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Original Air Date: 10/28/1982
There's something in the air when Higgins is told that he must be quarantined with Magnum after they are exposed to a deadly African virus. But is this the real reason?

A wonderful episode with a great story line and a delicious, unexpected twist at the end. Ian McShane (Deadwood) turns in a fantastic guest starring appearance. There are some great Magnum-Higgins scenes in this episode. And you've got some great Higgins flashbacks, the gorilla mask, the TomyTronic Pac-Man game and, as T.C. would say, Bebe Kiamonni baby, Be-be Kia-monni.

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

There are quite a few episodes that I really enjoyed and this is one of them. The Magnum - Higgins interaction is great as is the story line.

When I watched this episode, it made me wonder how on earth Ian McShane got a guest role. I mean, he's mostly a British actor, and until Deadwood, had not really seen him on the small screen in the States, and his biggest claim to fame would have been Lovejoy (a BBC series which was rerun on PBS and/or A&E) and even that series happened after this appearance on MPI. Not that I'll every find out the answer, it's just that it makes me wonder about the vagaries of casting.

Grape,

It seemed to me that almost anyone could get a guest spot on MPI back then. Look at the group who appeared over the years. I think they just searched for a British actor who was about the right age who was available. That probably narrowed it down quite a bit. McShane did a great job in my opinion.

I must say again that I appreciate the way the MPI show dealt with soldiers and their war experiences. War is not pretty and people sometimes have problems dealing with what they did during the war. This episode is another example of depicting the realities of war.

LHG

Perhaps because he did such a good job in Season One's "Skin Deep"?

Your point is well taken, though. He hadn't appeared in many American TV shows, although he was in an episode of Police Woman and Space: 1999 in the 70s. Heh.

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

Typically when you want to work in Hollywood, you get an agent and your agent gets you work. I know when my husband worked as an extra, his agent got him all his jobs. (You can see him in "Mighty Ducks Part II" in the last few minutes of the movie as a reporter, among others.) Perhaps McShane's agent got him those roles when he happened to be in Hawaii. (?)

All of those explanations sound good to me.

I agree that Mr. McShane is a fine actor, and looking at his IMDB credits, he has generally stayed employed throughout several decades, which is no small feat in that line of work. And perhaps he does owe most of it to his agent!

Lynne Moody emerging out of a moonlit tidal pool is one of my all time favorite shots, right up there with Erin Gray in her bikini on the beach and Mimi Roger sitting on the breakwall of the Estate. Oh, and I also love the exchanges between Higgins and Magnum in the beginning, reminds me of some of the exchanges between my wife and I..........

Steve
Chicago

I'm embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't even realize Ian McShane was in this episode. I knew he was in "Skin Deep" but he looks so different in this episode, I didn't even recognize him. I don't know if his hair is shorter or maybe he lost weight, but he looks totally different than he did in "Skin Deep."

My wife and I were watching "We Are Marshall" (great movie), and Ian McShane played the father of one of the players that was killed in the plane crash. Throughout the movie I knew I had seen this guy before, and didn't know who it was until the ending credits. He did an excellent job with his role. If you haven't seen it yet, "We Are Marshall" is worth seeing. . . A real tearjerker.

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