I'll call this one The Strange Case of the Teleporting Butler. In the pictures below you'll notice Carlton is standing and looking at Higgins speak to Magnum (who is out of frame to the right). Then in the very next frame he somehow managed to get behind Higgins (at right). He moved maybe 8 or 10 feet in a split second! And he did it without Higgins even noticing. He must be a really good butler.
Just guessing, but maybe in the shooting of the scene, Higgins had Carlton excuse himself while Higgins got somewhat personal in complementing Magnum's character (to trap Magnum into making a charitable donation). Then in editing, for some reason they decided not to show Carlton being excused and moving away. In the second picture it seems as if they zoomed in on Higgins to try to make Carlton less obvious over his shoulder. The picture quality has noticeably more grain to it. They seemed to have then also zoomed in on Magnum for that part of the scene.
Last edited by rubber chicken on Sun Sep 06, 2009 4:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.
James, at first that comment went right over my head, producing a faint but undeniable *whooshing* sound. I didn't know, or had forgotten that he played the butler in that show. I must have devoted my alloted butler watching time to Benson.
Maybe sometime I should get the Soap DVDs from the library though. Is it odd that instead of current TV shows, I'd rather watch what was playing 20 to 30 years ago?
In fact, here's an idea that I would love. All the major networks from 30 years ago should devote channels to exactly what was playing all day long in the late 70s and 80s. So say right now I could turn to a channel and it would be a a whole day re-run of what was shown on December 30, 1978, thirty years ago. For the next eleven years we could relive our 1979 through 1989 TV experiences in real time. This would of course include late night talk shows, and Saturday morning cartoons.
Yeah, Saunders replaced Benson on Soap when Benson left to get his own show.
Roscoe Lee Brown was an amazing man. He taught literature, French and English at Lincoln University in his 20's and then went into acting in his 30's where he soon made is mark in stage, film and voice work (with that unmistakable baritone voice), and later in television. He was a real leader in breaking new ground for African-American actors. He's won numerous awards. In addition to all that, he even broke the world record in the 800-yard dash in 1951! He sadly passed away last year at age 82.
I love your TV channel idea! That would be really cool, especially if they included the original commercials!
I guess it's no surprise that I also tend to prefer the older TV shows, the good ones anyway. There are just not that many modern shows that I like. I think technically shows of today are better (particularly in the editing department), but the "magic" is just there for a lot of them. Of course, there are also a lot of really bad "old" shows as well. I just think there are a higher percentage of bad shows today vs. then.
Roscoe Lee Brown is one of those actors I could just watch sit on a stage and read a book. What a joy it must have been to have had him as a Literature Professor in College. By the way, I am watching this episode on our local retro station today, the station has become so popular with it's libray of shows from the 50's and on, that there is now three stations. And they do throw in the old commercials occasionally just for fun.....Me-TV
rubber chicken wrote:James, at first that comment went right over my head, producing a faint but undeniable *whooshing* sound. I didn't know, or had forgotten that he played the butler in that show. I must have devoted my alloted butler watching time to Benson.
Maybe sometime I should get the Soap DVDs from the library though. Is it odd that instead of current TV shows, I'd rather watch what was playing 20 to 30 years ago?
In fact, here's an idea that I would love. All the major networks from 30 years ago should devote channels to exactly what was playing all day long in the late 70s and 80s. So say right now I could turn to a channel and it would be a a whole day re-run of what was shown on December 30, 1978, thirty years ago. For the next eleven years we could relive our 1979 through 1989 TV experiences in real time. This would of course include late night talk shows, and Saturday morning cartoons.
Sound good? Or should I stop posting at 5:00am?
They already have something like that on digital and satellite cable. It's called RTN (Retro Television Network). My digital cable service provider recently started carrying it. They run uncut Magnum, P.I. episodes every night at 9:00pm.
Thanks for pointing that out. I just discovered RTN a few days ago when looking at channels a friend gets over the air with a new digital to analog converter box. The kind people without cable or satellite need for the digital switchover after February 17th. I guess I've been spending too much time on HD channels when I do watch TV.
Where I live RTN is provided over the air by NBC, and it's also on cable. Some people here on the forums might want to check out whether they can get RTN. If you're able to get it over the air it's free obviously. If I didn't have cable I'd watch that more than NBC, CBS etc.
I see from the programming list they have many great shows. I don't sit down in front of the TV much anymore, but I'll have to check out this channel more often.
A friend of mine was able to receive at least half a dozen RTN networks on satellite recently. However, as of January 5th, there is only one RTN channel available nationwide due to certain legal issues between two communications companies. Hopefully, everything will get resolved fairly soon. NBC does carry the only RTN channel that is presently airing, but their were satellite stations located throughout the country that pick their own schedules in terms of which shows they wanted to air and when to air them.
It is RTN that I have seen some of our favorite shows on (i.e. Erin Gray on Buck Rogers). The problem I have noticed is that it seems to run alot of infomercials instead of classic TV.
...sorry, we seemed to have drifted off topic here...
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan
Operation Chessboard wrote:However, as of January 5th, there is only one RTN channel available nationwide due to certain legal issues between two communications companies.
Well, obviously these companies appear to have several people who are not "Of Sound Mind"! [ba-dap-boom!] Thank you, I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waiter on the way out.
When a millionaire practical joker is killed when his bi-plane explodes, his will names Magnum – who had previously worked for him – as his heir, and also gives him the mission of finding which of the millionaire’s relatives killed him. Strange but fun…
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This review contains spoilers.
This is a very strange, off-beat ‘Magnum, p.i.’ episode. For the most part, it is a lot of fun, but it just has such an odd feel to it.
Star turn of the episode is Roscoe Lee Browne as manservant Carlton. He plays the role straight faced in what is essentially a comedy story, and has great presence.
For fans of Magnum’s little quirks, this is the first of a few episodes where we see him with his saxophone, which he has just bought from a pawn shop – even though he owes Higgins money for a telescope which got melted (!) on his previous case.
It comes as quite a turn when Magnum suddenly finds himself heir to dead millionaire MacLeash’s fortune. The only thing I would say, is that I would have liked to have seen MacLeash’s relations explored a little more – other than cousin Marina (Elaine Joyce), who tries to come on to Magnum, we never see all that much of them after the reading of the will.
The highlight of the episode is the characters in their various fancy dress costumes – Magnum clanking around as a knight in armor, T.C. as a French King with Rick as his Queen (read into that what you will!), and Higgins as Henry VIII.
The episode is also one that isn’t scared to make Magnum look like a buffoon – I love the sequence where, dressed as aforementioned knight, he is chasing the mysterious party guest dressed up as the Grim Reaper, and goes charging at the closed wooden door like a madman. …Okay, you need to see it to get what I mean!
I expected MacLeash not to really be dead, both because he was set up as a practical joker, and also because I had already seen the second season ‘Airwolf’ episode ‘Santini’s Millions’, which follows a similar plot. But either way, it is still a nice plot twist, and rounds off the story well, and the final scene sees MacLeash getting his just deserts.
I’m not sure how to sum up this story. It is funny in places, and I like it, but at the same time it doesn’t stand out as one of my all-time favourites. I give it a fair 8.5.
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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* On the opening trailer, there is a shot of Magnum in the dark with some candles, which is not used in the actual episode. I think this comes from the scene where Magnum is in bed and the lights go out, and he gets up to investigate. In a shot just before he falls down the stairs, I think the candles can briefly be seen to the left of the picture.
* Just a thought, but there are several ways the final scene with Carlton and the gun can be read.
It could be taken that Carlton had finally having enough of his selfish master, and was holding a gun to him. Magnum persuades him to put it down, only for it to turn out that it contains custard (or whatever) anyway.
The other way that the scene can be read, and the one that I go by, is that the whole thing was set up by Magnum and Carlton, and Magnum knew all along that it was a prank.
* As mentioned in my review, this story has a similar plot to the second season ‘Airwolf’ episode ‘Santini’s Millions’ (1985). It’s not as close as MPI’s second season’s ‘Italian Ice’ was with ‘Airwolf’s ‘The Truth About Holly’, but there are parallels. In ‘Santini’s Millions’, Dominic Santini (Ernest Borgnine) stops in Airwolf to help a stranded millionaire, but insists on completing an urgent mission before dropping him off, despite the money that the millionaire offers him. Soon after, the millionaire dies, and, impressed by Dom’s honesty, leaves him his fortune, much to the annoyance of the man’s family. At the end of the story, the millionaire is revealed to still be alive, and that it was all a test.
