Going Home (6.7)

[Tuan Vu]

This episode was really poignant. We find out that Magnum had a half-brother and that he also served in Vietnam, just like TM, but Joey didn't make it. I think it just goes to show that there is still a lot we don't know about Magnum. Who knows what other stories have been left untold? And now with John Hillerman's passing, there can never be a true "Magnum, P.I." reunion or movie.

Anyway, here is that fantastic ending scene. Next to "Home from the Sea", this may have been my favorite ending in the series. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9zg7D2lx0Y

[brianw]

I only caught the last half this morning, and its been a long time since I saw it last. Who is Billy to TM? .... Anyway, I rated this one really low, but it had its moments I guess. I don't mind going into TM's family history, but the entire thing seemed rushed, like they just had to come up with something quickly. I guess I am ok with doing something different, not taking place in Hawaii and no Higgins or the guys, but this was just depressing. Not a floral shirt or beach to be seen anywhere.

Also funny to see Brandon Call so little, I remember as a teen from Step by Step, but he was in a lot of shows and movies as a child actor, even Baywatch!

[purpleflirp303]

I really like this episode, even though it is not in Hawaii and the regulars are not part of the story. Probably a girl thing..but Tom Selleck can dance! I love that part. And every family has drama..nice to know TM is no exception. I have visited the wall..it is a very moving experience. My girlfriend's father and uncle fought in Nam. Luckily, they both came home. I have started purchasing some of the episodes so I can watch them over and over..this is one of my purchases.

[Pahonu]

I really like this episode, even though it is not in Hawaii and the regulars are not part of the story. Probably a girl thing..but Tom Selleck can dance! I love that part. And every family has drama..nice to know TM is no exception. I have visited the wall..it is a very moving experience. My girlfriend's father and uncle fought in Nam. Luckily, they both came home. I have started purchasing some of the episodes so I can watch them over and over..this is one of my purchases.

The Wall is very much a powerful experience. I have been able to visit twice, many years ago with family when my father made a rubbing of the name of a friend of the family whom I never knew. The second time was just two years ago and a friend of mine from work who I’ve known for 20 years learned I was going. I offered to make a rubbing of his father’s name as he had never been. We ultimately couldn’t do it because it was raining when we arrived. My wife and I spent some time getting photos of the name. They were quite unique looking with the rain and being at night. We used a slow shutter speed and a tripod to capture the images. His name was quite low allowing us to do that.

The Korean War Memorial nearby looked almost surreal in the night rain.

[Little Garwood]

I’m beginning to believe that Magnum’s family gave off an unpleasant “vibe” by design, and that he dreaded being around them just as much as we the audience did. Hawaii was Magnum’s home, and Higgins, TC, and Rick are his family by choice. Many of my favorite shows, films, books, etc., deal with the concept of the “family by choice” trope. Magnum’s long-suffering mother (the great Gwen Verdon, who also suffered being Bob Fosse’s wife) and the wonderful Julie Cobb, who played Karen, are the only Magnum family members I’d ever want to see again.

For me, the whole episode is enduring his moronic family and acquaintances along with the crowbarred-in “Joey” story, which exists only so can get to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial scene, which is admittedly moving. However, the viewer must run the proverbial gauntlet through that dreary family in order to get to that scene.

I voted Going Home a 7.5 (“Decent”)

[308 GTB]

I was struggling through this episode, right up until the end. Then the scenes in DC elevated this episode to fantastic television!

For all the carefree hedonism of a typical day in TM's life, at heart the theme of the show is that of dealing with one's past. The hedonism is not central to Magnum's personality; rather it is a dodge to escape all the loss and pain he has endured. Thomas lost his father, we find out he was mostly estranged from his mother, he lost his wife (so he thought), watched his buddy Mac die, watched a girlfriend kill herself, and now we find out he lost his half-brother as well. I think this episode is the transition point of the whole series, the one where TM finally begins to acknowledge that he needs to heal in order to move on with his life. (A few previous episodes deal with him aging, and trying to become "respectable", so "moving on" was already a part of the character arc.) To me, this episode is a lynchpin in the series, setting the tone for the final 2.5 seasons.

Even in his conflict with Frank, we see TM's need to move past his past. As he criticizes Frank for setting standards that Joey could never live up to, Frank counters with the way TM had set standards that Joey (and presumably Frank!) could never live up to. Frank is doing his best, just like Joey did, and just like Thomas has always tried to do. TM then goes to the wall, where he contemplates his own role in the tragedy that has surrounded him. Some of it was self-inflicted and some was not, but either way, he realizes he needs to move forward in life.

And for everyone being hard on this episode for introducing a character heretofore and hereafter unheard of, remember this: Thomas Magnum has always been a fiercely private individual. This is a character who commemorates the death of his father by paddling alone on the open ocean. Would it really surprise anyone to learn that TM had a half-brother that he never spoke about? To me it seems completely in character and adds to the mythos of Thomas Sullivan Magnum.

[ENSHealy]

EPISODE: 6.7 GOING HOME

Famous guest stars:
Hawaiian shirts:
Tigers Cap: 2

Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless Magnum:
OMG:
Higgins Organizations:
Higgins musings:
Negotiations:
Gun Play:
Bullet wounds:
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking:
When I write HTBAWCPI:
Investigator corrections: 1
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 3
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/601967503

Good to know they have Coops in Virginia.

Joe Regalbuto is horribly miscast in this role. He just doesn’t seem to fit as Magnum’s old friend. Can’t put my finger on it, but he just doesn’t work. And the Duke of Earl scene is extremely cringe-worthy.

It also bothers me that they never resolve the fact that Frank still mortgaged the house! That is a big deal, and they just let it go. The fact that TM wrongly accused him of stealing the letter, and is feeling sheepish about that, doesn’t seem like enough to give him a pass on the house.

As others have said, there are a few good moments, but mostly this one was hard to watch.

[SeamanWolfe]

I always liked this episode and felt it tied in well with the finale (which many did not seem to like very much either).

I almost wish they would do a George Lucas/star wars retcon and have him list his brother joey when he and Higgins are arguing on the beach in the mac's back episode. Just edit it in.

[Wilson_MacLeish]

It's an absolute travesty of scheduling that this is the episode that aired on Halloween night in 1985 when you had episodes like I Never Wanted To Go To France Anyway, & Rapture on the list.

[Nikita70]

I liked the episode, I’d give it an 8. I was kind of surprised TM didn’t offer up some sort of apology after falsely accusing Frank of stealing the letter. I’d have to.
Ironically I have a similar family situation and watching it this time around it really made me think of it. The little speech his cousin gives him in the kitchen about his mom and frank actually gave me some new insight about my mom.