Luther Gillis: File #521 (4.2)

[Magnum T.]

Very funny episode, Luther is probably my favourite recurring character.
Not the most original plot maybe, but the lines are always well written and sharp.
Several highlights, as noted in the previous reviews.
And the voice-over dialogues add an extra layer of fun.

It scores 8.5 for me.

[ENSHealy]

4.2 Luther Gillis: File #521
Famous guest stars: 1 Melora Hardin
Hawaiian shirts: 1 Classic Jungle Bird
Tigers Cap: 1
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless:
OMG/Extraordinarys: 1
Higgins Organizations: 1 Anglo Hawaiian Canine Convention
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Body Count:
Bullet wounds: 1
Little Voice: 1
I know what you’re thinking:
When I write HTBAWCPI: 4.5 1 point each for Magnum’s references, half point each for Luther’s
Investigator corrections: 1
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 16
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/384352447

The Magnumometer Moments is pretty long for this episode, as it includes the whole So You Want to Be A Private Eye and Higgins teaches self defense scenes. But they're classics, had to include them.

Potential magnumania usernames: Chuckie, Some Crud Named Gary, All Around Sleezo, Nancy Perkins, Scrungo, Artie Keanu, Artie Canoe (taken), Eddie “The Wimp” Korcek, Little Tony, Sister Mary Alice Meanface, Sister Mary Magdelene Rose

Obviously, Melora Hardin was nowhere near famous at the time this episode first aired, but I’m including folks that have since become notable, so she’s in the same category with Sharon Stone, Shannon Doherty, Joanna Kerns, etc.

Sheryl from Thielburg Insurance sounds like Julie, the woman that was with Mac and TM when Ivan blew up the Ferrari.

Aspirin and beer? Granted, it was actually a mickey, but TM thought he was taking aspirin…with a beer!

[ENSHealy]

Looks like I did some bad math up above, it should be 13.5, not 16, for the Magnumometer.

[Chris109]

Looks like I did some bad math up above, it should be 13.5, not 16, for the Magnumometer.

Into the brig you go.

[Chris109]

Was just checking out the episode. One of the actors was Ford Austin as 'Orphan 2'. Nice muscles.

[Pahonu]

Looks like I did some bad math up above, it should be 13.5, not 16, for the Magnumometer.

Hey ENSHealy,
What’s the highest Magnumometer score so far? This seems very high for an episode I enjoy, but don’t think of as a great, or even a very good episode. Thanks for all the ratings!

[ENSHealy]

Would you believe that the highest Magnumometer so far is a 15 for Legacy from a Friend? Next come China Doll and Past Tense at 14. If you combine both hours for the double episodes, Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii and Memories are Forever both come in at 18.5 (13 for Echoes of the Mind, 12 for Did you See the Sunrise, but only 7.5 for L.A., 6 for All for One, and only 3 for Deja Vu!)

I've sort of come to believe that the Magnumometer is almost a reverse indicator when it comes to quality, although there are exceptions. But it does seem like, when they "get serious" they leave out the usual "Magnum tropes" and let the story speak for itself. But I enjoy compiling it, so I've decided it doesn't matter if it isn't an actual measure of quality.

I'm only half way through Season 7 in compiling the Magnumometer, but here are the top 20 hours so far:

Legacy From a Friend 15
Past Tense 14
China Doll 14
Luther Gillis: File #521 13.5
Mr. White Death 13
Birdman of Budapest 12.5
Black on White 12
The Eighth Part of the Village 12
The Legacy of Garwood Huddle 11.5
The Jororo Kill 11.5
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2) 11.5
A.A.P.I. 11
From Moscow to Maui 11
Skin Deep 11
Adelaide 11
Mad Buck Gibson 10.5
Echoes of the Mind 10
On Face Value 10
The Big Blow 10
Basket Case 10

I think my "reverse indicator" argument is pretty much validated by "Basket Case" being in that top 20....

And that might not be an entirely fair ranking, as the Magnumometer has evolved as I've moved through the seasons. Early on, it looked like this:

1.5 NEED TO KNOW
Hawaiian shirts: 1
Island Hopper shirts: 0
Body Count: 2 diver, Mandy
Shirtless: 2
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 0
When I write HTBAWCPI: 0
Investigator corrections: 1
Magnum injuries: 0
Higgins musings: 0
4th wall breaks: 1
Negotiations: 0
Famous guest stars: 0
Magnumometer: 7

And currently it looks like this:

EPISODE: 7.10 Kapu
Famous guest stars:
Hawaiian shirts:
Tigers Cap:
Island Hopper shirts: 1
Shirtless Magnum: 1.5
OMG:
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Gun Play: 1
Bullet wounds: 1
Body Count (by Magnum): 1
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking:
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections:
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 5.5

Once I'm finished with Season 8, I do plan on making another run through the series and syncing it all up on one standard. That ought to keep me busy until the late 2020s at least.

[Vxc961]

Wow!!! This is one of those episodes I watched and kept thinking “this would never work today!”, but I still loved. It was a little cheesy…or a lot cheesy, but I still had so much fun with this one!

I tried to give the magnum reboot a chance, but it never really clicked with me; this episode made me realize that so much of what I love about 80s MPI just would never work today.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun watching this episode, and might even watch it again before I go on to the next one.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Wow!!! This is one of those episodes I watched and kept thinking “this would never work today!”, but I still loved. It was a little cheesy…or a lot cheesy, but I still had so much fun with this one!

I tried to give the magnum reboot a chance, but it never really clicked with me; this episode made me realize that so much of what I love about 80s MPI just would never work today.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun watching this episode, and might even watch it again before I go on to the next one.

What specifically wouldn't work today?

[Aloha Friday]

Just re-watched this one for the first time in a long time. I had not been a big fan of Luther Gillis during the first run, but find him hilarious now. I did notice a disconnect with later writing...at one point Luther jumps into TC's van and tell TC and Rick to put up their hands or he'll make their kids orphans and they say "we don't have any kids". I always thought it was strange when TC suddenly had an ex-wife and kids in the later episodes. I guess the writers were short of new ideas.