40th Anniversary Watch Party

[wes]

I forgot all about an exchange at Ricks bar where he goes to give Higgins a tip and Higgins gives a kind of a smirk and says I don’t accept tips, TC says and I’ll bet you don’t give em either. Gave me a great laugh.

[Pahonu]

My takeaway was that the scenes at Rick’s Cafe Americain seem super 70’s disco style! I also noticed some of the decor in Rick’s office for the first time, particularly the Moorish looking carving on the walls/cabinets? behind them. Makes sense if it was supposed to be modeled on Casablanca in Morocco.

[Pahonu]

WHAT A Weekend, 40th Anniversary and the Army Navy Game tomorrow!

The game was played 12 days before the MPI debut in 1980 on 11/29. Navy won 33-6.

[Pahonu]

Can I ask, where we just going to watch, or were we going to comment on any thoughts this viewing? No pressure either way.

[Gorilla Mask]

Hello everyone! And happy Forty anniversary !

I took a few minutes to go over the first scenes of 1.1 in accelerated mode... Anyway, I practically know this episode by heart!

I've always had a penchant for Ian Fairbairn's Smith's Jazzy opening. I find it very classy and much more dynamic than some of its detractors have said. Of course the Carpenter/Post 'hit', is much more 'rock', and a model of modernity, but... Shifting gears and cornering with IFS theme in the inboard CD player, I assure you, it's not so bad !
I found the article quote by T.Q. very interesting with a very accurate appreciation of the richness and, again, the modernity of the characters. It is undeniable that '' it owes its success to a very accurate composition of the character of Thomas Sullivan Magnum by Tom Selleck and to the duo - all in bickering - TM/Higgins. Selleck, by breaking the 4th Wall and using 'little voice' narration, indoubtely set the bases of years of tight closeness with his public !

As for the plot, I've already had the opportunity to give my opinion: it was, for me, a missed opportunity, as it appears somewhat scabrous, badly finalized and, in my opinion, unnecessarily complicated. It's really a pity, " Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii" would have been a must without it because some scenes, such as the shooting at the end in the airport, are really memorable (for the others, I wanted of course to talk about the various passages where we can see, or even percieve, the "so-called" Swedish stewardesses's curves... ).

Footnote: I did a quick survey among my colleagues at work for the 40's. Many of those who were old enough to watch it remember MPI especially through the truculent and theatrical dialogues between Magnum and Higgins.

At Last, i would like to recall the memory of Francis Lax, the French actor and Dubber, without who MPI would not have been such a success in France.

[Gorilla Mask]

My takeaway was that the scenes at Rick’s Cafe Americain seem super 70’s disco style! I also noticed some of the decor in Rick’s office for the first time, particularly the Moorish looking carving on the walls/cabinets? behind them. Makes sense if it was supposed to be modeled on Casablanca in Morocco.

Hey Pahonu, I agree with the stong 70's atmosphere about the scenes at "Rick's Café Américain"... I intend to send a post, on the filming locations thread, about it... In spite of intense research, i was not able to locate it. The following scene (where Higgins was pursued and attacked by the hitman) was taken near or at Hotel St, but no Nighclub there seems to fit.

Of course my search means ar limited...

Is it possible that the iconic place was ,finally, a studio's stage ?

Through the episode; that place seems to be somewhat offset ...

... but i must be mistaken.

[Sam]

Hi GM.. from Manetti's book.

Season 1.1

This episode was partially filmed in Hollywood, particularly the club scenes at Rick's place- notice the set is different than any other episode.

[KENJI]

Hi GM.. from Manetti's book.

Season 1.1

This episode was partially filmed in Hollywood, particularly the club scenes at Rick's place- notice the set is different than any other episode.

Hi stranger!
Welcome back Sam!!

[Gorilla Mask]

Really, Sam, you're a mine of knowledge !

I've been told about this book several times. I guess it's only in English. I'll try to find it...

In any case, I'll put a link about this find on the Rubber's Chicken section.

Thanks a lot!

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

I didn't have time to watch on Friday, but I watched today. My random observations include:

1. The first half is better than the second half
2. They dropped the ball on La Bulle because they didn't give us much of a reason to care about his turning "bad."
3. Higgins wouldn't have an SSN and I doubt the Swedish girls would even know SSNs existed (we didn't use them for everything back in 1980).
4. The club was so exotic!
5. I love the wallpaper in the billiard room at the estate!
6. We should have seen Alice Cook again.
7. There's a picture of Queen Victoria on the wall in Higgins' office. I love the shade of green on the walls in this room!
8. Healy says "See y'all later!" when TM asks him to go get a beer. We don't use y'all to address one person, but Yankees are always writing it in movies and TV this way! Lol!

[Pahonu]

I didn't have time to watch on Friday, but I watched today. My random observations include:

1. The first half is better than the second half
2. They dropped the ball on La Bulle because they didn't give us much of a reason to care about his turning "bad."
3. Higgins wouldn't have an SSN and I doubt the Swedish girls would even know SSNs existed (we didn't use them for everything back in 1980).
4. The club was so exotic!
5. I love the wallpaper in the billiard room at the estate!
6. We should have seen Alice Cook again.
7. There's a picture of Queen Victoria on the wall in Higgins' office. I love the shade of green on the walls in this room!

True story, the wallpaper in the billiard room with the large scale banana leaves is almost exactly what I found behind a wall of mirrors I removed from the second bedroom of our townhouse when we bought it in 1999. Most everything in the place was original to 1974 and was in need of a remodel after 25 years. I said almost exactly because it was the same large print but in different colors. Ours was shades of blue!!! Talk about super disco 70’s. That and all the walls of mirror. Even our bathroom had a wall of mirror. Needless to say, it’s all gone now, though it took quite a few years.

Below is a link to the green original print. Apparently it dates back to the 40’s and the Beverly Hills Hotel. Who knew?

https://ibb.co/dt4vbps

Edit: I found a blue version that’s similar.

https://ibb.co/ZV4RGd2

[Limbo]

I stumbled upon this by accident. A magnum article came up on my phone about the 40th anniversary of "Dont eat the snow in hawaii" and the impact Magnum had on 80's culture. Even though i cant believe....Im serious...i really cant believe this show is 40 freakin years old, I put in the pilot and have kept on going. Im currently watching "From Moscow to Maui". One of the all time great shows.

[ConchRepublican]

Hi Guys!

Sorry I was MIA this weekend but I DID watch the pilot movie Friday night even if I didn't get here to speak of it.

As usual, It was great to watch and is, IMHO, the best pilot movie/premiere in TV history. It sets the tone, characters and relationships right off the bat. Sure, there was fine tuning along the way (most notably Manetti's Rick character which, by my understanding, was saved by Selleck) but you had the important stuff right there. Such a solid foundation to build from, which I feel "China Doll", as the first true episode, did a great job continuing.

That opening monologue and then the simplicity of "I woke one day 33 and realized I was never 23" captures everything about the following 8 years of the series.

I do think the plot was a little convoluted - how Healy was actually forced to ingest the drugs, more background on laBulle - all could have been handled a bit better, but still, it's in my top 5 most watched episode of the series, and quite possibly the #2 watched.

I could feel that Maniac Magic Friday night as we all virtually communed!

[ConchRepublican]

I forgot all about an exchange at Ricks bar where he goes to give Higgins a tip and Higgins gives a kind of a smirk and says I don’t accept tips, TC says and I’ll bet you don’t give em either. Gave me a great laugh.

They used that again later in the season in "J. Digger Doyle" when Higgins was kidnapped . . .

"did he tip you?
"yeah, 20 bucks, why?"
"That's not Higgins Thomas"
"I know"

Which I will say, I always found funny since Higgins was such a gentleman, I never thought he'd be cheap with servers . . . until I found out later tipping is not a big thing in England, which would explain things.

[Fr. Paddy McGuinness]

I didn't have time to watch on Friday, but I watched today. My random observations include:

1. The first half is better than the second half
2. They dropped the ball on La Bulle because they didn't give us much of a reason to care about his turning "bad."
3. Higgins wouldn't have an SSN and I doubt the Swedish girls would even know SSNs existed (we didn't use them for everything back in 1980).
4. The club was so exotic!
5. I love the wallpaper in the billiard room at the estate!
6. We should have seen Alice Cook again.
7. There's a picture of Queen Victoria on the wall in Higgins' office. I love the shade of green on the walls in this room!
8. Healy says "See y'all later!" when TM asks him to go get a beer. We don't use y'all to address one person, but Yankees are always writing it in movies and TV this way! Lol!

Why wouldn’t he have a SSN? I moved to the U.S. shortly after this and I needed an SSN to work & go to university.