MACattack wrote:To all those people who haven't seen the deleted bar scene: I'll explain because I have the original DVD when it came out in 2008.
Magnum, T.C., and Higgins took Rick out to a strip club for his bachelor party. He said: "Thanks guys for bringing me here!".
"Well it was your idea, Orville!" T.C. replied. Everybody was having a good time when Rick mentioned Cleo. A tall stranger with a moustache (played by Tim Russovich) said "Yeah, she's the hottest number in town!" Rick stood up to defend her honor. The big bully smirked and knocked Rick out. Magnum stood up and said "what the hell!" and socked the guy. He turned his head back and punched Magnum, making him fall over comically. Higgins and T.C. got into the mix, and Higgy-baby yelled out "Hi-yah" as he attempted a Kung Fu move. The bully threw Higgins across the room. Everything breaks out into a big bar brawl, then it cuts to another scene: The gang hanging in front of the clu, sitting on the curb bruised and laughing about the whole ordeal. Where was the sirens of the approaching police?
Maybe they cut the scene because it doesn't make sense!
I just watched the show last night (again!) and was confused when some of the guys here said the bar scene was missing. I thought I'd missed something, am glad I have the "old" DVD. Thanks for the help.
If it hasn't been noted elsewhere, Tim Rossovich was Tom Selleck's roommate at USC, and played seven seasons in the NFL.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...
Well, I guess I'm different from the rest of y'all...
I liked the return to Virginia and the Naval Academy; liked seeing "the family". I also liked having Linda Lee Ellison as part of the story. It sure looked like she and Magnum were going to have a lasting relationship, and maybe that was just to suck us in.
Looking back, it's clear that Magnum had made up his mind to return to the Navy... so many clues that are obvious when watching the show after the first time.... including the visit to Annapolis.
As most have pointed out, Magnum's grandfather was too young, and/or Magnum was too young for that to be reality.
This is one of my favorite episodes... definitely a top 10.
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...
J.J. Walters wrote:Doc Fred, love all the episode reviews that you did. You clearly are an intelligent fan of the show. Look forward to your Simon & Simon reviews.
Thank you! You made me blush!
You run my favorite site on the internet... truly love it. And, the people here are all "friends"... thank you!
Woof, woof... thirty years uglier!... woof, woof...
watched it again for the first time since 1988...........and I agree about how the clues now line up better. I was of a different mindset already knowing how it turns out, so the attention to detail on other stuff was easier. I didn't like the way Maggie played Thomas, nor how he couldn't see thru her.......something that always was a given with their series interaction. It just seemed out of place. It was a comfortable episode to wrap up a great series.
Maybe this has already been mentioned, but was there something red on the dogs neck at the end of part one? He is injured/killed offscreen a few seconds later. I'm wondering if there was an earlier shot that wasn't used where the dog was shown to be injured and they didn't get all of the "blood" off of him before shooting the scene we actually saw. Or maybe I'm just seeing things.
I thought part 1 was a mixed bag. You could tell that Magnum's main point of being in Virginia was to listen to the pitch to get him to re-enlist and have him consider it. The family scenes seemed natural as they'd be under the impression he was there to visit with them exclusively, but it seemed a little out of place.
What I disliked most about this part was that they made Magnum out to be a really heavy drinker. His own mother was questioning him about it. He was just downing beer (and scotch) like it was water during the whole episode. The part with the grandfather I disliked because it painted the grandfather in such a bad light. The whole run of the series gave the impression that Magnum was close to all of his family. Then the paternal grandfather Magnum, supposedly, never met shows up and doesn't seem to want anything to do with him. It struck me as pretty odd. I also disliked how little he seemed to care about Rick's wedding. If he was presuming he was best man then why would he put off the imprtant details until some undetermined time with the wedding nearly there? I also thought it was a little funny that Higgins had to remind Magnum whom he had dated, but I chalked it up to Higgins being Higgins.
I actually liked the Linda Lee storyline. Magnum coming back to make sure she was alright and help her was typical for him. The brief rekindling and Magnum realising he had too much going on to really be in a relationship was sort of a sign that he'd grown from previous seasons. In years past he'd not have ended the relationship while still running off to do other things. I also liked how it was a sudden realisation to him about the door opening. They didn't show him being obsessed with the tape leading up to this, but it's not hard to imagine him sitting in the guest house for weeks on end watching it relentlessly. I thought it was kind of clever that his mother just presumes he's getting married when he talk to her on the phone due to the engagement of Magnum's cousin and his vaugeness of the subject.
They really stretched the limits of believability with the Lilly surviving the car bombing storyline. On the tape the car door opens a split second before the explosion, even if she was out of the vehicle she would have been horribly burned and had chunks of metal that would have been shrapnel in her body. I do like the notion that his daughter is alive but I think there could have been a more plausible way of doing it.
Like many of the others, I wasn’t too crazy about TM going back home. Although I think it wasn’t so much to see his family [indeed, TM shows up 5 hours late for his birthday party] but for him to return to the Naval Academy, visit the Capitol and set the stage for TM to decide at age 41 to he still needs to serve his country.
I also didn’t see the point of bringing in a new character, his paternal grandfather played by Howard Duff. As mentioned, he was way too young to be believable as a grandfather to a 41 yr old. Although totally consistent with Hollywood aging. Parents and grandparents of middle aged adults always seem to be on the extreme edge of believable youthfulness.
No problem with bringing back Linda Lee. Her and TM did have good mojo. But why couldn’t TM just tell her about his daughter, rather than hint around about another girl and he needs time away to think, etc??? And the stalker bit…a silly plotline. More thoughts about it in Pt 2 comments.
Wow this is another terrific thread. I especially enjoy when you guys catch mistakes or in jokes. I feel like a dilettante in comparison.
I may being going out on a limb but I would like to address the question of who Robin Masters really is in light of Higgins "confession" in Resolutions.
A lot of the series back story and earlier episodes don't work if Higgins is Robin Masters. I would like to see what you guys think of the following which might explain a lot and is not precluded by any story line that I recall.
What if Higgins is actually the author of the Robin Masters novels but he is not Robin, rather he is Robin's GHOST WRITER employed by a rich layabout (in the form of Orson Welles).
I think that makes a lot of sense, so that Higgins is telling the truth both when he tells Thomas he
is Robin and then retracts it. Higgins being the author Robin Masters but not the man himself also might explain why at times Higgins seems so angry at his employer, one who takes credit for Higgins work as a writer while not appreciating Higgins stewardship of Robins Nest, even letting a low life like Dick Shawns Hugh Heffner character come in and take the joint over.
Maybe one of you guys have already put this theory out there but if not what do you think?
"That's Dobie with a B, not P"...Dwayne Hickman
Last edited by Luther's nephew Dobie on Mon May 04, 2020 1:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Luther's nephew Dobie wrote:Wow this is another terrific thread. I especially enjoy when you guys catch mistakes or in jokes. I feel like a dilettante in comparison.
I may being going out on a limb but I would like to address the question of who Robin Masters really is in light of Higgins "confession" in Resolutions.
A lot of the series back story and earlier episodes don't work if Higgins is Robin Masters. I would like to see what you guys think of the following which might explain a lot and is not precluded by any story line that I recall.
What if Higgins is actually the author of the Robin Masters novels but he is not Robin, rather he is Robin's GHOST WRITER employed by a rich layabout (in the form of Orson Welles).
I think that makes a lot of sense, so that Higgins is telling the truth both when he tells Thomas he
is Robin and then retracts it. Higgins being the author Robin Masters but not the man himself also might explain why at times Higgins seems so angry at his employer, one who takes credit for Higgins work as a writer while not appreciating Higgins stewardship of Robins Nest, even letting a low life like Dick Shawns Hugh Heffner character come in and take the joint over.
Maybe one of you guys have already put this theory out there but if not what do you think?
Mike from Jersey
"That's Dobie with a B, not P"...Dwayne Hickman
Mike-Ditto on the theory of Higgins being Robin's ghostwriter. If you go the Magnum PI talk forum, go to the thread: Is Jonathan Higgins Robin Masters? Quite a few interesting theories by MPI fans on the subject.
I have been enjoying watching Magnum PI again on DirecTV on demand. I had not really seen any of these shows since I saw them live back in the 80's. It's been a wonderful stroll down memory lane.
This episode is hard to judge on its own as it leads to the conclusion. It does seem almost like they picked a whole bunch of people to be in the show to say 'farewell'. The inclusion of his daughter was important, I thought, and a definite plus...a move that added magnitude to what was going on.
I did think the choice of Linda over Cynthia was a bit peculiar. I will say I thought the scene where Magnum lets down her hair was touching, but couldn't help but think he was seeing Michelle's hair instead of Linda's. I thought Linda resembled Michelle more and there was more appeal for that reason.
I was wondering if anyone can recall a scene between Magnum and Howard Duff''s character (I believe)..
I think Magnum or TSM II say:
'When you are doing something, give it your all, and when it's time to leave, do it with class/style"
Perhaps it was Duff's "Thomas Sullivan Magnum II"?
I'm really trying to get that exact quote and to whom it is attributed. I believe it was in a bar where TSM II is talking about leaving service, and Magnum is listening.. this may have made him decide to 'reup'. I THINK it is from the first half of 'Resolutions'
I was unable to find that quote for you, however I've got the 2008 dvd and I understand that there is a scene from Resolutions 1 where TM attends an Annapolis Reunion at a bar which was cut from the 2008 dvd so maybe it was said in that scene? Mabybe someone else has a non-2008 dvd? Sorry I couldn't help!
I am glad that Lily was alive, but not wild about the entire finale. I don't know, it just seemed rushed and forced. But its MPI and they had a great run.
