A Sense of Debt (4.8)

[Jay-Firestorm]

My first review of the week – not outstanding, but a reasonable episode.

[rating=8.5]

While Magnum is away in Detroit, T.C. is driving the Ferrari when he has an accident that injures a professional boxer. Finding that the man was part of a unit that once saved him in ‘Nam, T.C. takes his place in a series of bare-knuckle bouts. A middling ep…

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‘A Sense of Debt’ (original working title: ‘King of the Mountain’, and sometimes billed as ‘A Sense of Justice’), is the second Magnum-lite episode of the season, after the Rick-based ‘Smaller Than Life’. Of the two episodes, ‘A Sense of Debt’ is the better, although not perfect.

It is great to see a story revolving around T.C., who is a great character. Roger E. Mosley pulls it off easily, and the episode works much better than stories based around Rick.

Cast as boxer Leon’s daughter Ima is a young Shannon Doherty. Doherty had a number of guest roles around this time (she can also be seen in the early first season ‘Airwolf’ episode ‘Bite of the Jackal’), before making it to the big time when she was older.

Anyway, the story is reasonable, and on the whole I like it, but it never feels to completely find its pacing in my view. It is fun to see T.C. being put through his paces in the boxing ring, and continually finding out that there is more to the arrangement than he first thought.

The Magnum-in-Detroit sections of the episode aren’t really much to write home about, and add little to the story. They really feel like they were put in just so Magnum featured in the storyline, but the episode could well have done without them.

All-in-all, this is a reasonable and watchable episode of the series. It is nice to see T.C. get a story to himself for once, but at the same time, it isn’t really an outstanding story either.

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Other notes, bloopers and misc.:

* When T.C. is driving the Ferrari near the beginning of the story, there is a stock shot where it is quite clearly Tom Selleck driving – you can see his head sticking out behind the windshield.

* When T.C., Leon and Ima arrive at the Estate, it is dark; but when they are talking to Higgins in the study, it is still partially light outside.

* The DVD version of this episode has all of the commercial breaks abridged.

* Surprisingly, when Five broadcast this episode in 2002, they barely edited it at all. All that I can find was removed was a three second shot at the climax, of T.C.’s opponent holding him by the ears and headbutting him – Five were always cautious about headbutting!

* I wonder if anyone has any background information on this episode – was it originally written for Magnum to become the boxer, or was it intended for T.C. all along?

[Doc Ibold]

Hey Jay,

My take on this is that it was intended for TC all along. What you refer to as "Magnum Lite" (Sounds like a really cool beer), I call a "Rick/TC/Higgins" centric episode.

I look at these types of episodes in one of two ways.

1) Selleck was on location filming a movie, so he wasn't able to actually be around to "film" the episode, so they come up with some sort of scheme to keep him out of the action, thus focusing the action around the other 3 in the ensemble.

2) Selleck was pretty adamant that the show not be all about him, and these episodes were shot to flush out the rest of the cast. Season 4 is pretty notorious for this, as there's at least 2 non Magnum centric episodes for each of the characters. One Magnum REALLY Lite, and one Magnum there... but its not about him.

Magnum REALLY Lite

Smaller Than Life (Rick)
A Sense of Debt (TC)
Holmes Is Where The Heart Is (Higgins)

Magnum There... Kinda Sorta

Distant Relative (Rick)
Paradise Blues (TC)
Letter To A Duchess (Higgins)

[lutherhgillis]

Some folks do not like the episodes that feature the other characters more heavily than TS but, for me, it lended to making the show a stronger show.

[Jay-Firestorm]

Doc Ibold - yes, that's a good way to look at it, I think it's a little of both Selleck being busy filming elsewhere, and insisting the show wasn't just about him.

Luther - I actually quite like this ep in it's own way, even if it's not perfect. The fact it had little TS personally didn't really bother me, but I know some don't like it for that reason.

I'll have a bottle of Magnum lite please!

[Rutledal]

Donald Gibb is one of my favorite Hollywood "tough guys". Here's what he looks like today....

He was great in Bloodsport. I love that movie, unlike this episode that movie had some great fight coregraphy.

[steveadl]

Feel so sorry for TM when he finally gets to the final game and is forced to leave!

[miltontheripper]

When T.M. is at the stadium and on the phone with Higgins you see a play at home plate on the TV screen. You see the same play during Jaroro Farewell. I can't quite make out the name of the guy sliding into Home.

I also noticed that the above referenced play was also seen in Jororo Farewell. I liked this episode and all the Selleck/Tigers scenes, especially with Trammell and Whitaker. What a cool guest appearance for all us Tigers fans!!! So am I correct in assuming that Charley did payoff the fighters and they were throwing the matches or did TC really win? I know he beat the last guy but I've always had slight confusion about that as Leon suggests that they were paid to lose.

[Seaver41]

not a big fan of this episode, although Roger did well in his role. He didn't overact. Other than that, Selleck's appearance was cheesy. It just seemed like a lot of mediocre acting. Ironically, the ring scenes were handled well enough. This is one I could go a long time before watching again.

[Croix de Lorraine]

Am I the only one to think that Platt fella is one passive-aggresive, emotionally manipulative son of a gun? Only St. Theodore of Louisiana would put up with that.

[firefly]

isn't the fact that magnum did not recognize alan trammell and lou whitaker a flub? those two were the "face" of the tigers back then, any baseball fan, especially a tigers fanatic, would have been able to pick them out. now granted, i suppose magnum would not expect to run into them in some local bar but still.


nonetheless, i enjoyed the episode, not great but still an enjoyable one.

[Croix de Lorraine]

isn't the fact that magnum did not recognize alan trammell and lou whitaker a flub? those two were the "face" of the tigers back then, any baseball fan, especially a tigers fanatic, would have been able to pick them out. now granted, i suppose magnum would not expect to run into them in some local bar but still.


nonetheless, i enjoyed the episode, not great but still an enjoyable one.

Well spotted! I don't think shock is an excuse. On several occasions I've bumped into players of my favorite team in real-life situations and I recognized them immediately.

[Croix de Lorraine]

isn't the fact that magnum did not recognize alan trammell and lou whitaker a flub? those two were the "face" of the tigers back then, any baseball fan, especially a tigers fanatic, would have been able to pick them out. now granted, i suppose magnum would not expect to run into them in some local bar but still.


nonetheless, i enjoyed the episode, not great but still an enjoyable one.

Well spotted! I don't think shock is an excuse. On several occasions I've bumped into players of my favorite team in real-life situations and I recognized them immediately.

[firefly]

isn't the fact that magnum did not recognize alan trammell and lou whitaker a flub? those two were the "face" of the tigers back then, any baseball fan, especially a tigers fanatic, would have been able to pick them out. now granted, i suppose magnum would not expect to run into them in some local bar but still.


nonetheless, i enjoyed the episode, not great but still an enjoyable one.

Well spotted! I don't think shock is an excuse. On several occasions I've bumped into players of my favorite team in real-life situations and I recognized them immediately.

thanks.

just like you, and most/all fans of a specific team, i know that if i ran into one of the athletes from "my" team i would recognize them. especially a guy like trammell, he is pretty distinct looking.

[J.J. Walters]

He wasn't thinking straight. He was flustered because he couldn't see the game.

Somewhere in Hawaii right now, perhaps behind a desk, Magnum is raging mad because Alan Trammell (and Jack Morris) has been denied Hall of Fame entrance yet again!

[EZiller]

My favorite TC episode.