Were they right to kill off Tanaka in the final season?

Message

Jay-Firestorm · #1 Post by **Jay-Firestorm** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:44 pm

What does everyone think about Lt. Tanaka's death in season 8's 'Tigers Fan'?

Personally, I think he was a great (and funny) recurring character, and cannot for the life of me work out why they decided to kill him off, especially with just a few episodes remaining.

I haven't seen the episode itself for a while, but it always struck me as pointless. Couldn't they have created another character to take the fall? (Or how about Joe Santos' Lt. Page - I was never so keen on him).
I just think it was a really bad move.

Thoughts?

Steve · #2 Post by **Steve** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:10 pm

I was a big Lt. Tanaka fan and was sorry to see him killed in this episode. I am thinking since everyone knew this was the last season, and it happened 4 episodes in, they wanted to grab the audience and show that anything was possible in the final season. If nothing else, it was a nice tribute to a GREAT recurring character. The Baseball bond between Magnum and Tanaka was a nice touch as you knew these two guys truly liked each other and of course, we men have to some excuse like sports or the military as an excuse for bonding. (LOL). Some of my favorite all time scenes were between Tanaka, Magnum and Luther Gillis........

Miss Q · #3 Post by **Miss Q** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:59 pm

I think it was done to show that some times bad things happen to good people, and that actions have consequences...

It was a bit of realism added to the plot.

N1095A · #4 Post by **N1095A** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:59 pm

Had they done it in any of the earlier seasons, it would have been disappointing. I think that because everyone knew it was the last season, it made for a great story. Still sad to see Tanaka go. He was a favorite.

lutherhgillis · #5 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 12:29 am

I loved Tanaka. He was a great second tier character. I hated to see him killed off but I must admit that it had a huge impact on the show. They achieved the effect they were going for. I remember feeling like I had been punched in the gut when I saw this episode during its first run.

They scored with impact but we lost a great friendly foil for Magnum.

Tanaka was the coolest of the cool. Tanaka rules and Paige drools...

MPS · #6 Post by **MPS** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:41 am

I loved Lt. Tanaka and hated the fact that he was killed off. The death did send a strong message that the viewer could expect anything from then on. It was a good move in terms of finalizing things for the series, but it never sat well with me.

Italian Ice · #7 Post by **Italian Ice** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 2:44 am

Tanaka's character was great, although I admit he did pick on TM quite a bit, accusing him (or a friend) of being involved in a crime on several occasions. I would normally think he wouldn't do this to a private investigator with a high reputation. Otherwise, he did a great job.

Also, thankfully they didn't make an episode later on called "Tanaka's Back" !!

Jay-Firestorm · #8 Post by **Jay-Firestorm** » Fri Apr 03, 2009 1:02 pm

MPS wrote:I loved Lt. Tanaka and hated the fact that he was killed off. The death did send a strong message that the viewer could expect anything from then on. It was a good move in terms of finalizing things for the series, but it never sat well with me.

That's my real problem with the episode - If they had done it a season or two earlier, it would have made a great "anything can happen" point, but as it was just literally a few episodes away from the finale, ... what was the point.

Italian Ice - Oh well, if Mac could come back, who knows!!

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Fri Apr 03, 2009 4:30 pm

I was sad to see Tanaka go. It would have been nice to keep him around for the finale.

#10 Post by **Doc Ibold** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:11 am

I think the most poignant thing about it all is that Tanaka reached out for Magnums help... but then never actually went through with it.

Makes you think... what would have happened if Magnum was there?

Frodoleader · #11 Post by **Frodoleader** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 3:38 am

I just watched this episode last weekend. I think it was only because it was the final season that they killed off Tanaka. Any earlier and they would not have done it. Mac was killed off only because Jeff McKay was slated to be on "Tales of the Gold Monkey".

Question: does an actor get more money if his character is killed off on a TV series?

lutherhgillis · #12 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Wed Apr 15, 2009 1:44 pm

This post prompted me to watch the episode again. Wow, what a great episode. The only suggestion I would make to improve it would be to suggest that Tanaka was working on something important a few episodes earlier. Maybe he and Magnum could talk about it a little more and Magnum offers to help. Maybe they make some plans then Tanaka makes a small mistake without Magnum being around to help....

It seems like they could have gotten a little more mileage from this great episode.

Cheers.

Buck · #13 Post by **Buck** » Sun Jun 07, 2009 9:44 pm

Miss Q wrote:I think it was done to show that some times bad things happen to good people, and that actions have consequences...

It was a bit of realism added to the plot.

That is a great way to look at it, sometimes bad things happen to good people. It is not the first time a friend of Magnums died. Mac was died in an earlier season when the Ferrari exploded.