Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts (8.1)

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

LND: Absolutely phenomenal synopsis!
Excellent post and points on the episode.

308Guy,
Thank you pal.
The next episode "Pleasure Principle" underlines the changes in our boys. It starts off with a jogging! Higgins having a friendly banter on the beach with Magnum, with no tension or casting a wary eye at each other. When Thomas agrees to take Agatha to hear a Symphony and Higgins says "I'm deeply indebted", Thomas does not even try to get a favor in return. Carol later refers to Higgins as TM's "friend." 
Rick at one point says, "I'm a changed man." 
There is an interesting prequel to the redemption scene in "Infinity & Jelly Doughnuts" in "Way of the Stalking Horse."
Magnum goes to the guesthouse to get his gun in order to stalk and kill the hit man Driscoll.
TC had  beaten him there, TC always more hip to Magnum's demons than even Magnum.
And Magnum knows it, "what are you doing here" he coldly barks at TC.
As Magnum tosses his extra ammo clips in a bag, TC says "Your going to open that wound again, aren't you", referring both to TM's present gunshot wound and the physic one from his
wartime "scalp hunting" as Tyler McKinney termed it.
Magnum finds his pistol is missing. He chillingly gives TC a "if looks could kill" glare that speaks volumes.
His wounded arm dangles at his side, symbolic of his moral and  physical decay.
TC fights for the better angels of Magnum's nature -
       "You simply cannot go after him." 
Magnum betrays their friendship with an outright whopper of a lie and can't even look TC in the eye -
"I never said I was, I'm just looking for a change of scenery. A change of location till I can recuperate. That's all."
TC all too knowingly sighs, tosses Magnum's gun on to the bed. No redemption that day for Magnum, no "better way."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey, I'm walking here! I'm walking here!"...Dustin Hoffman(Midnight Cowboy)
This immortal line was a result of a citizen in his car ignoring the film crews and barriers and almost
running down Hoffman who replied with the above.

[brianw]

This may be a dumb question, but was the quote ever explained? "Time has nothing to do with infinity and jelly donuts." Its so random and makes no sense. I like to just say this to people from time to time and see if they have any clue what I am talking about. So far, nobody has.

Another quote I say all the time, just to test people, is "A flute with no holes, is not a flute. A donut with no hole, is a Danish." Anyone know where its from without google?

[K Hale]

I don’t think it’s supposed to make sense, other than be a garbled thing you might come up with while recovering from a near death experience and being mute for a couple weeks while having out-of-body conversations with a dead friend... who loved jelly donuts. Mac told Magnum he had a limited amount of time to solve the problem, whereas Mac is in infinity.

[terryfromkerry]

Just viewed Limbo and Infinity again as a double bill. Magnum's request for a pint of stout on awakening is just hilarious. Reminded me of an old Guinness television ad. which is somewhat appropriate here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69MpLiYhsXw

[prokaryote]

"Hi guys"

The last post in this chat thread is from Nov 2019, but I'd like to post something that I consider a big flub from Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts.
Since we're all stuck at home for Covid (I'm in the Seattle area) Ive been doing a lot of channel surfing, while working all day. I happened to stumble upon the episode "Pleasure Principle" on a channel that plays classic TV shows. It was only about 10 mins in, so I naturally watched it. PS: Yes I know this is the "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts" thread... need to set this up so you understand where i'm going w this.

At first, I sorta did, but sorta didn't remember "Pleasure Principle". As I was kept watching, it started to all come back to me. Then I remembered that I personally had considered this "part 3" from Limbo, then Infinity n Jelly Doughnuts because of how they were still wrapping up TM getting shot and the coma (I remember thinking it was great to take time to do that since it was a major part of the story). I loved the role reversal w/ Magnum and Higgins, but started to get annoyed with TM squinting his left eye and turning his head strangely all the time. I just didn't remember that aspect of the episode. Then near the end when TM almost punches Higgins by accident, and proclaims hes now blind in that eye from "the fight in the warehouse", I was like what???

Of course I dug out my season 8 DVD to re watch "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts". One of my favorite episodes despite many of the questionable things throughout. Which brings me to the fight in the warehouse. After having re-watched the entire episode, I now know why i didn't recall anything significant about his eye. The last 5 minutes of the episode were the most symbolic and frankly what I remember the most. TC walking through the bright doorway, TM dropping the 2x4 and standing up tall, etc, etc. Except for busted lip, nothing seemed wrong with his face. So I backed it up and re-watched the fight at a slower speed.

He's got the 2x4, hes gonna kick some butt


But oops, TM gets kicked, punched, then elbowed on the boo boo side of his body, then falls on his head (the left side) and presumably does something bad to his eye at this point?


TM is trying to get up and holds his eye socket and or head...


TM falls ON TOP OF, and then next to the gun TWICE! Why didn't he pick it up!? Okay yes, maybe he was blind in that eye.


TM struggles to pick up the 2x4 (which is NEXT TO THE GUN!) TO THIS DAY I am still trying to figure out why the left side of his body was bleeding profusely all down his arm. As TM mentioned earlier to Maggie "There has got to be a reason..."


TM is eyeballing his target, while dragging the 2x4... You can see the eye is all messed up.


Then just as hes gonna bash some brains in, boom.. eye is all better! doh! poor editing and makeup job?


TC prevents TM from doing what he should have done.


So yeah, thats my flub. If the eye was going to be such a big deal in the next episode.. and they did keep mentioning it, they should have taken more care with the makeup and fake blood. They had time to put that blood all over his arm for goodness knows why... unless it was a stunt accident and they just left it.

-MW

PS: Would love to read any comments you may have!

[K Hale]

The disappearing blood by his eye is definitely a flub.

I thought the whole eye thing in PP was a symbol of how “off” his perspective was in that episode. If you are blind in one eye, you literally do not have perspective, because you haven’t got any depth perception. I thought this was being used as a metaphor for how wrong his perspective was about Rosita Esteverdes. Once Magnum was kicked in the face by Rosita’s boyfriend, his sight is somehow knocked back into place and his *perspective* is restored.

[T.Q.]

Lost a lot of gifs when Photobucket went kablooey.

Remade this one because I love the moment.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Lost a lot of gifs when Photobucket went kablooey.

Remade this one because I love the moment.

Awesome, thank you.

[Treadwell]

Thought y'all would enjoy this CBS promo for this episode. It's interesting in that it's sort of in-universe, with Rick, TC and Higgins in character. I randomly got it while recording something else on VHS back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMHb3QkMmD8

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Thought y'all would enjoy this CBS promo for this episode. It's interesting in that it's sort of in-universe, with Rick, TC and Higgins in character. I randomly got it while recording something else on VHS back in the day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMHb3QkMmD8

Thank you for sharing that. I have never seen it before, perhaps if not for your taping it wouldn't now exist.

[ENSHealy]

There was a scene with Maggie and Buck where Maggie referred to herself as Commander and Buck sternly corrected her and said "Lt. Commander." I can't remember the episode, but I think the scene took place in Buck's office. It may have been Did You See The Sunrise, but can't remember for sure.

It wasn't Did You See the Sunrise, as Maggie was only a Lieutenant then:



According to IMDB, she became an LCDR in Season 4, Episode 9, The Look:

Season 3:


Season 4:


But that is not correct, as this is a screenshot from S4 E9 and she is still an LT:



It isn't until Season 7's Death and Taxes that she's actually wearing LCDR insignia:



And last, but not least, the scene were Buck specifies "Lieutenant Commander" to knock Maggie down a peg is in S7 E7, Little Girl Who:

[ENSHealy]

Okay,we watched this over the Thanksgiving holiday and I noticed a flub: In TC's office, after the intruder snuck out with the photo and TC gets on the phone with his family back in LA, did anyone else notice that TC's t-shirt changed colors? He walks in wearing a white Island Hoppers shirt, then there is a cut to a different camera angle and now he is wearing a light blue shirt! Also, initially the lighting in his office is subdued, lit only by a desk lamp. But after the angle change, the office is now well lit, as if all the lights were on.

I think the shirt is actually light blue the whole time, it just looks white due to the low light in the earlier part of the scene.

[ENSHealy]

... (although I did feel that Larry Manetti overacted at a couple of points) ...

I'm shocked, shocked that you think Larry Manetti overacted!

Actually, I sometimes wonder how much of the blame needs to be laid (or is it lain?) at the writers feet for some of the over the top stuff they gave him, but he definitely puts a little too much topping on the sundae on more than a few occasions.

[ENSHealy]

Good episode, especially after the show "ended" after season 7. I am torn about season 8, I am glad there was another season and that TM wasn't killed off. But I also think it might have been better to end it with his death. Its funny, by 1987, Magnum was trying really hard to be like Miami Vice, with the darker episodes and the music. I kinda like it, but I also kinda don't. I know that makes no sense.

I know there were many good reasons to have a Season 8, not least among them more paydays for the crew that had done all the groundwork that made Tom Selleck famous and wealthy. But I’ve always felt that Magnum really ended with Limbo. It was a nice, clean, if sad, ending. Season 8 is a rump Yugoslavia put together with disjointed bits and pieces. The only thing that (partially) saves it is the story line where Lily ends up with Thomas. (And I’m ambivalent about the going back in the Navy aspect.) When people ask me how many seasons of Magnum there were, I reply “Seven.” It’s probably why it’s taken me more than two years to start working on Season 8 after posting the Magnumometer on Limbo on Jan 13, 2023.

[ENSHealy]

I don’t think it’s supposed to make sense, other than be a garbled thing you might come up with while recovering from a near death experience and being mute for a couple weeks while having out-of-body conversations with a dead friend... who loved jelly donuts. Mac told Magnum he had a limited amount of time to solve the problem, whereas Mac is in infinity.

I may not be intepreting what you say above correctly, but it seems that you are implying that Thomas came up with the phrase “Time has little to do with infinity and jelly doughnuts.” Granted, this doesn’t explain the meaning of the phrase any better, but Magnum is quoting Mac both times he says the jelly doughnuts line. Mac uses the phrase first in S7 E22 Limbo, and then Magnum later repeats it back to him. Just before Magnum says it again in S8 E1, they show us a flashback to the Limbo conversation with Mac. So there’s no doub TM is referencing their conversation, but it was Mac that turned the phrase.