40th Anniversary Watch Party

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I understand they wanted something lighthearted and I guess there was some kind of Benji momentum in the early 80s which trickled over into Magnum

Didn't "OH! HEAVENLY DOG" with Chevy Chase (anyone remember that one?) come out around this time in 1980?

Yes it did, 1980 . . . and I didn't realize, until I looked it up, that it was a Benji movie.

I'm not even sure what a Benji movie is. I know there was a movie in the 70s called BENJI. Is it the same dog in all these movies?

I quick search turned up all this.

I remember seeing the first two as a kid but had no idea about all the rest.

Films
Benji (1974)
Hawmps! (1976; cameo)
For the Love of Benji (1977)
The Double McGuffin (1979; cameo)
Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980)
Benji the Hunted (1987)
Benji: Off the Leash! (2004)
Benji (2018)

Television
Benji's Very Own Christmas Story (1978)
Benji at Work (1980 - short)
Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland (1981 - short)
Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983 - series)

Was it the same "actor dog" in all these movies? Or different dogs playing the same character of Benji?

Ruff!

[ConchRepublican]

I understand they wanted something lighthearted and I guess there was some kind of Benji momentum in the early 80s which trickled over into Magnum

Didn't "OH! HEAVENLY DOG" with Chevy Chase (anyone remember that one?) come out around this time in 1980?

Yes it did, 1980 . . . and I didn't realize, until I looked it up, that it was a Benji movie.

I'm not even sure what a Benji movie is. I know there was a movie in the 70s called BENJI. Is it the same dog in all these movies?

I quick search turned up all this.

I remember seeing the first two as a kid but had no idea about all the rest.

Films
Benji (1974)
Hawmps! (1976; cameo)
For the Love of Benji (1977)
The Double McGuffin (1979; cameo)
Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980)
Benji the Hunted (1987)
Benji: Off the Leash! (2004)
Benji (2018)

Television
Benji's Very Own Christmas Story (1978)
Benji at Work (1980 - short)
Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland (1981 - short)
Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983 - series)

Troubling, ain't it!?!

[Pahonu]

Didn't "OH! HEAVENLY DOG" with Chevy Chase (anyone remember that one?) come out around this time in 1980?

Yes it did, 1980 . . . and I didn't realize, until I looked it up, that it was a Benji movie.

I'm not even sure what a Benji movie is. I know there was a movie in the 70s called BENJI. Is it the same dog in all these movies?

I quick search turned up all this.

I remember seeing the first two as a kid but had no idea about all the rest.

Films
Benji (1974)
Hawmps! (1976; cameo)
For the Love of Benji (1977)
The Double McGuffin (1979; cameo)
Oh! Heavenly Dog (1980)
Benji the Hunted (1987)
Benji: Off the Leash! (2004)
Benji (2018)

Television
Benji's Very Own Christmas Story (1978)
Benji at Work (1980 - short)
Benji Takes a Dive at Marineland (1981 - short)
Benji, Zax & the Alien Prince (1983 - series)

Was it the same "actor dog" in all these movies? Or different dogs playing the same character of Benji?

Ruff!

I think it showed five dogs.

[Styles Bitchley]

Okay, so I’m a week behind but still along for the ride. It’s been a busy few weeks! Ugliest Dog was this morning and it was a fun viewing. I’ve been really trying to take these episodes in this run through, rather than passively watching. Sort of like putting on a Steely Dan album.

I didn’t notice a lot that was new in this silly episode. One thing is that one of the henchmen is the actors who played “Dex” in Dynasty. My mom used to watch that show back in the day.

I also can’t help remembering that stoner guy who used to me a member of the forum who used to spam the boards recalling this scene. It was pretty funny actually, but it ended up driving James a bit nuts. I could just imagine him sitting there with a bong watching this episode over and over.

[Pahonu]

The only comment I have about the photography is the good use of photonegative images for the flashbacks. It’s a good technique and well done here. I didn’t notice any new parts of the estate shown in this one. I do enjoy the episode though. Not much else I can think of. Looking forward to next weeks episode.

[Styles Bitchley]

Squeezed in a double header today and I’m up to speed. I’d forgotten how good MIA is. What keeps it from being great is the plot, which feels like it’s going to be really intriguing but in the end it isn’t. But the combination of Lance LeGault getting started, the Mac character getting more fleshed out, and smoking hot Rebecca Holden knocks the episode up a few notches. They actually do a great job of lightening the serious A plot by weaving in the comedy of the B plot (Ferrari tune up).

[Pahonu]

Squeezed in a double header today and I’m up to speed. I’d forgotten how good MIA is. What keeps it from being great is the plot, which feels like it’s going to be really intriguing but in the end it isn’t. But the combination of Lance LeGault getting started, the Mac character getting more fleshed out, and smoking hot Rebecca Holden knocks the episode up a few notches. They actually do a great job of lightening the serious A plot by weaving in the comedy of the B plot (Ferrari tune up).

This is the first episode to actually have Mac in it. Jeff MacKay played Ski in the pilot. Someone on here once pointed out that Mac was actually in just a handful of episodes, fewer than 10 I believe, before he was killed. MacKay actually played Jim Bonnick in more episodes than he played Mac. Seems like it’s possibly accurate, but I never looked further into it.

Edit: I just looked further into it.
The Mac character was killed in his eighth appearance. Of course, MacKay played Mac’s ghost in both Limbo and Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts, so does that count as 10 episodes??? It looks like he played Jim Bonnick in 9 episodes. Maybe somebody can check my math? IMDB also lists him in Beauty Knows No Pain as the TV reporter’s voice, the coroner in Murder by Night, and of course as Ski in the pilot.

So that’s:
(Alive) Mac - 8
(Ghost) Mac - 2
Jim Bonnick - 9

The Ferrari tune up subplot is one of my favorites, along with the goat on the estate in Dead Man’s Channel.

Is there even a thread about favorite subplots? That could be fun to hear everyone’s picks.

[T.Q.]

Watched MIA today.

Not a fan of the episode other than the Magnum/Higgins and Magnum/TC scenes.



New gif though.

[T.Q.]

Troubling, ain't it!?!

Conch,

You should put out an email "blast" to all the Magnum Mania members that we started a 40th Anniversary watch party.

See how many inactive members come back.

Might be fun.

All for the action. Outta sight.

[terryfromkerry]

I have read every post with interest on this topic to date. Season 1 is my favourite season. I tend to view it once a year. Invariably when doing a complete rerun through the series, at some point I lose my way and start again. I have been following and enjoying the 40th topic with my dvd collection. In fact one might say I got a bit carried away and skipped ahead a bit. I was about to watch Beauty Knows No Pain when my dvd player blew a gasket. I am not a technician however I made a valient effort to fix it myself. I must admit I was surprised and disappointed the dvd player is still not working. I used the balpin hammer tentatively several times. This repair procedure always seemed to work for TC.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I have read every post with interest on this topic to date. Season 1 is my favourite season. I tend to view it once a year. Invariably when doing a complete rerun through the series, at some point I lose my way and start again. I have been following and enjoying the 40th topic with my dvd collection. In fact one might say I got a bit carried away and skipped ahead a bit. I was about to watch Beauty Knows No Pain when my dvd player blew a gasket. I am not a technician however I made a valient effort to fix it myself. I must admit I was surprised and disappointed the dvd player is still not working. I used the balpin hammer tentatively several times. This repair procedure always seemed to work for TC.

Hi Terry,

The trick is to hit the DVD player with the ball-peen hammer harder. My guess is you're not hitting it hard enough.

Here's what you do.

1. Give the DVD player a good hard whack with said ball-peen hammer.
2. Examine if it still resembles a DVD player. If yes, repeat step 1.
3. Go to the store and buy a new DVD player. Better yet a Blu-Ray player. They're cheap.

You're welcome.

[terryfromkerry]

Good advice Ivan !
Time to put the hammer back in the tool box. After I use it to open my piggy bank.

[Styles Bitchley]

Good advice Ivan !
Time to put the hammer back in the tool box. After I use it to open my piggy bank.

I actually do have a vintage DVD player I was tinkering with to try to get it working again. YouTube, tech forums, etc. In the end, no luck. I hate how disposable everything is made these days.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Even the biggest ball-peen hammer couldn't fix my DVD player. Believe me, I tried. I used every kind of hammer I've got, then started with the punching and slapping (closed fist, open hand slap, Karate chop) - nothing worked. I got out a screwdriver to repair it properly, but decided it "wasn't macho enough". A real man uses hammers.

I hate DVD anyway. You have to wait for the player to start up, wait for the tray to open, then put in a disc, then wait for it to spin up, then wait for the stupid anti-piracy notices you can't skip, then wait for the menu animation, then click through the menu options and wait for it to start - usually with another anti-piracy notice at the beginning. Then you have to hope a digital corruption doesn't start because it'll keep screwing up until you reset the damn player.

Thank GOD for digital media players. I just turn on, go through the menu (ordered the way I want), select the episode and it starts - no anti-piracy crap, no digital screwups. I even edit some TV shows and movies to remove scenes I don't like (especially if they're "not macho enough"). You can't do that if it's on DVD.

[ConchRepublican]

So, I finally caught up to this episode . . . this comes across like a fairly common late 70s/early 80s P.I. entry, a decent watch but completely forgettable if not for the interaction of the main characters., reinforcing the incredible chemistry the cast had from jump street.

I feel like they are tinkering with the "little voice" aspect that will become a big part of Thomas' character, but here it's Rebecca Holden's character with the visions. While I love the "little voice" aspect of Thomas' character, I'm glad they didn't go with full visions, for me how they handled it with Thomas works better.

Speaking of Rebecca Holden's character, if Rick really hired her to be afternoon entertainment he needs new ears.

We also get a great 4th wall break by T.C. . . . I think the idea was he was talking to Rick, but looking right at us with that line about Thomas was great. How many 4th wall breaks are there where the audience is addressed directly?

My final comment about the episode was brought up in the main episode thread, the fact that no one bothers to actually fish Eric out of the water, assuming a kill shot? Wouldn't they at least want to recover his body? Weird.

Anyhoo . . . next week we get one of my favorite episodes of the whole series.