Professor Jonathan Higgins (5.13)

[SignGuyHPW]

I thought this one was rather silly. If I'm not mistaken, it was the only time that Agatha formally hired Magnum for a case and ended up being more concerned that a distant relative of Higgins be helped in becoming "proper" for a family that she doesn't even know. I also consider it kind of a lazy way out that they make it be the fiance that swindled Agatha's group out of their investment when the two plots didn't really seem to connect at all until that scene. I also didn't really care for the whole "reforming" the girl into Higgins image thing. If the finace was fine with her then why was Higgins so focused on changing her to please him? It was also odd that Magnum ended up tripling his fee after he and Agatha had agreed to it. The pizza contest was kind of a cool sub plot and good comedy. I especially liked how they ended up winning an "upgraded" trip to Hawaii.

[MagnumILWU]

12V, Sauce Pan and Popcorn Maker RoadPro Reply w/ #AmazonWishList to add this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000668S9I/ref ... Dub16KD9T2 via @amazon

[Dave Anderson]

... but are there really that many British in Hawaii?!

It must be an Oahu thing why they have so many British people. After all, it is not that far from England, only 7,239 miles, or a 14 hour flight. The last time I was in Oahu I met more Brits than Hawaiians....NOT.

Its not hard to believe that an ex-pat community would associate with each other. Its no different than any first generation immigrant group tending to associate with their own community to a significant extent. I never assumed that meant there were "large numbers" of British people in Hawaii, just a small community that tended to know each other, go to the same shops or social organizations.

On the other hand, looking back the show did make it seem like the majority of people in Hawaii were Caucasian. I was older when I realized that whites were never close to a majority in Hawaii. Now, they did do a good job of incorporating local people of all backgrounds into the show, but it still wasn't really representative. That's understandable though since the majority of the American TV audience at the time was white. I don't at all believe they were being racist but just producing a show for a larger target audience at the time.

[marlboro]

On the other hand, looking back the show did make it seem like the majority of people in Hawaii were Caucasian. I was older when I realized that whites were never close to a majority in Hawaii. Now, they did do a good job of incorporating local people of all backgrounds into the show, but it still wasn't really representative. That's understandable though since the majority of the American TV audience at the time was white. I don't at all believe they were being racist but just producing a show for a larger target audience at the time.

Another thing to consider is that there is a larger pool of mainland actors to choose from than Hawaiian locals. What you lose in authenticity, you make up for in acting talent and casting variety.

[Dave Anderson]

Another thing to consider is that there is a larger pool of mainland actors to choose from than Hawaiian locals. What you lose in authenticity, you make up for in acting talent and casting variety.

That's a very good point. There would be a limited pool of acting talent locally. Makes sense.

[MaximRecoil]

12V, Sauce Pan and Popcorn Maker RoadPro Reply w/ #AmazonWishList to add this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000668S9I/ref ... Dub16KD9T2 via @amazon

That's not a hot air popper, that's just an electric pan. It says it draws 13 amps, and a car's electrical system is 12.6 volts with a fully charged battery and the vehicle not running, and up to 14.4 volts with the engine running and the battery being charged by the alternator. So with the engine running, that electric pan can only output about 187 watts (still well beyond the capabilities of flashlight batteries though; unless you have an impractically large quantity of them), which is very weak for an electric pan (my home-use electric skillet is 900 watts for example). This is why, according to one of the reviews, it wouldn't even boil two cups of water even after an hour (the highest temperature the water reached was 190 F). However, it should be able to pop popcorn, because you only have to heat a very small amount of oil (a tablespoon or two) to about 350 F.

Heating air to over 350 degrees along with powering the motor which rapidly spins the tub which holds the kernels is a much bigger job, which is why hot air poppers are at least 1,000 watts, and you can't power a 1,000 watt device off a car cigarette lighter (which is fused at 15 amps; you'd need much heavier wiring direct to the battery and at least an 80 amp fuse), much less flashlight batteries.

[TSMIV]

Potential candidate for worst 1980’s fashion excess – take a look at the guy playing the organ in the church during Sally/Timothy’s wedding. What on earth is he wearing ???????

[Stelth]

I just noticed the envelope for the letter that informed Thomas of his prize was triangular...pizza-shaped.

[Bes]

I have to say that upon re-watching this episode I found it had much more merit than I originally gave it credit for. It's certainly not the worst episode as I initially thought; not even close. Yes, Tom's wife's acting/accent leave MUCH to be desired, but this is a very worthwhile episode for John Hillerman, who knocks it out of the park as Higgins. If I could re-rate this episode it'd get at least a 7. It just goes to show you should always watch an episode more than once before casting final judgement! Higgmalion really should've been the title though.

[thechickinthemiddle]

Higgmalion really should've been the title though.

LOL! I like that, but I can see why the writers went with the Henry Higgins reference.

Also, I have a feeling that if Magnum took his prize vacation, Higgins might not even let him have the time off.

[Tobi]

One thing this episode has going for it are some rather nice shots of the 308

[K Hale]

Potential candidate for worst 1980’s fashion excess – take a look at the guy playing the organ in the church during Sally/Timothy’s wedding. What on earth is he wearing ???????

A toga!! WHY.

[K Hale]

Watched this one last night. Fun and enjoyable even if Sally was a little irritating at times.

I thought this one was rather silly. If I'm not mistaken, it was the only time that Agatha formally hired Magnum for a case and ended up being more concerned that a distant relative of Higgins be helped in becoming "proper" for a family that she doesn't even know.

Women of Agatha's generation were raised to put their own needs aside in favor of the men in their lives. Agatha is a nice person but if you ask me, she didn't do it for Sally, she did it because Higgins needed her. He can't get this girl ready for a wedding no matter how hard he tries to teach her how to speak, there is too much that's totally out of his purview. This part of the story would have flopped without Agatha on hand.

I also didn't really care for the whole "reforming" the girl into Higgins image thing. If the finace was fine with her then why was Higgins so focused on changing her to please him?

I see two reasons...

1. It may seem judgmental on Higgins' part but when you get right down to it, this is the world he lives in. Sally wanted to join that world and was totally unprepared for it. She would have been disliked, mocked and ostracized even IF the apparently all-powerful Mrs. Finch even allowed the wedding to go forward. At heart Higgie Baby is a bit of a romantic and I think he honestly wanted to see her and Finch get what they wanted out of life and thought he knew the best way to make that happen. Plus how many chances is he likely to have to play father-of-the-bride?

2. And this is less flattering, but he was probably also a little embarrassed about a family member being from, shall we say, a different class of society. Although at least he was not unkind to her about it.

It was also odd that Magnum ended up tripling his fee after he and Agatha had agreed to it. The pizza contest was kind of a cool sub plot and good comedy. I especially liked how they ended up winning an "upgraded" trip to Hawaii.

Magnum jacking up the cost of his services was pretty uncool. Agatha was expected to pay for an additional ticket and Higgins had to pay for the third one. Although, since the contest ended up being a "trip" to Waikiki, maybe neither of them had to pay anything!

[KingKC]

Just watched the rerun. It was fun but pretty average for a MPI lighthearted episode. Sally/Jillian Mack was way over the top as a cockney girl. HIggins was his usual honorable (and somewhat overbearing) self. This was close to being an Agatha-centric episode. TC was pretty much a dork as an IRS agent. Strange plot ending with the fiance being the bad guy. The last scene was priceless, in the context of the show, but somewhat predictable. Heck, even these mediocre original episodes out rank anything the new MPI has put forth. One thing comes to mind. If TM was a Navy Seal....shouldn't he have had better hand to hand combat skills than were displayed in the original MPI?? He seemed to lose a lot of fights for a well trained military man. Of course, if he had won all of those fights, the light-hearted aspect of the show would not have been as much fun to watch.

[brianw]

Pretty terrible episode, did not hold my interest at all.