The Big Blow (3.22)

[Seaver41]

memorable episode from back in the day. I now find the Barry Van Dyke character EXTREMELY annoying with the over the top baseball cliches. R\eally Barry? The royal couple were well, a couple of maroons....though that red hair........WOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEEE. Wowza wowza wowza. That's the perfect shade of red.......hubba hubba.

Now that I've composed myself. Episode is ok, but suffers from terrible overacting.......but was that by design as it parodies an old flick?

Is there a prison on the North Shore? I found that circumstance with a pregnant girl a bit much.

This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.

Overall, not bad......but as I've been writing my opinion on recent episodes for season 3, this season really tanks in the last 1/3 of it....IMO

[snp389]

I've always loved this episode since I first saw it aired when I was a kid.
The whole Agatha Christie mystery feel to it, with the hurricane, the escaped convicts, and the banter between TSM and JQH is some of the best.
I remember when I was a ten year old kid first seeing this, I felt SO bad for Higgins when he knocked over his beloved Bridge on the River Kwai model.
Funniest part is the final scene where TSM and JQH observe the 'Lads' in the wine cellar completely pissed. One of them is totally cactus, whilst the other is slowly licking his paws and has a small belch, hahahah classic.

I myself have a Siberian Husky, and he loves red wine too. Must be the anti-oxidants....

[MaximRecoil]

This is one of the episodes along with "J. Digger Doyle," "Birdman of Budapest" and "Squeeze Play" which I think really negates the possibility of Higgins being Robin Masters for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that after Candice attempts to shoot Robin, she reveals that her hatred for Robin goes back to 1957. In 1957, Higgins was still in the British Army, and it would have been unlikely that he would have been in the position to hire an actor to portray Robin Masters. Antoher reason is that Higgins was not even aware Robin was at the estate. Only Magnum knew. If Higgins was really Robin Masters, he would have obviously known this.

But this one does reinforce my thoughts that Robin is Robin and Higgins is ... NOT.

Much to my regret, I must believe that Higgy is not Robin.

One could argue that Thomas didn't know what Robin looked like and an imposter was upstairs in the bedroom. But, the smoking gun is that Candice recognizes him when she goes up there to kill him, and their dialogue is proof they know each other from, what was it?, 1957?

Were it not for this episode, we'd still be up in the air about the Higgy-Robin situation.

This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.

Neither this nor any other episode dispels the notion that Higgins is Robin Masters, at least, not the spirit of it. Higgins could be Robin Masters for all intents and purposes without actually being Robin Masters. I've posted this a few times before, but here it is again:

Imagine this scenario:

Robin Masters, a real writer, strikes gold with his first novel or maybe first couple of novels, but then hits a slump. He maybe writes a few stinkers, or perhaps, can't seem to write anything at all to completion, and it is beginning to seem like he was a flash in the pan that got lucky.

While discussing his misfortune with Higgins, Higgins offers to help by doing research, reading over his manuscripts and giving suggestions on how to improve it, etc.

Robin Masters becomes a success again, and it is primarily due to Higgins' work. Eventually, very little of what Robin Masters churns out is his own work, essentially being ghost-written by Higgins. Higgins, being no fool, makes sure he is getting most of the income from the novels, but sees value in keeping the Robin Masters image around, to keep his own name from being associated with the lurid novels, along with the fact that the name recognition of Robin Masters helps publicity and sales.

By the end of the series, Robin may still technically own the estate, but we also know that Higgins has "Power of Attorney" over Masters' affairs, which is a huge step above simply being the "majordomo" of the estate (for example, he can withdraw money, e.g. $300,000 in one episode, from Masters' account without needing his consent).

So maybe, in effect, Higgins gradually becomes Robin Masters for all intents and purposes, in that, he's the one that, by the end of the series, actually writes the novels and calls the shots.

This theory doesn't violate any of the continuity of the series and also allows for Magnum to be right in a sense when he claimed that Higgins was Robin Masters.

[J.J. Walters]

I've been saying the same thing for years MaximRecoil. But like the number of licks it takes to get to the bottom of a Tootsie Roll, we'll just never know for sure, will we.

It's a mystery that will never be solved and is open to several different interpretations. I kind of like how they set it up like that.

[ConchRepublican]

Let's get Larson and Bellisario in for questioning!

[ConchRepublican]

Actually, I think I'll try tracking down Jay Huguely . . .

[ConchRepublican]

Short search . . . he died in 2008 suddenly @ 68.

[Kalai-pahoa]

This is one of the episodes along with "J. Digger Doyle," "Birdman of Budapest" and "Squeeze Play" which I think really negates the possibility of Higgins being Robin Masters for a variety of reasons. One such reason is that after Candice attempts to shoot Robin, she reveals that her hatred for Robin goes back to 1957. In 1957, Higgins was still in the British Army, and it would have been unlikely that he would have been in the position to hire an actor to portray Robin Masters. Antoher reason is that Higgins was not even aware Robin was at the estate. Only Magnum knew. If Higgins was really Robin Masters, he would have obviously known this.

This one really does bury the Higgins is Robin thing.

I totally agree with you: Robin Masters is Robin Masters and Jonathan Quayle Higgins III is Jonathan Quayle Higgins III. No way to argue that they are the same person.
Maybe I missed something but... was never told in the show if RM is British or American? I can't remember that.
All the guests at the party knew Robin, including the baseball player Duke Davis. Talking about RM he says: "I promised I'd work with him on his stroke. He tends to inside-out on his swing.".

In the italian dvd box set edition 'The Big Blow' is the last one episode of the season and 'Faith and Begorrah' is the second last.
This would have been the same airing sequence because this episode is the best season finale than 'Faith and Begorrah'.
I think the authors made the same mistake of the season 1 finale.
And in each episode is involved RM

[Sinjin]

This episode brought back memories of Hurricane Iwa, which hit the islands in November 1982. It knocked out water, power and phone service on the North Shore for several days. It was a pretty big deal, especially considering hurricanes are relatively rare events in Hawaii. It no doubt inspired this episode.

I'm a big fan of Key Largo and I thought the "big storm" scenario offered a lot of promise. But the story didn't live up to my expectations. If I recall correctly the body count was positive 2. Unlike Key Largo, neither the bad guys nor the storm seemed threatening enough. And there was no potential love interest.

On the plus side there was James Doohan playing Mr. McPherson. I also thought Linda Ryan was great as Candice Wingate. She starred in several other episodes (One Picture Is Worth, Jororo Farewell, Mr. White Death), and was a frequent guest on the original Hawaii Five-O. Okay I could be biased, as she was my college drama professor.

[Randy]

This is one of my favorite episodes, Randy lines cracks me up every time.

[trevor2448]

I like this episode a lot. Some funny parts for me were when Magnum is unable to speak upon meeting the ball player Duke, and Magnum unconsciously pouring water on the carpet when he thought Higgy had been shot.
The lady who tried to kill Robin..there was no escape after doing the deed so I didn't get that. But I guess the revenge factor can be overwhelming.

[SignGuyHPW]

I loved this episode. I use it as proof that Higgins and Robin are not the same person. If Robin was in the employ of Higgins then wouldn't Higgins have been told about threats on Robin Masters? Wouldn't it have been possible the killer was after the "actual" Robin Masters so they'd have to cover both scenarios?

The weak parts, for me, of the show were that James Doohan was not given a much larger role. He had huge star power in addition to being a brilliant actor so his having such a minor role saddened me. I also found it odd that Magnum was in awe of Duke Davis yet didn't recognise Whitaker and Trammell a few seasons later. I also found it very strange that Magnum, nor Higgins, confirmed the burglars had left the estate. Magnum just jumped right into trying to find whom was out to kill Robin without securing the estate from new threats while Higgins was focused on not having been told Mr. Masters was at the estate.

I think it was one of the strongest acted episodes over all. You had a lot of star power in this one. It was also probably one of the favorites of the network since they didn't spend a ton on sets or locations. They contained it to the house with a couple of stock shots of storms. Very cost effective. Rick and TC didn't get to give an explanation as to why they showed up earlier than planned, but them being thrust right into two seperate major problems was pretty funny. Magnum's questioning if there was anything Higgins hadn't done was probably my favorite exchange between them.

[Stelth]

I loved this episode. I use it as proof that Higgins and Robin are not the same person. If Robin was in the employ of Higgins then wouldn't Higgins have been told about threats on Robin Masters? Wouldn't it have been possible the killer was after the "actual" Robin Masters so they'd have to cover both scenarios?

The weak parts, for me, of the show were that James Doohan was not given a much larger role. He had huge star power in addition to being a brilliant actor so his having such a minor role saddened me. I also found it odd that Magnum was in awe of Duke Davis yet didn't recognise Whitaker and Trammell a few seasons later. I also found it very strange that Magnum, nor Higgins, confirmed the burglars had left the estate. Magnum just jumped right into trying to find whom was out to kill Robin without securing the estate from new threats while Higgins was focused on not having been told Mr. Masters was at the estate.

I think it was one of the strongest acted episodes over all. You had a lot of star power in this one. It was also probably one of the favorites of the network since they didn't spend a ton on sets or locations. They contained it to the house with a couple of stock shots of storms. Very cost effective. Rick and TC didn't get to give an explanation as to why they showed up earlier than planned, but them being thrust right into two seperate major problems was pretty funny. Magnum's questioning if there was anything Higgins hadn't done was probably my favorite exchange between them.

That is called a "bottle episode"
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/M ... tleEpisode

[Milton Collins]

I just watched this one again and liked more than the three or four other times. It's got that good creepy element that wasn't used enough in Magnum in my opinion. Love the isolation due to the storm and being held captive by the crooks, again creepy and thriller type episode. Did we see some parts of the estate not seen before? I can't say for sure but I'm thinking so. Anyways, a solid 8.5 for me

[rtc]

One of my favorites,too.

Not only do we see for all time that Higgins is *not* Robin,
but we discover that jack-of-all-trades Higgins is a ham radio
enthusiast.(Was there anything he could not do?)

Being one myself it was an unexpected shock to hear him
"calling CQ",nearly fell out of the chair.

The amateur radio procedure used in this episode was authentic but
the equipment was not. Higgins would indeed have had a hard time
getting a message out using the vintage Astatic D-104 microphone
with the Kenwood R-2000 *receiver*.
The callsign was real,belonged to someone who lived in California
and presumably worked on the show.
The R-2000 was a fine receiver(had one),a shame it was sacrificed.