Operation: Silent Night (4.10)
Moderator: Styles Bitchley
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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
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Here's another flub.
When Magnum, TC and Rick are looking for Higgins they come across what appears to be "peg leg" tracks (a footprint of his left shoe and a circular impression where the fight foot should be) which they discover to have been made by Higgins walking with a stick in his right hand and dragging palm fronds in his left hand.
This is impossible. If Higgins is dragging the palm fronds in his left hand then the fronds would erase his left shoe prints and not his right shoe print. Conversely if Higgins was dragging the palm fronds with his right hand then he would have to hold the stick in his left hand which would leave the bizzare track of a left shoe print and a circular impression to the outside of that.
When Magnum, TC and Rick are looking for Higgins they come across what appears to be "peg leg" tracks (a footprint of his left shoe and a circular impression where the fight foot should be) which they discover to have been made by Higgins walking with a stick in his right hand and dragging palm fronds in his left hand.
This is impossible. If Higgins is dragging the palm fronds in his left hand then the fronds would erase his left shoe prints and not his right shoe print. Conversely if Higgins was dragging the palm fronds with his right hand then he would have to hold the stick in his left hand which would leave the bizzare track of a left shoe print and a circular impression to the outside of that.
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jastay3
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No. There is no alchohol ALLOWED on naval vessels. Big difference.IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:1) There is no alcohol on naval vessels.
2) The captian would've been in the wardroom or his stateroom.
3) An Ensign would not have been clearing the captians plate.
4) That ship had too much open space and glass. A real navy ship is much more closed quarters.
Jason Taylor
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jastay3
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Not just battleships(which provided gunnery support in Nam). There has in fact been very little in the way of naval combat as such. Carriers mostly did ship to shore.IslandHopper wrote:When he says "no real experience" he may have been referring to the traditional "Battleship Navy" of World War II which engaged in numerous "ship to ship" battles against the Japanese Navy. Although the U.S. Navy played significant roles in the Korean and Vietnam Wars (carrier operations, recon, ground support operations, brown-water navy, etc.) there were no traditional naval battles because neither Korea or Vietnam had much of a navy. World War II proved the importance of the aircraft carrier. The aircraft carrier was so successful it has taken the place of the traditional battleships.lutherhgillis wrote:Curious dialogue choice: The commander of the ship says to the ensign, "...a whole generation of fighting men with no real experience..."
Did he forget about Vietnam? This was 1984 which was 10 years after 'nam. That does not constitute a generation.
Jason Taylor
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jastay3
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It gave them experience in adjusting to changes in normal work routine which may have been the point. The enemy can't be counted on to allow a Christmas vacation.lutherhgillis wrote:IH:
I agree the commander was probably talking about ship to ship combat but in the dialog with the ensign it sounds like he is disgusted at his shipmen's lack of real fighting. There were several signs of the commander's gung-ho nature and this was probably another one. I guess blowing up fixed targets on the island gave the men a great deal of real fighting experience...
What about the ensign's age. Did you find him to be a little old to be an ensign? Thanks.
LHG
Jason Taylor
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brunoffrance
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The japanese cap...
Sunday, as usual, 7 around the table and the rating was 9 !
great episode with the most hilarous scene when Higgins sunk with his japanese airplane boat... too much and Iwas waitng after that kind of situation... Why , just for fun, he didn't salute when in water...
May be a little flub is when they discovered the japanese skeleton ... with the vision of all his bones but the leather cap is nearly in good shape... certainly to show that it was a japanese pilot and not an american one... But from the time, the cap 'ld be destroyed as the rest of this man...
A good moment !
Bruno.
great episode with the most hilarous scene when Higgins sunk with his japanese airplane boat... too much and Iwas waitng after that kind of situation... Why , just for fun, he didn't salute when in water...
May be a little flub is when they discovered the japanese skeleton ... with the vision of all his bones but the leather cap is nearly in good shape... certainly to show that it was a japanese pilot and not an american one... But from the time, the cap 'ld be destroyed as the rest of this man...
A good moment !
Bruno.
Very american 4 a french...
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Jay-Firestorm
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I was really looking forward to reviewing this one – it’s one of the best of the fourth season IMO.
[rating=10]
On Xmas Eve, T.C. is flying Rick, Magnum and Higgins to their various Xmas destinations, when they are forced to make an emergency landing on a remote island, unaware that it is about to be used for Naval artillery practice. A classic Xmas episode…
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This review contains moderate spoilers.
‘Operation: Silent Night’ is the second of the show’s two Christmas-based episodes, the other being the early first season episode ‘Thank Heavens For Little Girls and Big Ones Too’. ‘Operation…’ is the far superior of the two – ‘Thank Heavens…’ was an early episode where the series was clearly finding it’s feet, whereas ‘Operation…’ is a well executed and highly watchable story.
The episode boasts the smallest guest cast of the entire run, the only guest actors being the Naval Captain and his Ensign. But this is no bad thing – the story focuses on the relationship of the four main characters. When the series started, Magnum was clearly the main character, but the three secondary characters of Higgins, T.C. an Rick quickly came into their own, and this episode celebrates that, giving each of them plenty to do. It is great to see how they all interact with each other.
There are so many great character moments in this story. Rick with his confession regarding one of his female cousins when he was a teenager, Higgins making his hat and foraging for food, and, of course, later on, Higgins’ doomed attempt at constructing a makeshift boat from the wrecked Japanese plane.
Talking of the Japanese plane, it is a good example of how the episode blends comedy and drama, as Magnum insists that – even though the pilot would have been an enemy (it is assumed he was the scout pilot for the Pearl Harbor raid), somebody would still be looking for him, and they give him a decent burial; I love this moment.
Another noteworthy scene is that between T.C. and Higgins, after Higgins’ failed boat attempt; there is real respect between the two characters.
Another great thing about this episode is that, even though it is Christmas-set, it is one that can be watched at any time of year. Some Christmas episodes of TV series feel awkward and wrong if watching them outside of the festive season, but ‘Operation: Silent Night’ works perfectly at any time of the year – I watched it to review on a boiling hot evening in June! Out of the many Christmas-themed episodes that I have seen of various shows, this remains as one of my all-time favourites.
All-in-all, this is a wonderful episode of the show, and one that perfectly showcases the relationships between the four main characters. Not only would I rank it as one of the best of the fourth season, but as one of the best of the entire show’s run.
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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* The shot’s of T.C.’s chopper before it crash-lands include a number of stock shots, including some from the very early episodes (note the longer skids). A shot of when the helicopter ducks down and up again is taken from the third season episode ‘Ki’i’s Don’t Lie’. (I’m not sure, but there may also be the odd shot from the third season’s ‘Past Tense’ mixed in too).
* When T.C. goes to try the chopper’s radio, we see a Caucasian hand operate it!
*
[rating=10]
On Xmas Eve, T.C. is flying Rick, Magnum and Higgins to their various Xmas destinations, when they are forced to make an emergency landing on a remote island, unaware that it is about to be used for Naval artillery practice. A classic Xmas episode…
-----
This review contains moderate spoilers.
‘Operation: Silent Night’ is the second of the show’s two Christmas-based episodes, the other being the early first season episode ‘Thank Heavens For Little Girls and Big Ones Too’. ‘Operation…’ is the far superior of the two – ‘Thank Heavens…’ was an early episode where the series was clearly finding it’s feet, whereas ‘Operation…’ is a well executed and highly watchable story.
The episode boasts the smallest guest cast of the entire run, the only guest actors being the Naval Captain and his Ensign. But this is no bad thing – the story focuses on the relationship of the four main characters. When the series started, Magnum was clearly the main character, but the three secondary characters of Higgins, T.C. an Rick quickly came into their own, and this episode celebrates that, giving each of them plenty to do. It is great to see how they all interact with each other.
There are so many great character moments in this story. Rick with his confession regarding one of his female cousins when he was a teenager, Higgins making his hat and foraging for food, and, of course, later on, Higgins’ doomed attempt at constructing a makeshift boat from the wrecked Japanese plane.
Talking of the Japanese plane, it is a good example of how the episode blends comedy and drama, as Magnum insists that – even though the pilot would have been an enemy (it is assumed he was the scout pilot for the Pearl Harbor raid), somebody would still be looking for him, and they give him a decent burial; I love this moment.
Another noteworthy scene is that between T.C. and Higgins, after Higgins’ failed boat attempt; there is real respect between the two characters.
Another great thing about this episode is that, even though it is Christmas-set, it is one that can be watched at any time of year. Some Christmas episodes of TV series feel awkward and wrong if watching them outside of the festive season, but ‘Operation: Silent Night’ works perfectly at any time of the year – I watched it to review on a boiling hot evening in June! Out of the many Christmas-themed episodes that I have seen of various shows, this remains as one of my all-time favourites.
All-in-all, this is a wonderful episode of the show, and one that perfectly showcases the relationships between the four main characters. Not only would I rank it as one of the best of the fourth season, but as one of the best of the entire show’s run.
-----
Other notes, bloopers and misc.:
* The shot’s of T.C.’s chopper before it crash-lands include a number of stock shots, including some from the very early episodes (note the longer skids). A shot of when the helicopter ducks down and up again is taken from the third season episode ‘Ki’i’s Don’t Lie’. (I’m not sure, but there may also be the odd shot from the third season’s ‘Past Tense’ mixed in too).
* When T.C. goes to try the chopper’s radio, we see a Caucasian hand operate it!
*
I picked up on that too - although to be trivial, Coleman's character was Arnold Jackson - he and brother Willis were adopted, and never took Mr. Drummond's name. I used to love that show - it'd probably seem terrible now!N1095A wrote:When Higgins tells of his plan to sail the wrecked Japanease Zero off the island, TC does a pretty fair impression of Gary Coleman's "Arnold Drummand" from the TV show "Dif'rent Strokes". "Whatchu talkin' 'bout Higgins."
JAY FIRESTORM
Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/
My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!
Facebook: Jay Gathergood / Twitter: Jay_Firestorm NEW BLOG: http://thea-teamcaptured.blogspot.com/
My A-Team site - http://thea-team.org aiming to be the most detailed A-Team site on the Net - if I ever get around to updating it!!
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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
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Frodoleader
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So true. I think when my oldest gets home Christmas Eve, we'll break out a couple bottles of Guinness (sorry, no Old Dusseldorf!) and watch this great MPI episode.IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:With Christmas so close its time to fire up this episode on the DVD once more.
Merry Christmas everyone!
"You are three months at Dak Wei and still you crack jokes?" - Ivan
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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
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IKnowWhatYoureThinking
- Macho Taco & Coops Connoisseur
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