Mad Dogs and Englishmen (6.14)

[marlboro]

I liked the beginning of the episode but the last act was too rushed and over the top.

I do like the idea of Higgins returning to MI6 though. I think a more subdued "cloak and dagger" style episode would have fit the character better.Higgins is a lot more John le Carré’than Ian Fleming.

The last scene was very cute. It seems like the lads haven't had nearly as much screen time the last couple of seasons.

[SignGuyHPW]

I thought that it was kind of a silly premise, but it was a well acted episode. Magnum's inability to drop the subject of Higgins being fired was very typical which made it surprising that Higgins seemed surprised that the cover story hadn't stopped him from tracking him. I thought that the battle scene towards the end was more of a spoof on shows like The A-Team than anything. Why would MI6 recall a man in his 60s that was out of shape and had been out of a military setting for so many years to infiltrate and stop an entire rebel army? Then that man and three people whom had been out of the military for a good 7-10 years were able to stop that army within minutes without any aid? That's pretty A-Team, but the bulk of the acting was top notch so it was easier to take a nod to other shows for something like that.

[charybdis1966]

Oh dear, I think I'm going to be swimming against the tide as I found the last 10 minutes of this quite a struggle to watch and thought that MPI's excursion into A team territory wasn't too successful, IMHO.

The shame of it was the first 35-40 minutes were very good, excellent character interplay and the clever cross episode references, as mentioned above, e.g. Mackerras from Deja Vu being mentioned.

Higgins apparently being dismissed for embezzlement was a good start and TM not believing it showed how much he couldn't believe what he was told by Robin.

[trevor2448]

I did find this episode kind of far-fetched but I did enjoy the set up of Higgy being dismissed by Robin Masters.
I also didn't see it coming that the woman taking over for Higgins was an agent.
Not one of my favorite episodes but hey, it's Magnum---they'd have had to screw up pretty bad for me to totally not like an episode.

[EZiller]

Very entertaining episode, although the notion of Higgins backing a band of insurgents training in Hawaii to take over some fictional islands is totally implausible. The opening with Higgins have being terminated from his position at Robins Nest was the best part and it may have made a better story if someone had done this to discredit Higgins. Instead it was a ruse by Higgins and Robin so Higgins could infiltrate the insurgents. 9.5

[Milton Collins]

New user to this site, love it! I'm going through and rating the episodes as I watch them at random (I pick and choose between favorites and ones that I haven't seen in awhile). This was one I hadn't seen in awhile. I rated it a 7.5, somewhat wacky interesting episode. The Higgins flag completely cracked me up and I loved Magnum's interactions with the lads lol!!!

[No need to know!]

I think there are a lot of things in this episode that are great.
Great acting.
The surprise opening and Magnum and TCs investigation at the estate.
It was also fun that the lads had a bigger part again.

But that rushed end almost kills the whole episode for me. This reminded me why i never was a fan of A-team. Soldiers running into the bullets?! It´s just too silly. Dozens of people dead, and not a single drop of blood.

It should have included a twist at the end where we would find out that the whole thing was a dream of Higgins.

[MaximRecoil]

This episode contains what may be the only instance of a plausible "hotwiring" procedure in TV/movie history. Notice that there were two separate steps, first a permanent electrical connection was made, which he did in the engine compartment, and then a temporary electrical connection was made, which he did under the dash. This is how it has to be done in real life, because that's what happens when you start a car with a key. When you turn the key the ignition lock switch is put in the "run" position, which gives juice to the ignition system. This is the permanent electrical connection. As you continue to turn the key, it goes to the "start" position which cranks the starter. As soon as the engine starts you let go of the key and it springs back to the "run" position. That is the temporary electrical connection.

In order to hotwire a car, you have to create those two connections via direct wiring, bypassing the ignition lock switch.

The scene wasn't without its problems though, the biggest problem being that hotwiring in and of itself is useless on cars made since ~1970, because they have a steering wheel lock which is [de]activated by the ignition lock switch. Hotwiring will start the engine, but since you bypassed the ignition lock switch, the steering wheel remains locked, so you can only drive in a straight line. In the case of an automatic, you can't even do that, because you won't be able to shift it out of park. Of course, Magnum's car is a standard, so he could have at least driven in a straight line.

Another issue: it was a nice touch showing him make the permanent connection in the engine compartment, because, unlike what you normally see on TV/movies, that's the easiest place to do it. However, the temporary connection which actually starts the car is also far easier to make in the engine compartment (all you need to do is jump the starter solenoid or relay with a jackknife, screwdriver, or whatever, i.e., no messing with wires at all), while it is next to impossible to make from under the dash like Magnum did, without help ("help" could be in the form of schematics, prior memorized knowledge, or a time consuming process of tracing out the connections manually). Even if you know exactly which wires to use under the dash, it is still a lot easier (and non-destructive to boot) to jump the solenoid.

Also, the gum wrapper was not only unnecessary, but counterproductive as well. After you twist-splice wires together, you want to wrap the splice with insulating material (such as electrical tape), not something conductive like foil. Wrapping it with foil just makes it more susceptible to shorting out on something while driving, more susceptible than if he'd wrapped it with nothing at all. On the other hand, encasing the splice with the chewed gum itself would have been a good idea (gum is made out butadiene-based synthetic rubber, which is an excellent electrical insulator). I suspect that whoever orchestrated that scene got their wires crossed with regard to the role of gum in that situation, thinking it was the foil wrapper rather than the gum itself which was to be used on the splice.

[MagnumILWU]

What makes this episode for me, is the ending scene! When the lads jump on the bed with Higgins, his expression and contentment is wonderful!

[K Hale]

I thought that it was kind of a silly premise, but it was a well acted episode. Magnum's inability to drop the subject of Higgins being fired was very typical which made it surprising that Higgins seemed surprised that the cover story hadn't stopped him from tracking him. I thought that the battle scene towards the end was more of a spoof on shows like The A-Team than anything. Why would MI6 recall a man in his 60s that was out of shape and had been out of a military setting for so many years to infiltrate and stop an entire rebel army?

That was explained: Higgins was selected for this mission because the head of the rebellion had also been with MI6 and might recognize a more recent MI6 agent. That said, the ending and the A-Team aspect was pretty improbable, but hey!

Sometimes I wonder if Higgins ever really left MI6 in any meaningful way. In "Squeeze Play," he says he is officially retired "but her majesty still requests my services from time to time." We know he takes trips and vacations but we never see what he does on them... so who knows? I also feel like this might tie in with a brief throwaway line in "Italian Ice" when that awful girl refers to Higgins as a servant and you can tell he's a bit insulted by it, then he says, "Well, I am a servant, in a sense." Maybe I'm reaching but I felt that might be a personal in-joke in the sense that he's a servant of HRH Queen Elizabeth, who requests his services from time to time.

This is a very good episode that should have been a two-parter. And even though I know how it ends, I find the beginning very difficult to watch. But the scene with the lads at the end is so utterly wholesome...

[marlboro]

Sometimes I wonder if Higgins ever really left MI6 in any meaningful way. In "Squeeze Play," he says he is officially retired "but her majesty still requests my services from time to time."

[/quote]

[K Hale]

Love it! Hahaha!

[brianw]

Although far fetched, I liked this ep.
The shootout at the end was pretty cheesy, A-Team style indeed.
I loved the end with the lads jumping on the bed with Higgins.
One other thing about the hot wiring scene, after he drives to his destination, how did he shut the engine off? It looked like he just turned the "key", of which there wasn't one.
Also, Darleen Carr (Ginny) was/is the wife of Jameson Parker, AJ Simon, and she was the manager of the convenience store when TM was undercover as a clerk.
Also, Rex Ryon (Dan Davis) played the warehouse security guard in Beverly Hills Cop, one of my favorite movies of all time.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Sometimes I wonder if Higgins ever really left MI6 in any meaningful way. In "Squeeze Play," he says he is officially retired "but her majesty still requests my services from time to time."

[/quote]

Wonderful job, Marlboro. That's the best photo of Buckingham Palace I have ever seen, it took me a minute to spot Higgins, very funny! I get a kick out of recalling the several
episodes of Beverly Hillbillies set in England. In one they pull right up to Buckingham Palace, then they are shown driving around London, people pointing, no doubt
the hordes of ever present American tourists got a big laugh seeing them.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
"He's prouder than a dog with two tails"...Jed Clampett

[nha trang]

I just watched "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" on my official second series re-watch. I concur with many of the prior comments, as I did enjoy the episode in a silly way. The best I could rate it was 7.5.

The "freaky little Higgins flag" was funny, the likeness of el Higo looks like a sprite out of the "Doom" or "Wolfenstein 3D" video games lol

And when Rick and TC come in to the final shootout, Magnum's smile is quite out of character for the middle of a gunfight! I know what you're thinking, and you're right, the show often requires suspension of disbelief, and in many ways the show often displays plot consistency that is dream like, which I enjoy nonetheless.

Tactically, I am unsure why Mag would feel the need to shout "reloading" in the mix of English speaking combatants.

On the positive side, I think the "Higgins is leaving" plot was a good one for this part in the series. The show and Mag's fictional existence would not have been the same without the Hig!

Nha Trang