Mac's Back (5.3)

[AmandaByNight]

I tend to see Echoes of the Mind and Mac's Back as a turning point for the series. Granted, there were earlier signs of it, but I think season 5 shifted into more "mature" episodes (for lack of a better word) that reveled a little more in the esoteric as Magnum aged and began to redefine himself.

Plus, I love how it starts out so dark and then it turns to something more fun. I think when Magnum thinks he sees Mac it gives him a sense of purpose and he's able to find himself through the search/case... whatever you want to call it.

At any rate, I love this episode!

[MaiTaiMan]

Magnum: It's not just Diane! It's Michelle and Mac, Rick's little sister, Dan Cook, the little Vietnamese kid whose name I can't remember....My Dad. All people I loved, or who counted on me, and they're gone.
Higgins: Death is part of life. I know that sounds trite, but the very nature of life means that the older we get, the more loses we can expect. And, if we go to war, or choose a profession such as yours, those loses are going to be higher.
Magnum: Look, Higgins. I know you are trying to help and I appreciate it, I really do. I know this isn't going to solve anything, I know I'm being morose, and stupid, but I just don't give a damn.

See...I actually really find this beginning part of the episode interesting to watch and listen to! It's after he sees the fake Mac that, in my opinion, it takes a serious nose-dive! I understand, that they needed a good entertaining or even somewhat funny episode after the seriousness or "darkness" of "Echoes of the Mind"...but this wasn't entertaining or even funny...just irritating and stupid!

I tend to see Echoes of the Mind and Mac's Back as a turning point for the series. Granted, there were earlier signs of it, but I think season 5 shifted into more "mature" episodes (for lack of a better word) that reveled a little more in the esoteric as Magnum aged and began to redefine himself.

Plus, I love how it starts out so dark and then it turns to something more fun. I think when Magnum thinks he sees Mac it gives him a sense of purpose and he's able to find himself through the search/case... whatever you want to call it.

At any rate, I love this episode!

I agree...by around season 5 the series was a little different, and episodes/Magnum seemed a little more mature. However, in my opinion "Mac's Back", and the introduction to the fake Mac, sort of counteracted that shift in the series. Fake Mac was like an irritating "hang-on" to the goofy slap-stick or even dysfunction of how Magnum would start out handling some of his early/first cases.

Magnum could pull off the goofiness or dysfunction and it was funny or even loveable...but Fake Mac was not funny or loveable--just irritating and annoying as heck! Besides, by season 5 Magnum was more "defined" and he was approaching his cases/clients more maturely and professionally. Fake Mac was like his "moron" little voice saying: "Come on...let's still be stupid and immature, just one more time!"

[Coops]

NM

[MaiTaiMan]

NM

Huh?

[Coops]

NM = Nevermind. I had posted something but then realised it was redundant so I edited it to "NM".

[MaiTaiMan]

NM = Nevermind. I had posted something but then realised it was redundant so I edited it to "NM".

Gotcha! I only abbreviate when texting...and even then only with some things. So, I don't know all of them...I'm sort of old fashioned in some ways.

[miltontheripper]

Season five starts out with a bang in my opinion. Echos of the mind 1 and 2 is def great and then this one, especially the beginning. I'm way younger than the Vietnam era but think that it makes Magnum very human to show him dealing with all the tragedy's in his life. Of course it's far fetched to see Jeff McKay as "fake Mac" but I really don't mind his character and even later on, pretty humorous really! Even though you have to despise him as a Magnum fan any episode with Buck Green is interesting and in most all cases really good because of their rivalry. I like this one for sure!

[MaiTaiMan]

Season five starts out with a bang in my opinion. Echos of the mind 1 and 2 is def great and then this one, especially the beginning. I'm way younger than the Vietnam era but think that it makes Magnum very human to show him dealing with all the tragedy's in his life. Of course it's far fetched to see Jeff McKay as "fake Mac" but I really don't mind his character and even later on, pretty humorous really! Even though you have to despise him as a Magnum fan any episode with Buck Green is interesting and in most all cases really good because of their rivalry. I like this one for sure!

Totally agree about "Echoes" being great!! However, this one is not really one of my favorites of the season. Don't really care for the "Fake" Mac...however, the beginning is awesome and I agree that although you despise Buck Green--the episodes featuring him usually are interesting, especially with the rivalry between Magnum and him...and how Magnum will handle it in whichever episode it is.

[Croix de Lorraine]

I'm split about this one. I think the bit about Magnum fighting his demons is quite poignant, but on the other hand, the whole fake Mac malarky is just farcical. You can see they were desperately trying to shoehorn Jeff McKay back into the show. Not even the actors seem convinced about their lines.

[MaximRecoil]

Has any TV show or movie ever done the "letting himself go" beard correctly? This device has been used countless times in movies and TV shows to suggest that a character has been so depressed or preoccupied with something that he hasn't bothered to shave, and for other reasons such as prisoner of war, stranded on an island, been in a coma, or whatever.

It seems that every time this device is used, the guy's neck is clean-shaven however:



A clean-shaven neck defeats the purpose of a "down and out beard" device, i.e., they have to have shaved that morning in order to have a clean-shaven neck; the rest of the beard notwithstanding.

[J.J. Walters]

Um, do most guys shave their neck? I sure don't! Nothin' grows there. I guess one could argue that a guy like Selleck/Magnum, what with that epic stache and all, probably has neck hair that needs a periodic shaving. But even then... maybe he started to shave, finished his neck and then (because of his depression and drunkenness) just quit and said, "Ah, the hell with it," and went back outside to drink some more. It's possible.

[MaximRecoil]

Um, do most guys shave their neck? I sure don't! Nothin' grows there. I guess one could argue that a guy like Selleck/Magnum, what with that epic stache and all, probably has neck hair that needs a periodic shaving.

Your beard stops growing right at the point that the underside of your jaw transitions to the top of your neck, i.e., in the exact same place that most people who wear a beard shave their neck up to?

Facial hair usually grows on the front of the neck, at least down to the middle of the Adam's apple, like in this picture - link. And with as hairy as Selleck is, I would expect his unkempt facial hair to grow more like the guy's in the following picture if he went without shaving - link. Also note how high the stubble extends on his cheeks; this is typical with especially hairy guys like Tom Selleck or Chuck Norris.

But even then... maybe he started to shave, finished his neck and then (because of his depression and drunkenness) just quit and said, "Ah, the hell with it," and went back outside to drink some more. It's possible.

Yeah, it's possible, but consider this: Magnum uses a safety razor to shave daily with, like most everyone else does (as seen in "I Do?" [3.17]). I can't imagine anyone attempting to shave off a full beard with a safety razor; that's a recipe for cuts and a repeatedly clogged razor. Most people these days remove a full beard with an electric trimmer, which brings it down to the level of stubble, and then they finish by clean shaving the stubble with a safety razor. With that in mind, it would suggest that—on that particular morning—he trimmed off the full beard growth on his neck (and upper cheeks) with a trimmer, and then clean shaved those areas with a safety razor. That sounds more like someone who is intending to maintain borders on a beard than someone who intended to shave it all off and then just quit.

The problem lies in production. They are the ones that slapped that fake beard on Selleck's face, in the fashion of a classic beard with defined borders, no less. I've seen this done countless times in various movies and TV shows.

People like Selleck tend to grow facial hair very quickly; in fact, the term "five o'clock shadow" exists because of people like him, i.e., they shave in the morning and by the end of the work day, they have visible stubble again. So give someone like him a couple of weeks without any shaving at all, and you have an authentic beard with no defined borders, which helps the believability of the scene.

ETA: Speaking of "I Do?" (3.17), note that Selleck applies shaving cream down the front of his neck to the bottom of his Adam's apple (and high on his cheeks). In fact, the point at which he pretends to cut himself is on his neck. It is safe to assume that he applied the shaving cream and went through the shaving motions for that scene, in the same manner that he had done in real life every morning for the past ~20 years.

[Stelth]

I enjoyed this episode. "Mac" returning is a weird quirk but details like that are what makes MPI a great show.

[ConchRepublican]

Has any TV show or movie ever done the "letting himself go" beard correctly? ...
A clean-shaven neck defeats the purpose of a "down and out beard" device, i.e., they have to have shaved that morning in order to have a clean-shaven neck; the rest of the beard notwithstanding.

Or . . . the slower growing neck stubble got too itchy and he just rough edged the bottom. He could be in the "I could give a flip about everyone" mode but I could see him getting into a snit about the heat and humidity irritating him so he just stomps off to the bathroom and 4 upstrokes the neck, dry, and throws the Bic in the sink where it bounces out onto the floor . . .

. . . in fact I think that's a scene that was cut in final editing.

[Stelth]

Has any TV show or movie ever done the "letting himself go" beard correctly? ...
A clean-shaven neck defeats the purpose of a "down and out beard" device, i.e., they have to have shaved that morning in order to have a clean-shaven neck; the rest of the beard notwithstanding.

Or . . . the slower growing neck stubble got too itchy and he just rough edged the bottom. He could be in the "I could give a flip about everyone" mode but I could see him getting into a snit about the heat and humidity irritating him so he just stomps off to the bathroom and 4 upstrokes the neck, dry, and throws the Bic in the sink where it bounces out onto the floor . . .

. . . in fact I think that's a scene that was cut in final editing.

That's what I do... neck stubble is maddeningly itchy.