This is the official MM thread for Thicker than Blood (1.12). 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: 2/26/1981
T.C. makes a late-night flight to land on a tanker and is arrested on the journey back for transporting drugs. Magnum and Rick and certain of their friend's innocence and are shocked when he is willing to accept the charges. Determined to clear T.C.'s name, they soon discover that his secret flight brought back more than he had bargained for.

Additional Flubs for "Thicker Than Blood."

1. When Magnum sits up in bed, and looks at his watch, you can see his circular scar on his left side of his chest (looks like one of those circular flesh-colored band-aids), and another scar on the top of his left shoulder. He then takes a swim and after his swim you can still see the circular scar, but the scar on the top of the left shoulder does not appear to be there. I believe it appears later though.

Not a flub, but what was with that tape recording of his girlfriend, Sarah, and that stupid protien recipe? Her voice was nauseating.

2. When Magnum goes to TC's hangar to try to stop him from jumping bail, they get into a fight. Magnum is wearing white shoes, but during the fight, Magnum's stunt double is wearing BLACK shoes.

3. James has already mentioned the fact that TC was arrested for smuggling his buddy, a deserter, which makes it very difficult to believe that the Coast Guard wouldn't have gone over his helicopter with a fine tooth comb before it's put up for auction. In the scene where the bad guys buy the chopper and take it into the hangar, all they do is unscrew the front floor board and unload the drugs. Real nice hiding place.

This episode had a good plot, but there are a few things that made it difficult for me to watch at times. That woman's voice on the tape recorder for one. Second, the Joey character seemed like a cartoon character, who is in need of a serious intervention. Since the writers ask the audience to abandon all logic at times (like believing that the Coast Guard wouldn't have searched the chopper for drugs), I thought it was unfortunate that they couldn't have somehow exonerated TC of the felony charge(s) without having him on probation for 5 years for smuggling a deserter. The writers could have gotten away without even mentioning it (Rick mentions it in the last scene in the guest house). In reality, I'm sure the FAA would have stripped TC of his license to fly, and he would not have been able to fly in the Marine Reserves, as in "Did You See The Sunrise" (Season 3).

This episode did have 2 great scenes which should be noted. The first is where Magnum is being chased out of the ship (Evelyn H) by the Captain and crew, and Magnum calls his dockmates for help and Magnum continues to run as his dockmates fight the ships crew. The second scene is where, Rick and TC are helping Magnum move out pursuant to his deal with Higgins. Higgins is in the guest house observing the move and you can tell he doesn't want Magnum to move out and invents the excuse of taking inventory before Magnum can move out, and Magnum won't have any of that, and says he's going to stay, and of course, Higgins agrees. This is one of those moments where Higgins, in his own way, is telling Magnum that he wants him to stay.

Anyway, I thought this was a pretty good episode, with the exceptions noted above.

Great review IslandHopper! And thanks for the additional flubs! I've added them to the Episode Guide.



And then the episode ends with Magnum putting on the Groucho Marx "mask", saying "How about that!?", and looking at the camera. A great tearing-down-the-fourth-wall "final frame".

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

An entertaining episode, highlighted by the great showdown between Magnum and T.C. I love the fact that Rick has the hopeless task of trying to referee! Magnum's realization that he no longer wants to work in the union is also a classic moment.

Even early on, the Magnum-Higgins dynamic was well-developed, and the darkroom scene is a nice precursor to the one which would soon appear in Memories Are Forever.

Incidentally, the teaser includes some additional dialogue which was deleted from the episode. As T.C. is escorted in handcuffs, Magnum raises his hand and says, "Take it easy. I just want to talk to my buddy." A few moments later, Rick exclaims, "T.C.!" (In the actual episode, Magnum begins to raise his hand but the scene immediately cuts back to T.C. and his guards.)

Awesome Shermy. Thanks!

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

Just watched this again recently. The Magnum/Higgins denouement (with Higgins "persuading" Magnum to stay) may be the best of the entire series. It's just a great little moment in the early stages of Magnum and Higgins' bonding. The Sword of Damocles quote, the gorilla mask, the groucho mask. A perfect Magnum ending, really.

And that woman we never see who spent the night with Magnum at the guesthouse, the "health nut" literary agent, "Sarah". All I can say is, I'm glad Magnum never mentions her again. She leaves a tape recording that instructs him to blend flat beer, tomato juice and three raw eggs?! Run, Magnum, run!

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

But,

Oddly enough Magnum seems to be all about protein shakes later on in the series.

Maybe Sarah turned him on to it!

James, I couldn't agree more. That woman's voice definitely deserves to be on the MPI "most annoying list." We often discuss some of the annoying characters on MPI. This was probably the first "annoying moment" of the show. That woman's voice is as annoying to me as Cassie Yates' character, Annie Potts' character or the Goldie Morris character. Fortunately it only lasted about 30 seconds. I think that it must have been intentional, like when we see TC overact in certain situations. Another annoying voice over was the bride at the beginning of "The Hotel Dick" when she and her newlywed husband were getting into the hot-tub. Again, I'm sure this was intentional as well. I don't know why, but the show seemed to do things like that from time to time. I guess that's what gave the show part of its charm.

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

The first "flub" isn't quite accurate as listed. As IslandHopper pointed out above, T.C. was caught (and charged with) smuggling a *person* into the islands, not drugs. Magnum, Rick, & T.C. found dope in Joey's room later on, but apparently didn't tell the authorities about it -- flushed it, maybe?

Still, it does seems odd that "they" didn't give the copter a thorough going-over -- and, as IH pointed out, the dope wasn't even really hidden, just stored in some obvious compartments! Stuff like this drives me nuts, but I think I've figured out a plausible scenario.

The feds *had* found the drugs in TC's copter, and were waiting to spring it on him and his lawyer as late as allowed by the disclosure laws (just before the trial?). But when Magnum et al. clued them in on their theory that the real smuggler would bid on the copter, the feds played along -- even to the point of putting the drugs (or a reasonable facsimile thereof) back into the compartments.

Of course, they can't put everything that happened into the episode, due to time constraints.

I think we missed part of the recipe, seeing as how the finished product was a lovely shade of green. It must have been pretty tasty if Rick liked it!