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

[Danny Lin]

On Magnum wearing glasses:

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* In one scene, Magnum can be seen to be wearing spectacles. (Unless I am much mistaken) this is the only time he is seen as such this end of the show’s run. He would start wearing spectacles on a more regular basis from the sixth season’s ‘The Hotel Dick’ onwards.

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In the scene you refer to, Magnum wears the spectacles only very short and for fun when him and Rick go through what was handed over to them by the girls as the left belongings (as Magnum states: the overnight case) of the "runaway teacher". It is obviously a ladies type of glasses and Magnum just very briefly puts them on.

[Danny Lin]

On Higgins wanting to call the police on little girls:

I can't believe Higgins wanted to call the police on little girls! Modern day Ebenezer Scrooge!

After Higgins confirmed that the rolled up picture the girls had brought with them to the estate in fact is the original picture he insists to call the police. Asked by Miss Booton why he would get five little girls into trouble for trying to return something, Higgins explicitly stresses towards her: "I´m reporting YOU" (NOT the girls!).

[Danny Lin]

On the hope for an Agatha Christie like plot twist:

Well, maybe my mind is too warped and I have watched too many Agatha Christie crime stories, but to my mind there was one final twist missing: in that the fake wasn't really that fake but the original, and that the whole replacement-story was a ploy to get to the original.

For the whole episode I was waiting for this to happen... but it wasn't to be and the fake really was the fake. This was way too easy.

At latest when Higgins had compared the picture the girls brought to the estate to the picture hanging at the wall and had explicitly confirmed that the brought picture in fact was the original, it sure would have been a save guess to say that your hope could be given up.

[Danny Lin]

On Magnums parrot pattern shirt:

On another note, back on my obsession with Magnum's shirt, did anyone notice that the little girl with the glasses in this episode is wearing a shirt with the parrot pattern? I.e., the pre-teen size of a little girl's blouse/shirt with Magnum's pattern!

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Is there another red parrot pattern shirt Magnum occasionally wears than the one he wears in this episode (THE iconic Magnum shirt pattern)? Because the pattern of the parrot shirt the girl is wearing looks notably different from this iconic one.

[Danny Lin]

On the "Ricks wet and dry pants flub":

There is a flub that hasn´t been noticed yet: When Rick gets out of the basin in the natatorium his shorts certainly are dripping wet. Seconds later, when running towards and entering his car, his pants are completely dry.

[Danny Lin]

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The flubs you have spotted are great finds. Most are rather obvious once you look for them but I had a tough time finding the crew member's reflection in the side glass of the getaway car the old man drives. That's a great one!

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To find that one was very attentive indeed. Here some pics.





If anyone can explain what the mirrored person holds in their hand, shoot!

[Danny Lin]

On the Villain entering the Natatorium:

My observation is not really a flub but I have a question about it. In the scene where the crook goes in to get the Gaugin from the nautatorium, how does he get in and out so easily? Remember, Magnum had to climb over the locked gate to get in. Does the fat, old man climb over also? I don't think so... Also, how does Rick get to his car so quickly. We see him waiting for the fat man to get out of sight before he climbs out of the water. Once he climbs out, he runs directly to his car with the implication of not having to climb over a gate at all.

LHG,

Great observation regarding the art dealer having to climb over the gate. I think this could be considered a flub, because it doesn't make any sense, unless of course, after the art dealer gets into his car and drives away the camera cuts to the gate and you see hanging from the gate, shredded pieces of fabric from the seat of the art dealer's pants.

As far as Rick, I think he had a more direct route to his car, and I don't think he had to jump over a fence. If that is the case, then why didn't Magnum enter from that side which is not protected by the gate? Another great observation LHG.

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Also...I think the kidnapper came in at the end entrance to the Natorium (sp) where the gate MUST have been open. It seems to me that Thomas climbed the gate in the middle...much closer to where he left the painting. The Natorium is on my list of places to visit when I go to Oahu. I wonder if you can actually swim there...???

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The natatorium can be entered through the main gate and the maingates side gates (where Magnum entered) but also north or south of the bleachers. The natatorium is closed since 1979. All entrances are gated. The villains way in as well as Ricks way out to the car weren´t shown in the episode.

The villain certainly wouldn´t have been able to climb over one of the gates. But what the writers could do was to visibly let him enter from another direction than Magnum. By not showing the gate the villain uses it just was left open if he had to surmount any obstacle and if so, which way he did it. Same goes for Rick.

To proceed this way is acceptable.

[Danny Lin]

On some aspects of the episode I´d like to mention:

What I really found striking is the "open shirt" point:
Nearly everyone in this episode (even including Higgins in one sequence!!) is shown with a largely or totally unbuttoned shirt. If it is in the vice district or at the international airport:
- Rick when he calls Magnum on Robin Masters personal phone; when going through Miss Bootons overnight case; at the airport, in that fantastic 70ies zipper shirt, unzipped down to the navel
- Thomas, whether wearing the iconic parrot shirt or fully unbuttoned polo shirt
- TC from the vice district over Mano´s place to the airport, fully unbuttoned (at least we can see that even back then not only hairy guys like Thomas existed but hairless ones were totally acceptable too).
- Even Higgins!, at least in the sequence when he is negotiating the girls stay in he Nest with Magnum, was forced to have his shirt unbuttoned a little farther than otherwise.
- Mano´s shirt is buttoned, but at a closer look one is forced to discover that the white pattern on the front of the shirt isn´t just a pattern. In those areas the shirt only consists of mesh textile which kind of pimp like lets the body shine through...



- Even side characters as the desk clerk in the hotel go largely unbuttoned...

An open shirt itself certainly is no big deal at all. Not today and not back then. But exaggerating it this way just feels kind of ridiculous...

Another one of the things that were installed in the episode more or less by "brute force" to create a funny Christmas episode (along with "Macho Leis") was: "Momma Goose? This is Rubber Duck. We´re in the Nest..." Right? That one cracked me up. To me it seems to contain a clear allusion to Kris Kristofferson´s nickname in the popular movie "Convoy" from 1978.

The villain stumbling down the bleachers I found to be looking very funny too. Kind of "slap sticky". Perhaps not even a demand of the director but just simply the only way Jim Demarest could do it.

The disgustingly tasteless Christmas tree, featuring blinking lights in various colours probably would match a pulp novels writing Robin Masters´ taste more than poor Higgins´ who had to put it up.

The girls unfortunately were nowhere close to convincing actingwise.

[thechickinthemiddle]

So this is the first time I've seen this again in about four years.

Anyone else borderline cringe at Rick's Chinese laundry impression a few minutes in? The 80s seemed to be the last era where stuff like that was perfectly acceptable. (New Charlie Chan and Fu Manchu movies also came out around this time. )

Considering the amount of cutesy-kid plots in primetime detective shows as the decade went on, the girls could certainly be worse. Anyone who hated them can certainly take solace in Higgins in this episode.

You can tell it's an early episode due to the more apparent seediness (as another poster mentioned), and the lack of someone like Lieutenant Tanaka, who would surely be on hand to arrest the dealer had this taken place later.

[K Hale]

AWESOME!

Question, is there anyway I can get a video of the "Oh My God".

I want to say that "Italian Ice" has a good one when the Ferrari is scratched.

I'd love to have something internally at my job that I can send around when I get a ridiculous request.

In case anyone still needs something like this...

[K Hale]

On Higgins wanting to call the police on little girls:

I can't believe Higgins wanted to call the police on little girls! Modern day Ebenezer Scrooge!

After Higgins confirmed that the rolled up picture the girls had brought with them to the estate in fact is the original picture he insists to call the police. Asked by Miss Booton why he would get five little girls into trouble for trying to return something, Higgins explicitly stresses towards her: "I´m reporting YOU" (NOT the girls!).

And the reason he backed down on calling after that was because the girls firmly stood by their teacher, saying "If she goes, we go" or something like that.

[K Hale]

Macho Leis, Higgins Scrooge, Sweaty Villians, OUTRAGEOUS!!!!!!!

I ask you fellow forumites, what is there NOT to like about this episode?!!!

Its got more cheese than Wisconsin, which makes it GREAT!

(Apologies to any Wisconsin-ites out there)

I really enjoy this episode for these and other reasons. It is so campy and fun and sooooo 1980!

And since basically every person in this thread has referenced this scene, here we go...

https://vimeo.com/259719144

[J.J. Walters]

In case anyone still needs something like this...

Yes! Yes! Yes! LOVE it!

[Mad Kudu Buck]

Anyone else borderline cringe at Rick's Chinese laundry impression a few minutes in? The 80s seemed to be the last era where stuff like that was perfectly acceptable.

I didn't cringe. I didn't even think twice about it. I wonder why this wouldn't be acceptable today. He's just doing a Chinese accent. I see nothing derogatory about it. People fake southern accents, British accents, German accents and nobody bothers about those.

I like the expression on Higgins' face after asking, "You starch your undershorts?" and Magnum replies, "Doesn't everybody?"

[K Hale]

It's been a while since I watched this one, but wasn't Rick faking a Chinese accent because he called on the red phone? I wonder why he didn't just call on the regular line.