Season 1 Episode 4: Six Paintings, One Frame (1.4)

[Rembrandt's Girl]

Thought the first scene was way over the top......Thomas dangling in mid-air by one hand while using the other to drill out vent screws with 4 quick moves. It's just not believable!!! Then I was wondering what he tied off his rope to when he exited from the air vent. Not much to tie off in there!

I think i caught a flub when the guy falls on the car roof. It sounds like there is a BANG before he makes contact with the car.
I slowed it down a few times and it appears the guy is still falling when the bang occurs. It happens in a split second so I could be wrong. Anyone else feel the same way or am I hearing/seeing things?

So we get our first look at the new tidal pool that they added into this cut and paste Robin's Nest.....it's no where near the location they have placed this CGI creation either.

We also find out that TC was in art school way back when.

Still no visual on Icepick, but there was mention of him which we knew going into this episode.

Hi Kenji

I read your post before watching so I was looking for the flub, and you're right, you do hear the thud/glass blown out before his body hits the car. Speaking of the guy who hits the car, Raymond Lee playing James Chen... he's another horrible actor. Who's doing the casting for this show?!

I noticed a real tie-in to our Pahonu. There's a scene where Magnum and Higgins are leaving the (former) Honolulu Police Department, which is a building that was designed by Pahonu's architect Louis E. Davis.
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/1 ... ndex1.html
http://hichinatown.com/architecture/wal ... ray-gibson

The new Pahonu is having an identity crisis...
1) The tidal pool from tonight's episode that Kenji pointed out is now located at Paradise Cove Beach https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parad ... 58.1276745
2) They again used the same aerial that has the estate located at the "filled in" Moli'i Pond
3) And at the end when Magnum has a scene with Kumu before the memorial service for Candler you can tell they're really shooting at the Banyan House in Kahala, and not just on a set with CGI palm trees & ocean in the background like most of the scenes at the estate.

[Steve]

Other than the opening James Bond/Mission Impossible break in I thought it was just fine. Coops Beer made couple of appearances, when Magnum was on the clients bed watching the Tigers game and then when he shared one with Juliette H. They are slowly developing the TC and Rick characters and the Juliette/Magnum partnership seems to be a part of the show, like it or not (I actually do, has a kind of Elementary feel)......I seem to still be in the minority and understand if I am slapped with double secret probation.........Oh, and I think the reason I am good with Higgins being a female is because I have always told my son that in the OG version, my wife had all of the JQ Higgins qualities while I had more of a laissez-faire attitude like Thomas....It is now more noticeable with a female Higgins.........

[KingKC]

I think the show is starting to develop its own personality. It is simply the "new age" Magnum. It will never replace the original Magnum.

[KENJI]

Thought the first scene was way over the top......Thomas dangling in mid-air by one hand while using the other to drill out vent screws with 4 quick moves. It's just not believable!!! Then I was wondering what he tied off his rope to when he exited from the air vent. Not much to tie off in there!

I think i caught a flub when the guy falls on the car roof. It sounds like there is a BANG before he makes contact with the car.
I slowed it down a few times and it appears the guy is still falling when the bang occurs. It happens in a split second so I could be wrong. Anyone else feel the same way or am I hearing/seeing things?

So we get our first look at the new tidal pool that they added into this cut and paste Robin's Nest.....it's no where near the location they have placed this CGI creation either.

We also find out that TC was in art school way back when.

Still no visual on Icepick, but there was mention of him which we knew going into this episode.

Hi Kenji

I read your post before watching so I was looking for the flub, and you're right, you do hear the thud/glass blown out before his body hits the car. Speaking of the guy who hits the car, Raymond Lee playing James Chen... he's another horrible actor. Who's doing the casting for this show?!

I noticed a real tie-in to our Pahonu. There's a scene where Magnum and Higgins are leaving the (former) Honolulu Police Department, which is a building that was designed by Pahonu's architect Louis E. Davis.
http://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/1 ... ndex1.html
http://hichinatown.com/architecture/wal ... ray-gibson

The new Pahonu is having an identity crisis...
1) The tidal pool from tonight's episode that Kenji pointed out is now located at Paradise Cove Beach https://www.google.com/maps/place/Parad ... 58.1276745
2) They again used the same aerial that has the estate located at the "filled in" Moli'i Pond
3) And at the end when Magnum has a scene with Kumu before the memorial service for Candler you can tell they're really shooting at the Banyan House in Kahala, and not just on a set with CGI palm trees & ocean in the background like most of the scenes at the estate.

Hi RG,

Good to hear you confirmed the flub! I'm surprised they didn't catch and fix it.

I agree Raymond Lee was terrible in that episode. His acting comes across as forced and not natural enough.

You're quite right with the Pahonu/Davis/ former HPD connection! It's a great looking building from the past and it's still standing unlike Pahonu.

[perfectlykevin]

I haven't watched it yet, but glad to hear Icepick hasn't made an appearance yet. I feel like they've rushed too many past connections to get Original Series fans to buy into it. The 308, explanation of the Team Ring, Tanaka, etc. I feel like they've been front loading everything and giving little opportunity to have the show develop slowly.

Glad to see they're giving us some foreplay now

[ENSHealy]

Bad: the Bond opening. The building climbing and entry was straight out of Diamonds are Forever, and the unzipping the suit into the tux was straight out of Goldfinger. Remember how the original script for Magnum had him being a Bond-like character and Selleck nixed that? Seems like Lenkov doesn't.

Good: "uncultured man-child" from Higgins. That line may have been the first time I smiled in 4 episodes.

Bad: why intro Tanaka for the pilot and then switch to this other guy who has the personality of a wet rag and an irrational dislike of Magnum? Even the antagonistic Lt. Page (Joe Santos) or Sgt. Jordan (Vic Morrow) never went as far as "bottom feeder."

I'm bothered by the "18 months, 11 days" of captivity in a POW camp. Was nobody paying attention to the actual Iraq-Afghanistan war? If this "actually happened" then they were pretty much the only guys it happened too. From
https://www.theatlantic.com/internation ... rs/371951/: "In a conflict that has produced few prisoners of war, Bergdahl's five-year ordeal was a long, painful exception. As Penn State's Scott Sigmund Gartner wrote in 2013, "virtually no US military personnel are Missing in Action or Prisoners of War. With MIA and POW figures in the single digits (compared, for example, to almost 8,000 from the Korean War) Iraq and Afghanistan reflect a historic change in America’s ability to rapidly locate missing military personnel."

It's like the writers forgot these guys served in Afghanistan and not Vietnam, Korea or WWII. I don't see why they felt this plot device necessary, when they could just as easily have been guys who served on the same missions often, as they were in the original.

Good: Coops

Bad: Higgins as partner, not foil. It feels like this show should be called "Magnum & Higgins" (a la Cagney and Lacey) and not Magnum P.I.

Bad: the obvious CGI behind Magnum & Higgins in the closing scene.

Bad: the tie-tying scene. Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar...and sometimes a tie is not just a tie.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Bad: why intro Tanaka for the pilot and then switch to this other guy who has the personality of a wet rag and an irrational dislike of Magnum?
Bad: the tie-tying scene. Sometimes a cigar is not just a cigar...and sometimes a tie is not just a tie.

ENS Healy,
Good point about this poorly rendered cop when they could have more fully developed Tanaka's character.
Nice catch on the tie gambit. Traditionally in Old Hollywood movie making that was shorthand for saying the two had just been intimate if the previous scene faded out on a kiss; if in a social setting the woman tying the tie is letting other women know the man is taken.
There is no way graduates of film school don't know that symbolism, let alone you and me and others here, so it indeed looks like they are setting up a Magnum-Higgins romance(words never written before this series came along) or they are indicating it has been going on from the get go.
I think once again it has been demonstrated that Perdita Weeks is the only real actor on this show. The mutt who portrayed - that's being too kind, lets call it walked thru the part - Luther Gillis was the nadir, but this new cop you cited is almost as bad, his entire acting chops consist of doing a grimace.
What gives, are they hiring cheaper no name SAG scale local 'talent' as opposed to bringing out a colorful Hollywood vet, say one of the guys from the Sopranos or Gerald McRainy? Paulie Walnuts would have killed in the part.

"When I die, I want to die like my grandfather. Totally relaxed, nodding off into a deep sleep. Not screaming and kicking like the passengers
in the car"...Peter Falk

[Amian]

Bad: the Bond opening. The building climbing and entry was straight out of Diamonds are Forever, and the unzipping the suit into the tux was straight out of Goldfinger. Remember how the original script for Magnum had him being a Bond-like character and Selleck nixed that? Seems like Lenkov doesn't.

Definitely a different vibe. I kind of enjoyed the opening, but was keeping in mind that realism is not the name of the game in the reboot. (I mean, what TV shows that rely on crime fighting and investigation are truly realistic anyway?)

Bad: why intro Tanaka for the pilot and then switch to this other guy who has the personality of a wet rag and an irrational dislike of Magnum? Even the antagonistic Lt. Page (Joe Santos) or Sgt. Jordan (Vic Morrow) never went as far as "bottom feeder."

Not sure if this is the reason, but the actor who plays Tanaka is close to Justin Lin, the director of the pilot. I think he appears in the majority of Lin's work. So, maybe a favor?

I'm bothered by the "18 months, 11 days" of captivity in a POW camp. Was nobody paying attention to the actual Iraq-Afghanistan war? If this "actually happened" then they were pretty much the only guys it happened too.

When it comes to facts, this show is playing loose and from the hip, to be sure. The writers may not have any vets on their staff... Actually, now that I think about it, that seems kind of important for a show like this.

Bad: Higgins as partner, not foil. It feels like this show should be called "Magnum & Higgins" (a la Cagney and Lacey) and not Magnum P.I.

Still not sure what I think of this... The good news is that Higgins does well with her screen time. I'm just hoping the romantic angle that is sure to come isn't too horrible. (Yeah, right.)

Bad: the obvious CGI behind Magnum & Higgins in the closing scene.

I don't understand why there has to be so much CGI with regards to the scenery. Maybe you don't have the most gorgeous possible images in every shot, but so be it. It'll still be great and offer a sense of rootedness.

[perfectlykevin]

Magnum on trying to elicit help from Rick and TC...
TC: "The man doesn't know how to tell a story..."

Perhaps another red herring for the Magnum is Robin Masters idea?? I know it is unlikely as J. Higgins knew Robin before in some capacity, but just speculating...

[perfectlykevin]

Coops beer is twist-off?? What happened to the old bottle opener!?

Anyone know what kind of gun Magnum uses?

[eagle]

P.S. The show is still awful.

Yes, it truly is. I didn't finish the episode, but I'm about 2/3 of the way through and Perdita Weeks was not a bright spot in this episode. In fact, I have not seen a bright spot in this week's episode.

[eagle]

Thought the first scene was way over the top......Thomas dangling in mid-air by one hand while using the other to drill out vent screws with 4 quick moves. It's just not believable!!! Then I was wondering what he tied off his rope to when he exited from the air vent. Not much to tie off in there!

You're not supposed to pay attention to that sort of thing! haha

Anyway, I saw this episode as an homage to the first in the original series, where Magnum swam up. The astute reader might remember that that scene is my favorite from the entire original series, and while I love that original scene, I didn't like this Mission: Impossible version.

[eagle]

They are slowly developing the TC and Rick characters and the Juliette/Magnum partnership seems to be a part of the show, like it or not

I have commented several times that Rick & TC don't get much screen time, and that I don't understand the point of them as characters. I noticed that Rick & TC get more screen time in this episode, and are more central to the plot.

I don't like the weak dialog, but then the show is a product of its era. (I leave it as an exercise to the reader to decide what this means for America.)

[eagle]

Bad: the Bond opening. The building climbing and entry was straight out of Diamonds are Forever, and the unzipping the suit into the tux was straight out of Goldfinger. Remember how the original script for Magnum had him being a Bond-like character and Selleck nixed that? Seems like Lenkov doesn't.

A moment ago I called it a "Mission: Impossible version," but yes, it is very Bond-like too... and I didn't like it either.

Bad: why intro Tanaka for the pilot and then switch to this other guy who has the personality of a wet rag and an irrational dislike of Magnum? Even the antagonistic Lt. Page (Joe Santos) or Sgt. Jordan (Vic Morrow) never went as far as "bottom feeder."

This is what I was referencing in my comments about previous episodes, where I mentioned how the characters are downright rude to one another. It just isn't necessary, and it lacks class.

I'm bothered by the "18 months, 11 days" of captivity in a POW camp. Was nobody paying attention to the actual Iraq-Afghanistan war? If this "actually happened" then they were pretty much the only guys it happened too. ... It's like the writers forgot these guys served in Afghanistan and not Vietnam, Korea or WWII. I don't see why they felt this plot device necessary, when they could just as easily have been guys who served on the same missions often, as they were in the original.

I agree, and they mentioned it at least twice in this episode. They need to change more of the original story, with the change from Vietnam to Afghanistan.

Bad: Higgins as partner, not foil. It feels like this show should be called "Magnum & Higgins" (a la Cagney and Lacey) and not Magnum P.I.

Yes, I have noticed this as well. It seems to be the direction they are taking the show.

[KENJI]

Coops beer is twist-off?? What happened to the old bottle opener!?

Anyone know what kind of gun Magnum uses?

I believe Jay uses a STI Costa Comp Carry. Can anyone else confirm?

Just for fun.....I think Higgins used a Glock 17 in the first episode when she got shot.