Paper War (7.8)

[DIVER DOWN]

I agree.

[ConchRepublican]

Bangor. That's Stephen King territory. My favorite author by a landslide. My passion for Stephen King runs even hotter than Magnum P.I..

I'm a big fan of Stephen King myself, though I haven't read all his books yet. I love to read and used to be a big reader but find I don't have the time like I used to and tend to go through long droughts. I usually use a Stephen King book to get the juices flowing again and get me started on a binge.

How has his later stuff, like "The Cell" been?

[J.J. Walters]

Cell was somewhat of a disappointment with a lot of fans (me included). It started off strong, but the second half of the book was weak (for reasons that are too long to explain here). But Cell was really the only sub-par book he has published in the last ten years or so. He's had somewhat of a resurgence (to the King of old) lately, after some mediocre books in the 90's.

I'd say go with something like Duma Key, or 11/22/63, or Full Dark, No Stars (four excellent novellas). Under the Dome is great too, but it's not for everyone (and it's really, really long). His most recent, Joyland, is most excellent, as well. And then, of course, you have Doctor Sleep (the sequel to The Shining) coming out next month; King's return to "balls-to-the-walls" horror!

If you have any interest at all in the JFK assassination, or what it was like to live in the late '50s/early 60's, pick up a copy of 11/22/63. It's King's first foray into historical fiction and it is incredibly good. It was on many "Top 10 Books of the Year" lists and has found King a lot of new fans. And it's not "just" historical fiction. There is a time travel element to it and a very moving love story.

[ConchRepublican]

Thanks J.J.! I have read Duma Key (being a Keys fan, that was a natural one) and enjoyed it. Will look into the others. I love his shorts, think they are a lot of his best works, so the novellas are intriguing.

[marlboro]

I didn't like it. Looking through the reviews, it looks like I'm the only one with that opinion.

The reason I didn't like it is that Magnum was behaving horribly in this episode. This isn't season 1 - Magnum and Higgins have gone through a lot together over the past several years. I just can't believe the way they were treating each other. It went way beyond pranking one another. I just cannot believe that Magnum would ever call Higgins a liar. He also treated Rick and TC very shabbily in this episode, too.

Favorite bit: the Godfather inspired rubber chicken head in the bed. Hilarious.



"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

[TexasT]

I remember in this episode, TM mentions how there was there was the mysterious voice of Robin who sounds like Orson Wells. Funny!

[.45caliber]

Another classic episode, love the tit for tat, acting like ten year olds between Higgins and Magnum, especially the blowing of the bridge. Obviously the whole elevator scene and the Higgins/Robin, discussion/accusations from TM. Love the belly laugh from JQH at the mention of "the lie". One question, how did they survive the detonation? There should have been at least some explanation.

[Dave Anderson]

Weak episode. The bonding between Magnum and Higgins in the elevator was the only positive I can recall. The ending was absurd. How did they get out in time? Ridiculous.

[J. Rickley Schneider]

This episode really lived up to its reputation. Fantastic.

I liked how twice the director focused on Magnum's gun for a quick second in the elevator to make it seem like Magnum and Higgins might shoot each other.

I like how it is suggested that Higgins might be Robin Masters. I also like how it is never resolved. It is one of the better television controversies.

[eltonsean]

As for the Higgins/Masters debate, I don't subscribe to the "whatever you want to believe" approach some people here adopt. There is conclusive proof that Masters is really Masters. To add to what has already been mentioned, in previous episodes we see Robin Masters travelling through Europe in a Rolls Royce with chauffeur and fly on his private jet complete with private security. Not only that but he is dictating a new novel on his dictaphone, so that proves he really is a writer. The most plausible reality is that Higgins, besides taking care of his business, does a fair share of ghost writing for him on the side, but he is not Robin Masters.

Yeah that!
Doesn't make any sense to me after watching the series so many times that Higgins would be Robin. There are just too many things up against it, and it´s just fabricated much later on in the series. It´s annoying It is much more fun and interesting in those episodes when Magnum suspects Higgins for being Elmo and Paddy. This episode is one of the best ones though.

Higgins is actually Robin and Robin is a hired actor? Uh.... I agree with you guys in the fact that Higgins is not Robin Masters! I wish I could believe it because it would make this episode more enjoyable for me, but I can't ignore all the evidence from the earlier seasons. I've read that it was Selleck's idea. Well, maybe not the best idea. Perhaps this was an attempt to create "BUZZ" for the show which was having a hard time in the ratings? I find the idea frustrating because it contradicts and even betrays events from earlier seasons. We even see Robin Masters DICTATING a new novel in season 1's "Digger Doyle". I understand how a lot of people on this site have tried to legitimize the idea, but the amount of mental gymnastics required is enormous. This episode and every episode that follows with this unrealistic idea suffers, in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, "Magnum" is still my favorite TV show of all time and I still respect those who want to believe Higgins is Masters. But the undeniable evidence...

[eagle]

In my mind, this was one of the most fun episodes of the series. My wife and I watched it last night, and we truly enjoyed it. The best scene was the one of Tom & Higgins in the elevator, with Higgins talking about boys' toys. haha

[ConchRepublican]

The ending was absurd. How did they get out in time? Ridiculous.

I like this episode in spite of the Higgins/Robin debate and the elevator escape.

It always amazes me why shows continue to use that device . . . there's no real tension that either of the stars of the show would be killed. Couldn't they have had them come up behind everyone looking at the collapsed building and dust using Higgins knowledge of either sewer systems or utility access tunnels to explain how they got out in time?

[Doc Ibold]

The ending was absurd. How did they get out in time? Ridiculous.

I like this episode in spite of the Higgins/Robin debate and the elevator escape.

It always amazes my why shows continue to use that device . . . there's no real tension that either of the stars of the show would be killed. Couldn't they have had them come up behind everyone looking at the collapsed building and dust using Higgins knowledge of either sewer systems or utility access tunnels to explain how they got out in time?

I have two (non-realistic) theories on this:

1) They used the teleportation system from Robins Nest at the construction site to escape - How they lugged it from Robin's Nest is one of life's great mysteries.*
2) Higgins Karate Chop of Doomed them through the Elevator using his mysterious werewolf powers**

* See various threads on Travel between locations on Robins Nest in the Robin's Nest Thread
** See the extremely hairy arm of Higgins on the Lift Handle in the Episode Thread.

[KingKC]

It was definitely a fun show but it got a little too juvenile, inane, silly....pick a word. The elevator scene was one of the most memorable of the series and the idea of Higgins = Robin Masters became more intriguing. How they escaped and walked out alive is beyond me but that is television. This show was inevitable just as Rick getting married on a whim and blowing a million bucks. I don't know that TC had an inevitable episode unless it was On The Fly where a bullet just doesn't take out a panel of glass on the chopper but takes out TC.

KingKC

[K Hale]

The reason I didn't like it is that Magnum was behaving horribly in this episode. This isn't season 1 - Magnum and Higgins have gone through a lot together over the past several years. I just can't believe the way they were treating each other. It went way beyond pranking one another. I just cannot believe that Magnum would ever call Higgins a liar.

By the time things got to that point, they were both just flinging knives at each other to inflict maximum damage. Neither of them meant what they were saying which is why they both quickly began to walk it all back. The reason I think it got so quickly out of hand is because Magnum underestimated how angry Higgins was over the memoir section being wiped out. In an effort to punish Magnum, he takes away the car, like an angry parent, and when Magnum (not the most sensitive of people) defied him and took the car out anyway, thinking it wasn't a big deal, things were not going to end well at all. Though reporting it stolen is pretty hardcore, since it resulted in legal issues and even got a mutual friend involved to pay $2000 bail money.

It really should have stopped there, but of course Thomas could not let it go, and it quickly spiraled out of control. In the end, Higgins may have gotten the last laugh, but Magnum got more destructive hits, not only in wrecking the bridge and cutting down the cereus but also what amounts to an accusation of stolen valor. Wow, just wow. But, as I said above, they were past the point of really meaning what they said. Then we have the ending where Higgins gives Magnum's stuff back, and Magnum gives Higgins a box of matchsticks that are the wrong size. Well, it's the thought that counts.

And in my opinion, JQH should really not have been using the security computer to write his memoirs, any more than TM should have been using it to play video games. So they were both wrong in the first place!