc. All respected British actors who graced the world of MPI. So there's nothing odd about McShane landing on the show.
Also McShane had already made a name for himself in England by that point. He played the head terrorist opposite Sean Connery in the 1974 thriller THE TERRORISTS (or the UK title which was RANSOM) and was also in THE FIFTH MUSKETEER in 1979 and the hit mini-series JESUS OF NAZARETH (playing Judas Iscariot) in 1977.
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ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)
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J.J. Walters
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Love your episode reviews, Ivan. Good stuff!
Speaking of Ian McShane, I recently saw him in a Season Six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head. It's a failed Quinn Martin production TV pilot from 1977. The movie is pretty bad, but it's filmed in Oahu (St. Andrews, Waikiki, Hotel Street, all the usual suspects). Despite the horrible plot and direction, McShane is great. Zulu's in it, too, as is France Nuyen. The riffing from Mike and the Bots is great (as always) and I laughed hard many times. One of the recurring jokes is that almost everytime McShane's character appears the Bots say, "Lovejoy" (in reference to his famous British TV show). It's one of the 30-40 MST3K episodes available on streaming Netflix if anybody is interested.
Speaking of Ian McShane, I recently saw him in a Season Six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head. It's a failed Quinn Martin production TV pilot from 1977. The movie is pretty bad, but it's filmed in Oahu (St. Andrews, Waikiki, Hotel Street, all the usual suspects). Despite the horrible plot and direction, McShane is great. Zulu's in it, too, as is France Nuyen. The riffing from Mike and the Bots is great (as always) and I laughed hard many times. One of the recurring jokes is that almost everytime McShane's character appears the Bots say, "Lovejoy" (in reference to his famous British TV show). It's one of the 30-40 MST3K episodes available on streaming Netflix if anybody is interested.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!
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ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)
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Thanks, J.J.J.J. Walters wrote:Love your episode reviews, Ivan. Good stuff!
Speaking of Ian McShane, I recently saw him in a Season Six episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000: Code Name: Diamond Head. It's a failed Quinn Martin production TV pilot from 1977. The movie is pretty bad, but it's filmed in Oahu (St. Andrews, Waikiki, Hotel Street, all the usual suspects). Despite the horrible plot and direction, McShane is great. Zulu's in it, too, as is France Nuyen. The riffing from Mike and the Bots is great (as always) and I laughed hard many times. One of the recurring jokes is that almost everytime McShane's character appears the Bots say, "Lovejoy" (in reference to his famous British TV show). It's one of the 30-40 MST3K episodes available on streaming Netflix if anybody is interested.
Love your site! Keep up the great work!Yes, I've heard of CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD. I believe it starred Roy Thinnes who was at one point considered for the role of James Bond - as Connery's replacement I believe. In addition to Zulu the show also had Harry Endo I think. Endo played Che Fong - the lab technician/forensics expert on FIVE-0.
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J.J. Walters
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Hey, thanks!IvanTheTerrible wrote:Thanks, J.J.
Yes, I've heard of CODE NAME: DIAMOND HEAD. I believe it starred Roy Thinnes who was at one point considered for the role of James Bond - as Connery's replacement I believe. In addition to Zulu the show also had Harry Endo I think. Endo played Che Fong - the lab technician/forensics expert on FIVE-0.
Endo is in for all two minutes. Thinnes is not bad, but he just doesn't have much to work with. The dialog and plot is truly terrible! Also, for some reason, they don't film many scenes in the beautiful parts of Hawaii. Much of it takes place in ship yards, bland buildings and other nondescript areas. One rather long scene, which I thought was cool, took place in a rundown part of Hotel Street, to which the Bots proclaimed, "Where are we, Fargo?" Heh. It was another running joke in the episode: it just never seemed like they were in Hawaii! Anyway, the episode is truly hilarious, especially if you're into Hawaii filming locations.
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!