Who would you want to have your back in a sticky situation?

[Doc Ibold]

Purely hypothetical question here, but if you were in a jam and could only pick one of the guys to help you, (excluding Magnum because that isn't even a contest), who would it be and why?

Note this would be any generic jam you would find in the Magnaverse, so it can be social, political, physical, etc.

Higgins, Rick or T.C.?

Higgins:

Pros: Vast amounts of random knowledge and history, deadly karate chops and cane fighting skills, social poise, knowledge of falconry, fund raising abilities, and of course, THE LADS (I may be bending the rules, but since I made them up, I say the lads are arguably an extension of Higgins).

Cons: Somewhat out of shape, prone to rambling, sometimes fails to grasp the big picture

T.C.:

Pros: The Chopper and rockin' Van, physical and athletic prowess, mechanical ability, knowledge of the performing arts, most pragmatic of the three, suspenders, and knowledge of Bayou Blaster chili.

Cons: Focuses on money quite often. Blind loyalty may cause him to get into unnecessary scrapes, overcautious and tends to complain

Rick:

Pros: Access to yachts, clubs. Knowledge of and and contacts in the underworld. Collector and user of various forms of weaponry. Ability to set and destroy bar tabs at will, and as with Higgins and the lads, he has Ice Pick (as an extension).

Cons: Gets beat down quite often. Chases the women around, tends to be a little smarmy. Can get into trouble with said underworld contacts and suckered into get rich quick schemes.

Feel free to amend my pros and cons for each and be as silly as you like.

As for my choice, I think I would go to T.C. first.

Thoughts?

[Waltstasz]

Great topic! Your descriptions are dead on!

I would have to go with TC, too. He seems like the most reliable.

[J.J. Walters]

It would depend on the "jam", of course.

Fisticuffs involved? T.C. Need to shake somebody down? T.C. Need air support, or an air rescue? T.C. Car repairs? T.C.

Need to procure some weapons? Rick. Need hard-to-get information? Rick. Need to hire some underworld muscle for backup? Rick. Need a human punching bag as a diversionary tactic? Rick.

Need to formulate an attack or escape plan? Higgins. Need to crack a code? Higgins. Someone's life depends on you answering one incredibly difficult question on some obscure, arcane topic? Higgins.

Magnum has access to all three! No wonder he's unstoppable.

[IslandHopper]

Great topic, but it's a tough choice between TC and Higgins. Despite TC's physical strength, mechanical and flying skills, I would have to choose Higgins.

Higgins has those all important contacts with Mi5 and Mi6, the military, the Royals, and the who's who in Hawaii. Higgins is also a survival expert as shown in Operation Silent Night and Autumn Warrior. In Autumn Warrior, Magnum and TC went to save Higgins, but in the end it was Higgins who saved them. Higgins also saved TC's life in Past Tense, or at least kept him alive. Higgins is also an expert with K-9's as well as bird calls (Birdman of Budapest). And don't forget Higgins was a commando instructor during the war (Don't Eat The Snow In Hawaii).

[eegorr]

All things considered, I would want T.C. watching my back!

[golfmobile]

I'm going to jump off the deep end a little bit here, and go for the unchosen one -- Rick. My reasoning?

Even though I still think Larry Manetti can't act his way out of a paper bag, he was the one with the physical ability/agility/skill to be there for ya. TC had the helicopter, but he also had a business to run (though Thomas certainly interfered with that enough).

Higgins had the heart but not the physical ability.

Okay, they ALL had heart and were always there for Thomas in the long run, but Rick seemed more eager and feisty to jump into a physical confrontation, his job at the club didn't seem to demand much time (TC did have to take care of customers to keep an income to pay for all the gas TS kept making him use and never paid him back except when Mercedes McCambridge paid him more than he expected).

So I'm not criticizing TC for needing to take care of his business nor Higgins for being an intellectual instead of an "action figure." But when I want someone covering my back, I'm going with Rick. He would never let someone who depended on him down. Going to jail for Icepick, remember?

I vote for Rick.

But on another subject, in looking at the entire run of thing show, I really don't understand why ANY of them put up with TS! He almost never did anything for them -- he was always asking favors of them.

Okay, I know you are all going to give me a recitation of what all he did for them, but for the majority of the time. . . . . -- and, yes, it was HIS show and they were supporting characaters -- but I never really understood why they were always there for him, and he always asked of them more than he gave back. To me it seemed sometimes as though they were wllling to sacrifice their lives/career/interests just to be considered his friend and be called on, which seems a tad sad to me. Someone was a user here, and there were several usees.

Don't kick me off the site! I still love the show and all the characters!

golf

[SelleckLover]

I agree with you golfmobile. I would pick Rick also for the same reasons. He was the one, during their time in Viet Nam, that was the side gunner in the helicopter that TC flew over the treetops. Always "looking out" for the aircraft and covering people on the ground when landing. He also seemed to possess some type of medical knowledge, as evidenced in the episode "Thicker Than Blood" when the character "Joey" overdoses.

I think what made them still be friends with Magnum, even though he "used" them a lot, was their shared experiences during the war. Anyone that has never served during a war, finds it hard to imagine being faced with the possibility of dying, every single day. You have to rely on other people and work as a team. My husband who spent 4 years in VietNam, credits his friend of over 40 years with "getting him through" the war. They met in the military in 1964 and are still friends to this day. They always had each other's backs. My husband accepts anything this guy does, within reason, because he feels he "owes him", and never judges him. Since I've never had a relationship like that, I can't, as they say, "relate" but I do understand their sense of comaraderie and the true, pure friendship that they share.

[IslandHopper]

Golfmobile and SelleckLover, you both make compelling cases for Rick. Adding to SL's point about Rick's medical knowledge, when he was bandaging TC's ribs in "China Doll", he made a statement to the effect that he had patched these guys up so often, he knew them better than their MaMa's.

However, my main problem with Rick is that he flies off the handle to quickly and makes rash, spur of the moment decisions without having thought things through, e.g., when he wanted to marry the Vietnamese girl in "All For One"; and the situation in "Woman on The Beach." Well, in Rick's defense, who hasn't done this from time to time.

Additionally there was at least one occasion where Rick abandoned Magnum and TC, as well as his job, again, for a woman, e.g., "A Little Bit of Luck, A Little Bit of Grief." In that episode, Rick didn't even bail Magnum or TC out of jail. They were bailed out by Rick's love interest. He did eventually come around though.

Although Rick may be willing to jump into a fight, unfortunately for Rick, he can't take a punch (not that Higgins could take one any better), and is always the first one knocked out. Rick always seems to have to face the gorilla. In "Mr. White Death" TC makes a comment (when they are training on the estate with Mr. White Death) that Rick should work out so his friends wouldn't have to keep coming to his defense all the time. In "Squeeze Play" Rick was clearly the worst one on the team, in which everyone but Magnum wanted to put a pinch hitter in for him at the end of the game.

[eegorr]

...I really don't understand why ANY of them put up with TS! He almost never did anything for them -- he was always asking favors of them.

It was his show!