The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company (8.9)

[gmt16750]

It was hard to understand why they wanted to finish the serie with season 7. But after viewing this episode and the next one ("the lost art") i do know why. It isn't at the level of the other seasons, at least these two episodes are too much campy, playing to the gallery of fans and seem to mean: well we are Magnum, p.i.'s crew, that's enough for making a good serie.

[Frodoleader]

While watching this the other day, I kept thinking to myself that starting the Great Hawaiin Adveture Co. was a great idea! But then I thought, how many other adventure tourism-like companies are in Hawai'i? Probably alot!

[lutherhgillis]

It seemed to me like the writers were past deadline and needed to write an episode very quickly. Someone said, "Here's and idea" and 15 minutes later they had the adventure company episode...

[MACattack]

This is Bellisario's idea of a "Gangsta" story. I'd rather watch the Tom Selleck movie "An Innocent Man". That movie had a grittier theme and seemed so "Magnumesque"!

[Jay-Firestorm]

What a strange episode. Not bottom-of-the-barrel, but very odd.

[rating=8.0]

The rest of the gang are too busy with their own endeavours when Thomas tries to get them interested in a potentially lucrative business venture, particularly T.C., whose son Bryant falls in with a juvenile biker gang, landing him in trouble with the Police. A strange ep…

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This review contains spoilers.

Although most of the episodes in the final season follow on from each other, ‘The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company’ (working title: ‘Taking Stock’) seems to be set quite a time after the events of the previous ‘Unfinished Business’. Far from the traumas he experienced in that episode, Magnum here is back to his old self, and Higgins, T.C. and Rick are also in the middle of various changes to their lives.

As I say, time seems to have passed since the events of ‘Unfinished Business’, most noticeably son Bryant (introduced in the sixth season’s ‘Missing Melody’) staying with T.C., which feels to have been in place a few weeks by the time of this story. Rick is also moving on, dating Cleo (from season five’s ‘The Hotel Dick’ and season six’s ‘Straight and Narrow’), and Higgins is taking a different tact on the writing of his memoirs at suggestion of a publishing company.

With all of the change in the air, this episode really has feel of being very near to the end of the show’s run. Coupled with that, the story also has feel that they were starting to run out of steam, and – as much as I would have liked to have seen another season – maybe wisely decided to call it a day.

Although the eighth season has some good episodes, one of my main complaints is that there are few real cases for Magnum to really get his teeth into. To me, the title of this one, ‘The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company’, conjured up maybe a daredevil band of tricksters up to no good or suchlike; but as it turns out, it is just the name of a lucrative business venture that Magnum is trying to get people interested in.

The episode is very much character-driven, and for the most part, very little of note really happens in the plot department. I’m all for episodes that dare to go with the leads (who are all very strong on-screen) instead of being more story-based, but on this one, it very much feels like a late-in-the-day half-hearted effort.

With Bryant mixed up with the teenage biker gang (who I couldn’t help but find unintentionally amusing, and very unmenacing), I thought we might be headed towards an exciting big biker showdown (maybe in the style of ‘The A-Team’s classic first season episode ‘Black Day at Bad Rock’, or ‘Knight Rider’s similar first season ep ‘Good Day at White Rock’), but at the end, the whole biker element just petered out, and never feels anywhere near concluded.

Then there is the climax of the story, with Bryant racing off in the small boat to get away from the bikers (…huh?) and naturally needing rescuing at sea. This came totally out of nowhere, and felt to be stuck on by the writers / producers at the last moment just to try and add some danger to the storyline. It doesn’t work, and as I say above, the whole biker plot is never satisfactorily resolved and just disappears.

For all that is wrong with it, I wouldn’t quite rank this episode as bottom-of-the barrel – I like that it deals more with a slice of the character’s everyday lives, and I can think of *far* worse episodes. It begins to sow the seeds for the series finale, and with the sense of change in the air, really has signs of being a very late episode. But I just expected it to be so much more exciting!

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* The working title of this episode, ‘Taking Stock’, is actually quite clever with its double meaning – in one sense, the four main characters are taking stock of their lives and making changes; but it can also refer to Bryant stealing the car parts from T.C.’s delivery.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Magnum makes an obvious effort to engage his friends' egos in his Adventure Company scheme (presumably in order to facilitate engaging their pocketbooks). Higgins is asked to share his knowledge of Hawaiian history and T.C. is needed for his chopper expertise.

But where does Rick fit in? All that I recall hearing was that he would "fly" the tourists to the camp in the Koolaus -- presumably meaning that he would escort them, since T.C. would obviously do the actual flying. I'm thinking that T.C.'s chopper holds maybe half a dozen people (does anyone know exactly?), so it would make more sense for T.C. to be the escort as well as the pilot (he already does that sort of thing for a living), with Magnum and Rick both meeting them at the camp. That way, they could accommodate more tourists per expedition.

Is Magnum assuming that all three of them will stay with the tourists until T.C. flies them back to the Estate? Isn't that a pretty high guide-to-tourist ratio? T.C. would be useful as the cook -- he brews up a mean pot of chili. Magnum clearly sees himself as the leader. But again, where does Rick fit in? All I can figure is, Magnum wants him to feel needed so he'll chip in some money!

[J.J. Walters]

With Bryant mixed up with the teenage biker gang (who I couldn’t help but find unintentionally amusing, and very unmenacing), I thought we might be headed towards an exciting big biker showdown (maybe in the style of ‘The A-Team’s classic first season episode ‘Black Day at Bad Rock’, or ‘Knight Rider’s similar first season ep ‘Good Day at White Rock’), but at the end, the whole biker element just petered out, and never feels anywhere near concluded.

The Shivs! *chuckles*




The guy standing with a helmet on kind of looks like a young Kevin Bacon.

Watch out Black Rebels Motorcycle Club! Move out of the way Jets and Sharks! Here comes the Shivs! LOL

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I thought we might be headed towards an exciting big biker showdown (maybe in the style of ‘The A-Team’s classic first season episode ‘Black Day at Bad Rock’, or ‘Knight Rider’s similar first season ep ‘Good Day at White Rock’) ....

Just in case anyone is wondering why the two episode titles that Jay mentions sound so similar, even though they come from different series -- they're both a take-off on Bad Day at Black Rock, a 1955 movie starring Spencer Tracy, Walter Brennan, Ernest Borgnine, Lee Marvin, and a bunch of other highly recognizable folks. But the main reason I wouldn't mind seeing it someday is because I hear that one of the baddies is played by DeForest Kelley (later Doctor McCoy of the original Star Trek series).

[steveadl]

Have to agree, the whole 'bikie' side story was a bit weak. They could have come up with something better.

[Little Garwood]

Voted this a [7.0]

I didn't mind the episode being split into four character pieces, with Bryant's rescue being the obligatory "action" sequence. I thought he went out there to distract T.C. and Magnum so that his not-so-dangerous '80s thugs could swoop in and steal the equipment.

I disliked Thomas' business venture shtick as well as the obligatory romantic overtones with Sarah. About the only thing that sort of redeems the oddness of Thomas' behavior was when T.C. said something to the effect of "You're changing." If there had been an admission on Thomas' part, we may have had a pretty good response from TM.

Higgins' storyline could have been better and it would have been nice to see more from that, as well as Rick's sub plot, because it's always nice to see Cleo.

[Bes]

This is one of the worst of all Magnum episodes; bottom of the barrel stuff I think. Terrible episode placing too, as has been noted.

[Croix de Lorraine]

I think this is the only episode during the whole run of the show where Magnum doesn't break the law in any way, shape or form. We should start a thread listing all his crimes and misdemeanors.

[Nifty911]

Whoa, this one doesn't work so well for me, although it does have to some good moments.

As Shermy says, the whole teenage biker gang subplot is just laughable. I remember watching this in '88, and even then, the gang was unintentionally comical! They look like New Wave bikers, or something! And they apparently are incredibly inept at everything they do. They make the Black Widow gang in Every Which Way But Loose look like card carrying members of Mensa International! And Bryant looked painfully out of place with these kids. The poor kid keeps getting busted. Why would they even want him in the gang??

It's also hard to swallow Magnum's indifference to the events of "Unfinished Business"! Jeez, he just watched the murder of his ex-wife and daughter on video tape and here he is all happy-go-lucky, cheerful as can be! La-la-la-la-laa. Huh?? I realize that the show does not often have linear, serial storytelling - each episode usually stands on its own - but I think here is a case where they should have referred back to the previous events, like they did with "Mac's Back" (to "Echoes of the Mind") and others.

One thing I've noticed about Season Eight so far - the female patrons of the KKC beach bar are all knockouts! I mean every single one of them. Take a look at the beginning scene at the beach bar and, instead of looking at T.C., Rick and Higgins, look at the people milling about in the background. Wow!

Ok, so the place where Rick and Cleo meet for the first time (before they go out dancing), is that supposed to be Rick's pad, or Cleo's pad? They show a brief "establishing shot" of a tall building before cutting to the indoor set. If it's Rick's place, he's moved from his two-story condo unit.

The end credits feature a brief Tom Selleck outtake from the opening "Great Hawaiian Adventure Company" pitch at the KKC beach bar. Selleck is seen shaking his rubber tip pointer while laughing and briefly looking at the camera. This is really cool, as outtakes are a rarity for us Magnum fans.

Lastly, there is a new candidate for "Hottest Magnum Babe"....

Lani (uncredited)

I watched this tonight and want to know who this is LOL

[marlboro]

I was watching this episode again last night for a few laughs, and I couldn't believe how trite the plot was. It was like an afterschool special on TV.

My sentiments exactly. And "trite" is exactly how I would describe most of the TC-centric episodes. I really like T.C. but I found it really odd that nearly every episode that centered around him was a sappy drama that didn't seem to fit into the rest of the series.

Thicker Than Blood - Drug abuse.

Paradise Blues - Flugelhorn abuse.

A Sense of Debt - Did you ever notice that TC becomes more and more Saint-like as the seasons go by? It's a weird direction for the character. This was the first episode that i really noticed it.

Tran Quoc Jones - Spunky street urchin. TC is gradually morphing into Father Flanagan.


Round and Around - One of TC and Magnum's best buddies finally makes an appearance...and now he's dead. Let's never speak of him again.

Missing Melody - Family drama. Nothing wrong with family dramas...except when the entire family pops up after going unmentioned for Six seasons. You would think he would have at least had a couple of pictures hanging around the office or something.

I think it would have been hilarious if the rest of the cast acted as surprised that TC had a wife and kids as I was. Or better yet: have an endless stream of kids, ex wives, best friends and long lost cousins pop up throughout the episode and have Magnum and the gang act like they are series regulars that they have had meaningful long term history with. Drop tons of references to past adventures that have never been mentioned before. And then kill them all off at the end of the episode, never to be mentioned again.


I wish there had been more adventure and comedy episodes centered around TC. I would have loved to have seen an episode from TC's point of view showing what it's like having to deal with all of the trouble Magnum gets him into. Or maybe an episode centered around the adventures of Lani serving drinks to tourists.

[308GTS]

Whoa, this one doesn't work so well for me, although it does have to some good moments.

As Shermy says, the whole teenage biker gang subplot is just laughable. I remember watching this in '88, and even then, the gang was unintentionally comical! They look like New Wave bikers, or something! And they apparently are incredibly inept at everything they do. They make the Black Widow gang in Every Which Way But Loose look like card carrying members of Mensa International! And Bryant looked painfully out of place with these kids. The poor kid keeps getting busted. Why would they even want him in the gang??

It's also hard to swallow Magnum's indifference to the events of "Unfinished Business"! Jeez, he just watched the murder of his ex-wife and daughter on video tape and here he is all happy-go-lucky, cheerful as can be! La-la-la-la-laa. Huh?? I realize that the show does not often have linear, serial storytelling - each episode usually stands on its own - but I think here is a case where they should have referred back to the previous events, like they did with "Mac's Back" (to "Echoes of the Mind") and others.

One thing I've noticed about Season Eight so far - the female patrons of the KKC beach bar are all knockouts! I mean every single one of them. Take a look at the beginning scene at the beach bar and, instead of looking at T.C., Rick and Higgins, look at the people milling about in the background. Wow!

Ok, so the place where Rick and Cleo meet for the first time (before they go out dancing), is that supposed to be Rick's pad, or Cleo's pad? They show a brief "establishing shot" of a tall building before cutting to the indoor set. If it's Rick's place, he's moved from his two-story condo unit.

The end credits feature a brief Tom Selleck outtake from the opening "Great Hawaiian Adventure Company" pitch at the KKC beach bar. Selleck is seen shaking his rubber tip pointer while laughing and briefly looking at the camera. This is really cool, as outtakes are a rarity for us Magnum fans.

Lastly, there is a new candidate for "Hottest Magnum Babe"....

Lani (uncredited)

Just watched this one again last night, pretty dire stuff, but as everyone else has pointed out the highlight is clearly this stunning young lady...! Oooh mama!