No More Mr. Nice Guy (4.13)

[jno]

I quite enjoyed this one but conning Rick, TC and Higgins was a bit off.

One thing about this episode - when Carol is telling Magnum some hometruths about how he uses his friends, is it just me or is her hair slightly different? The gr(e/a)y bits do seem far less obvious in those scenes than when she appears elsewhere in the episode. Am I seeing things here?

[MagnumILWU]

Watching it now, on Encore! This has one of my favorite opening scenes of any Magnum. Magnum and TC, running plays on the estate, looking good. Great throws and catches. Great scenery. And poor Higgins. A great start to an OK episode!

[Stelth]

I was watching too but I had to switch to something else because of acute Carol poisoning.

[Tuan Vu]

Here is some behind-the-scenes footage of the episode:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85vepJshXl8

[Algernon Farnsworth]

Do they ever mention how things are worked out with the police? I mean, even if they found a way out of the drug bust, T.C. really did impersonate a police officer...

[K Hale]

The Carol character was pretty much shoe-horned in in order to boost female ratings. You know, "strong female character", will they/will they not love interest and all that jazz.

With the eye candy on this show, you don't need to shoehorn ill-fitting characters, cute kids, potential marriage etc. in to get female ratings... trust me.

I'm not much of a Carol fan in general but in this episode she's really low down to the gang.

[K Hale]

nor did I like how comfortable she appeared to be with her betrayal of them in the jail scene.

I really hated this. Particularly considering Rick and Higgins at least were facing very serious charges.

[☨magnum.t]

If my memory serves me right were the arrests not made by a dirty cop? If that's the case no DA in his or her right mind would prosecute.

[K Hale]

If my memory serves me right were the arrests not made by a dirty cop? If that's the case no DA in his or her right mind would prosecute.

Maybe so, but the guys didn't know that at the time. Just letting them sit in there was crappy.

[Bat22]

Carol is entertaining, but I also did not like nor find her whole storyline plausible. When she throws it back in Magnum's face about manipulation, I found that a bad fit. It comes off as completely negative and underhanded....something you hate a person for........and forces Magnum to defend himself that it's usually for a good cause............WHICH IS THE UNDERLYING PREMISE OF THE DAMN SERIES. Magnum and his friends help others as well as each other. I just found that a clumsy device to plug in Carol and a poor plot design.

The revelation that Carol was manipulating them all the entire time made me dislike her intensely. By pointing out that Magnum does the same type of things it makes me wonder if I should dislike him too.

I was ticked that Magnum didn't fire back at her. He often undersells the danger or consequences in getting the others to help him with his work but you get the feeling that everyone is clued in. What Carol did was flat-out lie and deceive them, exploiting their attachment to her to sucker them into her mission. I don't think Magnum ever put on a dramatic and false show like she did at the bar. It's not the same.

[K Hale]

^^ Agreed. She flat out faked the entire thing and she's lucky they forgave her. "I learned it from you!" is a sorry excuse.

[KingKC]

I caught this episode again in a rerun last night. Although it is nowhere near a great or memorable episode, it still shows how much better the original show was. The writing and dialogue is considerably better and isn't rattled off in the midst of mindless action. The scenes are well developed and the show "flowed" well. Granted the twist of Carol being manipulative isn't earth shattering, but it did point out how TM did use Rick, TC and even Higgins and put them in danger.

I noted one unusual comment. TM said his last game was in 1967. At a later point in the show he laments that his back up quarterback had been waiting since 1963 to get into the game and would if TM missed the reunion. That means TM and his backup took the full five years (63, 64, 65. 66 and 67) to graduate that are allowed for football players with a red-shirt year. I would have thought that less players at the Naval Academy needed five years to graduate.

[K Hale]

Couldn’t it be four academic years?
63-64
64-65
65-66
66-67

[KingKC]

Couldn’t it be four academic years?
63-64
64-65
65-66
66-67

Football is played in the fall semester, so there would have to be a 67/68 academic year to have a 67 season. Granted the players could have finished in the fall of 67 leaving 4.5 years to graduate.

[K Hale]

Couldn’t it be four academic years?
63-64
64-65
65-66
66-67

Football is played in the fall semester, so there would have to be a 67/68 academic year to have a 67 season. Granted the players could have finished in the fall of 67 leaving 4.5 years to graduate.

Ah, OK. Well, maybe they did take 5 years. After all, Magnum didn’t have Goldie Morris around to tutor him.