Don't Eat The Snow in Hawaii

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robburne · #1 Post by **robburne** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:16 am

Hi,

I am new to Magnum P.I - I just bought the first series on DVD and after watching the pilot show "Don't Eat The Snow in Hawaii" I have a question regarding the plot.

Towards the end of Part 2 when Magnum has broken into the naval offices we learn that Dan Cook was on a mission to investigate an aircraft wreckage from World War Two that had recently had been discovered. The officer investigating the wreckage is Captain Cooly.

Now from what I understand the plane contained gold and was on a secret government mission. Cooly put word out that there was nothing to salvage from the wreck and therefore I presume he intended to steal the gold cargo - so was he the smuggler that Snow White refers to in the club?

Therefore presumably Dan Cook was killed because he would uncover the truth when he checked the war records in Japan. So was he killed enable Cooly's story to hold tight? Magnum says la Bulle killed Dan, but why?

What does La Bulle have to do with any of this? We learn that La Bulle is aka Phillipe from the teams days back in Nam but what does he have to do with the gold - was he the intended buyer and if so why would he want to kill Dan?

Any clarification would really be appreciated. I loved watching the odd episode back in the 80's but I am now really looking forward to getting through the entire set collection!

Many thanks,

Rob.

IslandHopper · #2 Post by **IslandHopper** » Thu May 17, 2007 2:27 am

robburne,

I believe you are correct. My understanding is that Cooley was the person Snow White referred to at Rick's place who was to sell the gold at half its value, and La Bulle was the buyer. I believe Cooley had La Bule's goons kill Dan Cook. At the end of Part 2, La Bulle tells Magnum something to the effect that by the time he (La Bulle) found out it was Dan Cook, it was too late to stop the killing. I am guessing that he would want to kill Dan, because Dan knew the gold was in the plane, and once Dan reported it to his superiors then Cooley would obviously not be able to sell it to La Bulle, as the gold would be the property of Uncle Sam.

robburne · #3 Post by **robburne** » Thu May 17, 2007 10:41 am

Makes sense now - thanks!

Rob.

eegorr · #4 Post by **eegorr** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:27 am

Does anyone know for sure about the spelling of Loggia's nickname in this episode? IMDB says "La Bull", but he is French (Philippe Trusseau) so wouldn't his nickname be French as well? That would make it "Le Bulle".

Also, everyone pronounces it "Bool", not "Bull". which would be more consistent with the "Bulle" spelling.

Interestingly, an AltaVista Babel Fish French-to-English translation of "Le Bulle" results in "The Bubble"

... does that make sense?

grapeshot · #5 Post by **grapeshot** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:30 am

Interesting. I always thought they were saying "la boule", which would sound just about like what they were saying, and translates as "the ball". (Although I don't know what sort of a nickname that would be, either. Not a very good one, I think.)

robburne · #6 Post by **robburne** » Fri May 18, 2007 11:59 am

I watched it with the subtitles on and it is defintely "Bulle"

Thanks,

Rob.

eegorr · #7 Post by **eegorr** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:02 pm

robburne wrote:I watched it with the subtitles on and it is defintely "Bulle".

Good source! So was it "La Bulle" or "Le Bulle"?

Anybody here speak French? Does "bulle" actually translate to "bubble"?

I got the feeling from the episode that he was supposed to be more of a "bull" -- maybe somebody was lazy with their translation!

IslandHopper · #8 Post by **IslandHopper** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:26 pm

I took both Spanish and French in high school, and if I remember correctly (which I may not), "la" is typically spanish and "le" is french, so I would assume that the name should be "Le Bulle." Keep in mind that this is merely a guess, as I am not a linguist. Isn't Vanity from France? Perhaps he could provide a translation.

bbert73 · #9 Post by **bbert73** » Fri May 18, 2007 3:43 pm

I'm from south Louisiana, so I know a little French, I'm a cajun afterall

. In French it could be La or Le. They both mean pretty much the same thing, (The, or Him, or That Man). Bulle can have a few different meanings too, like Bubble, or Blister, or Seal. So eegorr, his nickname could very well be "The Bubble".

robburne · #10 Post by **robburne** » Fri May 18, 2007 5:11 pm

It is a masculine/feminine issue:

French: m:le f:la
Spanish: m:el f:la

The subtitles on the DVD give his name as "La Bulle" - so we can gather from this that "Bulle" is a feminine noun, such as "bubble" or "bull" (I am not sure if these words actually are feminine btw!) rather than "Bulle" being a name - such as "The John".

Wow it's like being back at school!

I'm glad I have contributed to the forum now!

Rob.

bbert73 · #11 Post by **bbert73** » Fri May 18, 2007 5:25 pm

Hey, weren't Magnum and Rick and their group all Navy Seals? One meaning of "Bulle" is "Seal". Could his nickname have been "The Seal", in French?

robburne · #12 Post by **robburne** » Fri May 18, 2007 5:27 pm

Yeah i think that they were... makes sense!

Rob.

eegorr · #13 Post by **eegorr** » Fri May 18, 2007 6:14 pm

bbert73 wrote:So eegorr, his nickname could very well be "The Bubble".

I guess it could be a reference to his "invisibility".

eegorr · #14 Post by **eegorr** » Fri May 18, 2007 6:15 pm

bbert73 wrote:Hey, weren't Magnum and Rick and their group all Navy Seals? One meaning of "Bulle" is "Seal". Could his nickname have been "The Seal", in French?

I think you nailed it!

#15 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Fri May 18, 2007 6:27 pm

Actually, only Magnum and Dan were SEALs. Phillipe and Pepe were French Paratroopers, and T.C. and Rick were Marines. They were all part of the same MACV-SOG team, however.