Magnum Mania!

On Face Value

Episode ID: 82
Episode Number: 4.19
Air Date: 3/15/1984
Writer: Nick Thiel
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Producer: Reuben Leder
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters

Kathleen Lloyd (Carol Baldwin)

Guest Stars

Talia Balsam (Emily Jackson), Tommy Fujiwara (Dr. Konia), Connie Kissinger (Nurse Wilson), Dick Warlock (Jimmy Kiedash), Buddy Joe Hooker (Mark Kiedash)

Plot Outline

A high-speed car chase between Magnum and some black-market operatives spins wildly out of control when a young woman gets caught in the crossfire. But when he continues to have run-ins with the devious thugs, he begins to wonder if this "innocent victim" might be more than she seems.

Rating

8.5 (12 votes) MM Episode Forum Thread & Poll

Notes

1 The original title of this episode was "Innocent Bystander". (Noted by Mike Barnes)

2 Magnum says that the estate's tidal pool was originally built by natives as a place to raise sea turtles [see Quote #4]. This is true in reality as well. The Anderson Estate (the real life location for Robin's Nest) is also known as Pahonu, which means "turtle enclosure" in Hawaiian. A long, long time ago, native Hawaiians used the tidal pool enclosure to raise sea turtles for food.

3 This episode features a really good Ferrari-GTO car chase and a two-on-one gun fight finale (where Magnum is shot in the lower left shoulder)!

4 The Kiedash brothers are played by two famous Hollywood stunt men and stunt coordinators - Dick Warlock (Kurt Russell's stunt double for 25+ years and famous for playing Michael Myers in Halloween II) & Buddy Joe Hooker (member of the Hollywood Stuntmen's Hall of Fame).

5 Magnum mentions an "Aunt Margaret" who took him to a Detroit Tigers game in August of 1956 when he "was ten years old". He name-checks three baseball players: Harvey Kuenn, Al Kaline, and Bob Turley.

6 Connie Kissinger (Nurse Wilson) is a well-known local Hawaiian singer/songwriter. For many years she sang with pianist Kit Samson's Sound Advice at the old Kahala Hilton's Maile Lounge. She will appear again on the show in Season Seven's "The Aunt Who Came to Dinner" (7.20) as a "Hall of Records" clerk.

7 Castle Medical Center in Kailua is used as a filming location.

8 In 1942, in the North African Campaign of WWII, Higgins accidentally killed a fellow British soldier (a Roger Thornsby) at night who failed to properly identify himself.

9 In reference to the episode title, Emily Jackson is a face reader and demonstrates it several times in the episode.

Quotes

1
Magnum: When I write my book on being a first class private investigator, Rule Number 168 is going to be: "If you're getting chased, you should be in a fast car". Postscript to Rule 168: "No matter how fast your car is, there can always be one that's faster. (Narration)

2
Emily: I know Gonzo and Trapper John dress like that, but I thought that was only on the tube.
Magnum: I think so. (smiles)

3
Magnum: When I was ten years old, my Aunt Margeret took me to a Tiger game.
Rick: Listen, Thomas, we know how you feel.
Magnum: Was I eleven? Nope, I was definitely ten years old, because it was August of 1956 and the Tigers were still in the pennant race.
T.C.: Uh, that's real nice, Thomas.
Magnum: It got to be the ninth inning and the Tigers were down four zip, there two outs, with man on first and second, and Harvey Kuenn was up, and "Bullet" Bob Turley was on the mound throwing BB's. Well, Harvey lined a single through the hole....You know, there is nothing like the sound of a clean hit.
Rick: Thomas...
Magnum: There's just no other sound like it, it's....poetry.
Rick: Thomas...
Magnum: That scored a run and brought up Al Kaline. Well, the crowds going crazy, I dropped my snow cone down the backside of the guy in front of me, and "Bullet" Bob, he rears back and throws one right by Al's head. Well, it seemed like, I don't know, ten minutes before Al finally picked himself up, and digs in, and Turley is just looking at him, and then he lets go of another high-inside fastball.
(Carol Baldwin enters and begins talking to the gang)
T.C.: Hey, what happened? Thomas, what happened to Al Kaline? Did he win the game??
Magnum: Huh?
T.C.: The game!
Magnum: Al stroked one inside the line and the Tigers won.

4
Emily: I was really bored one day so I watched a documentary. It was all about how sharks are attracted to certain movements, and Thomas, I'm moving just like a wounded seal!
Magnum: Well, I don't think any sharks around Oahu are used to seeing any seals. Besides, there's a great big reef out there and this tidal pool was built a long time ago to keep sharks out and sea turtles in. The local people used to raise them for food in here.

Flubs

1 The Ferrari used in this episode, and in the opening of the "Pilot Movie", has an "aluminum brushed" pattern on the dashboard and steering wheel. The real 308 QV and GTS Ferrari's have a black dashboard and steering wheel, which are seen in all other episodes.

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