Deja Vu (1) (6.1)

[J.J. Walters]

Anybody happen to know the name/location of the "Carlsboro Hotel" (appears to be fictional, I can't find anything on it) that is used for several scenes in this episode?

[rubber chicken]

OK, three locations here. I haven't watched this show in a while so I'm not sure of what the name of the hotel in your picture is supposed to be in the show. But the "Carlsboro Hotel" is the one in the picture below, where Magnum sees the kid outside, then goes in and finds Penelope St. Clair.

The Carlsboro in real life is the London Guards Hotel and is located here north of Hyde Park in Lancaster Gate square. (All three of these locations are in/on Lancaster Gate). The interior lobby scene of the "Carlsboro Hotel" I'm guessing was filmed at this location.



The interior room scenes (which supposedly take place in the "Carlsboro Hotel") where Magnum talks to Penelope St. Clair and where the sniper sets up is on the fifth floor on the East side of the building located on the corner here which I think is the Commodore Hotel. ( 2 ). But I'm not 100% certain the corner building is part of the Commodore.



The third location where Magnum saves the man who would otherwise get shot is The Columbia Hotel which is located here.



So here's the three locations, with Hyde Park at the bottom of the picture.

[J.J. Walters]

Wow, thanks RC!

I guess I didn't look closely enough. I thought all of the above mentioned scenes took place at the same hotel.

Great work. Thanks again.

[Jay-Firestorm]

Finally into season six, with a story where much was filmed just a few miles from me.

[rating=8.5]

Magnum and Higgins travel to London, England, to organise Robin Masters’ latest home, but on the way Magnum has a prophetic dream – one that comes true when he finds that an old friend has been killed in suspicious circumstances. A story very special to me…

-----

After the disappointing fifth season, the show’s sixth year splutters into life with this reasonable feature-length / two-parter. And it stands as a very special story to me, as it is set in England, where I live, and a lot of it takes place in London – only a few miles from me (though I seldom venture into the City).

The story features a number of faces familiar to Brits – including fifth ‘Doctor Who’ Peter Davison as Ian Mackerras, the owner of Robin’s new estate, and Arthur English, a stalwart of many British comedies, such as ‘Are You Being Served’.

Although the story is special to me for obvious reasons, the plot itself is a mixed bag; it has its interesting elements, but at the same time it is a bit slow and indecisive in places. It continues the fifth season feel for going very much for more straight drama, with little of the action of earlier seasons.
And personally, I actually find the b-plot of Higgins and Mackerras trying to organise the new estate (“Robin’s Keep”) more interesting than the main plot involving Magnum’s strange visions and his friend killed in suspicious circumstances.

I also wasn’t sure of Francesca Annis playing Penelope – I found her acting a bit hammy in places, especially when Magnum tells her that husband Geoffrey has been killed.
Magnum’s strange dreams are interesting, but I can’t help but feel, set in England, that a plot involving MI5 or MI6 would have been just as good.

But there are a number of things that save this story. The location work around London, and some good scripting elsewhere in the story.

Review continued in Part II.

-----

Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* After three seasons of using the same opening credits, the opening sequence is finally updated with some new shots. One more shot would be changed in a couple of episodes time, in ‘The Kona Winds’.

* Instead of the usual bottom left, the episode title appears in the centre, about 2/3 of the way down the screen.

* When Magnum is driving in the Bentley, the same shot of him driving around the roundabout near Buckingham Palace is used twice.

* T.C.’s section of the story is presumably filmed separately, and I’d imagine filmed on the same studio location in Hawaii and slotted in.

* The three wheeled car that Higgins drives is made my Reliant. I’m not car expert so I don’t know the exact model, but it can be compared to the Robin Reliant seen in the British sitcom ‘Only Fools and Horses’. Apparently, as they only had three wheels, the driver only needed a motorcycle license to drive one. They are little seen on British streets nowadays, and look as strange to us Brits as they must do to everyone else!

* When Five broadcast this episode in 2002, they took they feature-length version and edited in half. The first half ends as Magnum and Penelope kiss.

[Little Garwood]

This thread has gotten even more interesting since I'm going to London this August!

[steveadl]

Not a huge fan of this episode(s). The story line was ok, but it dragged for me somewhat, and just isn't the same not being in Hawaii.

I think the reason they had the side story with TC in Morocco was probably because they just couldn't figure out a way to make him a part of the London story - for the same reason Rick didn't really have much of a role in the episode either I guess.

[MaiTaiMan]

Awesome...one of the best, and I rated it as such! Although, I think season 5's 2-part premiere was a little better, and a little more suspenseful, than "Deja Vu"--this is still a superb season opener for season 6!

As I've stated several times before...I love anything suspenseful, bizarre, spooky, eerie, psychological, etc...! Like "Echoes of the Mind", "Fragments", "Compulsion", "Black & White", etc..."Deja Vu" rates up there with the best of 'em in those genres!!

I love the plot...with the bizarre and disturbing dreams Magnum has, the locale change to London (somewhere I would have never thought of), the on-the-edge moments and action scenes, the strange plot twists, and Of course Higgins' family past--and him coming to grips with seeing his father after 40 years!

This was sort of like Magnum meets Sherlock Holmes...and it was done in a captivating, fascinating way! "Deja Vu" is probably my favorite episode/s of season 6--and it has the perfect ending!

(I put this same review for Part 2)

[RamblerReb]

Some notes:

Geoffrey St. Clair's sniper rifle in the flashback to Vietnam is an Enfield Enforcer, a police version of the venerable .303 Lee-Enfield but chambered in 7.62 NATO. The producers probably meant for it to stand in for the Lee-Enfield L42, the military version of the same weapon.

Incidentally, the flashback to Vietnam uses recycled footage from the John Wayne tour-de-force
The Green Berets, the only major Hollywood film made about the Vietnam war during the war itself, and one of the few to ever have full military support.

Flub: If Geoffrey attempted to fire his rifle with his sighting eye in the position seen just before the cutaway to the rifle firing (another flub-- the muzzle shown is clearly not that of the same rifle), he would join what is known as "The Half-Moon Club."

[Styles Bitchley]

...he would join what is known as "The Half-Moon Club."

Not sure what you mean. Google's no help either.

[RamblerReb]

When one fires a high-powered rifle without enough eye relief (the distance from the eye to the eyepiece of the scope), the recoil will cause the eyepiece to strike the pars orbitalis, or the upper part of the ocular orbit, leaving a crescent-shaped mark which serves as the badge of membership in the Half-Moon Club.

[Styles Bitchley]

When one fires a high-powered rifle without enough eye relief (the distance from the eye to the eyepiece of the scope), the recoil will cause the eyepiece to strike the pars orbitalis, or the upper part of the ocular orbit, leaving a crescent-shaped mark which serves as the badge of membership in the Half-Moon Club.

Gotcha. Something like this...

[MaiTaiMan]

When one fires a high-powered rifle without enough eye relief (the distance from the eye to the eyepiece of the scope), the recoil will cause the eyepiece to strike the pars orbitalis, or the upper part of the ocular orbit, leaving a crescent-shaped mark which serves as the badge of membership in the Half-Moon Club.

Whoa...pretty wild! Awesome info...thanks, RamblerReb...I learned something awesome today!

[RamblerReb]

When one fires a high-powered rifle without enough eye relief (the distance from the eye to the eyepiece of the scope), the recoil will cause the eyepiece to strike the pars orbitalis, or the upper part of the ocular orbit, leaving a crescent-shaped mark which serves as the badge of membership in the Half-Moon Club.

Whoa...pretty wild! Awesome info...thanks, RamblerReb...I learned something awesome today!

Many thanks for the kind words. I try to make the technical notes as interesting as possible.

[J.J. Walters]

Incidentally, the flashback to Vietnam uses recycled footage from the John Wayne tour-de-force
The Green Berets, the only major Hollywood film made about the Vietnam war during the war itself, and one of the few to ever have full military support.

Wild. Someone recently emailed me this exact same fact (maybe it was you?)! Very cool that they used footage from The Green Berets!

[miltontheripper]

I remember really despising this episode in the past but have to say that as I recently watched it (as I go through the series in order) I found it to be quite good. Not going to lie that I found the little kid in the sailor suit that kept appearing and smiling at the camera to be really stupid and annoying though! I loved TC's sideplot and wish they had focused on it more, it was great! And Rick was good as always too, no to mention Higgin's little war with the young would be major domo. The end where Magnum kidnaps Higgins and takes him to meet his father is priceless. I can't watch the scene of his father who is OBVIOUSLY John Hillerman with a funny makeup job coming to the door without absolutely cracking up!