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Original Air Date: 12/3/1986
T.C.'s past comes to haunt him when his daughter is kidnapped, and he attempts to sell his helicopter to raise the ransom.

I really like this episode.

It really explains TC's love towards children throughout the series, since he can't see his own.



However, for reason #2, its the episode where Higgins is THE MAN.

He doesn't seem to care that TC claimed HE owned Robin's Nest AND offers to get the $300,000 for Melody's ransom, no questions/favors/etc in return.

Plus, said scenes where he's trying to get said money, he's playing hardball and not screwing around.

Higgins, you'd make a great AE in advertising!



I've often thought that Higgins and TC had a special connection throughout the series (Past Tense, Underworld, Op Silent Night where TC calls him Jonathan, and even Mad Dogs and Englishmen where TC defends Higgins when Magnum suggests that it MIGHT be better off without Higgins)

Thoughts?

I agree Doc. Higgins and TC did have a special relationship. I think the reason why Higgins didn't care about TC claiming that he (TC) owned Robin's nest is attributable to their friendship, but more so because Higgins empathized with TC as Higgins found himself in the very same situation in "Compulsion" (season 5) where Higgins had claimed for years to be the owner of Robin's Nest to impress his old mates from Sandhurst. This was the episode where Magnum, TC and Rick pose as Higgins' personal staff (Butler, personal Pilot, and Chef) without Higgins' knowledge in order to help Higgins perpetuate the myth that he is the owner of Robin's Nest. The look on Higgins' face when he realized what the three of them had done was absolutely great. I think it was one of the best moments of the entire series.

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The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

Great points you guys. T.C. and Higgins do seem to have a special relationship together. And Higgins certainly was "The Man" in this episode.

I think it's great that they let Roger co-write an episode for the show, but overall this episode is below average for me. We really needed some explanation as to why T.C. left his wife and kids! Not just, "I did what I had to do". T.C. is all about kids. He volunteers for youth organizations. He coaches little league. He helps every street urchin kid he comes across. Are we just supposed to accept the fact that T.C. just drops out of his son and daughter's life, and never talks to them or about them?! At one point, T.C. tells Bryant, "Promise me you'll call me sometime". What?

I do really like the ending climax and denouement, however. T.C. does some sort of reverse roundhouse karate kick! And I'll admit it, as a father of three, I was crying at the end when they found Melody (and when T.C. is enjoying a picnic with the two of them). I'm a softie. There, I said it!

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

I agree James. Maybe I missed something in all of the episodes prior to this episode, but I didn't even know TC had any kids until this episode. I don't remember him referring to them ever. I remember that he referred to his parents and brothers in "Underworld" (season 5), and in "Operation Silent Night" (season 4), I believe TC said he was going home (New Orleans) to visit his parents. I don't recall any reference to his children.

Melody seemed to be about 6 or 7 years old. So, TC must have left right after she was born. This does seem out of character for TC. Another weird thing was that TC's son actually called TC by his name (TC). I think this happened when they were at TC's business and TC was loading supplies onto the chopper. I don't know if this was a flub, or if it was the writers way of showing the alienation-of-affection between TC and his son. I think it was probably the latter.

This may not have been the strongest episode of the season, but I did like it. I especially enjoyed Higgins' role and his willingness to help TC with the $300,000 without hesitation, as well as the others willingness to pitch in. The episodes where everyone bands together usually rank among my favorites, such as "All For One", "Underworld", "Compulsion", "Home From The Sea", etc.

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The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

I believe his wife did hint at this when she was telling Magnum about the way it used to be..."before the nightmares and moods". My interpretation was that TC's experience in `Nam is what ultimately led to their separation. This brings to mind the events of Skin Deep, where we learned that TC still suffered from flashbacks. Of course, I could be reading too much into it.

Anyway, this one definitely feels like filler, but even those seem to be above average in season 7. I agree with IslandHopper that the camaraderie and sense of "whatever it takes" among the characters is always worth watching. It actually reminds me a lot of Star Trek, and the bond between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. No matter how silly the circumstances, the chemistry and relationship of the lead characters is the real strength the show. (This is one reason why I think the later Trek series were never able to connect with mainstream audiences. But I digress. )

And while it is kind've silly for TC to suddenly have a daughter (shades of Joey!) or a rival charter service, there's no denying that when the gang finally reunites them...it just works.

It's also great to see Albert Popwell as the story's red herring. He was a great character actor, but to me will forever be the first guy that Harry Callahan asked, "Well, do ya, punk?"

I just watched this episode for the first time. Before I saw it, I had a theory that there was more to the reason Magnum quit the Navy than the stated "I woke up at 33 and realized I'd never been 23" jive. My theory was that after keeping the lid on for ten years, Magnum's post-traumatic stress finally caught up with him, and he was no longer able to function. He had to give everything up, regress, and reconnect with his inner child, or he would have found himself unable, as he said he feared, to escape the nightmares.

So I found it fascinating when in this episode it was stated clearly that this is exactly what happened with TC. TC, the one solid, stable, grown-up of the group, cracked up. What we've seen on the show up to now is not the original TC, but the rebuilt version.

It seems to me an example of what they called "doubling" in my English class, where one of the secondary characters mirrors in an explicit way character traits only hinted at in the main character.

It would explain why TC is the only character in the show besides Magnum who addresses the camera.

It would also explain why TC gets so angry at Magnum, but ultimately always comes through for him: because he reminds TC of what he used to be and what he'd gone through himself.

This episode reinforced my notion that the entire "Magnum P.I." series was an attempt to create an authentic portrait of the effects of post-traumatic stress on soldiers, and to foster the healing process, albeit in a disguised, "comic-booky" kind of way, the only form acceptable in late 70's/early 80's America.

I know they tried to cram a bunch of new info into this one but I still like it. Also, it is sort of refreshing that we never reached the point of knowing everything about the characters.

I cannot prove this next statement but hear me out. I understand that many people who returned from Vietnam were somewhat reclusive. Some were very reclusive. I know several people, personally, who fit this profile. They have a 'if you weren't there, you would not understand' feeling about life after 'nam.

I believe the show incorporated some of this same type of 'post-tramatic stress' reaction into the characters. That's why we only learn a little bit at a time about their lives.

Just watched this one on Sleuth today (thank goodness for Sleuth!). And I have a few questions/remarks:

1. When did TC start wearing an earring????
2. I found it odd that Tina was always dressed to the nines with fancy costume jewelry, etc., while her daughter was missing? Would she go to all that trouble all the time? Maybe it was a "safety net" of doing what one is used to doing, but I found it rather callous.
3. When TM went into the hotel room to view the video tape, there was a newspaper over his gun. He tilts the gun down as he comes into the room, but the paper doesn't fall/slide off. I thought that looked strange.
4. Oh, yes, when everyone first goes to Robin's Nest and TC's family finds out he doesn't own it, etc., then when TC and his ex-wife and son go into the study, there is a very good shot of the "bearded lady" painting on the wall in there, just as TC closes the door behind them. Maybe a screenie here would clear up the "beard" or "shadow" issue.
5. I've always wondered why the bad guys never figured out that a helicopter flying over them and following them WAS after them. Helicopters are hardly a quiet means of conveyance. Well, after being in Hawaii for a week, I can understand it a little better -- tourist helicopters are flying around all the time! Not as low as the chasing helis fly on MPI, but it's a little more feasible.
6. Okay, how did TM run out with Melody right after the fight in the street? Melody was there? I thought she was in a high rise hotel somewhere -- the reflection in the glass of the picture whereby TM ascertained where she was would have indicated a high up view. And it's awfully convenient that, by coincidence, Big Jim lands the helicopter and Higgins runs into the bad guys in their car RIGHT in front of the place where Melody was? And how did TM get there? He was at the other hotel, then suddenly he's there with everyone and dashing out of this unknown place where Melody was -- unguarded? This was a little too much "deus ex machina" right at the end of this episode to be logical.
7. RC, where was the house or whatever it was where Tina et al. were staying while waiting to find out about Melody? With a pool and all? Did I miss how she ended up staying there? And I missed the connection of who the other female was, the one who arranged the kidnapping? Was she Tina's sister?
8. And, most importantly, when did Higgins COMPLETELY rebuild the River Kwai bridge???? When everyone is in the study getting ready to go do the ransom drop, the bridge is on the bookshelves behind them. It had just gotten blown up three episodes earlier in "Paper War," didn't it? It took him years to build, right? Now three weeks later (well, certainly not months or years), it's all complete?
9. And, oh, yes, one more thing: When Tina and TM are walking on the beach at the end, the beach seems much narrower than it was in the early episodes. Already the beach erosion is showing its effect? And when they walk in the gate, the foliage around the gate is much heavier, more like now, and they DON'T walk up stairs, so those are apparently already buried. Interesting, I thought!

I'm going to shoot all you people! You make me watch EVERY LITTLE DETAIL and then so much fails to make sense. It's very time-consuming to watch a show this way. I can't get anything else done while I'm watching (like writing MGI's blog of the trip . . . . )!!

golf

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"Portside, buddy."

4. Here's a few shots. the second is enlarged, brightened, and sharpened a bit.





5. In looking back at the dvd, Magnum sees the reflection of the hotel where he is, not Melody. (Mauna Luan condo building in real life, located here in Hawaii Kai). That tells him that the kidnappers are right across the street. The real life house here isn't exactly "right across the street," but certainly close enough for the show's purposes considering they really could have shot it any numbers of places far away from the "hotel" and made it work. I've been impressed more often than not that they presented locations in the show much as they are in real life.

And right after TC says "We're on our way" I assume time passes before Big Jim cuts off the car, TC, Rick and Higgins arrive, and Magnum goes to the house and gets Melody. The show kind of indicates this with the music and panning shot of the front of the hotel over to the street, just after Magnum leaves the hotel room. Maybe they didn't have time left in the episode to show Magnum getting to the house and Big Jim and the other guys taking time to arrive. That would have made it clearer, but definitely there was five or ten minutes needed in real life that they didn't show.


7. I looked briefly for the house were Tina was staying but didn't find it at that time. I'll be going back to look again.

The other female was Tina's cousin, Evelyn Perry.


9. I don't know about the beach, to me it looks about the same as it did in many shows. And remember the lenses used on the cameras can make things look slightly different, I don't know if that played a part here. The stairs were indeed pretty covered with sand, and it looked like sand was all the way up the smaller sea wall. I think it wasn't always like that?




I'll let others respond to your other queries. My field of expertise involves things which I can find easily on the dvds.