Mac's Back (5.3)

Rate, review & discuss the episodes from the fifth season

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How Would You Rate This Episode?

10 (Perfect!)
14
12%
9.5 (One of the Best)
18
15%
9.0 (Excellent)
50
42%
8.5 (Very Good)
17
14%
8.0 (Pretty Good)
9
8%
7.5 (Decent)
6
5%
7.0 (Average at Best)
2
2%
6.5 (Not So Good)
3
3%
6.0 (Pretty Bad)
0
No votes
5.0 (Just Awful)
1
1%
 
Total votes: 120

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Victor DiGorgio
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Re:

#91 Post by Victor DiGorgio »

Jay-Firestorm wrote: Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:52 pm

Anyway, the story itself continues on from the previous two-part ‘Echoes of the Mind’, with Magnum suffering depression over the suicide of Diane. The story can be viewed ‘stand alone’, but for best effect is viewed directly after ‘Echoes of the Mind’.
It is the first time in the show’s run that a story continues on from the previous episode; something that would go on to occur more in the eighth, final season.


I came here to ask if this was the first time a story carried over in Magnum and the forum did not dissapoint. Watching it that was my big take away. Most Magnum episodes previously were stand alone, almost in a vacuum. Magnum shoots Ivan, next week just a new day in paradise. Rick see's a woman thrown off a lighthouse, never addressed again.

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K Hale
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#92 Post by K Hale »

That lighthouse scene was the most bizarre thing in the entire series.
I didn't realize you were so addicted to pool.
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Billiards.
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Snucker.
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Victor DiGorgio
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#93 Post by Victor DiGorgio »

K Hale wrote: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:29 pm That lighthouse scene was the most bizarre thing in the entire series.
I still need answers about that one. Could you imagine if the internet existed after that aired?

SeamanWolfe
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#94 Post by SeamanWolfe »

Just rewatched this episode after listening to the magnum pi podcast (does anyone here listen to it? - while they are not 100% pro-Magnum as this site, they are pretty entertaining).

I have a soft spot for any episode I remember watching on broadcast tv and this one fits the bill.

I remember watching as a kid (7th grade_ and rewatching frequently through high school) and imaging all major life trauma would be dealt with by drinking beer on a beach (and resolved with a shave and haircut).

I like magnums list of people he let down and Higgins justification ( going to war.. magnum's profession).

The twist at the end was fun as well.

On an odd side note. Was watching "all the president's men" recently and in one scene there is a blurry character in the background. I thought "that looks like Mac". Turns out it was and Jeff Mackay is Robert Redford's cousin. Small world I guess.

Sad to see he passed away so young.

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Little Garwood
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Mac’s Back (5.3)

#95 Post by Little Garwood »

Luther's nephew Dobie wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:12 am Garwood, you wrote:

"Funny how the best of art and entertainment stays with you and takes on new meanings as
you get older".

Great insight on your part. As I grew older and experienced losses such as family/buddies passing on, scenes in Magnum that I was indifferent to suddenly packed an emotional wallop.

Buck Gibson's para-sailing off to his death, and Magnum letting him only made sense to me when years after it first aired I saw first hand the horrors suffered by people who were doomed to a lingering and degrading death. I guess that's an indication of the quality of the writing on Magnum, they were writing something true which was what Hemingway always strove to do.
You’re too kind, but thank you. For some bizarre reason, I hadn’t seen your post until now (or did I forget to get back to you?)

Mad Buck Gibson’s farewell monologue is on my shortlist of All-Time Greatest Magnum Moments, which is why I even took the time to post that monologue in the Mad Buck Gibson thread.

I wonder how many other heretofore negelected Magnum, P.I. character moments—which are much more important to me than any plot—will spring forth with “new” meaning as I grow older. I’ve learned that wisdom is often hard won, which is why the lessons it imparts is never forgotten.
SeamanWolfe wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:41 am I remember watching as a kid (7th grade_ and rewatching frequently through high school) and imaging all major life trauma would be dealt with by drinking beer on a beach (and resolved with a shave and haircut).
I once connected with this sentiment! Just as I was led to believe that once a fellow reached adulthood and bachelordom, that he would share a domecile, and God-of-your-choice forbid, a bed, just as the Three Stooges did! :lol:

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Surf Ski
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#96 Post by Surf Ski »

Hi guys!

First post, but I use the site all the time for MPI trivia.

Though, like many of you, I've seen this episode a hundred times over the years, I noticed something new today that I had never spotted before. Not sure if it's been discussed, I didn't see it on the episode summary. I guess it would be considered a "flub."

After Magnum catches up with Father Jim/not-Mac when the latter comes to pick up his watch, Magnum drags him around the corner to the Ferrari. When Magnum is saying, "...no more bull! I want answers!" there is the shadow of a boom microphone on the ground in front of and to the left of the Ferrari.

It's as plain as day, but I had never noticed it before today. I know I'll never "not" see it again.

Anyway, happy to be here and glad to maybe be able to contribute something to the fandom, for all that it's given me.

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#97 Post by Pahonu »

Surf Ski wrote: Fri Jul 29, 2022 5:22 pm Hi guys!

First post, but I use the site all the time for MPI trivia.

Though, like many of you, I've seen this episode a hundred times over the years, I noticed something new today that I had never spotted before. Not sure if it's been discussed, I didn't see it on the episode summary. I guess it would be considered a "flub."

After Magnum catches up with Father Jim/not-Mac when the latter comes to pick up his watch, Magnum drags him around the corner to the Ferrari. When Magnum is saying, "...no more bull! I want answers!" there is the shadow of a boom microphone on the ground in front of and to the left of the Ferrari.

It's as plain as day, but I had never noticed it before today. I know I'll never "not" see it again.

Anyway, happy to be here and glad to maybe be able to contribute something to the fandom, for all that it's given me.
Welcome!

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Surf Ski
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#98 Post by Surf Ski »

Thank you!

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Aloha Friday
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#99 Post by Aloha Friday »

Watched this one last night...I was not a big fan of the Jim Bonnick character so avoided this one for a while. But, after this latest viewing, there was a lot to like about the episode. Most of which was already covered in previous posts. I think Jim would have been better if they did not call him Mac. I liked Mac and hated to see him killed off in the series. I liked Baa Baa Black Sheep and Tales of the Gold Monkey so I was sort of a Jeff McKay fan, I guess. I like the ghost Mac popping up here and in season 8. It showed he was a closer member of the circle than I originally thought...and was a way of bringing Jeff back in to the show. I thought he was more of a source than friend. So Jeff McKay played three roles in MPI...Ski the Marine gate guard, Mac, and Jim. Gillian Dobb also played two characters during the series run...was there any other recurring actors that played multiple characters? I guess Kathleen Lloyd as Carol Baldwin and the woman trying to get her late father interred with his shipmates. Any others?

I had a close friend that was killed when we were in our late teens and for probably 20 years after he would pop up in random dreams...we'd talk and out of the blue I'd realize he was dead...then I'd wake up.
Aloha Friday
Tidewater, Virginia

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#100 Post by emenius »

I enjoyed this one just for the fact that I go to see Jeff MacKay and Lance LeGault back in MPI. One of the aspects that I always liked was the implication of the supernatural in the show once in a while. Wasn't this one of the few times there was a continuity in the show. Almost feels like a three parter. I paused my dvd marathon of the show and now getting back into it. So fun times. I find that either my memory is going or there were a lot of episodes I never saw when it was in syndication.

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#101 Post by emenius »

Aloha Friday wrote: Sun Oct 09, 2022 4:30 pm So Jeff McKay played three roles in MPI...Ski the Marine gate guard, Mac, and Jim. Gillian Dobb also played two characters during the series run...was there any other recurring actors that played multiple characters? I guess Kathleen Lloyd as Carol Baldwin and the woman trying to get her late father interred with his shipmates. Any others?
I'm not sure if this has been answered in another post but you can add Soon-Tek Oh, Clyde Kusatsu, Judith Chapman, Lance LeGault and Jack Hogan to the list.

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#102 Post by Island_Hoppers »

So I was watching this episode yesterday, and after seeing TM's red eyes during the opening scene it really got me wondering if he was stoned! I came here looking if anyone else thought the same, but haven't seen anything. Do you think it was just a result of his drinking and past events, or could our detective have been smoking up some devil's lettuce?
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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#103 Post by Pahonu »

Island_Hoppers wrote: Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:53 pm So I was watching this episode yesterday, and after seeing TM's red eyes during the opening scene it really got me wondering if he was stoned! I came here looking if anyone else thought the same, but haven't seen anything. Do you think it was just a result of his drinking and past events, or could our detective have been smoking up some devil's lettuce?
It doesn’t really fit with his character in my view. I think the implication is that he’s on a mega-bender with little to no sleep for many days. In the first season episode The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii he takes the time to remember the location of a marijuana patch to report it to the authorities. That says something about the character’s view on the topic, I think.

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Re: Mac’s Back (5.3)

#104 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

Little Garwood wrote: Tue Aug 10, 2021 5:21 pm
Luther's nephew Dobie wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2016 4:12 am Garwood, you wrote:

"Funny how the best of art and entertainment stays with you and takes on new meanings as
you get older".

Great insight on your part. As I grew older and experienced losses such as family/buddies passing on, scenes in Magnum that I was indifferent to suddenly packed an emotional wallop.

Buck Gibson's para-sailing off to his death, and Magnum letting him only made sense to me when years after it first aired I saw first hand the horrors suffered by people who were doomed to a lingering and degrading death. I guess that's an indication of the quality of the writing on Magnum, they were writing something true which was what Hemingway always strove to do.
You’re too kind, but thank you. For some bizarre reason, I hadn’t seen your post until now (or did I forget to get back to you?)

Mad Buck Gibson’s farewell monologue is on my shortlist of All-Time Greatest Magnum Moments, which is why I even took the time to post that monologue in the Mad Buck Gibson thread.

I wonder how many other heretofore negelected Magnum, P.I. character moments—which are much more important to me than any plot—will spring forth with “new” meaning as I grow older. I’ve learned that wisdom is often hard won, which is why the lessons it imparts is never forgotten.
SeamanWolfe wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 3:41 am I remember watching as a kid (7th grade_ and rewatching frequently through high school) and imaging all major life trauma would be dealt with by drinking beer on a beach (and resolved with a shave and haircut).
I once connected with this sentiment! Just as I was led to believe that once a fellow reached adulthood and bachelordom, that he would share a domecile, and God-of-your-choice forbid, a bed, just as the Three Stooges did! :lol:

Image
Little Garwood, Seaman Wolf,
Every guy in our neighborhood raced home from school to watch The Stooges on WPIX in NYC.
We thought the Stooges were how people who enjoyed life behaved and that our parents were a pack of nerds.
Mom & Dad never came across Japanese spies and rounded them up, they never laid on the ground and spun in a circle like Curly, and never went to Venus and met a space alien who looked like Hoss
Cartwright, which it was, (Dan Blocker).

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Re: Mac's Back (5.3)

#105 Post by Wilson_MacLeish »

Island_Hoppers wrote: Sat Sep 23, 2023 8:53 pm So I was watching this episode yesterday, and after seeing TM's red eyes during the opening scene it really got me wondering if he was stoned! I came here looking if anyone else thought the same, but haven't seen anything. Do you think it was just a result of his drinking and past events, or could our detective have been smoking up some devil's lettuce?
Uh no. His eyes were red because he had been crying.

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