Let the Punishment Fit the Crime (4.17)

[thechickinthemiddle]

I didn't especially like Higgins being on the verge of being outright cruel to the ladies in the production. It seemed out of character for him.

He told Agatha he was nervous about getting the play exactly right to impress Sir Cedric. JQH is always at his worst whenever he's nervous about something. Everything has to be JUST SO, nothing can be out of place or unexpected, it all has to be perfectly under his control and the worst side of him comes out! Bernice and Agatha were awesome, and Agatha was doubly awesome for coming to his rescue after he made a sincere apology.

You know Higgins is serious when he takes over the production. Any less important duties he relegates to Magnum. (see the "security" dialogue in "Innocence... A Broad" )

[K Hale]

I didn't especially like Higgins being on the verge of being outright cruel to the ladies in the production. It seemed out of character for him.

He told Agatha he was nervous about getting the play exactly right to impress Sir Cedric. JQH is always at his worst whenever he's nervous about something. Everything has to be JUST SO, nothing can be out of place or unexpected, it all has to be perfectly under his control and the worst side of him comes out! Bernice and Agatha were awesome, and Agatha was doubly awesome for coming to his rescue after he made a sincere apology.

You know Higgins is serious when he takes over the production. Any less important duties he relegates to Magnum. (see the "security" dialogue in "Innocence... A Broad" )

Doesn't he pretty much take over the production of everything he's into? I seem to recall every society he's a part of, he is either the head of it, on the board of directors, or the chairman of a committee. Obviously a believer in "This will not be done right unless I do it myself."

[thechickinthemiddle]

Doesn't he pretty much take over the production of everything he's into? I seem to recall every society he's a part of, he is either the head of it, on the board of directors, or the chairman of a committee. Obviously a believer in "This will not be done right unless I do it myself."

Definitely, especially with the Anglo-Hawaiian Preservation Society.

[K Hale]

Doesn't he pretty much take over the production of everything he's into? I seem to recall every society he's a part of, he is either the head of it, on the board of directors, or the chairman of a committee. Obviously a believer in "This will not be done right unless I do it myself."

Definitely, especially with the Anglo-Hawaiian Preservation Society.

Isn't that the one where he sewed his own ribbon sash? Mad skills.

[brianw]

So I just watched this ep again the other night. I like it a lot, good action and funny. I love the ending with Rick singing. But, I have a question....

If Sally wanted Magnum out of the way, and Eric was her accomplice, why in the world would she hire him to find Eric in the first place??? Wouldn't she send him on a wild goose chase, somewhere far away, that had nothing to do with their actual plot to kill Sir Cedric? I mean, she led Magnum straight to the real assassin, and then obviously to herself. She was a killer and Magnum trusted her. She could have just killed TM before the performance and then assassinated Sir Cedric.

[K Hale]

So I just watched this ep again the other night. I like it a lot, good action and funny. I love the ending with Rick singing. But, I have a question....

If Sally wanted Magnum out of the way, and Eric was her accomplice, why in the world would she hire him to find Eric in the first place??? Wouldn't she send him on a wild goose chase, somewhere far away, that had nothing to do with their actual plot to kill Sir Cedric? I mean, she led Magnum straight to the real assassin, and then obviously to herself. She was a killer and Magnum trusted her. She could have just killed TM before the performance and then assassinated Sir Cedric.

Wasn't her plan to do just that, send Magnum on a wild goose chase to some remote location Eric "gave her" over the phone when he "called the estate," but then Magnum followed Eric instead and thus wound up fighting him at the spot where he had gone to assassinate Sir Cedric?

[brianw]

So I just watched this ep again the other night. I like it a lot, good action and funny. I love the ending with Rick singing. But, I have a question....

If Sally wanted Magnum out of the way, and Eric was her accomplice, why in the world would she hire him to find Eric in the first place??? Wouldn't she send him on a wild goose chase, somewhere far away, that had nothing to do with their actual plot to kill Sir Cedric? I mean, she led Magnum straight to the real assassin, and then obviously to herself. She was a killer and Magnum trusted her. She could have just killed TM before the performance and then assassinated Sir Cedric.

Wasn't her plan to do just that, send Magnum on a wild goose chase to some remote location Eric "gave her" over the phone when he "called the estate," but then Magnum followed Eric instead and thus wound up fighting him at the spot where he had gone to assassinate Sir Cedric?

Well there you have it. I forgot that part, you are correct.

[KingKC]

Although Kay Lenz is adorable I now remember why this episode was not very memorable. If it had not been for Rick and TC and the Three little maids scenes there would be nothing for me to remember this episode by. Even my wife seems to agree that is was not a good episode. I really never understood the plot anyway.

[Lord Ickenham]

When Sally plays the piano first time, her upper body doesn't move, instead of the character of the music.

[ENSHealy]

So I just watched this ep again the other night. I like it a lot, good action and funny. I love the ending with Rick singing. But, I have a question....

If Sally wanted Magnum out of the way, and Eric was her accomplice, why in the world would she hire him to find Eric in the first place??? Wouldn't she send him on a wild goose chase, somewhere far away, that had nothing to do with their actual plot to kill Sir Cedric? I mean, she led Magnum straight to the real assassin, and then obviously to herself. She was a killer and Magnum trusted her. She could have just killed TM before the performance and then assassinated Sir Cedric.

Wasn't her plan to do just that, send Magnum on a wild goose chase to some remote location Eric "gave her" over the phone when he "called the estate," but then Magnum followed Eric instead and thus wound up fighting him at the spot where he had gone to assassinate Sir Cedric?

I see your point, that she did send him "away" with the phantom meeting with Eric in the wilderness, but why set him on Eric to start with? The plan, as it exists, allows for what actually happened, Magnum gets suspicious and follows Eric rather than meets him. If she'd found some other "dummy" case for him to pursue (perhaps a missing ex-boyfriend from Seattle, or a younger sister just out of Catholic school in Chicago, or maybe a runaway from St. Louis?) he never would have gotten within a country mile of Eric in the first place.

[ENSHealy]

4.17 LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME
Famous guest stars:
Hawaiian shirts:
Tigers Cap:
Island Hopper shirts:
Shirtless Magnum:
OMG: 1
Higgins Organizations: 1 Sandwich Island Savoyards
Higgins musings: 1
Negotiations: 1
Body Count: 1
Bullet wounds:
Little Voice:
I know what you’re thinking:
When I write HTBAWCPI: 1
Investigator corrections:
4th wall breaks:
Magnumometer: 6
Magnumometer Moments: https://vimeo.com/393275244

Potential magnumania usernames: Sir Cedric Brooke

In a sign of how the show has developed, this is the first time in Season 4 that Higgins and Magnum have negotiated for estate privileges, 17 episodes into the season.

I wouldn't worry about breaking up that cult. With all those candles, they're going to burn the place down in short order.

Matching Ferrari turnarounds? This one from China Doll and This one from Let the Punishment Fit the Crime? Paging rubber chicken.

How does Thomas know Sally’s in the three little maids number? Or that the hit was going to occur during it? He says “The old guy who picked me up considered 30 miles an hour speeding and the ride cost me every cent I had. But it was worth it if I was in time. Otherwise Higgins' classic staging of the Three Little Maids would be one that no one would ever forget.” Sally didn’t agree to join the Three Little Maids scene until after Thomas had left to meet Eric.

In the climactic scene, Sir Cedric begins to "get down!" after Magnum warns him, and he covers up using an unextended orange folding fan. In the closeup shot of the bullet hitting the folding fan, the fan is black and fully extended. In the next instant, however, the camera is back out and shows Sir Cedric still crouching with the orange fan unextended. Also, in the closeup shot, there is a plain grey background that does not match the trees and ocean behind Sir Cedric, and the arm holding the fan has a dragon tattoo and is hairless (unlike Sir Cedric's), and is without the Mikado wardobe. (Noted by John M.)

Tiny quibble with this flub: I don’t think we’re supposed to think that the black fan with the shots through it is being held by Sir Cedric. It’s in either Rick or Agatha’s hand. The three of them are using black fans, and when she turns to shoot, Sally is on the end and has to shoot back past Rick and Agatha toward Sir Cedric, who is in the back corner of the stage. Granted, this does not solve the riddle of the dragon tattoo on the arm or the plain gray background, but I think it explains the fan color.

[brianw]

So I just watched this ep again the other night. I like it a lot, good action and funny. I love the ending with Rick singing. But, I have a question....

If Sally wanted Magnum out of the way, and Eric was her accomplice, why in the world would she hire him to find Eric in the first place??? Wouldn't she send him on a wild goose chase, somewhere far away, that had nothing to do with their actual plot to kill Sir Cedric? I mean, she led Magnum straight to the real assassin, and then obviously to herself. She was a killer and Magnum trusted her. She could have just killed TM before the performance and then assassinated Sir Cedric.

Wasn't her plan to do just that, send Magnum on a wild goose chase to some remote location Eric "gave her" over the phone when he "called the estate," but then Magnum followed Eric instead and thus wound up fighting him at the spot where he had gone to assassinate Sir Cedric?

I see your point, that she did send him "away" with the phantom meeting with Eric in the wilderness, but why set him on Eric to start with? The plan, as it exists, allows for what actually happened, Magnum gets suspicious and follows Eric rather than meets him. If she'd found some other "dummy" case for him to pursue (perhaps a missing ex-boyfriend from Seattle, or a younger sister just out of Catholic school in Chicago, or maybe a runaway from St. Louis?) he never would have gotten within a country mile of Eric in the first place.

That's what I was thinking....

[terryfromkerry]

I have been revisiting my classic Magnum PI DVD collection during lockdown. I always enjoy this particular episode. A good mix of action and comedy and featuring a brutally memorable fight between Magnum and Chris Mitchum's bad guy. I know there are many Robert Mitchum fans here. You might enjoy the following fairly recent interview with Chris Mitchum where he shares some entertaining stories about his dad.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pc34dNOMSoI