A Girl Named Sue (8.7)
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- J.J. Walters
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A Girl Named Sue (8.7)
This is the official MM thread for A Girl Named Sue (8.7). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).
This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.
Original Air Date: 1/13/1988
Bank teller Susan Johnson returns to Magnum's life with a bang: having recently become a detective, she opens fire on him during an investigation.
This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.
Original Air Date: 1/13/1988
Bank teller Susan Johnson returns to Magnum's life with a bang: having recently become a detective, she opens fire on him during an investigation.
- J.J. Walters
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As a big Carol Burnett fan, I really wanted to like this one. Sadly, it falls short for me, mainly because of the predictable, cookie-cutter script and the one-dimensional, highly annoying, characters.
The Magnum/Susan scenes didn't seem to work as well here - they seemed a little too outlandish and forced. "Rembrand'ts Girl" was much better, IMHO. Susan's wardrobe also bothered me for some reason. I know she's supposed to be a throwback gumshoe, but did she have to look like she just walked out of a Dick Tracy comic book, or something?
This episode does feature what has to be one of the best Higgins "Oh My God!" deliveries ever, though!
http://magnum-mania.com/Audio/oh_my_god_2.wav
Truly terrifying! It's a good thing Magnum high-tailed it out of there before he opened the box!
The Magnum/Susan scenes didn't seem to work as well here - they seemed a little too outlandish and forced. "Rembrand'ts Girl" was much better, IMHO. Susan's wardrobe also bothered me for some reason. I know she's supposed to be a throwback gumshoe, but did she have to look like she just walked out of a Dick Tracy comic book, or something?
This episode does feature what has to be one of the best Higgins "Oh My God!" deliveries ever, though!
http://magnum-mania.com/Audio/oh_my_god_2.wav
Truly terrifying! It's a good thing Magnum high-tailed it out of there before he opened the box!
Higgins: It's not a scratch! It's a bloody gouge!
I also thought the chemistry between Magnum and Susan was much better in Rembrandt's Girl. They had some genuinely funny moments in the vault ("We're going to run out of air?!!!"), and a nice farewell back at the guest house.
Unfortunately, most of this episode feels like it's just recycling what worked before. Even the sight of Magnum caught in netting feels like an excuse for another silly Magnum visual (ala the sprinkler in Rembrandt's).
Unfortunately, most of this episode feels like it's just recycling what worked before. Even the sight of Magnum caught in netting feels like an excuse for another silly Magnum visual (ala the sprinkler in Rembrandt's).
LOL...it's certainly one of the most vicious! I also like the way the joke is painfully telegraphed (Magnum's placement of the box), yet still delivers a good laugh.James J. Walters wrote:This episode does feature what has to be one of the best Higgins "Oh My God!" deliveries ever, though!
- N1095A
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Anyone else not get why TM gift wrapped Higgins' pistol? We know from later in the episode that TM's gun was damaged, but gift wrapping higgins' pistol?James J. Walters wrote:As a big Carol Burnett fan, I really wanted to like this one. Sadly, it falls short for me, mainly because of the predictable, cookie-cutter script and the one-dimensional, highly annoying, characters.
The Magnum/Susan scenes didn't seem to work as well here - they seemed a little too outlandish and forced. "Rembrand'ts Girl" was much better, IMHO. Susan's wardrobe also bothered me for some reason. I know she's supposed to be a throwback gumshoe, but did she have to look like she just walked out of a Dick Tracy comic book, or something?
This episode does feature what has to be one of the best Higgins "Oh My God!" deliveries ever, though!
http://magnum-mania.com/Audio/oh_my_god_2.wav
Truly terrifying! It's a good thing Magnum high-tailed it out of there before he opened the box!
"But Higgins, I can explain."
- Tom_Magnum
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agree with arri: the worst episode ever.
the episode in the vault was so much better (rembrandt's girl)
the episode in the vault was so much better (rembrandt's girl)
Agatha: Why does he always do that, Jonathan?
Higgins: I don't know, Agatha. I think sometimes our creator is testing me. Indeed it could be for no other reason. If i thought otherwise i believe i truly would go irrevocably irretrievably mad!
Higgins: I don't know, Agatha. I think sometimes our creator is testing me. Indeed it could be for no other reason. If i thought otherwise i believe i truly would go irrevocably irretrievably mad!
- lutherhgillis
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To each their own so if you liked this epi, then great but I almost barfed! It was totally campy for me. It was actually a pretty good story but the way they exaggerated the interaction between the characters put it over the top.
Carol Burnett is one of the great ones and it was good to see her again. That Lucky Steele must pay a good piece of bank because Carol was driving a Ferrari like Robin's... I think they listed at 50 - 60k back then.
Did anyone see a correlation between the Lucky Steele detective kit and the backpacker's pal from the Rembrandt's Girl episode?
Carol Burnett is one of the great ones and it was good to see her again. That Lucky Steele must pay a good piece of bank because Carol was driving a Ferrari like Robin's... I think they listed at 50 - 60k back then.
Did anyone see a correlation between the Lucky Steele detective kit and the backpacker's pal from the Rembrandt's Girl episode?
Last edited by lutherhgillis on Wed Jun 17, 2009 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Who's Dot Matrix, and what has she got to do with this?
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- Jay-Firestorm
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Phew – I didn’t like this one and thought I was going to be in a small minority, but it seems this one didn’t go down that well with most other members either.
[rating=6.0]
Magnum is hired by a woman to find the missing will of her late father, recently killed in a boating accident. But he finds himself working against Susan Johnson, now a P.I. herself, who has been hired by the girl’s brother, in a family feud. Annoying…
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As soon as I saw the opening trailer for this episode, I instantly knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it. And how right I was!
The episode opens vaguely amusingly with Magnum trying to avoid a subpoena over an incident he has witnessed. However, this potentially enjoyable idea (it could have at least rounded out the final story as a b-plot) is soon forgotten as the main story gets underway.
Carol Burnett returns as Susan Johnson, first seen in the fourth season episode ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’. We find that since that appearance, Susan has become a trainee Private Investigator. As I said with my review of ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’, not being American, I wasn’t really sure who Carol Burnett is (until I read up on her), but I found her rather annoying in ‘Rembrandt’, and here, I find her downright terrible!
I’m sure Burnett can be funny with the right material (I’ve never seen any of her other work, so I can’t compare), but in this episode all she seems to do is talk loudly and wave her arms a lot and pull silly faces.
Even beyond Burnett, I find the whole plot of this episode uninteresting. Although there are some good episodes in the eighth, final season, often when watching them I can’t help but wish that they would stop going for so many half-hearted plots and give Magnum a case that both he, and us the viewers, can really get our teeth into.
Not much more to say on this one. I find it very annoying (mostly due to Carol Burnett, I’m afraid), and as such, it is one of my least watched episodes – I hadn’t seen it in YEARS until I came to review it – and it hasn’t got any better with age! I’d say this is the weakest episode of the final season.
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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* On the DVD version, listen carefully to the opening theme, around the spot where Larry Manetti’s credit comes up – the music ‘slips’ and goes wobbly for a moment. (I haven’t had time to check my broadcast version yet to see if it does the same thing).
* Another episode presumably produced before Pete Carpenter’s death, as it again credits both Mike Post and Carpenter as scoring the episode.
* Rick only appears in one scene in this episode, at the Club near the beginning.
[rating=6.0]
Magnum is hired by a woman to find the missing will of her late father, recently killed in a boating accident. But he finds himself working against Susan Johnson, now a P.I. herself, who has been hired by the girl’s brother, in a family feud. Annoying…
-----
As soon as I saw the opening trailer for this episode, I instantly knew I wasn’t going to enjoy it. And how right I was!
The episode opens vaguely amusingly with Magnum trying to avoid a subpoena over an incident he has witnessed. However, this potentially enjoyable idea (it could have at least rounded out the final story as a b-plot) is soon forgotten as the main story gets underway.
Carol Burnett returns as Susan Johnson, first seen in the fourth season episode ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’. We find that since that appearance, Susan has become a trainee Private Investigator. As I said with my review of ‘Rembrandt’s Girl’, not being American, I wasn’t really sure who Carol Burnett is (until I read up on her), but I found her rather annoying in ‘Rembrandt’, and here, I find her downright terrible!
I’m sure Burnett can be funny with the right material (I’ve never seen any of her other work, so I can’t compare), but in this episode all she seems to do is talk loudly and wave her arms a lot and pull silly faces.
Even beyond Burnett, I find the whole plot of this episode uninteresting. Although there are some good episodes in the eighth, final season, often when watching them I can’t help but wish that they would stop going for so many half-hearted plots and give Magnum a case that both he, and us the viewers, can really get our teeth into.
Not much more to say on this one. I find it very annoying (mostly due to Carol Burnett, I’m afraid), and as such, it is one of my least watched episodes – I hadn’t seen it in YEARS until I came to review it – and it hasn’t got any better with age! I’d say this is the weakest episode of the final season.
-----
Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* On the DVD version, listen carefully to the opening theme, around the spot where Larry Manetti’s credit comes up – the music ‘slips’ and goes wobbly for a moment. (I haven’t had time to check my broadcast version yet to see if it does the same thing).
* Another episode presumably produced before Pete Carpenter’s death, as it again credits both Mike Post and Carpenter as scoring the episode.
* Rick only appears in one scene in this episode, at the Club near the beginning.
JAY FIRESTORM
Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/
My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!
Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/
My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!
- Carol the Dabbler
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Magnum put it in the box so Higgins wouldn't see him with it. As we find out later, Magnum's own pistol was being repaired because he had damaged it breaking out of the warehouse, so he decided to "borrow" Higgins' revolver.N1095A wrote:Anyone else not get why TM gift wrapped Higgins' pistol? We know from later in the episode that TM's gun was damaged, but gift wrapping Higgins' pistol?
I was thinking she said something like "an average-looking guy with a mustache," which would be kind of amusing, because in my opinion Magnum would be a kind of average looking guy if he was without his mustache. I love Carol Burnett's comedy work, but this episode does not show her talents to best advantage. As Jay said above, they have her spending most of it screaming and stomping.DarCA wrote:I loved when they met in the warehouse and she asked him if he was a "sort of good looking guy".
When Magnum is talking to the security guard at the marina, it sounds to me like his line about the "Wainwight yacht" might have been a blooper that they decided to leave in, perhaps because her rejoinder about the "pwivate iwand" was so cute.
And yes, we have yet another uninhabited lush tropical island within an easy helicopter ride from Honolulu. Hey, writers, if there did happen to be an uninhabited lush tropical island that close by, IT WOULD BE INHABITED!!! (Whew -- I feel better now!)
There have been comments on other threads about "5-0" being referred to as though it were real in the Magnum universe. I'm wondering whether those references might actually have been meant as tongue-in-cheek. That does seem to be the case with Susan's farewell to Magnum, saying that if he ever needs help, just let her know, and she'll "be here before you can say, 'Book 'em, Danno!'"
Carol