Forever in Time (8.5)

[A P Leyland]

Very dull. Just got back from holiday and didn't remember watching it!

Andy

[Jay-Firestorm]

I don’t dislike this one, but found it a bit slow.

[rating=7.5]

Thomas finds himself watching a funeral where he spots a beautiful woman. But soon after, he learns that she resembles a Hawaiian princess who was killed a mysterious fire in 1910 – a death that he somehow seems intertwined with. Fair but slow…

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This review contains spoilers.

Ah, ‘Magnum, p.i.’ – it always cheers me up. When I came to watch this episode to review the following day, I had had a bad day for various reasons, and really wasn’t in the mood to watch much TV. But – even though this isn’t one of my favourite episodes – by a couple of minutes in, I was feeling much happier.

This is the last in an occasional line of ‘ghost stories’ in the show, stretching back to the second season’s enjoyable ‘The Woman on the Beach’, and also including season six’s ‘Rapture’, not to mention several encounters with the ghost of Mac. However, unlike those earlier stories, most of this one is explained away as not being supernatural – although there are still some unexplained plot points.

The backdrop for the episode is Higgins putting on another high-class show, in this case a Historical Society Pageant. The “putting on a show” plot device has been used in several episodes, such as the fourth season’s (much underrated) ‘Let the Punishment Fit the Crime’. In this episode, most of the humour subplot comes from Rick and T.C. trying to get a model volcano to explode properly.

It is nice to see a story that involves a Hawaiian history setting – although there is the odd such thread woven into various episodes, the only real episodes that use it to any notable extent are the second season’s ‘Dead Man’s Channel’ and season seven’s ‘Kapu’. Although maybe it would have become a bit repetitive to do it regularly, it is a setting that maybe would have been nice to utilise a bit more often.

Anyway, the plot itself is a fair one, but personally I find it a bit slow, not to mention a bit confusing and unclear in places. I don’t dislike this episode, but at the same time it feels that it should somehow come off better than it ultimately does.
The climax of the story, with Magnum and the possible princess in the fire, is quite good, although I found it little surprise who the culprit behind the trouble was – the fact that he just happened to be involved with the running of the pageant seemed a little over convenient to me.

In its own way, this is actually quite a nice story, but I don’t think they fully captured what they were going for, and it’s not really one of my favourites.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* I notice that both Mike Post and Pete Carpenter were credited as doing the music for this episode; I wonder / presume if this one was produced before Pete Carpenter was taken ill and sadly died soon after?

* Incorrect blooper: Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.

* I know I’m probably a bit behind here, but I never really realised before this episode that ‘Sullivan’ is part of Magnum’s family name, not a middle name. I think it was mentioned in the second season’s ‘The Jororo Kill’ something about Kate “coming from the Sullivan side”, but I never fully cottoned on to it.

[J.J. Walters]

* Incorrect blooper: Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.

Upon further review, I believe you are correct Jay! I've removed the flub.

[Carol the Dabbler]

All I can say is, life sure was cheap back in the 80's -- Keyes is planning to off his wife for a measly 500 grand?!?

I liked the way that almost everything turned out to be just part of Keyes's plot -- but there was still a little bit of spookiness left unexplained. I see this originally aired on November 11 -- I wonder whether they considered showing it a week or two earlier, as a Halloween episode?

As noted, one of the most interesting elements is Magnum's altered perception of the photograph.

Regarding the picture that Magnum and Higgins look at being different in different shots – I believe this is deliberate. It is also a different picture in different shots at the museum, and several other points in the story. I may be wrong, but I took this to be the real picture as compared to the image as seen through Magnum’s eyes. Granted, they could maybe have made this a bit clearer though.

I'm so lousy at recognizing faces that -- even though I could tell that they were trying to make some kind of point -- I didn't notice any difference between the photographs. I assume it would be obvious if I could see them side by side, but of course they never showed them together, since they were supposed to be actually the same.

I never really realised before this episode that ‘Sullivan’ is part of Magnum’s family name, not a middle name.

You were right the first time, Jay. We Yanks don't generally have double-barrelled surnames. So Thomas's surname is not Sullivan-Magnum, just Magnum. It is fairly common, however, for an American to be given their mother's maiden name as their middle name, which seems to be the case here.

As I mentioned in the "Aunt Who Came to Dinner" thread, I've been interested in the Magnum / Sullivan family tree ever since Hubby and I used to watch the show on cable syndication. Maybe some day I'll go through and catalog the various family references in all the episodes. But this one certainly makes it clear that TM's middle name came from Katherine's ancestry. I can't say for certain that it was her maiden name, however (unless that was explicitly stated elsewhere), because some families show a particular affinity for a surname that was actually a few generations back (my own mother's family, for example).

[Italian Ice]

I was looking up some info on one of Clint Eastwoods movies "Hereafter" and found this..

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.de ... l?nav=5016


You will notice the 2 people standing next to Clint were on this episode....a certain real life couple. Still around and are now stunt coordinators!

[Carol the Dabbler]

I was looking up some info on one of Clint Eastwoods movies "Hereafter" and found this..

http://www.mauinews.com/page/content.de ... l?nav=5016


You will notice the 2 people standing next to Clint were on this episode....a certain real life couple. Still around and are now stunt coordinators!

Nice job of spotting, Italian Ice!

Doesn't look like the "princess" has changed much since '87 -- maybe she really is timeless!

[J.J. Walters]

Neither has Bobby Sixkiller! Wayne Newton-esque he is!

[Carol the Dabbler]

Better watch those adjectives, James!

[J.J. Walters]

What? I'm not following you Carol.

I'm just saying Branscombe looks a little like Mr. Newton, and he doesn't appear to age. He sings, too.

[Carol the Dabbler]

I don't watch much tv these days, so my initial reaction dates back to Mr. Newton's early days as a young performer, when he did not project a particularly he-man image.

However, from what little I've seen of him lately, he does seem to have grown up! I would say that he has definitely aged, and for the better.

So I would not think of the 70's Wayne Newton as an apt comparison for a stunt man, nor would I think of the long-term Wayne Newton as an example of agelessness. I guess each of us has our own personal set of stock comparisons!

[nha trang]

I thought this was an above-average episode. It reminds me of an episode (I forget which) where Magnum knows exactly where the false panel is hidden containing an envelope...I believe in that episode he had a dream of the location and the fact that he would be shot at and chased.

The show seems to like this idea of recurrence or reincarnation doesn't it?

Like you have to do things until you get them right kind of thing.

[Carol the Dabbler]

The show seems to like this idea of recurrence or reincarnation doesn't it?

Like you have to do things until you get them right kind of thing.

Now that you mention it, that does seem to be a recurring (!) theme. Off the top of my head, there's also

1. the 30's-type mystery (title?) where the regulars are characters with some relevance to their usual selves,

2) Limbo / Jelly Doughnuts, where Magnum gets a do-over,

3) Woman on the Beach, where Rick apparently falls in love with a restless ghost,

4) Mac's Back, with a fake ghost (who has quite a lot to "get right"),

and probably a bunch more that aren't coming to mind right now.

[txz045]

Watching the final few minutes of this one now. Just got season 8 from eBay finally completing my Magnum DVD collection. I've enjoyed this episode, I felt entertained and it kept my attention through-out.

[Doc Fred]

Does anyone know the real name of the dancer who fascinated Thomas so much?

[Doc Fred]

A thoroughly enjoyable episode... I love the shows that deal with the mystic world, and this was one of my favorites. I liked the idea that someone in Mangum's ancestry COULD have been the navy lieutenant from 1910... especially considering the newspapers Magnum found indicating a family tie.... nicely done! I bought into this show, and enjoyed it from start to finish.

The start, with that beautiful dancing by the beautiful young woman, was terrific... plus Thomas' thoughts about taking in what you have, and appreciating it. I think it would have been nice if Thomas had a romance with the lovely granddaughter of the princess... it would have been a great connection.

As a couple others have said, I don't understand why many have panned this episode, but... I guess some wonder how I and others could be so positive about it.

9.0