Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too (1.4)

[Milton Collins]

On the one hand though, this early episode brought a sense of the "unexpected" to show. The series wasn't just a gritty, action-oriented show that was seen in the first two episodes. It could be goofy. It could be comedic (or at least attempt to be). It will have whole plots revolving around haughty rich kids! Be prepared for ANYTHING on this show. I love that.

The episode does have a couple of highlights, however. Katherine Cannon is always fun to watch (if you know what I mean). We get to see a very young Lauri Hendler, who will later have a successful Hollywood career. There are some cool shots of the estate's rarely seen wine cellar, and the Waikiki War Memorial Natatorium. And who could forget that great line the one little girl says, "You shouldn't be punished for your passion".

Still, a pretty weak episode IMHO. But a weak MPI episode is better than 90% of the stuff out there, right!

I agree with your comments completely! And I do "know what you mean" with Katherine Cannon lol wow! I just put together my list for the thread: Top ten babes of Magnum and she's high on it! It was nice to see her in a more likeable roll than her uptight and snotty appearance in season 3's "I Do". Anyway, this was a really average episode for me, I rated it a 7.5. I hadn't seen it in years but since it was a quiet Christmas Eve at home with other Magnum fans I threw it on. I also noticed some rarely seen footage of the wine cellar and Rick popping out of the water at the War Memorial Natatorium (which is also featured in the intro to every episode which was cool to see live!). Was the wine cellar configured differently in this early episode or was it just me?

[SignGuyHPW]

This one was just kind of there for me. It wasn't a great episode, but didn't strike me as bad either. It seemed like they were still fleshing out the characters and some of that stuck starting with this one.

The premise of this one was pretty weak in terms of believability. Some of the girls were much too young to be the effective in being professional criminals. It was one of those episodes where it was hard to follow what was and wasn't legitamate since the stories were told and then it was like "that was a lie, but this time I mean it." I also didn't like Magnum going along with the girls instead of turning them over to the authorities. If a teacher had left a group of young girls alone (apparently with a good bit of cash) in a strange city so she could enjoy a very brief affair then I don't think she'd deserve to have her job protected. I just couldn't buy that from the start really.

Higgins being freaked out by the girls messing with everything in the den was classic. It really set his future behavior of not liking to be out of control of anyone at Robin's Nest. He seemed overwhelmed at having young children there that could damage priceless possessions. Having him hesitate at helping save the children later was also a classic Higgins move. It was kind of funny having young kids like that acting like career criminals with almost military like backgrounds. I also enjoyed the interactions between the girls when they were captive.

[Primbud]

This one grows on you and you pay more attention to different things on repeated viewings. As such, it's a rarity that I alter my rating (especially as much as this) but I moved this from a 4 to a 7 as I feel it sets up a bunch of things for the series very early on.

Also, when the girls are stuck in the heat near the end, I could feel myself suffering with them. This is something that a bunch of movies cannot do - for instance, near the end of 'Star Wars episode 3 Revenge of the Sith' (2005), I could not feel the heat from the lava which I should have.

On a related note, the way Higgins talks about it being ~"130 in the shade", I could almost imagine it.

[Milton Collins]

I have avoided this one since Christmas of 2014 where I only watched it because of the Holiday theme but I actually enjoyed it this time. A few highlights:

Katherine Cannon: Absolutely gorgeous in this episode!

Higgins (or Hugguns as the little girls called him) rage over the little girls and ANYTHING that they did completely cracked me up!

Always enjoy seeing the War Natatorium where my namesake got blasted by TM in season 7's Death and Taxes.

So fun to me how Magnum could vary from deadly serious in the first couple episodes to this. Any great show has a variety of themes and I love how Magnum PI could range from serious to silly and everything in between. By no means a great episode but decent for a change of pace:)

[marlboro]

So fun to me how Magnum could vary from deadly serious in the first couple episodes to this. Any great show has a variety of themes and I love how Magnum PI could range from serious to silly and everything in between. By no means a great episode but decent for a change of pace:)

Yeah, I agree with you. It was pretty gutsy to do a comedy episode so early in the shows run.

[KingKC]

A lot of descriptive terms like goofy, lightweight, unbelievable, and too cutesy have been applied to the low image of this episode. I liked it simply because it did a complete turnaround from the super serious, dramatic and violent pilot movie and first episode. But my liking it doesn't mean it was a great show. Most "bad" MPI episodes were still pretty good overall. Remember now that back in the first season (1980-1981) we only got one episode a week and still only had three channels (CBS, NBC, ABC) of first run shows to choose from. We kind of took what we got and didn't complain.

[Little Garwood]

Unless I've got her name wrong, the actress who played "Roxanne" is uncredited. The Magnum-Mania image gallery refers to her as "His [Mano's] Girlfriend." Does anyone know who she is? She managed some good comic timing in her brief role.

[marlboro]

She looks a little bit like Janis Ward from "Innocence... A Broad."

[magnumette]

hi guys. I am back on boards after a couple of years. Feels nice to reread some of these comments. Just rewatched thank heaven.

my goal - a goal I make every summer- is to rewatch the series I normally end up watching all season 1 and then other randoms but here I go again... has anyone here rewatched the entire series start to finish in order?

I rated thank heaven with a 7.5 2 years ago. maybe a little low, I probably would change it now. honestly every magnum is better than what is out there.

i do love the now retro vibe of this show - it was this show i first saw when first run. I was one of the girls ages and balked at being called a "little" girl but still liked it enough to start watching it

now 35 plus years later
what i liked- the character development and humor : T.C. do you have any more macho leis - it cracks me up . Here is a guy with muscles rippling any lei would be macho on him.......Saigon Suzie's I liked TC being the muscle in early shows, I like TC always having TM 's back what a friend

Higgins - Huggins and "outrageous"

Magnum - how he is seemingly unaware of the teacher's beauty , I just love his interaction with the little girl who thinks he is wonderful. He looks at the little girl with his tender smile dimples and all. I'm enchanted.

He is just perfect as an all around guy . a "friend/big brother/slight romance" to his buddies little sister in the pilot, a guy going a little crazy for the china doll and now a forgiving and helpful man to a flawed teacher. 2nd full episode in and he is shown to be a fluid and complex character

also the scene with the beach bum classic bs that worked! that cracked me up

ok so now im going to watch 1.4

aloha

[magnumette]

oops i meant 1.5

[ConchRepublican]

hi guys. I am back on boards after a couple of years. Feels nice to reread some of these comments. Just rewatched thank heaven.

my goal - a goal I make every summer- is to rewatch the series I normally end up watching all season 1 and then other randoms but here I go again... has anyone here rewatched the entire series start to finish in order?

aloha

I have, and I have fallen victim to the same "bounce around" urge you have as well. I am going through them again, started season 2 last week and am on an easy schedule. I still haven't rated or reviewed most episodes though. I don't have that kind of discipline.

[308GUY]

Welcome back magnumette!

Like Conch, I have also gone through the entire series....more than a few times. I'd venture a guess, there's more than a few here that could claim the same.

I also, like Conch, haven't rated most of it for much the same reason he states. I've found that most episodes, (even the "bad ones"), get better with additional viewings. Though it could be like S. Clemens remarked...."“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”― Mark Twain

Simply put, our own perspective changes as we grow, so things outside of ourselves appear to change but it's mostly how we see them.

I believe I will probably watch the series over and over, until I've either had enough or my copies wear out.

I also am tempted to skip and bounce around, but I usually watch it in order and am glad I did afterward. An exception this time through was the 4th. I was still on season 3 when it rolled around, so in place of the "scheduled" programming for the day, I popped in "Home From The Sea" on the fourth. Gets better every time....even without the 308 making an appearance!

[KingKC]

I also, like Conch, haven't rated most of it for much the same reason he states. I've found that most episodes, (even the "bad ones"), get better with additional viewings. Though it could be like S. Clemens remarked...."“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”― Mark Twain

Simply put, our own perspective changes as we grow, so things outside of ourselves appear to change but it's mostly how we see them.

I have rated very few because my memory and perceptions change over time. Check out point 15 on "Why Magnum P.I.?" There are sentimental reasons we like MPI. The past has a certain romance attached to it. Sandy Koufax, the great Dodger pitcher once said something to the effect that "the longer I have been retired, the greater my accomplishments have become."

This episode as well as most of Seasons 1 and 2 stick in my mind from the original run back in 1980-1982 because of the significant changes occurring in my life at the time. I liked that time of my life and MPI was simply part of it on Thursday nights.

[Danny Lin]

On Magnum breaking the fourth wall:

Was this the first episode the use of the 4th wall with Magnum took place?

No, he did it twice in the opening scene of the Pilot when he "steals" the Ferrari.

AAAAAaaannnnddd... He did it in the 3rd episode "China Doll" as well. Hilariously.

In the unforgotten "Hi Ho!"-scene!

[Danny Lin]

On TC looking for macho leis:

...

Yes, the plot is weak ... yes, TC ends up looking for Macho Leis.

...

I think TC´s looking for "macho leis" mustn´t be taken too seriously. He´s waiting in position at a lei stand to take his part of action when him, Rick and Thomas are about to switch the rolled up Gauguin against something else. To seem inconspicuous he pretends to be interested in leis and starts a conversation with the girl at the stand. To gain time he pretends not to be satisfied with what he is offered and repeatedly asks for what he claims to be looking for. I think to let him be looking for a "macho lei" (that can´t actually exist) is just another one of those little things meant to make this episode a funnier kind of story for Christmas.