Adelaide (1.14)

[rubber chicken]

This was pretty easy to find actually, because of two things. One, this area is the only part of the island that is high above sea level but very gradually slopes towards the ocean. And two, the mountain range in the far background is the same which is seen, from about half the distance, in Operation Silent Night and other episodes which use that same general location.

And New Town and Country Stables is indeed a pretty notable location. In addition to this episode and The Elmo Ziller Story (2.21) which you mentioned, it was also used in Home From the Sea (4.1) for the polo scenes with Higgins and Agatha. It may have been used in others, but I haven't looked at all episodes for locations yet.

Here's the same exact location used in both this episode and The Elmo Ziller Story, shot from opposite angles.



I also didn't mention that the New Town and Country Stables property was used for most of the scenes where Adelaide was briefly napped, and then chased by Magnum and her uncle. The field used was approximentely here. If I'm remembering perfectly, the scene starts on the north shore where she's taken by the cowboys, then this location is used for the rest of the scene until the end where they're all back on the north shore.

[PhatCat]

Awesome, RC! Great work.

[golfmobile]

RC,

Speaking of horses, and locations, and Oahu, . . . . .

Larry and I might (I emphasize MIGHT) being staying at a horse ranch on Oahu when (if) we go in three weeks. It's called Open Palms Plantation or Waimanalo Plantation.

With the following information:

horse ranch

can you find it for me on Google Earth?

Larry wants to stay closer to the beach (I really don't have a problem with that, ya know?), but I've about convinced the owner of the "plantation" to let me help her exercise her horses (emailed her pictures of me, jumping, while I was riding my horse [pictures posted here somewhere on some thread or other] -- though I didn't tell her the pictures were more than 20 years old . . . .), so I would LOVE to be on Oahu and be able to:

1. Visit the beach at Robin's Nest
2. Fly over the Anderson Estate while flying the helicopter
3. Snorkel almost every day
4. Play golf at least twice each at Pali Golf Course, and Ko'olau, and Olomana
5. Find some of the shooting locations identified here (I doubt we'll be able to get to ALL of them, but I want to see the Walker Estate, Byoto Temple, College Hill Mansion [the Baldwin House in that MPI episode], Pali Tunnels, and others, of course)
6. AND ride horses and jump a few jumps in a ring (see the pictures of the guesthouse at the ranch -- it appears to overlook the riding ring -- shades of TS' ranch!!) on a ranch/plantation and/or trail rides and/or the beach. I think I'll send Larry off on a deepsea fishing excursion while the owner of the ranch and I play with the horsies . . . .

So, RC, can you put your expertise to the above "exercise" (in futility, possibly . . . . -- not that I fault YOU -- there simply may not be enough information on that website for you to find the place)

golf

[SelleckLover]

Wow golf!

How long will you be there? I don't think I could pack all those activities in my visit even if I stayed there for a month! More power to you if you can!

SL

[rubber chicken]

Here's the location golf. The address is 41-770 Mahailua Street if I'm not mistaken. New Town and Country Stables shown above is only a little over a mile north, as TC's helicopter flies, so to speak.





Best of luck with your vacation plans!

[golfmobile]

RC,

Okay, this is getting freaking scary!!! How do you DO that?

Nevertheless, THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Oddly enough, just after I posted the request, the owner sent me an email giving me the street address, and you are dead on. With the street address in hand, figuratively, I Google-Earthed it and found the same thing, but I didn't spot the riding areas (as they don't look from the satellite view the way I expected them to -- I was expecting more "tan" dirt) until you pointed them out, along with all the other designations. I guess my mind just hasn't learned the trick of transposing forward views to overhead views. I'm still in total awe!

SL, yes, we stay pretty busy on "vacation." We aren't the types to sit on the beach and read a book when there are places to go and things to be done. We will be there seven days, and possibly nine if Larry can get two more days off (he has them to "redeem," just has to get permission per the schedule). Our schedule on vacation runs pretty much like this:

7:00 a.m. Up (we're still half-way on East Coast time) -- if Larry gets out and about early enough, he'll try to go take sunrise pictures. If not, then Larry has coffee and reads tourist brochures while I shower, do the hair, and put on make-up (if we're going snorkeling right away, I'll wait to do this until we get back). And maybe bacon, eggs, English muffins for breakfast at "home" before we start "carpe diem"-ing.

8:30 - 10:00 a.m. Snorkeling

10-11 -- Clean up/dressing/hair drying/sunless tanning drying and out --

11-2 p.m. Exploring

2-5/6 p.m. Golf

6-9 p.m. Cocktails, dinner (in or out, usually in, and we aren't big eat-outers), and computer communications/catch-up. (Burger King and Wendy's get a lot of our business while in Hawaii -- easy and cheap to get and take with you while you're on the go, or fading . . . .).

9-9:30 p.m. Crash and burn

One morning we'll probably skip the snorkeling so I can do the helicopter flight (if that option is still available, need to find out the scheduling of my instructor), and probably one or two afternoons we won't go golfing and just explore more.

It does seem rather hectic, when putting it in an outline like that. I guess the best part is that we both want to do it this way. It would really be a bummer if one of us didn't want such an activities roster. I think I get the unconscious feeling that, while I'm there, I don't want to waste a minute.

RC, thanks again. You are AMAZING!!!!

golf

[SelleckLover]

Wow RC...I agree with golf...you are truly amazing!

golf...Hope you have a great time on your vacation! I personally couldn't enjoy a vacation that was structured in that way. I don't like the feeling that I HAVE to do something at a certain time, but I guess I'm just more laid-back than some! But, if that is what makes your boat float, then, more power to you! JMHO

SL

[MPS]

RC, you are really good at this!! I looked at Google Earth for about 30 minutes and gave up . Got the right neighborhood, but just can't take the satellite images and translate them into ground shots. (Small wonder that I'm so fond of Streetview.)

Your trip sounds wonderful, Golf. Enjoy.

[rubber chicken]

Aww shucks. hehe Yeah, that area of Waimanalo is truly a mess, from air at least, with all the small agriculture and equestrian etc. areas blending into one another. Makes it hard to know where one property ends and another begins.

[Carmen]

Watched this one again last week and I noticed Norman had a kind of "Stunt double" Or maybe they could not decide which horse the better actor was?! And I think the horse in the middle (bad guys with black hats in the morning) was "Norman" too.

[Agatha]

This isn’t one of my very favorite episodes but I like it a lot. I think it’s sweet.

Although Christine Bedford is by no means plain, her character, Adelaide, is a naïve, unsophisticated, “country” girl who wears sensible shoes, glasses and rides horses. She’s clearly attracted to Thomas…in fact, he’s got her so flustered that she can hardly get a word out. The look on her face when he asks her if she has sterility insurance is priceless!

It’s also clear that her uncle intimidates her…she jumps when he storms into the house after telling Thomas that he’s disappointed in him. He’s been using her lack of confidence and her fear to work his scam behind the scenes without her suspecting the truth. I’ve liked Cameron Mitchell since High Chaparral days!

Even more than that, I like the idea that someone as good-looking as Thomas treats this unsophisticated “girl” with respect and compassion. And she feels it…she trusts him enough to share her deepest feelings with him…the strawberry preserve theory…and turns to him for reassurance before the show. When she tells him how scared she is, he encourages her and gives her confidence a boost and reminds her of what HER goal is.

“…take a deep breath, get on your horse and ride like the champion you are…because if you don’t, they’ll win. They’ll have beaten you even if they don’t get Norman. Are you going to let that happen?”

He’s a nice, nice man. Trustworthy and kind. I always think that…in all of the episodes. But in this one, Adelaide is so obviously vulnerable that it really shows! And, of course, I think Tom Selleck brings these qualities to Thomas Magnum, which is why I LOVE this series!

There’s a lot of fun in this episode, too. For example, Rick and TC are really “over the top” when they show up at the grounds! What a couple of dandies!! Except Rick’s hat seems to be a bit big…he reminds me of the Mad Hatter!! Great interaction between Thomas and TC…as usual.

TC: I called the society editor at the paper to find out precisely what to wear.

TM: Was this a…a…local paper, TC?

And I liked that Adelaide said, “Hold it or I’ll blow you to glory!” and that she’d be “beholden” to Thomas if he’d kiss her. Kind of hokey. Pretty old fashioned. Very charming.

Sweet!

[J.J. Walters]

Wow, GREAT review Agatha! You make some excellent points about TM's character, things that don't often get discussed. Thank you!

[Agatha]

Thank you, kind sir!

[Jay-Firestorm]

Here is Friday’s review. One of my lesser favourite episodes, but still passable.

[TV.com rating = 7.5; average]

Magnum is hired by a country girl to protect ‘Norman’ from kidnap threads, but things take a turn when the girl’s uncle doesn’t want Magnum hired, and ‘Norman’ turns out to be a prized show horse. Not bottom of the barrel, but a so-so episode…

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Following on from the average but fun ‘All Roads Lead to Floyd’, ‘Adelaide’ is another average story, but lacks the fun of ‘All Roads’. Although it’s not a filler episode as such, it does feel like one of the more half-hearted efforts of the season.

I’ve heard this episode occasionally mentioned when discussing worst episodes of the series; I would disagree with this, as there is far worse to come in some later seasons (as always, I cite seasons five and six), but even so, it’s not one of my favourites either

One of the big problems with the episode is the character of Adelaide. I really like what they were going for – a not simple, but naive and inexperienced country girl. But the character doesn’t really come off as such – I’m not sure if it was bad writing, or if the part was miscast (maybe a little of both), but the character comes off as hard to warm to, and at points slightly creepy. (And maybe it’s just me, but her speech about the ‘exploding strawberry preserve’ put some dodgy images into my mind!!)

But the episode isn’t all bad. For one, it has some great T.C. & Rick sequences – by this point, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti were starting to really gel onscreen, and the result is a couple of laugh-out-loud moments.

The story also has its moments, though I can’t help but feel that more could have been done with it, and it does sag slightly at a couple of points.

And as for the final scene, with Adelaide plucking up the courage to ask Magnum to kiss her… No doubt some will love it, but personally I found it excruciating.

I still consider ‘Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too’ as the weakest of the first season, but at the same time, ‘Adelaide’ is hardly one of the series greats.

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Other notes, bloopers, and misc.:

* As already mentioned on the main page for this episode, Magnum mentions his “little voice” for the first time, although it is used in a slightly different context.

* Magnum wears his red and white Tigers cap for the first time in this story.

* When the rustlers drop Adelaide off of the horse, we get a clear view of her face as she gets up, and it’s clearly not Christine Belford.

* I too noticed a Tom Selleck double walking around, but wasn’t sure if it was actually a double being used as background, or just a coincidence.

* In the United Kingdom, this episode seemed to be held as a “reserve” episode when ITV owned the rights. On separate occasions, both Meridian (ITV southern region) and Carlton (ITV London; back when ITV had regions), aired this episode unscheduled to replace another programme. Stations often hold inoffensive examples of such shows to use as last minute schedule changes, and this seems to have been one of them. On both occasions, I didn’t realise and turned on by chance half-way through; I didn’t get to see it in full until Channel 5 broadcast it in 2002.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I agree Agatha. The reasons I like TM is he is flawed (as has been discussed), he values friendship, and he is a stand up guy that treats everyone with respect. I think we could all learn a great deal in life from this.