Two Birds of a Feather (3.20)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the third season

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
2
2%
9.5 (One of the Best)
4
4%
9.0 (Excellent)
3
3%
8.5 (Very Good)
11
10%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
10
9%
7.5 (Decent)
12
11%
7.0 (Average at Best)
14
13%
6.5 (Not So Good)
21
19%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
15
14%
5.0 (Just Awful)
17
16%
 
Total votes: 109

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J.J. Walters
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Two Birds of a Feather (3.20)

#1 Post by J.J. Walters »

This is the official MM thread for Two Birds of a Feather (3.20). 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: 3/17/1983
After meeting a pilot who seems vaguely familiar, Magnum soon finds himself dealing with the wreckage of a sabotaged plane, drug dealers, and his own past.
Last edited by J.J. Walters on Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Doc Ibold
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#2 Post by Doc Ibold »

Hi James,

Was watching this episode last night and I noticed a SLIGHT error in the reporting of this episode.

Rick and T.C. DO actually appear in this episode, albeit for a short time.

When Magnum and Co. are holed up in the Khmer temple, Magnum says that T.C. is going to find them, and there is a brief shot of TC and Rick in the helicopter discussing it.

Therefore, it should bring the total of missing main cast members to:

Selleck: 0
Hillerman: 1 (Going Home)
Manetti: 1 (Going Home)
Mosely: 3 (Dead Man's Channel, Going Home, Who is Don Luis Higgins...)

(Still waiting for that script. Damn you snail mail!)

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#3 Post by J.J. Walters »

Thanks Doc

Ha! How about that! Man, how did I miss that? Chalk up another flub for the Jamester! ;)

[off to make the corrections]
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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Doc Ibold
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#4 Post by Doc Ibold »

James, considering all the stuff you DO catch, I don't think we're going to hold it against you.

:wink:

I was just happy my odd fascination of who missed what episode paid off!

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#5 Post by grundle »

"Magnum! There is an aer-o-plane in Mr. Masters' todal pool, and it's all your fault!"

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#6 Post by Little Garwood »

If there's anything I can't stand, it's when a successful TV show foists a "Pilot" (no pun intended) on the audience as a ploy to try out a potentially new series. Star Trek did this with their dreadful "Assignment: Earth" episode and MPI did this with "Two Birds of a Feather." I like William Lucking and Richard Roundtree, but it's unforgivable when Magnum appears in only a couple of scenes and *literally* phones in the last one! ugh. The *only* thing I liked about this episode was the fact that Magnum and Sam Houston Hunter sort of met via combat during Vietnam. Other than that, this one ranks at the very bottom of my bottom 10.

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#7 Post by Carol the Dabbler »

Yes, that Star Trek episode had "pilot" written all over it -- but at least it was still a Star Trek episode. As you say, this was just barely a Magnum episode!

One part of "Two Birds of a Feather" was pretty unusual for any tv show -- they actually sang "Happy Birthday to You" all the way through. Most shows will either start the scene just as everyone is singing the final line of the song, or else will substitute "For S/He's a Jolly Good Fellow" -- the reason apparently being that "Happy Birthday" is copyrighted, so they would have to pay if they used more than just a bit of it. (I think I've heard that royalties start at eight notes.) For a series that used cover versions of pop songs, this is an unusual extravagance! I wonder whether maybe they had already wrapped before anyone realized the song was not in the public domain?
Carol

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#8 Post by J.J. Walters »

Carol, nice spot on the "Happy Birthday" song. It IS strange that they sang the whole thing! The song is indeed copyrighted and fiercely protected. This is why you'll never hear the song sung by a group of waiters/waitresses at a restaurant. I waited tables at three different restaurants through college and each one had a different "Birthday" song, and each one was horribly lame! ;)

"Happy, happy birthday on this your special day
Happy, happy birthday is what we're here to say..."


Ugh!
Last edited by J.J. Walters on Mon May 05, 2008 2:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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#9 Post by IslandHopper »

I agree with most, that this is not one of the better episodes in the series because our favorite characters have very limited roles, and most of it did not take place in Hawaii. However, one thing I always thought was very well done was the crash of the airplane in the tidal pool. I am not a special effects expert, but that always looked very real to me. How did they do that? Was a model used? Did they have a plane hooked up to a crane, etc.? I can't imagine they would have a stunt pilot do that for real. Anybody know?
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#10 Post by J.J. Walters »

When the plane crashes into the tidal pool rocks, you can see that it is much smaller than the real plane. Look how big the rocks are next to the plane....

Image

The plane seems almost too big to be an RC plane, although truthfully I'm not sure how big RC planes can get circa early 1980s.

Maybe they pushed the model plane from an elevated cherry picker, or something.
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#11 Post by IslandHopper »

Thanks for posting that screen shot James.

It's been a while since I've seen the episode, but that plane looks real to me. It does not look like a model. I don't know if there is a difference between that shot and the plane as it lies in the water.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#12 Post by J.J. Walters »

IH, the plane in the screenshot looks real to you?
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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#13 Post by IslandHopper »

Yeah, it does look real. What looks fake about it? I know you believe it looks fake, but maybe it's one of those things that is so obvious it's difficult to see it for what it really is. The problem with the screen shot is that it does not provide much perspective. The rocks alone don't lend much to the perspective thing because I don't know how big the rocks are supposed to be in relation to the plane.

Again, it has been a while since I have seen this episode, but when I watched it the first couple of times I looked for inconsistencies in the plane where William Lucking is seen in the cockpit and as it flies over Magnum's head and crashes into the tidal pool. I didn't see any inconsistencies, but it has been a while. I will watch the episode again tonight and see if I can get a better perspective on it. Maybe a screen shot of the plane as it is resting in the water would help. The plane resting in the water seemed to scale and looked real. Maybe we could compare that shot with the first screen shot in relation to the rocks.

Logically, I'm sure the plane is not real, because why would they destroy a perfectly good and expensive airplane for a single shot for a television show, even a show as great as MPI? Real or not, my point with all of this is that I thought the scene was well done, especially considering some of the other stunts in other episodes that didn't come out so well. Maybe it's so obvious, I should be embarrassed. :oops: Anyway, I'll see what I can find tonight.
The answer is obvious, old man. Logic is irrelevant. It's simply Tropical Madness. (J.Q. Higgins)

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#14 Post by IslandHopper »

Okay, upon further review I did see two flubs regarding the airplane that crashes into the tidal pool. As the plane crashes it dips its left wing into the water and cartwheels on its left wing and lands on the other side (ocean side) of the tidal pool on its belly (wheels down). The camera cuts to Magnum looking at the plane and then running into the water to rescue the pilot. However, as he runs out into the water you can see the plane is now belly up (wheels up) and now on the other side (beach side) of the tidal pool. So, the first flub is that the plane is now on its back (inverted) rather than on its belly, and the second flub is that the plane is now inside the tidal pool. I don't believe the plane could have rolled over onto its back after landing in the water as the water is much too shallow. Nor do I believe it's possible that the plane was washed over the wall into the tidal pool by a wave.
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#15 Post by J.J. Walters »

IH, I wasn't trying to give you a hard time about it. I just wasn't sure which part of the sequence you were referring to.

I believe the tidal pool rocks do provide scale in regards to the size of the plane that crashes in the water. Take a look at this photo. Look at the screenshot again at the end of Page 1. Now, imagine yourself sitting on the tidal pool rocks next to the plane. The plane is too small.

Also, practically speaking, how would they go about crashing a real airplane (the way we see it crash) from the air? It would be a logistical, and costly, nightmare.

By the way, nice flub spot on the plane - being outside, then inside the tidal pool! :)
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!

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