40th Anniversary Watch Party

[Styles Bitchley]

Never Again ... Never Again

Has this fizzled out already?

Did I jinx it?



Anyways, does anyone know why the final scene with Lena is dubbed? It's weird.

I’m still along for the ride. Saturday mornings are working better for me though. It was fun returning to this one as I don’t watch it often...I think because I don’t like it much. It does have some classic moments with Magnum getting slapped, Ricks “your with for fish come true” and Glen Cannon before he becomes Doc Ibold.

The plot is a big reach, which is maybe why it doesn’t stick with me. Was this kind of stuff actually going on? I know people were out there hunting Nazis but were there Nazis who just never gave up on hunting Jews in this way?

Another thing I noticed is that Roger looks particularly ripped in this episode. I mean, he’s massive!

Where is the actual location of the KKC in this episode? Right by the water with a pool. Looks like a Honolulu hotel...

[308GUY]

"Shouldn't have lowered your head boiy!"

This is also not one of my favorites, but I have a tendency to shy away from things that actually show how cruel and inhumane we humans can be toward each other under certain circumstances.

At the same time, it reminds us of our shared past all of which has led us to this point in history.

I always get a kick outa Rick trying to find the "right" way to tell Lena her husband had a heart attack! Rick....things just wouldn't have been the same without him.

I may have dreamed it, or made it up or imagined it, but it seems to my feeble memory, that among the several copies I have of the entire series, (most of which are on disc, but I also have VCR copies that were recorded directly from the broadcasts, some in Oahu, some in Alaska) I seem to recall one copy that has the gun shot at the very end, letting us assume that TM ended Lena where she stood. Scene is the same...long shot of the boat....but BANG! is heard.
But like I said...could be "Just My Imaginaation." HA! Now ya'll will have that song stuck in yo' heads!

I'm still "in" on the watch party, it's just that I have a continuous watch party year round. Not sure when it'll end...but it's been ongoing for a couple years now....and I'm still not "tired" of it.

Guess some will say I should get a life? Well.....lemme' tell ya' bout that..... "Perhaps..another day."

T.Q.: Don't worry....I am usually the thread killer. Happened more than a few times. Not exactly sure why...but different forums...maybe it's just something we notice about ourselves and it stems from self doubt?

[Pahonu]

Never Again ... Never Again

Has this fizzled out already?

Did I jinx it?



Anyways, does anyone know why the final scene with Lena is dubbed? It's weird.

I’m still along for the ride. Saturday mornings are working better for me though. It was fun returning to this one as I don’t watch it often...I think because I don’t like it much. It does have some classic moments with Magnum getting slapped, Ricks “your with for fish come true” and Glen Cannon before he becomes Doc Ibold.

The plot is a big reach, which is maybe why it doesn’t stick with me. Was this kind of stuff actually going on? I know people were out there hunting Nazis but were there Nazis who just never gave up on hunting Jews in this way?

Another thing I noticed is that Roger looks particularly ripped in this episode. I mean, he’s massive!

Where is the actual location of the KKC in this episode? Right by the water with a pool. Looks like a Honolulu hotel...

I think the KKC scenes at this point in the series are being filmed at the Elks Club near Diamond Head, but don’t know for certain.

I have read numerous stories over the previous decades about former Nazi military officers being discovered in hiding, living under new names. It’s becoming increasingly rare. The last one I recall was about ten years ago involving a man in Detroit. I don’t recall his name. He had worked for one of the big three automakers for decades and had retired long ago. He was in his 80’s but somehow he was discovered and put on trial. I don’t remember many details, but what I do know is that I’ve never read a single story about former Nazis hunting Jews in all those years. They would be risking prosecution for war crimes if they were caught, so it does seem a stretch. It made for a good plot twist but it doesn’t seem very likely? There were massive resources from Simon Wiesenthal and others dedicated to tracking down former Nazis. It’s possible, I suppose, that former Nazis attempted to hide from them by posing as a Jews. That’s what this story is really about. The two characters are trying to stay ahead of the Mossad or whoever is hunting them. That’s why they close up shop and attempt to escape. When Saul is captured by them, Lena tries to save her husband by killing them. The twist is that we THINK the reverse is happening for the whole episode.

[Pahonu]

"Shouldn't have lowered your head boiy!"

This is also not one of my favorites, but I have a tendency to shy away from things that actually show how cruel and inhumane we humans can be toward each other under certain circumstances.

At the same time, it reminds us of our shared past all of which has led us to this point in history.

I always get a kick outa Rick trying to find the "right" way to tell Lena her husband had a heart attack! Rick....things just wouldn't have been the same without him.

I may have dreamed it, or made it up or imagined it, but it seems to my feeble memory, that among the several copies I have of the entire series, (most of which are on disc, but I also have VCR copies that were recorded directly from the broadcasts, some in Oahu, some in Alaska) I seem to recall one copy that has the gun shot at the very end, letting us assume that TM ended Lena where she stood. Scene is the same...long shot of the boat....but BANG! is heard.
But like I said...could be "Just My Imaginaation." HA! Now ya'll will have that song stuck in yo' heads!

I'm still "in" on the watch party, it's just that I have a continuous watch party year round. Not sure when it'll end...but it's been ongoing for a couple years now....and I'm still not "tired" of it.

Guess some will say I should get a life? Well.....lemme' tell ya' bout that..... "Perhaps..another day."

T.Q.: Don't worry....I am usually the thread killer. Happened more than a few times. Not exactly sure why...but different forums...maybe it's just something we notice about ourselves and it stems from self doubt?

You didn’t dream it. There was originally a gunshot heard at the end of the episode, and there’s a conversation about it in on one of the threads here. I remember it very clearly myself, and was surprised that some seemed confused about what had happened. I didn’t remember that the sound was removed for syndication. I didn’t have the DVD’s at the time either. It really does make the ending unclear without it. The final conversation between Higgins and Magnum is ultimately about reassuring TM about what he had done because of the atrocities they had participated in.

[Pahonu]

I’ve commented on the photography and estate shooting details for the previous episodes so I’ll start there. This one has some pretty obvious day for night shooting in the scene where Lena is with Higgins and the estate is breached. Filters are used in post production to make the scene appear as night when it was actually filmed during the day. You can tell by the increased contrast and bluish tint.

In that same part of the episode we briefly see Higgins on the upper balcony looking out through the window-shaped, but unglazed opening to the balcony’s left. This is the only time this spot is used, as he turns on a spotlight, and it displays the actual home’s unique design. The home has no internal hallways. All the rooms either open to each other or to external spaces such as the lower arcade, the adjacent loggia, and the upper balcony (known as a balcon corrido in Spanish-inspired architecture). In this case, the three upstairs bedrooms all open to this balcony corridor, but the suite closest to the ocean is far from the balcony overhang, so the architect placed an opening to add light to that end of the space. There is a door to a linen closet, and an actual window to that suite’s dressing room behind that opening.

The third thing I wanted to mention is that I loved seeing again the scene where Rick has to tell the bartender that a two cents plain is a seltzer water. I remember asking my father about it when I was a kid and had watched it. He passed several years ago but would be almost 90 now, and he told me that’s what you called it at the soda fountains. Since then, with the magic of the internet, I’ve learned that it was the cheapest of the ingredients in a chocolate egg cream, which also had milk and chocolate syrup. These ingredients could be had alone or combined in various ways, such as a chocolate milk or a chocolate phosphate, all at different prices. The crazy part is that just a couple of years ago my brother and sister-in-law who live in Spring Lake on the Jersey Shore were visiting Atlantic City and sent us some pics from an ice cream place there called Two Cents Plain. Neither of them nor my wife had any idea what the name meant but this MPI fan did!

[ConchRepublican]

Never Again ... Never Again

Has this fizzled out already?

Did I jinx it?



Anyways, does anyone know why the final scene with Lena is dubbed? It's weird.

No jinx! I watched it Friday AM (well, had it on while cooking) but wasn't able to comment until this morning.

This is another favorite episode of mine. I earlier used "dark" for these three episodes in a row, but I think "serious" would be a better word. I'm not sure if other TV shows of the time dealt with the Nazi element, but it's sobering to me to think that this took place only 25 years after the end of WW II, which must make those events less history and more of an experienced memory, especially when I consider this year will be 20 years since 9/11 and what I remember/how I feel about that.

With distance I guess it should have been obvious that the team members weren't German considering their complexion and that they used uzis, but I tend to be the "sit back and tell me a story" type as opposed to trying to figure things out as it goes along. The way they did the slow reveal of the Greenbergs was a great twist . . . imagine someone you have known and done business with for years was not just living a secret life, but was part of one of the most evil atrocities of the century. (It says something about the 20th century that the Nazis was only one of the most evil atrocities of that century and not the only one ) I have to give Hanna Hertelendy credit here, with her reveal on the boat as a Nazi, and the way show changes characters and spits out her lines, you can feel her disgust, she truly believes Jews aren't even human. Chilling. I also remember the gunshot at the end, and I think her selling that evil is what makes it work, Thomas put down the actual rabid animal, and it should have been left in . . . it's not on my DVD nor Blu-Ray.

The back and forth, again, is what makes these first season episodes so much fun for me. The banter between TM, Rick, etc. continues to remind me of those classic Cary Grant/Bogie movies from the 40s . . . it wasn't line, pause, response, it feels more like a tennis match or something, hitting the lines back and forth . . . if that makes any sense. The flow just feels more natural.

I also agree about the photography/filming of this season. It always felt more dynamic to me. I'm not sure if it's the type of film used, the cameras or what, that's not something I'm familiar with, but it looks more real and feels more "cinematic" maybe? Whatever it is, it just looks better to me.

As Styles pointed out, we get a little more of "Shaft" T.C. in this episode. It seems they still weren't sure who he was going to be in these earlier episodes, the slapstick of the bed controls doesn't seem to fit with the cultured businessman he is not long afterwards.

Overall, one of the best episodes of the season, if not the series in my opinion, but still doesn't make my top 5 for season 1. They are:

Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii
China Doll
No Need to Know
Lest We Forget
J. Digger Doyle

As for this coming week's viewing, I'm not looking forward to it, but maybe I'll get something new out of it.

[Pahonu]

Never Again ... Never Again

Has this fizzled out already?

Did I jinx it?



Anyways, does anyone know why the final scene with Lena is dubbed? It's weird.

No jinx! I watched it Friday AM (well, had it on while cooking) but wasn't able to comment until this morning.

This is another favorite episode of mine. I earlier used "dark" for these three episodes in a row, but I think "serious" would be a better word. I'm not sure if other TV shows of the time dealt with the Nazi element, but it's sobering to me to think that this took place only 25 years after the end of WW !!, which must make those events less history and more of an experienced memory, especially when I consider this year will be 20 years since 9/11 and what I remember/how I feel about that.

With distance I guess it should have been obvious that the team members weren't German considering their complexion and that they used uzis, but I tend to be the "sit back and tell me a story" type as opposed to trying to figure things out as it goes along. The way they did the slow reveal of the Greenbergs was a great twist . . . imagine someone you have known and done business with for years was not just living a secret life, but was part of one of the most evil atrocities of the century. (It says something about the 20th century that the Nazis was only one of the most evil atrocities of that century and not the only one ) I have to give Hanna Hertelendy credit here, with her reveal on the boat as a Nazi, and the way show changes characters and spits out her lines, you can feel her disgust, she truly believes Jews aren't even human. Chilling. I also remember the gunshot at the end, and I think her selling that evil is what makes it work, Thomas put down the actual rabid animal, and it should have been left in . . . it's not on my DVD nor Blu-Ray.

The back and forth, again, is what makes these first season episodes so much fun for me. The banter between TM, Rick, etc. continues to remind me of those classic Cary Grant/Bogie movies from the 40s . . . it wasn't line, pause, response, it feels more like a tennis match or something, hitting the lines back and forth . . . if that makes any sense. The flow just feels more natural.

I also agree about the photography/filming of this season. It always felt more dynamic to me. I'm not sure if it's the type of film used, the cameras or what, that's not something I'm familiar with, but it looks more real and feels more "cinematic" maybe? Whatever it is, it just looks better to me.

As Styles pointed out, we get a little more of "Shaft" T.C. in this episode. It seems they still weren't sure who he was going to be in these earlier episodes, the slapstick of the bed controls doesn't seem to fit with the cultured businessman he is not long afterwards.

Overall, one of the best episodes of the season, if not the series in my opinion, but still doesn't make my top 5 for season 1. They are:

Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii
China Doll
No Need to Know
Lest We Forget
J. Digger Doyle

As for this coming week's viewing, I'm not looking forward to it, but maybe I'll get something new out of it.

That’s the same top five as me in almost the same order! My list swaps two and three, and I deliberated about those two the most. This episode would be sixth.

I think at least part of what is different about the early episode’s photography is that they filmed far more on location and more at night it seems to me. This means using natural or ambient light supplemented by the electrical department. This will look different than filming on set where the light is conveniently under complete control, but also looks a little more flat. The only set in the pilot is the guest house. Higgins’ den wasn’t a set in China Doll and it looks subtly different than later episodes when it became a set recreating the original room at the Marks Estate. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the unique views we get of the actual estate happen in the early seasons. The production was exploring the possibilities. In later seasons they tend to fall back on showing an establishing shot of the guesthouse or main house and then cutting to scenes filmed on set. It’s easier.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=84&start=60

The other difference also involves post production. The more creative cuts between scenes happens in editing, though it must me photographed properly to work. I’m thinking again of the cut from the Tong killing in the gift shot to Higgins doing tai chi in the estate courtyard. Early on, the DP has little to reference for visual style so they create their own. As the show becomes established it is much simpler to reference previous work in describing how you want the current shot to look, so a pattern develops. It’s also simpler to do certain types of shooting than others. Night filming has a whole set of variables to consider, so limiting it speeds up production, or in this episode, making it look like night in post production with filters.

If you’ve ever heard directors talking to DP’s or to each other, they constantly reference scenes in films as a sort of visual language. They will explain what they want to see by choosing scenes from other films that they share knowledge of. They watch films in a very different way than most of us and develop a massive mental catalogue of scenes to express visual goals. I remember seeing a clip of Scorsese and Spielberg doing this. It was fascinating.

[T.Q.]

January 29th, 1981

[CBS 8:00] Magnum, P.I. [Reg]: The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii
Season 1, episode 8

W: Allan Cole, Chris Bunch, Frank Lupo D: Lawrence Doheny
With Michael V. Gazzo (Victor DiGiorgio), Shawn Hoskins (Sharon Carnes), Paul Gale (Steve Caldwell), Kathleen Nolan (Gloria Marston), Michael Nader (Mitch Caldwell), Jake Hoopai (Kono), Robert Harker (Chauffeur), Wayne Oxford (Grover), Michael Hasegawa (Pier Guard), Liwai Napuelua, Jr. (Manu).

Higgins volunteers Magnum's services to guard a wealthy socialite's quarantined dog, after the attempted dognapping of the canine.



P.S. Some T.Q. trivia...
I share Tom Selleck's birthday. Tom turned 36 and I turned 10 years old the day this episode aired.

[ConchRepublican]

Never Again ... Never Again

Has this fizzled out already?

Did I jinx it?



Anyways, does anyone know why the final scene with Lena is dubbed? It's weird.

No jinx! I watched it Friday AM (well, had it on while cooking) but wasn't able to comment until this morning.

This is another favorite episode of mine. I earlier used "dark" for these three episodes in a row, but I think "serious" would be a better word. I'm not sure if other TV shows of the time dealt with the Nazi element, but it's sobering to me to think that this took place only 25 years after the end of WW !!, which must make those events less history and more of an experienced memory, especially when I consider this year will be 20 years since 9/11 and what I remember/how I feel about that.

With distance I guess it should have been obvious that the team members weren't German considering their complexion and that they used uzis, but I tend to be the "sit back and tell me a story" type as opposed to trying to figure things out as it goes along. The way they did the slow reveal of the Greenbergs was a great twist . . . imagine someone you have known and done business with for years was not just living a secret life, but was part of one of the most evil atrocities of the century. (It says something about the 20th century that the Nazis was only one of the most evil atrocities of that century and not the only one ) I have to give Hanna Hertelendy credit here, with her reveal on the boat as a Nazi, and the way show changes characters and spits out her lines, you can feel her disgust, she truly believes Jews aren't even human. Chilling. I also remember the gunshot at the end, and I think her selling that evil is what makes it work, Thomas put down the actual rabid animal, and it should have been left in . . . it's not on my DVD nor Blu-Ray.

The back and forth, again, is what makes these first season episodes so much fun for me. The banter between TM, Rick, etc. continues to remind me of those classic Cary Grant/Bogie movies from the 40s . . . it wasn't line, pause, response, it feels more like a tennis match or something, hitting the lines back and forth . . . if that makes any sense. The flow just feels more natural.

I also agree about the photography/filming of this season. It always felt more dynamic to me. I'm not sure if it's the type of film used, the cameras or what, that's not something I'm familiar with, but it looks more real and feels more "cinematic" maybe? Whatever it is, it just looks better to me.

As Styles pointed out, we get a little more of "Shaft" T.C. in this episode. It seems they still weren't sure who he was going to be in these earlier episodes, the slapstick of the bed controls doesn't seem to fit with the cultured businessman he is not long afterwards.

Overall, one of the best episodes of the season, if not the series in my opinion, but still doesn't make my top 5 for season 1. They are:

Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii
China Doll
No Need to Know
Lest We Forget
J. Digger Doyle

As for this coming week's viewing, I'm not looking forward to it, but maybe I'll get something new out of it.

That’s the same top five as me in almost the same order! My list swaps two and three, and I deliberated about those two the most. This episode would be sixth.

I think at least part of what is different about the early episode’s photography is that they filmed far more on location and more at night it seems to me. This means using natural or ambient light supplemented by the electrical department. This will look different than filming on set where the light is conveniently under complete control, but also looks a little more flat. The only set in the pilot is the guest house. Higgins’ den wasn’t a set in China Doll and it looks subtly different than later episodes when it became a set recreating the original room at the Marks Estate. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that most of the unique views we get of the actual estate happen in the early seasons. The production was exploring the possibilities. In later seasons they tend to fall back on showing an establishing shot of the guesthouse or main house and then cutting to scenes filmed on set. It’s easier.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=84&start=60

The other difference also involves post production. The more creative cuts between scenes happens in editing, though it must me photographed properly to work. I’m thinking again of the cut from the Tong killing in the gift shot to Higgins doing tai chi in the estate courtyard. Early on, the DP has little to reference for visual style so they create their own. As the show becomes established it is much simpler to reference previous work in describing how you want the current shot to look, so a pattern develops. It’s also simpler to do certain types of shooting than others. Night filming has a whole set of variables to consider, so limiting it speeds up production, or in this episode, making it look like night in post production with filters.

If you’ve ever heard directors talking to DP’s or to each other, they constantly reference scenes in films as a sort of visual language. They will explain what they want to see by choosing scenes from other films that they share knowledge of. They watch films in a very different way than most of us and develop a massive mental catalogue of scenes to express visual goals. I remember seeing a clip of Scorsese and Spielberg doing this. It was fascinating.

That they shot outside/on location makes a lot of sense . . . everything looks richer and warmer and the natural light would do that. And here I thought there was some film magic going on.

I also agree, the editing was more creative, it feels more cinematic to me than most later episodes.

[ConchRepublican]

January 29th, 1981

[CBS 8:00] Magnum, P.I. [Reg]: The Ugliest Dog In Hawaii
Season 1, episode 8

W: Allan Cole, Chris Bunch, Frank Lupo D: Lawrence Doheny
With Michael V. Gazzo (Victor DiGiorgio), Shawn Hoskins (Sharon Carnes), Paul Gale (Steve Caldwell), Kathleen Nolan (Gloria Marston), Michael Nader (Mitch Caldwell), Jake Hoopai (Kono), Robert Harker (Chauffeur), Wayne Oxford (Grover), Michael Hasegawa (Pier Guard), Liwai Napuelua, Jr. (Manu).

Higgins volunteers Magnum's services to guard a wealthy socialite's quarantined dog, after the attempted dognapping of the canine.



P.S. Some T.Q. trivia...
I share Tom Selleck's birthday. Tom turned 36 and I turned 10 years old the day this episode aired.

Do I have to???

Also, Lawrence Doheny caught my eye . . . as noted in the Laura thread, he got a nice acknowledgement with Frank Sinatra playing Doheny in season 7.

[Pahonu]

I’m not looking forward to this one much either. I like it even less than Adelaide. At least Adelaide had some volleyball scenes... and a horse. This has a dog. Not that I don’t like dogs. I’ve had several as pets, but Ivan was questioning how many TV series have dog episodes that are good. It got me thinking. We were discussing The Streets of San Francisco’s final episode which was a dog story and it was the worst of the whole series. Magnum went for it in season one, and after a string of very excellent episodes with pretty serious topics. Maybe I’ll find something new?

[T.Q.]

I have to disagree Boys.

Obviously not top 10 material or anything but it's cute and whimsical.

Don't make Sir Algernon Farnsworth angry... You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Don't make Sir Algernon Farnsworth angry... You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Are you saying he might hulk-out, like the dog-hulk?


This is a real dog. He's in Canada. If anybody thinks we have wimpy dogs here, just take a look.

This episode has annoying jokey mob guy stuff and the dog's owner is also annoying, but the episode isn't all bad. Actually, I mainly like the girl in the tight pants.

[Pahonu]

The mobsters here seem to be the most inept on the planet and the schtick gets old pretty quickly for me. I don’t have any problem looking at the actress but I don’t find her particularly compelling either. I’m definitely struggling to find “whimsical”!

[T.Q.]

The mobsters here seem to be the most inept on the planet and the schtick gets old pretty quickly for me. I don’t have any problem looking at the actress but I don’t find her particularly compelling either. I’m definitely struggling to find “whimsical”!

Whimsical - Playful or fanciful, especially in a humorous way

I kinda consider it a purposely non-serious playful episode.