Tigers Fan (8.4)

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Tanaka dying made this one of the more somber episodes. I wish they'd kept him around for the rest of the season. I always loved how he and Magnum interacted.

[Mark R.Y.]

This is kind of lame, but I have an "out" for the flub concerning guys in 1973 talking about the Lance White character: This scene was Tanaka's nightmare in which what actually happened in '73 got jumbled up with other things going on in his head. Perhaps he watched a rerun of one of the "Rockford Files" eps with White the night before!

[A P Leyland]

Great one. Some really clever and funny writing (Magnum's description of TC's baseball teaching skills "tedious baseball taught tediously" I think). Shame about Tanaka but at least he got a good sendoff.

Andy

[Jay-Firestorm]

I could never really warm to this episode simply because they killed off one of my favourite recurring characters.

[rating=8.5]

Lt. Tanaka is shot dead while working on an undercover case. When the official report seems to cover up the murder, Magnum is determined to uncover the truth and clear his friend of drug running. Why did they have to kill off one of my favourite characters?...

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This review contains spoilers.

After two comedy-based episodes with ‘Pleasure Principal’ and ‘Innocence… A Broad’, things return to more serious matters with ‘Tigers Fan’.

This episode is, of course, the one where the much recurring Lt. Tanaka (Kwan Hi Lim) is killed off. Introduced in the second season’s ‘Try to Remember’, and appearing in many episodes since, Tanaka became one of my favourite secondary characters (and I always felt that he deserved his own spin-off special of something). So it comes as a surprise and a shock when he is abruptly killed off in this story.
In once sense, I like that they dared to kill the character off – it gave the show a real sense of “anything can happen”, but at the same time, considering that the episode comes so near the end of the show’s run, to me it seems like a bit of a damp squib – I wish he had made it to the series finale.

One thing I really like about this episode, and continuing a tradition, is that the opening trailer gives hardly any spoilers away. They managed to construct the whole thing, which tells us that Tanaka is in some trouble, without giving away the key plot point that he will be murdered. I really like this – especially considering that the opening trailers of some other shows of the era sometimes gave away the whole plot in the opening thirty seconds.

The story opens with an amusing flashback to the 1970s, and one of the characters asks is his companions saw ‘Rockford’ (‘The Rockford Files’) the previous night – an episode where Rockford was being driven nuts by a character named Lance White; White was a character times seen later in ‘Rockford’s run, played by… Tom Selleck! (The scene is slightly off in that it mentions the Watergate hearings, which were in 1974, but Selleck did not play Lance White until 1978; but as it turns out to be a flashback dream sequence, it is excusable).

Anyway… I can never really decide how I feel about this episode. The bulk of me tends not to like it that much simply because they killed off one of my favourite recurring characters. Looking past that, the story is reasonable – good first and last act, but sags in the middle.
The first act, before Tanaka is killed, is quite humorous, and makes a lot of mention of Magnum’s theory that Higgins is really Robin Masters. After the notion was introduced in season seven’s excellent ‘Paper War’, this is probably the most the idea is played upon in the series – even thought I did feel it was used for story padding a bit here. Even so, I love Magnum’s scared, child-like reaction when Higgins says that he has informed Mr. Masters of Magnum’s concocted theory.

The climax of the story is also good, and one of the most memorable sequences of the eighth season in my opinion, as we see ‘Rambo Magnum’ infiltrate the villains boat and get even with them.
However, as I said above, I found that the mid-section of the story really sagged in places.

On ‘face value’, this is on the whole a reasonable late MPI episode (and my 8.5 rating reflects that); but I just couldn’t warm to it simply because of the death of Tanaka. It seems a shaky excuse for another “avenging the death of a friend” story, and even thought there have been many previous ‘friends’ that were never mentioned before (or since) their relevant episodes, I would probably have preferred such a new character to be invented for the purposes of this story. Either that, or they could have killed Lt. Page off instead.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* After such a long review, I think I’ve pretty much said all I have to say on this one.

[N1095A]

I hate to break this to ya', but as much as we'd all like the Tigers cap from this episode to be the same one Tanaka took from TM in "Try To Remember", it clearly is not. The two caps appear to be from different eras. Whether or not it was the intention of the writer/s to have them be the same cap I don't know for sure. If it were then why would they go out of their way to use an older vintage cap instead of one of the regular Tigers caps I'm sure they had on hand?


Cap from "Try To Remember"

Cap from "Tigers Fan"

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Good spot Mike. You can see the differences in the "D" on the hat easily. Wear and tear make it more difficult to see if it was actually the same style hat, but I'd venture to say the seconf hat was never as full looking as the first hat.

[Carol the Dabbler]

OK, but I still choose to believe that it was intended to be the same hat. (Though one could alternatively say that Magnum considered it to be an acceptable replacement for the one Tanaka had "confiscated" from him.)

[From Episode Note 3] Lance White was a minor reccurring character played by Tom Selleck!

I don't feel it's quite accurate to describe Lance White as a "minor" recurring character -- that makes him sound like this series' Cleo. (By the way, James, the Post a Reply spellcheck says you've got one too many c's in recurring.) True, he was in only two episodes, but in those episodes, he was a major character. Maybe that line would work better without the word "recurring" -- something like "The character Lance White (who appeared in two episodes of Rockford) was played by Tom Selleck!"

Sure hated to see Tanaka go. Would have liked to have him there till the end.

Agreed! It seems odd that they didn't wait till a bit later in the season (not that the season was long enough anyhow!). Judging by how little screen time Tanaka had in this episode (note that in the flashback, he's "played" by the camera), I'm wondering whether Kwan Hi Lim might have known he was going to be unavailable for the rest of the filming season, and suggested that his character die. They could have filmed his few scenes first. Perhaps the injured leg that we saw in "Pleasure Principle" was going to require surgery.

Why did he wait 14 years to avenge his partner's death? .... It was implied that Tanaka had been dwelling on the death for years.

I don't recall that any reason was given (or even hinted at) in the episode, but my theory is that Tanaka had believed until very recently that Grady Walker was actually still in the hospital with a complete mental breakdown, and perhaps felt that that sort of living hell was far better punishment than a quick death. Then he either saw Walker somewhere, or (more likely, I think) found out from an informant that he was once again involved in drug traffic. Or perhaps he had actually not been dwelling on Rob's death -- until he was awakened by that nightmare.

*****************

Question: Does anyone else think that Biff looks like a hapa-haole (technically, half non-Hawaiian, but most often meaning part white)? It seems odd to me that he's apparently supposed to be of entirely Japanese ancestry. If Tanaka is his uncle, but his last name is Ikeda, then his mother is the Lieutenant's sister, which works, because both of them look very Asian. Of course, Biff's father, even though his name was apparently Ikeda, may have been of only part-Japanese ancestry. That's very common in Hawaii. All that would be required for him to have that family name would be that his father's father's ... father was Japanese. (Or Biff could have been adopted!)

[Little Garwood]

And I risk being ostracized by saying this, BUT AT THE TIME I WATCHED THE FINAL EPISODE when it actually aired, I was very disappointed in the ending with Thomas going back into the Navy because of Lily and by Rick's marrying (or almost marrying) such an unlikeable and unsympathetic female. That was my feeling at the time and it still is. I'm sorry, folks, but I just didn't like that ending.

1. The Navy scenario: Okay, yes, it did give Thomas a steady income, but was he going to mooch off Higgins to be his babysitter while he was at work at the naval base every day? Thomas left the Navy because he didn't want to deal with the politics and regulations. I was disappointed that he rather compromised his principles just because he felt responsible for a daughter. He wouldn't be a very happy father in that case and therefore not a good father (IN MY OPINION). I'm not sure I have a better suggestion for a job for him, but something like his taking a well-paying and important job as head of security at one of the really big Honolulu hotels where he would have a live-in apartment on-site and we would see him arranging for some kind of day care while he was officially at work and also making arrangements for a back-up babysitter if he had to do something at night (a good excuse to give, for example, a very reliable native Hawaiian cleaning lady at the hotel a chance to earn more money and show how her extended family would be of benefit to Lily, who was certainly short on family at this point in time).

Again, these are just some ideas I'm throwing out because I was disappointed in 1988 and felt the ending was a really big letdown to something that had been so good for so long. Like if Cheers had ended when Sam sold the bar and sank his boat . . . .

golf

I'm in total agreement with you, Golf. Magnum going back to the Navy, was a huge step backward for the character. Since when does "growing up" have to mean returning to a former job? Starting his own security consulting firm would've been a better move. Besides, Thomas was over forty and I don't know that the USN would even want someone that old back, despite previous service. I hated that ending!

As for "Tigers Fan" itself, Tanaka's death was poorly handled and the episode itself was badlyexecuted. Thomas shoots up a ship of drug dealers and gets to walk away laughing from the crime scene? Ugh!

[nha trang]

I thought that the scene out on the baseball field where Magnum kind of hugs Tanaka to be a bit forced to say the least. I don't think that their relationship quite warranted that level of casualness. I guess I'm not a big touchy-feely person so maybe it's just me.

It did seem to me to be a rather forced tactic to quickly build the appearance of more affection in the relationship than perhaps had been shown to the viewer, and for the purpose of adding more emotion to the plight of catching his killer later.

So, I really wasn't a fan of having to off Tanaka just because the series is in its final season. Also, I'm not quite sure how Grady recognized Tanaka or knew he was a cop? Excuse me if I missed it elsewhere in the thread.

[AmandaByNight]

I have to say I loved this episode. I remember being shocked that Tanaka was killed. It's been eons since I've seen this one, but I definitely recall liking it. Magnum got a bit darker towards the end of the run and I think many of these later episodes are so great and unexpected. It makes the more comedic ones even funnier to me in a way because the balance shifted and the less serious episodes were the ones that begun to stick out to me.

[MaximRecoil]

It’s hard to tell since I don’t believe a definite time line has ever been established in the show, season two for all we know was just a year or two earlier in Magnum P.I. time. What do you think?

A definite timeline was established in this show. It happened in more or less "real-time", with each new season representing another year in the MPI universe. For example:

Memories Are Forever (Season 2, Episode 5 | 1981)
Little Girl Who (Season 7, Episode 6 | 1986)

In the latter episode, Magnum notes that the time frame is correct for Lily to be his daughter, because she was 5 years old and she would have been conceived when Magnum had last been with Michelle, i.e., during the events of "Memories Are Forever", about 5 years prior.

There are other examples which establish a timeline in this show as well, such as Magnum turning 40 in season 7, and being 34 in season 1.

[TIGERS FAN]

TIGERS FAN still stands out as one of my all time favorite episodes. It has a little bit of everything, from hot dogs to Albanian Countesses, friendship, humor, action, revenge. As a child of the 80's, I remember the later years of Magnum the best, and this episode always stuck with me. As likeable a character as T.M. was, one should never forget that if you cross him bad enough he will sneak onto your ship under the cover of darkness and kill every soul on board! Magnum is BAD ASS!

[Doc Fred]

Great observations Golf and Doc. Higgins as Mr. French. I can buy that.

I don't have a problem with Magnum going back in the Navy, because other than being a private investigator, that is all he really knows.

I strongly agree with you, and emphatically believe it was the best solution for him. No one's mentioned it, but he had to have married someone before too long... I could see the gal being either Linda Lee or Maggie Poole, NOT Carol. But, for sure, he'd have married someone and had a wife as well as a mom for Lily.

I agree with you about Rick marrying Cleo. I also think Judith Chapman's character in both, "The Black Orchid" and "The Woman On The Beach" would have been ideal because both characters liked to dress and portray characters from the 1940s, just like Rick.

I don't think Cleo was so bad, but I think I would have written the story with a BIG surprise... have Rick marry Carol... they were around together a lot, interacting a lot, and could have had something going behind the scenes, which could have been written into the last show.

AND, finally, they could have had Higgy and Agatha marrying also.... She WANTED him, and he had great respect for, and appreciated who she was. Higgy had seen his precious Lady Ashley, so was over that when she showed up with the gigolo... "Woof, woof... Yeah, 30 years UGLIER!... Woof, Woof!"

[Doc Fred]

During Lt. Tanaka’s funeral we see a U.S. Army Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor ribbon. I don’t recall if it was revealed during the series that Lt. Tanaka was ever in the U.S. Army. However, the Medal of Honor shown was the variety awarded by the U.S. Army (as opposed to Navy/Marines and Air Force), and is awarded only for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States. I don’t know if the medal and ribbon shown were supposed to serve as a Police medal for purposes of the episode. If so, then this is a flub, as the medal and ribbon shown are clearly a Medal of Honor and ribbon for the U.S. Army, not a civilian police force. So, if Tanaka was awarded the medal and ribbon (the medal and ribbon represent the same award; the ribbon is often worn in lieu of the actual medal which is worn around the neck), then it would have been as a member of the U.S. Army for action against an enemy. It is revealed during the episode by Lt. Page that Tanaka served 26 years with the department (H.P.D.) As James pointed out, Tanaka’s D.O.B. is July 20, 1934, which would have made him too young for WWII. He could have joined the Army as a young man and may have caught the tale end of Korea. If he was with H.P.D. for 26 years then he would have joined H.P.D. around 1961, before the U.S. was involved in Vietnam (not including advisors). Most likely, Tanaka would have won the Medal of Honor during Korea. I don’t believe this information is ever revealed about Yoshi Tanaka. I prefer to think that Tanaka won the Medal of Honor (and ribbon) while in the Army, rather than as a flub.

I very much enjoyed your discussion of Tanaka.... I also noted the CMOH and felt it was significant and not a flub.

You mentioned his partner, Slater, and a few things about the coroner's report. I noted on the report that Slater was 5'11; when Tanaka's sister show's Magnum things during his visit to her I took note of the picture of Tanaka and Slater... Slater was a good seven or eight inches taller than Tanaka, so Tanaka had to be no more than 5'4".

[Doc Fred]

If you go to the scene on the baseball field where TM and TC "discuss" their respective baseball strategies and check out when Biff rounds third base, you'll see the third baseman looking toward home and having his glove up in a catching position as a target for the catcher to throw the ball to him, perhaps in an effort to catch the runner (Biff) after his movement down the baseline. BUT, when TM and TC were discussing, it's clear that Biff rounded the base the way he did because he was thinking of beating the throw from the outfield. So, there was a technical flub... Had the third baseman not looked toward home to receive a throw from the catcher, there'd have been no flub.

Another flub: Despite Tanaka's comment that Biff would be in the major leagues some day, when you look at Biff throwing the ball in his backyard during Magnum's visit, you can see he doesn't throw the ball with anything approaching how someone with baseball talent would throw... if fact, he doesn't came close to throwing the ball anywhere near the tire, the first one even missing the sheet behind the tire.