Is Jonathan Higgins Robin Masters?

For all non-episode specific topics about the show, including MPI-related "tie-ins"

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

Message
Author
User avatar
MagnumILWU
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 629
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:44 pm
Location: Portland Oregon

Higgins and Robin Masters

#16 Post by MagnumILWU »

I never believed Higgins was Robin! And to your one point, that if Higgins was Robin, Magnum would have never been invited to live at the estate! That would be the perfect cover, if Higgins was Robin! Why would you suspect the person who seems to hate you, and wants you off the estate, as being your real benefactor! Higgins was an actor, he could have fooled everybody!
"pickled egg please"

Seaver41
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:46 pm

#17 Post by Seaver41 »

eh.......it just doesn't seem plausible. Why would Higgins live the life he lives rather than the jet-setting life of Robin? Let's be real, if he has that trashy novel material in his head, you'd see something of it in his real life. the guy is so bottled up it is ridiculous.

Sorry.....it just doesn't sell.

on the 'what if' front...........what if there is no higher supernatural being and we are just the lab experiment of some superior race?

User avatar
MagnumILWU
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 629
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 5:44 pm
Location: Portland Oregon

Higgins is Robin Masters?

#18 Post by MagnumILWU »

Like I said, I don't believe Higgins was Robin! The reason he would not live that lifestyle, which I believe was covered in the show, was his family, his upbringing, his position(title). It would have been too much of a scandal for him to write under his own name!
"pickled egg please"

User avatar
Styles Bitchley
Magnum Wristwatch Aficionado / Deputy SpamHammer
Posts: 2674
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
Location: Canada

#19 Post by Styles Bitchley »

Seaver41 wrote:Why would Higgins live the life he lives rather than the jet-setting life of Robin? Let's be real, if he has that trashy novel material in his head, you'd see something of it in his real life. the guy is so bottled up it is ridiculous.
The guy knows his role in life and that is to always remain proper and honourable. The jet-setting lifestyle is gauche, but not without its attraction. That's why he scratches that tawdry itch by living vicariously through his novels and the life of Robin Masters. Sure, he may be eccentric, but the world is full of nutty people!
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

User avatar
Higgins (aka Bondtoys)
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 607
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:04 pm

#20 Post by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) »

:D Styles, you really love your theory, don't you? ;)

While disagreeing on the result with you, I like these possible explanations and stuff.
Very entertaining!

User avatar
Styles Bitchley
Magnum Wristwatch Aficionado / Deputy SpamHammer
Posts: 2674
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
Location: Canada

#21 Post by Styles Bitchley »

Bondtoys.de wrote::D Styles, you really love your theory, don't you? ;)

While disagreeing on the result with you, I like these possible explanations and stuff.
Very entertaining!
I'm not sure I agree with myself! :wink: But there is some plausibility there...
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

User avatar
Higgins (aka Bondtoys)
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 607
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:04 pm

#22 Post by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) »

:lol: maybe you talk this out with yourself and then come up with a final verdict?

Seaver41
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 388
Joined: Mon Dec 01, 2008 4:46 pm

#23 Post by Seaver41 »

Styles Bitchley wrote:
Seaver41 wrote:Why would Higgins live the life he lives rather than the jet-setting life of Robin? Let's be real, if he has that trashy novel material in his head, you'd see something of it in his real life. the guy is so bottled up it is ridiculous.
The guy knows his role in life and that is to always remain proper and honourable. The jet-setting lifestyle is gauche, but not without its attraction. That's why he scratches that tawdry itch by living vicariously through his novels and the life of Robin Masters. Sure, he may be eccentric, but the world is full of nutty people!
Higgins can't spell the word eccentric, let alone live it. He is so proper, he can't possibly have that alter ego. Not buying it.

User avatar
Styles Bitchley
Magnum Wristwatch Aficionado / Deputy SpamHammer
Posts: 2674
Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2009 12:15 pm
Location: Canada

#24 Post by Styles Bitchley »

Seaver41 wrote:Higgins can't spell the word eccentric, let alone live it. He is so proper, he can't possibly have that alter ego. Not buying it.
Not everyone is what they appear.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."

- J.Q.H.

User avatar
Higgins (aka Bondtoys)
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 607
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:04 pm

#25 Post by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) »

If you need evidence that Higgins is NOT Robin Masters, look at the J. Digger Doyle episode:

Higgins is alone at the estate, the red phone rings and Higgins assumes that Robin calls (but Magnum is on the line).

He wouldn't expect that if he would be Robin himself

Marco
Commander
Posts: 38
Joined: Wed Sep 10, 2008 12:14 pm
Location: Germany
Contact:

#26 Post by Marco »

The theory usually includes the idea that there's somebody travelling the world and pretending to be Robin Masters and in this case he could indeed call Higgins without Higgins expecting his call. So Higgins is the true author of the books and the "real" Robin Masters but that actor is the man everybody in the world knows as Robin.

The theory does make some sense when looking at Higgins' background - hence it's clear that this was an idea added to the series later on. I still like it though :D

User avatar
Higgins (aka Bondtoys)
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 607
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2009 2:04 pm

#27 Post by Higgins (aka Bondtoys) »

Yeah, but why would Higgins - while being alone - expect "Robin Masters on the red phone and call him that way?

Just because someone else could accidentially use that red phone?

When Higgins is alone and the actor would call the red phone, I would expect Higgins to call him with his real name and not with "Mr. Masters"...

However I agree with you 100% that the Higgins = Robin idea came much later and in the first seasons, the storyboards have been all written with Robin being Higgins and Magnums real boss.

User avatar
ConchRepublican
COZITV Magnum, P.I. SuperFan / Chief Barkeep - Flemingo Key
Posts: 2994
Joined: Fri May 30, 2008 6:19 pm
Location: Flemingo Key
Contact:

#28 Post by ConchRepublican »

I was playing "Wheel of Magnum" this weekend (basically eenie, meenie, miney, episode) and "The Big Blow" came up the winner.

I think this episode, even more so than "J. Digger Doyle" undermines the "Higgins as Robin" concept. TM had Robin hidden upstairs and shared screen time, shadow obscured of course, but he was standing right next to Mr. Masters in the reveal scene.

Without these two episodes, I think the "Higgins as Robin" mystery is interesting, but there are too many earlier instances to refute it.

Unless of course, there's a darker side to this. That being that our hero is like any other human being and after years at war, physical abuse and head trauma as well as the mental and emotional anguish he's had to deal with, he's beginning to show the early signs of dementia.
CoziTV Superfan spot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPTmsykLQ04

MaximRecoil
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 303
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 1:10 pm
Location: Maine, USA

#29 Post by MaximRecoil »

This is my theory, which I posted here quite some time ago:

I think the answer is "yes...and no".

Imagine this scenario:

Robin Masters, a real writer, strikes gold with his first novel or maybe first couple of novels, but then hits a slump. He maybe writes a few stinkers, or perhaps, can't seem to write anything at all to completion, and it is beginning to seem like he was a flash in the pan that got lucky.

While discussing his misfortune with Higgins, Higgins offers to help by doing research, reading over his manuscripts and giving suggestions on how to improve, etc.

Robin Masters becomes a success again, and it is primarily due to Higgins' work. Eventually, very little of what Robin Masters churns out is his own work, essentially being ghost-written by Higgins. Higgins, being no fool, makes sure he is getting most of the income from the novels, but sees value in keeping the Robin Masters name and image around, to keep his own name from being associated with the lurid novels, along with the fact that the name recognition of Robin Masters helps publicity and sales.

By the end of the series, Robin may still technically own the estate, but we also know that Higgins has "Power of Attorney" over Masters' affairs, which is a huge step above simply being the "majordomo" of the estate (for example, he can withdraw money, e.g. $300,000 in one episode, from Masters' account without needing his consent).

So maybe, in effect, Higgins gradually becomes Robin Masters for all intents and purposes, in that, he's the one that, by the end of the series, actually writes the novels and calls the shots.

This theory doesn't violate any of the continuity of the series and also allows for Magnum to be right in a sense when he claimed that Higgins was Robin Masters.

Snazster
Ensign
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jul 22, 2013 8:29 pm

Re: Is Jonathan Higgins Robin Masters?

#30 Post by Snazster »

Let's just accept the obvious. Higgins is not Robin Masters. Higgins did not say he was Robing Masters. Robin Masters is a real person. Higgins is either his ghostwriter, partner, or even senior partner. Higgins writes the books or at least does the lion's share of the work. He enjoys his lifestyle immensely and finds it quite satisfying to run his estate and entertain his society members of which, you will note, he is treated like one. He certainly doesn't want to be associated directly with those dreadful but very lucrative pieces of fiction he tosses out. He especially doesn't want to have to deal with the kind of fans and such that this kind of rubbish attracts. Robin Masters gets to do that and probably revels in it.

This actually fits pretty well in that, despite owning one of the finest estates in Hawaii, Robin Masters never really comes to stay at his own home. This is because it is Higgins's home (and they probably don't even have that much in common anyway) and it would be awkward having Higgins play the part of a servant in his own home, to his own partner or junior partner.

Robin Masters (certainly an assumed name there) was concerned about the eccentric man that his lifestyle is so dependent upon and decided that the two Dobermans alone were insufficient protection for a single older man living in a remote location surrounded by millions of dollars of goodies. For this reason, he arranged for Magnum (a very dangerous and capable man in Robin Master's eyes) to take up residence there to provide protection for the estate (and primarily for Higgins). Higgins was not fooled at all and was greatly irked by this but either couldn't unilaterally prevent it or didn't want to break cover to do it. Hence, he was very unpleasant to Magnum, hoping, perhaps, he might leave.

Later their relationship changed substantially.

Post Reply