Forty

Episode Number: 144
Season Number: 7.17
Air Date: 2/11/1987
Writer: Bruce Cervi
Director: Russ Mayberry
Producer: Rick Weaver
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Gwen Verdon (Katherine Peterson)

Guest Stars

Patrice Martinez (Linda Lee Ellison), James Hong (Han Quing), James Luisi (John Costa), Ben Wong (Scott Becker)

Episode Brief

Magnum is in Chinatown with Rick and T.C. celebrating his upcoming fortieth birthday, but he has little to celebrate when he loses his lucky $2 bill that his grandfather gave him as a boy. While looking for it, he by chance briefly meets a beautiful woman. He also winds up helping an old friend who is one of a number of shopkeepers being terrorized by an organized gang. The case takes a backseat as he becomes preoccupied with the woman only for it to seem that she is tied up with the gang he is supposed to be investigating, in a situation that sees him losing more than just his lucky bill.

Rating

8.5

(40 votes)

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Notes

¹ The episode title appears bottom-center of the screen, not the usual bottom-left.

² Magnum has carried the same two-dollar bill (his "Lucky Two") in his wallet since he was 13. His grandfather gave it to him on his 13th birthday. The serial number on the bill is the same as his birthdate! Magnum loses the "Lucky Two" in this episode and never finds it. The two-dollar bill that Higgins gives to Magnum at the end is not the same one that he lost. Magnum was so touched that Higgins had gone to the effort of searching Chinatown for his keepsake, that he allowed him to believe he had actually found the right one.

³ Honolulu's Chinatown district is featured heavily in this episode, particularly the Wo Fat Building (and Wo Fat's Chop Suey restaurant) at the corner of Hotel and Maunakea streets.

⁴ Legendary Asian-American actor James Hong (Han Quing) makes his one and only appearance on Magnum P.I.. Hong is one of the most prolific and well-recognized Asian-American character actors of movies and television (appearing in over 300 films and television shows). He is one of the founders of the East-West Players, the oldest Asian-American theater in Los Angeles.

⁵ Patrice Martinez (KSHL-TV Channel 3 news reporter Linda Lee Ellison) was only 25 years-old when this episode was filmed. Quite a bit younger than Selleck/Magnum. Patrice will appear again as Magnum's love interest in the series finale "Resolutions" (8.12 & 8.13).

⁶ The outdoor setting of the fictional KSHL Channel 3 TV station was filmed on the lot of Diamond Head Studios (today known as the Hawaii Film Studio). In the scene were John Costa picks up Linda Lee in his Rolls Royce, the building seen in the background is "Five-O Stage" (or "Stage One"), the soundstage where all of the indoor set scenes (the main house and guesthouse sets of Robin's Nest) are filmed! This is the only episode where the exterior of the soundstage can be seen. (Noted by Sam)

⁷ This is another episode that contradicts Magnum's age. In "Letter to a Duchess" (4.6), he was said to be 38 years old, which would mean that here he should be at least 41 years old. In "Memories Are Forever (1)" (2.5), Magnum's birthday is given as 1/5/46, which would put him at 41 in Feb. 1987, the air date for this episode. Dates elsewhere in the series suggest that he should be at least 43 years old in this episode.

⁸ During Magnum's 40th birthday celebration scene at the Chinatown bar, a well-endowed Asian exotic dancer can be seen in the background (in clear view) dancing in a very skimpy T-back bottom (with several clear shots of her backside). This is very racy, almost shocking, for 1987 prime time television and may be a first (woman wearing a T-back with a clear view of the backside).

⁹ The "Han's Asian Herb Store" scene (with James Hong) was filmed on location at Chee Wo Tong Chinese Herbs in Chinatown (1033 Maunakea Street). "Century old Chee Wo Tong is the oldest Chinese herb shop in Hawaii and is a family-run third generation business." Chee Wo Tong's was also briefly seen in Season Two's "Memories Are Forever" and Season Six's "All Thieves on Deck". (ID'd by rubber chicken)

¹⁰ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's famous Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major is used in this episode (23:58 mark). This piece was previously used in Season Five's "Blind Justice" (5.7). (Noted by Bernd-Christian Schulze)

¹¹ Parts of Otis Redding's version of "Try A Little Tenderness" are heard at different points in this episode. The song will be heard again in "Resolutions (1)" (8.12). Also, Aretha Franklin's "Respect" is heard in the strip club birthday celebration scene with Magnum, T.C. and Rick.

¹² The three-tiered Sanju Pagoda at Kyoto Gardens of Honolulu Memorial Park is used as a filming location for the climax.

¹³ Gwen Verdon returns (briefly) as Magnum's mother Katherine Peterson. She was previously seen in "Going Home" (6.7), and will appear again in "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts" (8.1) and the series finale "Resolutions" (8.12 & 8.13).

¹⁴ The surf ski race that Magnum "wins" is not the regular King Kamehameha Club race that is seen in previous episodes. This one is the "Countdown to Forty, The Magnum Four-Mile" race. Magnum wonders why Kiki Kahuna, a girl who has "beaten him in every race since she was 13", didn't win. Kiki was previously mentioned in "Letter to a Duchess" (4.6).

¹⁵ Another Rockford Files connection - James Luisi (John Costa) played the reccurring character Lieutenant Doug Chapman on seasons 3-6.

¹⁶ Magnum eats Fig Newtons for the tenth and final time in the series. (Noted by Christopher Browning)

¹⁷ The end credits do not contain the normal Magnum P.I. theme song. Instead, a musical theme that was heard throughout the episode is used.

Quotes

¹
Magnum: My grandfather was one of the world's great collectors. He collected souvenirs, stamps and friends, but his prized collection was a stack of uncirculated currency, all silver certificates, all two-dollar bills. On my 13th birthday, he gave me one of them and told me to read the serial number. It was my birthdate, and in time it became my "Lucky Two". I'd carried it with me ever since ... until last night. (Narration)

²
Han Quing: The Wolf comes in many forms and shapes throughout the centures. Right now, he's taking the two-legged form, but still running in packs... In the old days, the men of the village knew exactly what to do to keep the Wolf away from the doors, especially after a harsh winter, when hunger, hunger even makes the Wolf bolder... In the most extreme cases they were forced to enlist the aid of some very resourceful man in the neighboring village.
Magnum: Well, what is this "Wolf" doing to this village here?
Han Quing: Aah, right he's, ah, sniffing around, circling the vulernable and the weak, see... Intiminating, threatening!

³
Higgins: Your mother called.
Magnum: She called here?
Higgins: Yes, as did Rick. It was urgent as usual. If you are planning on returning your mother's call, please show her the courtesy of remembering the time difference in Tidewater!

Flubs

¹ When Higgins wakes Magnum up in the guesthouse, a boom mic can be seen briefly at the top of the screen. (Noted by Marcus van Koningsbruggen)

² During the gun fight between the SWAT Team and the bad guys at the Sanju Pagoda, one of the SWAT members fires his M-16 A1 twice (single shot each time). Each shot sounds like a hunting rifle, not an M-16! (Noted by IslandHopper)

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