Black on White (3.6)

[ENSHealy]

I think Lynn Moody does a decent job in the part. I don't think I know enough about what her accent should actually be to criticize it. She's not supposed to be British, if I recall. Her accent in English would be based on whatever her character's tribal language was, or Swahili perhaps. I'm imagining the speech of several reporters I've heard like Isha Sesay from CNN, but she's from West Africa not East. I've always thought South African English sounds more like Australian, with all its vowel changes, than RP English. That's probably very different from Kenyan English too!

She says her parents brought her to England when she was 3 months old. So we must suppose her accent is some combination of what her parents spoke and the British English she would have spoken growing up in England, but there were definitely a couple of points where her "accent" veered into a more Caribbean lilt.

[ENSHealy]

Some corrections needed in the Episode Guide, plus one addition?

Addition: As of this episode, Thomas owed T.C. $875.67 in gas money.

Corrections/Clarifications:
1. "lessar known" s/b "lesser known"
2. "Magnum is seen eating Fig Newton's dipped in milk for the first time." Actually, I don't believe he is. Higgins refers to him as eating "Lord knows how many Fig Newtons" but when T.M. is actually shown dipping a cookie in milk, it sure looks like Nabisco's Chips Ahoy to me:

3. "In the scene toward the end when Magnum is talking about paradise, he mentions that he came to Hawaii to get away from the 'horrors of war'". Perhaps VM02 used quotations to indicate that the phrase "horrors of war" is a generic description of what Thomas was referring to, but if not, he never actually uses this phrase. What he says is: The islands have a way of easing pain, of helping one forget the past, which is probably why l'm here. But l had the feeling that no matter how warm the sand or how blue the sky, part of me would never forget Private Edwin Clutterbuck. l don't recall who said ''war is hell'' <i>but he was only half right. lt isn't just war that's hell, it's living with the memories of what you did in it.

[K Hale]

You are right about the Fig Newtons. I just checked the video and that is definitely a round chocolate chip cookie he dips in the milk, not a Fig Newton. They must've come earlier

[ENSHealy]

BLACK ON WHITE
Hawaiian shirts: 0
Island Hopper shirts: 1 light blue with white logo
Body Count: 1 Clutterbuck
Shirtless: 1
Little Voice: 0
I know what you’re thinking: 0
When I write HTBAWCPI: 0
Investigator corrections: 0
Magnum injuries: 0
Higgins musings: 2
4th wall breaks: 1
Negotiations: 0
Famous guest stars: 1 Ian McShane!
Magnumometer: 7

Potential magnumania usernames: Bibi Kiamani
Higgins memberships: Honolulu Society for the Preservation of English poetry in the Sandwich Islands.

Interestingly enough, it is starting to look like the Magnumometer is a reverse indicator of quality. Most of the better episodes, from a drama/plot/story/significance stand point, seem to score lower. It's almost as if, when there isn't much in the script, they throw in the "kitsch" to balance it. It will be interesting to see if this holds up over the entire series.

This is truly an excellent episode. If you had to pick one episode to encapsulate all of Magnum, this might be a good choice. All the elements are there: Higgins/Magnum antagonism, gas money, team ring, steak for the dogs but not the people, underestimating Thomas (that sordid man), war references and flashbacks, Doc Ibold, shirtless appearances by TM, Higgins fury, T.C's chopper and the van, the Tigers hat, chili dogs, football, milk and cookies, rubber chicken, gorilla mask, Agatha doting on Jonathon, classic film references (see pic below). I gave it a 9.5. If it had the Ferrari, the jungle bird shirt, and one Vietnam flashback, it would score a 10. And there was room in the script to add all of those, they took (wasted?) a full 6 minutes with the London intro!

Did anyone else see this parallel in their mind? I wonder if it was intentional?


CRUCIAL CONVERSATIONS:

Magnum: When were you in Africa?
Higgins: Of course l was in North Africa during the war, attached to Alexander's command. Fought against Rommel, the Desert Fox. l remember once, outside El Alamein...
Magnum: l meant when did you see the Masai rites?
Higgins: When l was stationed in Kenya in '53.
Magnum: 1953? That was about the time of the Mau Mau uprising, wasn't it?
Higgins: Yes. Scotch?
Magnum: No, this [a snifter of milk] is fine. What was it like?
Higgins: lt was bloody. The Mau Mau came from the Kikuyu tribe. And the Kikuyu could be a savage people. But then, so could we. Take away our bowlers and school ties, remove us from our cities where others kill our meat, from our books and films, where we vicariously live out our baser emotions, set us down in the African bush where every living thing is killing or being killed, and we can be as savage as any tribe on the face of the earth. You know what l mean?
Magnum: Yes, l've been there.
Higgins: Africa?
Magnum: Vietnam.

Higgins: Did it ever occur to you that three wars and 37 years in Her Majesty's Service might instruct me to protect myself?

Higgins: We had been in the bush a week when Privates Holmesby and O'Rourke were ambushed whilst scouting a wadi. We found them at sunset, mutilated. But that word cannot possibly describe what had been done to their bodies. There was a full moon so we were able to stay on the Mau Mau's track. Around midnight we found them. There was a brief skirmish and two of them were killed. But l was slashed by a panga, here in the thigh and couldn't go on. l ordered the lads to press on. When l caught up with them the next morning, they had tracked the Mau Mau to Biribi and leveled the village. A number of innocent Africans were killed, including some women and children. But it was my responsibility. l should never have allowed the lads to go on without me.
Bibi: Sergeant Major Higgins reported the massacre, assumed full responsibility and recommended a court-martial for everyone involved, including himself. Naturally, he was absolved. Unfortunately, the others were simply reprimanded and transferred out of the country.
Higgins: The army did them no favor by not court-martialing them.

Higgins: They were decent lads, you know. Young. Clutterbuck couldn't have been more than 18. They were brutalized, they'd seen their mates killed. lt was just too bloody much for them. lt would have been far better if they had been court-martialed and punished. lt would have given them a chance to pay their debt. As it is...they just had to live with it.

Magnum: The islands have a way of easing pain, of helping one forget the past, which is probably why l'm here. But l had the feeling that no matter how warm the sand or how blue the sky, part of me would never forget Private Edwin Clutterbuck. l don't recall who said ''war is hell'' but he was only half right. lt isn't just war that's hell, it's living with the memories of what you did in it.

[Stelth]

ENSHealy, too bad this site doesn't have "likes". I enjoyed your post.

[308GUY]

ENSHealy, too bad this site doesn't have "likes". I enjoyed your post.

X2

[Steve]

ENSHealy, too bad this site doesn't have "likes". I enjoyed your post.

X2

X3

[K Hale]

Higgins relaxing in his tux!

What I like about this is that he had planned to go to the concert that night wearing the tux, so since he couldn't go, he had Rick bring it over so he could wear it while watching the concert on TV. It's so Higgins.

Magnum's plot had a big flaw in it, though. He goes to bed early and waits for Higgins to go to bed so they can enact the next part of the plan, but it apparently never occurred to him that sooner or later Higgins was going to have to come through the bedroom to get to the bathroom, at which point he would see Magnum at the window talking to Rick and/or Clutterbuck, at which point the jig would be up. And that seems to be exactly what happened.

[Gatchaman]

My wife and I were watching "We Are Marshall" (great movie), and Ian McShane played the father of one of the players that was killed in the plane crash. Throughout the movie I knew I had seen this guy before, and didn't know who it was until the ending credits. He did an excellent job with his role. If you haven't seen it yet, "We Are Marshall" is worth seeing. . . A real tearjerker.

THAT'S where I've seen him. I was in reverse...I had seen "We Are Marshall" before but today was the first time I saw this episode. Thanks for the connection.

Agreed, BTW..."We Are Marshall" is definitely worth seeing several times. The fact it's a true story makes it haunting, especially the beginning.

[Mark R.Y.]

I think I have an answer as to how Edwin "suddenly" had a spear at the climax. He never did! Clearly, the imagined Mau Mau threw an imagined spear at him. Edwin, in his fevered delusion, thought he was holding and aiming the spear at Higgins, but he was either miming it or clutching some other object he found in the room.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I think I have an answer as to how Edwin "suddenly" had a spear at the climax. He never did! Clearly, the imagined Mau Mau threw an imagined spear at him. Edwin, in his fevered delusion, thought he was holding and aiming the spear at Higgins, but he was either miming it or clutching some other object he found in the room.

Well if he was "miming" holding a spear in his hand then it makes no sense for Magnum to shoot him dead, since clearly he was not a threat to Higgins or Magnum. So if he wasn't holding a spear then maybe some other dangerous object that he picked up at Robin's Nest.

[Mark R.Y.]

I think I have an answer as to how Edwin "suddenly" had a spear at the climax. He never did! Clearly, the imagined Mau Mau threw an imagined spear at him. Edwin, in his fevered delusion, thought he was holding and aiming the spear at Higgins, but he was either miming it or clutching some other object he found in the room.

Well if he was "miming" holding a spear in his hand then it makes no sense for Magnum to shoot him dead, since clearly he was not a threat to Higgins or Magnum. So if he wasn't holding a spear then maybe some other dangerous object that he picked up at Robin's Nest.

That's what I'm thinking because that "spear" is only in Edwin's imagination. He imagines the warrior throwing it at him and it landing in the wall next to him. Next, the spear in the wall is not there. Edwin then doffs his clothes, revealing himself to be the avenging warrior. Without leaving the room/balcony he now has a spear in hand and aims it toward Higgins and Agatha. I wish I could post pics of this sequence - I'm trying to dissect what's in Edwin's imagination and what isn't. Perhaps just rushing toward Magnum with or without a "spear" was enough for Mag to panic and shoot him?

[Kevster]

I think I have an answer as to how Edwin "suddenly" had a spear at the climax. He never did! Clearly, the imagined Mau Mau threw an imagined spear at him. Edwin, in his fevered delusion, thought he was holding and aiming the spear at Higgins, but he was either miming it or clutching some other object he found in the room.

Well if he was "miming" holding a spear in his hand then it makes no sense for Magnum to shoot him dead, since clearly he was not a threat to Higgins or Magnum. So if he wasn't holding a spear then maybe some other dangerous object that he picked up at Robin's Nest.

That's what I'm thinking because that "spear" is only in Edwin's imagination. He imagines the warrior throwing it at him and it landing in the wall next to him. Next, the spear in the wall is not there. Edwin then doffs his clothes, revealing himself to be the avenging warrior. Without leaving the room/balcony he now has a spear in hand and aims it toward Higgins and Agatha. I wish I could post pics of this sequence - I'm trying to dissect what's in Edwin's imagination and what isn't. Perhaps just rushing toward Magnum with or without a "spear" was enough for Mag to panic and shoot him?

Did the spear go over the rail with him? That'd be proof.

[K Hale]

I just checked, the spear does not go over the rail with him. He drops it before going over backwards. We don’t see whether the spear is on the floor or not.

However, when Magnum comes through the door and sees Clutterbuck at the rail, he says, “Edwin, don’t.” Don’t what? Clutterbuck must have been about to throw SOMEthing at Higgins, which he then aimed at Magnum, causing Magnum to fire. A knife?

[K Hale]

Here’s another thought. There are a lot of antiques, including weapons, at Robin’s Nest. Could the spear already have been in the room? Or perhaps hanging in the hallway? Maybe a souvenir Higgins brought back from somewhere, not necessarily Kenya?