L.A. (1) (7.1)

[Blackmamba]

I remember when this episode was first aired and I hated Dana as the love interest. Fast forward 30 odd years and I enjoyed the episode and liked Dana. I could see the attraction but it becomes obvious to me that the relationship was doomed to fizzle. Even though she wasn’t a good prospect for a serious relationship, TM seems finally open to a long term commitment.

[N1095A]

The police lieutenants office was the same one as Downtown Brown's on Simon & Simon. Even had the same pictures on the wall.

[Aloha Friday]

Decent episode...I like Dana Delany. China Beach was not too far off in her future...a great show. As for the comedy routines...I am thinking maybe the writers don't want to throw away good jokes as an aside on a television show when they can be sold for good money.

[Pahonu]

Decent episode...I like Dana Delany. China Beach was not too far off in her future...a great show. As for the comedy routines...I am thinking maybe the writers don't want to throw away good jokes as an aside on a television show when they can be sold for good money.

China Beach was fantastic!

[Treadwell]

6.5 (Not So Good)
(both parts)

Dana Delaney is charming and delightful. But the show's a mess. Agreed on the many points in that regard already made.

The interior of the comedy club stage (but, surely, not the manager's office) and the exterior with the black wall with all the fake celebrity autographs is The Comedy Store, which is still running in LA.

TM has a big bandage on the OUTSIDE of his clothing? What good is it doing over two layers of fabric?

"I had no where else to go" - TM shows up at the lawyers house after the gunfight at the safe house. Did I miss something?

Didn't she give him her card or write down her address in a prior scene outside the comedy club?

More comments in the Part 2 thread.

[No need to know!]

Scored Pretty good on both L.A 1 & 2 some years ago.

I must say that they have grown on me (it´s a two hour movie on my european DVD).

Really entertaining, and the love interest between Tom & Cynthia did work this time for me, and nice with a subplot with TC, Higgins and Rick back "home".

I would score a 8.5 now, Very good indeed.

[Vxc961]

I can't lie, I often feel weird posting to a thread started so long ago and with the last reply so many years ago, but I'm doing my re-watch in order, so here we go...

I think all the detractors of this episode are almost completely right. The B-plot in Hawaii is yawn-worthy and stale, it's got a season's worth of sub-machine guns firing in just 44 minutes, and poor Marti was groan-inducing. But... Dana Delaney totally made this episode for me. I thought she and TM totally had chemistry, and I just loved that she wasn't all vamped up but could have fun with Magnum. Her character went places (angry with him, sympathetic and letting him in, excited and wanting part of the action, scared when she was almost shot, in love, but then afraid to commit). I agree that Magnum's proposal was a bit out of the blue, but I bought it when I was 10 and I bought it just now when watching the episode. I think for me what sold it was Magnum talking about "being married...but not being married." I kept waiting for him to recap his relationship with Michelle, and it was agonizing (in a good way) to see Cynthia think she's made the wrong assumptions again, but finally land on the fact that TM hadn't betrayed her or this wife-not-wife. Even this time, I found myself wondering "are they setting her up to become part of the cast?" Usually I'd be angry to have an out of character marriage proposal followed almost immediately by the call to the white courtesy phone at the airport, but it worked on me this time.

Good magnum episodes have varying degrees of action, emotion, and comedy; I wasn't crazy about the action here, it had a few moments of decent comedy, but the emotion of those two together makes this one of my favorites.

I know I'm getting into part 2 territory...hard with these eps.

[eagle]

Good magnum episodes have varying degrees of action, emotion, and comedy

In my mind, this is one of the best parts of the series. The blend was like no other, and the characters meshed so well.

The only thing that possibly comes close, in my mind, was Seinfeld.

[Vxc961]

Yeah, there are a lot of 80's shows I still like, but the writing style was so different then that even some of my "favorites" I can only take in small doses. It's amazing to me that I can watch MPI over and over and still enjoy it every time!

[nevermind2000]

When I saw this as a teenager I thought Dana Delany was so great and I was rooting for her and Magnum.
Almost 40 years later I just watched this again and I still feel there was great chemistry between them and "Since I fell for you' still hits hit home all these years later.
I remember back in the '80s trying to find that song. I found out it was a special version for this episode.

I guess we may not have had her great character in China Beach if this worked out, but the follow up show was so poor and I remember I was so mad when I was a kid. I haven't seen it lately yet but I'm in season 7 and will get to it shortly.

[Cagliostro]

As also a huge fan of The Rockford Files I absolutely loved seeing Magnum going around L.A., I would have loved if James Garner’s (completely justified) issues with Universal had been solved before this was written/filmed so maybe we could have seen Magnum and Rockford meet and team up. Cause I heard a rumor years ago that they wanted to do something like that with this episode. Dana Delany was, of course, absolutely stunning, and it’s a little weird for me, as I’m used to her voice being Lois Lane in the DCAU from when I was a teenager. I guess I’m in the minority to actually like the subplot in Hawaii, mostly for seeing a young Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

[litefoot]

According to the IMDB trivia page for L.A., Danny Trejo is in L.A. as an extra. It's not listed in the trivia section of the episodes on this site - can anyone confirm?

"Danny Trejo makes an appearance as an extra while Magnum is walking on the Santa Monica boardwalk. He passes in front of the camera shirtless eating an ice cream with his unmistakable chest tattoo."


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0639673/tr ... =tr5154710