Mad Buck Gibson (2.9)

[J.J. Walters]

LOL Artie!

I tried to get a read on it last night, but couldn't, even when paused at a higher resolution. It's just small enough to make it very difficult to read. There are a couple of VERY brief moments in real time where it certainly looks like it says .... uh .... a description of a female dog. At other times, the "T" looks like a "Y". She wears it the whole episode, too. It's like she's teasing us, or something!

Vera Miles doesn't strike me as the kind of person who would wear such a thing, though.

[J.J. Walters]

Seen Mad Buck a dozen times? Nothing new to see? Wrong! Check out these mind-blowing observations from Magnum diehard Jim Gossweiler:

1) In the opening scene, the camera crew's light bank is visible in the Magnum's sunglasses reflection. A light board (a white, rectangular, board-like screen used to reflect diffuse light on the actors during filming) is also visible. Shortly later, just before Buck Gibson parachutes onto the beach, the same light bank is visible in Nola Barnes' (Gillian Dobb) glasses as she leans forward with Higgins to sight and install a beach croquet wicket.

2) Also in the opening scene, Higgins notes that Magnum is not wearing a watch while "timing" his run-paddle-run-paddle exercise. Looking closely, Magnum is not wearing a watch or his team ring. However, when Rick urges Magnum to come up the beach to meet Joan Gibson, the new potential client, Magnum is wearing his team ring. It is visible as he gets up from the table to rescue Buck in the surf.

3) Just before Buck crash lands his parachute on the beach croquet field, one installed croquet wicket is visible at his head. At the post-crash scene immediately after, while Buck is on the ground, two installed wickets are now visible at Buck's head. Feeling bad about the crash, the second croquet wicket apparently decided to install itself!

4) When Magnum pulls up in the Audi after Buck has crashed through the wood fence, there is a brief panning shot through the Audi's front window. A cameraman's hand and a portion of the camera is visible in the Audi's right (passenger's side) rearview mirror.

And my personal favorite:

5) During her initial meeting with Magnum on the beach at the club, Joan Gibson states that Buck "...took an early flight from New York..." and should be arriving shortly. Be this the case, leaving New York for a non-stop "early flight," say 6 a.m., would land you on Oahu 12-hours or more later at about 10:30 a.m (give or take) Hawaii time. After a 12 to 13 hour flight, Buck would need at least two hours to disembark, get his luggage, and wander over to civil aviation to get on the biplane for his parachute stunt. Then, it would take some time to fly to the beach, crash land, and go to the hospital to get a cast on his leg (and start "racing" in his wheelchair). That's a lot to do in one day! Even if he had slept some on the plane ride in, Buck surely would have been suffering from some severe jet lag at this point! Pretty tough for someone who is dying of bone cancer and developing spontaneous fractures.

You guys never cease to amaze me!

[Jay-Firestorm]

Wednesday’s review. I could never decide how I feel about this one.

[TV.com rating=8; Average]

When famous maverick adventure writer “Mad Buck” Gibson visits Hawaii, his ex-wife asks Magnum to keep him out of trouble. But Buck’s reckless streak means that keeping him out of harm’s way is no easy feat. A reasonable but mixed episode…

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I find it hard to sum up ‘Mad Buck Gibson’, both in terms of the story and the character.

The story is the first of a handful in the series to feature no real villains. In some cases I like this – indeed, my all-time series favourite, the fourth season opener ‘Home from the Sea’, is another such an example – but here the story does seem to suffer later on, for having no particular direction.

Mad Buck certainly makes a big entrance, “falling out” of a bi-plane and parachuting down. His character is an interesting one, and Darren McGavin certainly breathes life into Mad Buck. In the hands in a less capable actor the episode would no doubt have come off much worse.

(To note is, when Buck comes crashing down on Higgins on the beach, Higgins is playing croquet with a friend called Nola Barns, played by uncredited Gillian Dobb, who would go on to play the recurring Agatha Chumley from season three onwards).

Although Mad Buck is an interesting character, it doesn’t necessarily make him likable, and as a result, the viewer is left not sure what they are supposed to feel about him.

As mentioned, the plot starts off well but loses its way somewhat later on, and the episode could maybe have done with a B-plot to level things up. The story does have T.C. trying to write his own novel and getting Buck to read it, but this never really goes anywhere.

I do, however, like the final scene, with Buck hang-gliding away, possibly to his death. After leaving us confused what to feel about the character for much of the story, McGavin pulls it back in for a final, thoughtful scene.

All-in-all, this is a hard one to summarise. Mad Buck is quite a watch, but sadly, at some points the story lets him down.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* At the beginning, when Magnum is running along the beach, and is preparing his surf ski when he is interrupted by Higgins, he has sweat down the front of his vest. But when he goes with Rick to meet Joan Gibson at the Club, which seems to only be a minute or so later, the sweat is entirely gone!

* On the DVD version, all of the commercial breaks are abridged on this episode, and the story plays through without any act breaks.

* When Magnum drives off in the Ferrari to find Mad Buck near the end, if you look carefully, you can see a row of lights from filming reflected in the passenger door.

[wilko]

Here's a possible flub.

When Magnum is bargaining with Higgins for privileges in exchange for "protecting" the estate from Mad Buck he asks for 3 week use of the pool........the estate does not have a pool as noted in "The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii".

[Doc Ibold]

Thats a definite flub!

[joinerkev]

Did you know that at the very start of Mad Buck Gibson, the scenes where the title of the episode is shown, well it is the same scene as they used later on in A Sense of Debt. Take a look.

Kevin
York
UK

[Coops]

I found this to be a very moving, very touching episode mainly after watching my wife's last surviving grandmother suffer through 5 days of intense pain only to pass away in her sleep. That happened a week and a half ago.

I respect both Buck's decision to go out on his terms and Magnum's fortitude to let him. We all should be so lucky to dictate our final fate.

Kudos to the writer of this episode and for having the testes to let Buck go out his way. After all, it's no one's business but his.

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

I agree. We can all hope that we go the way we want. It was a nice change to see that on this episode.

[northshore]

When Magnum returns to the bar to figure out where Buck might be take note of the actions of the bartender. He gives Magnum a Bazooka and then starts clearing the spilled chips off of the bar top. He brushes the chip debris into the chip bowl with his hand and then places the bowl right back onto the bar top ready for the next hungry customer! Made me laugh, excellent representation as to the type of seedy bar they were in.

This character is a representation of Hemingway is it not? Or has this observation been declared already?

[Little Garwood]

This character is a representation of Hemingway is it not? Or has this observation been declared already?

To a Hemingway fan like myself, it's quite obvious that Mad Buck's life is based on Hemingway's, especially with the time spent in Paris, the masculine pursuits of drinking, brawling, shooting, the fearlessness and grace under pressure.

Buck shooting up TM's bathroom is most likely based on Hemingway's shotgunning of a toilet bowl at the Ritz hotel in Paris! Plus there's TM's comment about Buck's life being nearly as interesting or colorful as his writing, something often said about Hemingway.

There's no doubt in my mind that this is a nod to Hemingway.

Love Darren McGavin, love this episode [9.0]. My single-most watched DVD set is Kolchak: The Night Stalker. I'd even say it ranks among my "top three TV shows of all time" list.

[J.J. Walters]

There's also the beard and the suicide. No doubt it's Hemingway all the way.

[Lt Tanaka]

One of the best episopes. The final scene on the cliff top might well be my favourite scene in the whole series.
Took plenty of photos of that location when I was in Hawaii.
Big Hemingway fan too so that might be why.

[wind4fuel]

So, I'm watching this episode just now, and I've gotten to the part where TM and Rick are having their initial meeting with Buck's ex-wife. As she's talking, I notice that her necklace is actually a pendant that is a word. reviewing it frame by frame, and watching the light reflect from it, I was suprised to conclude the word is "BITCH". Shocking that was shown in 1980's prime time. Check it out.

I just looked at that also your right that what it say's, Vera Miles little Joke

[MaiTaiMan]

I never really cared for this one. It's kind of weird and boring to me. Magnum really has no case...it's just trying to babysit this wild, crazy old stunt guy who come to find out, is dying from bone cancer.

This is sad, I do sort of "feel" for the guy, and the ending is sort of depressing, but I just could never get into this episode much. Vera Miles, as always, did an awesome job and is probably the only aspect I enjoy in this. I rated this as "Average At Best".

[Frodoleader]

When everyone meets at the seedy bar for the first time, Buck comes in on his crutch. He goes to lean it against the booth; it falls back towards him. Again he tries to lean it against the booth and again it falls towards him. Then the third time the crutch is placed there, it magically gets pulled out of the shot! Apparently an unseen crew member must have snatched it away.

We thought the same thing about the bartender sweeping the chips back into the bowl. Another bit of attention to detail that made Magnum PI the great show it is!!