The Jororo Kill (2.13)

[J.J. Walters]

This is the official MM thread for The Jororo Kill (2.13). All discussions and reviews for this episode should go here. If you wish to rate the episode, please do so with the poll. The avg. score will be the official 'community rating', which will be used on the episode page (updated monthly).

This thread is also linked in the episode page of the Episode Guide.

Original Air Date: 1/7/1982
When Kate Sullivan, a journalist, and an old friend of Thomas, Rick, and T.C. from the Vietnam days, arrives in Hawaii and asks for Magnum's help in tracking down an international assassin, Magnum learns that the target is a Prime Minister visiting from a small island republic. However, Magnum becomes suspicious of Kate's determination for getting the story.

[J.J. Walters]

This is one of my favorite episodes from Season Two. A drag queen assassin is just plain frightening! It's great to see Tyne Daly in a MPI episode. She's great in everything she does. Love the ending - "Nuns don't work on Sundays" [bum-bum-boom]!

I don't know if you guys noticed this or not, but Zulu (Kono from Hawaii Five-O) makes a brief appearance as a hotel doorman! He is credited as "Zoulou", the French Tahitian spelling of "Zulu".

Zulu

[grundle]

I love this episode too.

But they made one change to the DVD, and I don't like it one bit.

In the original version, there are no subtitles during the early scene where people are speaking in French. This is because they assumed the veiwers were intelligent enough to understand what was going on, and also because they wanted your eyes to be focused on the action.

But on the DVD, there are French subtitles on the screen. And there's no way to shut them off. I find this to be distracting and annoying. I also feel that it violates the original intent of the artist who created the episode. It's kind of like colorizing a black and white film.

[J.J. Walters]

Yeah, I noticed that, too. It's so unnecessary. The subtitles are also poorly done. They appear in unnatural places on the screen and the letter fonts look fuzzy and jagged, like something you'd see on a high school teleprompter!

[grundle]

Here's the scene without the subtitles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9eBAxxPgcw


It's so much better without the subtitles.

[eeyore]

When Higgins and Magnum are talking in the wine cellar, there is a shot of the steps behind them. Looks like the steps down into the guesthouse. I wonder if they "recycled" the stage set.

[rubber chicken]

"Our Lady of the Holy Veil convent" is Kaumakapili Church. (gm link)




And it appears that the "The South of France" location in this episode is the same as the one used for "The Palace of King Fernando Mongueo" in Who is Don Luis Higgins, and Why is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me? (6.19). They changed the walkway, and the trees look a bit different (shot in different seasons?). They also changed the guards too. (gm link, camera is under the tree looking north north east across the walkway toward the courtyard and building)

[J.J. Walters]

Outasight!

Thanks!

[grundle]

The Pittsburgh RTN station played "The Jororo Kill" on Monday. The scene in France had the same English subtitles that are on the DVD. It also had the opening teaser, and the season 2 opening. I think they may be playing the DVD, or at least a tape from the master that was used to make the DVD.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I'm trying to recall whether any previous episodes had mentioned that Magnum's middle name is Sullivan, and/or that some of his relatives are named Sullivan. I don't think so -- or it would be a bit odd that he didn't jokingly call the reporter "Cousin Kate" or something. This episode should definitely be canon, since Bellisario was one of the writers (maybe he's just really fond of the name Sullivan).

Regarding the church, I "heard" the name as "Church of the Holy Veil." Of course, "Holy Vale" sounds exactly the same. Short of getting hold of the original script, I guess it comes down to whether it's more likely that a church would be named for a valley or a scarf. I favor the latter -- the reference could be to St. Veronica (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Veronica), or to the mystical "veil" that separates life from death.

[rubber chicken]

You are correct Carol. I checked the subtitles and it's Veil not Vale. Opps! Thanks for the correction (I changed my above post).

Though a holy valley could work on Oahu. Ka'a'awa Valley was "in ancient times, one of the most sacred places on the island." It could have been a nice melding between Hawaiian past and present. But I doubt a Hawaiian valley would have much significance to the Catholic Church.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I wouldn't put too much faith in the subtitles. Just off the top of my head, they've had "hand glider" instead of "hang glider", "pau'ana" instead of "pau hana", "bro" instead of "brah" -- and when Saul (in "Never Again") asked the KKC bar tender for "two cents plain," they merely said he was "[speaking Yiddish]."

[IslandHopper]

MPI collectors may find this interesting. During the last scene when TC and Rick are listening in on Higgins' wine tasting, the telephone/intercom they are listening in on is a "Radio Shack Duofone 16." The thing I found interesting about this is that the word "Shack" in Radio Shack is blacked out by an oval piece of tape or other material, so only the word "Radio" is visible. Even with the word "Shack" blacked out, it is still obvious that the phone is a Radio Shack as their font style is distinctive, not to mention that the black oval piece of tape is oddly out of place on the phone. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by their attempt to hide a product name since MPI has used fictitious names for various products throughout the series, e.g., Coops, Old Düsseldorf, Tiller Beer, Flagler Beer, Day-N-Dark, etc. But, then again, there were many brand names used during the show, e.g., Ferrari, Audi, VW, Rolex, Seiko, Royal (Higgins’ Typewriter), Puma, Safeway, Izod/Lacoste, Gatorade, Diet Coke, various team names (Detroit Tigers, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Lakers). The different brand names and fictional names used on the show might make an interesting thread.

The scene itself was great because Rick, in an effort to turn up the volume on the phone/intercom hits the wrong button and releases tear gas on Higgins and his fellow wine connoisseurs. This is ironic because Higgins presumably installed this as a security precaution to be used on Magnum when he is caught pilfering wine. As the gas is pouring out from beneath the closed door, you can hear Higgins say (above all of the coughing and choking sounds) "Magnum, you irresponsible cretin..."

Excellent episode.

[J.J. Walters]

An amusing flub can be seen during the church shootout. The priest and two altar boys never move, or duck down, during the gun battle! Guys are getting hit all around them, yet they never take cover!



Several seconds later, with a couple of guys directly in front of them already hit and on the floor...



Maybe they were too scared to react? Maybe they were just super confident God would save them?

Lastly, the denouement features a Robin's Nest indoor set I don't think I've ever seen before. It's a room with dark-colored brick that is adjacent to Higgins' study. Am I missing something? Was this set only used for ONE brief scene?

[Doc Ibold]

Hmmmm.

Good call James. I had always assumed that that room was somewhere in the KKC, but never really looked at the background (although it HAS been a while since I saw this ep. - I'm on a Magnum sabbatical for a little bit. Keeps the episodes fresher)



I think MAYBE this may have been used again (see Basket Case or Letter To A Duchess) for what appears to be an outdoor dining room. In this instance, it looks like it was shown from a completely different angle (if it is the same room) and the dining room sets had a bigger table.