The Elmo Ziller Story (2.21)

[marlboro]

I have to say that that is one CUTE!! cowgirl that Higgins has for a niece:)

yep. One of the hottest girls on the series. In real life, she's married to this honest looking fellow:

[Milton Collins]

I have to say that that is one CUTE!! cowgirl that Higgins has for a niece:)

yep. One of the hottest girls on the series. In real life, she's married to this honest looking fellow:

Wow that's awesome, nice find Marlboro! And I agree one of the hottest girls of the whole sereis. And that's the Breaking Bad/Malcom in the Middle guy right?

[marlboro]

Yep. Bryan Cranston.

[Milton Collins]

Something I wanted to add: did anyone else notice that Agatha is the hostess at the resort Higgins goes to? And when she calls for the bellhop/doorman to show Magnum out it's the orginal Icepick before Elisha Cook took over? Pretty funny to see them both in these bit roles, especially considering that Agatha ended up being a fairly consistent character later in the show.

[SignGuyHPW]

Something I wanted to add: did anyone else notice that Agatha is the hostess at the resort Higgins goes to? And when she calls for the bellhop/doorman to show Magnum out it's the orginal Icepick before Elisha Cook took over? Pretty funny to see them both in these bit roles, especially considering that Agatha ended up being a fairly consistent character later in the show.

That was an interesting bit of casting. I don't think that Gillian Dobb was offered the regular recurring role of Agatha until the next year despite her having been on several episodes in various small roles. Icepick, I think, was something they decided to use as a plot device in the third or fourth season so they recast it to have a regular actor portraying him when he'd get screen time.

I watched this one again last night and they really gave the impression that this story was going to get re-visited. Elmo was confirmed to have gotten to Mexico, there was going to be a search by his daughter, the daughter promised to return with the rodeo, and the niece getting into Higgins' life for the first time all screamed of follow up episode. Does anyone know why they didn't ever bring it back?

[Little Garwood]

7.0 [Average at Best]. If I could change my vote, I'd bump this and give it a 7.5 [Decent]

While I don't hold The Elmo Ziller Story in as high regard as most other fans, I certainly appreciate it for setting the template for the Higgins half-brothers series of episodes. John Hillerman delivers a delightful performance as Elmo. It's so good that his Higginsness completely vanishes for me but at the same time I can see the family resemblance. JH is superb here.

Also noteworthy is the return appearance of Robin Dearden, who is gorgeous and does a fine job as Elmo's daughter, Lexi. For my money, Dearden is the glue of this episode and is a most-welcome character, considering the many things I don't care for in this story.

I tend not to like episodes that take place out of the usual Magnum P.I. sets and locations--though there are exceptions. We do get some nice estate set scenes in the beginning, though. However, there's not nearly enough Thomas in this for me. Rick and T.C. have memorable appearances as rodeo clowns, though. Rick's being iconic, as his bit appears in the opening credits in future seasons.

The other guest stars, like Barbara Rhoades, whom I adore and who appeared in countless '70s TV shows for Universal, is amusing here as the garishly-dressed Marcella Ziller; the lovely Babs is always a welcome sight in any '70-'80s TV show. Her wardrobe is suitably gaudy, just like her character.

Speaking of wardrobes, Thomas wears the ugliest pair of shorts he'll ever don in the entirety of Magnum, P.I. Cavariccis? However, I must give Thomas some credit for wearing a different Aloha shirt than we're accustomed to seeing him in, as the red with blue feathers(?) is a nice change from his usual Hawaiian attire. I did notice how out of place he and the Ferrari looked on the rodeo grounds.

[Harold Farber]

Rating: 8.

Not a great episode but one of Hillerman's best performances of the entire series.

[Mrs. Higgins]

Did Magnum always have a guitar in the guest house, or did it magically appear just before Elmo's arrival?

[Doc Ibold]

Did Magnum always have a guitar in the guest house, or did it magically appear just before Elmo's arrival?

It was a one and done.. LOL.

Convenient plot device

[Milton Collins]

[quote=I watched this one again last night and they really gave the impression that this story was going to get re-visited. Elmo was confirmed to have gotten to Mexico, there was going to be a search by his daughter, the daughter promised to return with the rodeo, and the niece getting into Higgins' life for the first time all screamed of follow up episode. Does anyone know why they didn't ever bring it back?[/quote]

I just watched this again, a very fun episode! And I totally agree Styles, I got the impression that this story would be rivisited/continued later on. I think it would have made for an outstanding episode to see Bronco Elmo "return from the dead" and for he and his daughter to head back to visit Higgins and TM. I still crack up at Rick and TC dressed as rodeo clowns when I watch this one lol. Fun episode, liked seeing it again.

[thechickinthemiddle]

Not to totally give away my age, but Marcella Ziller looks like Jessie J auditioning for Little Orphan Annie



Seriously though, I'm glad that despite Barbara Rhoades playing a similar (though more classy-dressed) character on Diagnosis: Murder, her career wasn't entirely comprised of antagonistic stepmother roles.

[KingKC]

This may have been one of the most fun episodes of all. Hillerman was great in this double role and, IMO, should have left it at that rather than trying to be Father Paddy and Don Luis. This solidified the ability of MPI to be creative and ingenious. I think the lighthearted approach helped keep the show going.

KingKC

[thechickinthemiddle]

One might think that Magnum -- who was already nearly certain that "Elmo" was actually Higgins -- would have been absolutely positive the whole thing was a hoax when he saw Agatha Chumley pretending to be Sylvia the front-desk clerk!

LOL!

Full disclosure: I've come back to this particular thread numerous times just to read the above quote.

Of course the irony is that Sylvia is rather firm and steely while Agatha is... not (at least not usually, no disrespect to Agatha).

[jeffran]

I really love this fun and (relatively) light-hearted episode. Great performance by John Hillerman. And wow, Lexi Ziller.

[K Hale]

I really love this fun and (relatively) light-hearted episode. Great performance by John Hillerman. And wow, Lexi Ziller.

It was not until I started reading this forum that I realized this is the same actress who played the IRA terrorist in "No Need to Know." Excellent.