Question concerning Magnum PI final episode...
Dale A. Del Fierro
An old friend and I once argued about whether or not the Magnum character
died in the final episode. To tell you the truth, I was never really sure
if most of the finale wasn't a dream sequence. I recall that he goes into
some abandoned warehouse and ends up getting shot in the gut. At the same
time, Rick's wedding is going on. The next thing you know, Magnum arrives
in his USN dress whites with his hair in a regulation haircut.
O.K., what gives? She said that everything but the warehouse sequence was
all in Magnum's imagination as he slowly bled to death on the floor. It
also explained all the flashbacks and guest appearances. I wasn't sure
since I couldn't explain the sudden appearance at Rick's wedding. She also
said that Magnum's walking off into the distance in soft focus, his wearing
of white, and being with his daughter all were indications that he had died.
I didn't see the daughter connection since I don't think that she was dead
but saw it as a possible "idealization" of his possible moving onto the
afterlife.
Please help me solve the riddle that has plagued me for years!!!
BTW, I also didn't believe he died because I heard that a reunion show was
proposed and without Magnum it wouldn't have made any sense.
DD
baile...@my-deja.com
"Dale A. Del Fierro" <DDELF...@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
> O.K. folks, please just humor me...
>
> An old friend and I once argued about whether or not the Magnum character
> died in the final episode.
Nah, he didn't die, he rejoined the Navy in order to put aside his
adolescent shinnanigans and become a responsible dad to Lily, who did
NOT die in the car bombing that killed her mother because she (Lily)
scrambled out to get her doll. Remember?
And your own final point should convince you -- of course he didn't die.
There may never be a Magnum reunion but there wouldn't even be one to
talk about without Magnum!
Susan
--
We're never prepared for what we expect.
Michener
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
SAVAK
"Limbo" aired on April 15th, 1987 and was originally conceived as the final
episode. However, for some reason (and thankfully), the show continued on
for one final year.
"Resolution, part 1 & 2" sees Magnum returning to his 20th Naval Academy
Class Reunion in Annapolis. A classmate offers to help Thomas "re-up."
Initially our intrepid hero rebuffs his friend, a rather young Captain. But
alas, TM appears in the final scene, Rick's wedding, in Uniform as a
Commander in the United States Navy.
The final year of Magnum was by far the best season. Even if TM was
starting to look too old to play with rubber chickens. -and yes, I had one
but it was Chicken-napped years ago. Dammit!
Interestingly, does anyone else remember Magnum's mother introducing TM as
"Lt. Commander Thomas Sullivan Magnum" in "Going Home" 10/31/85? In the
show's first season, Magnum was clearly a Navy LT. In Memories are
foreever, (11-5-81) Mac tells TM that he's been re-activated and promoted to
"full commander" to testify about his old unit.
And, if TM maternal grandfather's (and aunt's) name was Sullivan, why his
his father and grandfathers middle name Sullivan too?
Did Thomas Sullivan Magnum, III marry a Sullivan, or did a script assistant
screw up?
David Romas
to watch the Magnum, P.I. final episode.
SPOILER SPACE ENDS IN 5,
4,
3,
2,
1...
In article <7l1vac$e3$1...@bgtnsc02.worldnet.att.net>, "Dale says...
>An old friend and I once argued about whether or not the Magnum character
>died in the final episode.
>I recall that he goes into
>some abandoned warehouse and ends up getting shot in the gut.
Not exactly. He fights in the warehouse (actually an old abandoned
"haunted house"-type funhouse) with the guy who's been stalking Linda
Lee Ellison throughout the episode. They struggle over control of the
guy's knife -- there's no gun. The last scene there, they both have
hands on the knife and are moving it around between them and then it
gets planted *somewhere* with force. There's a startled look on TM's
face, the implication being that it's been planted in him rather than
the other guy. Then Linda's monogrammed scarf, which TM had sort of
stuffed in his jeans pocket, drifts to the floor and then drops of
blood begin to land on it. Then there's a kind of misty transition
to Rick's wedding where, after a few scenes, Magnum shows up dressed
in Navy whites and saying that he has re-enlised. It's possibly
reality, since throughout the episode he had been contemplating
re-enlisting and finally, earlier, was shown filling out the paperwork.
>She said that everything but the warehouse sequence was
>all in Magnum's imagination as he slowly bled to death on the floor. It
>also explained all the flashbacks and guest appearances. I wasn't sure
>since I couldn't explain the sudden appearance at Rick's wedding. She also
>said that Magnum's walking off into the distance in soft focus, his wearing
>of white, and being with his daughter all were indications that he had died.
>I didn't see the daughter connection since I don't think that she was dead
>but saw it as a possible "idealization" of his possible moving onto the
>afterlife.
In the words of "Father Timothy" (aka: Quang Ki) from Infinity and Jelly
Doughnuts..."That's a very interesting theory." I find I can't really
argue against it as a possibility. It reminds me of the kind of false
endings we see in movies, like "Brazil," where whole long, ending-like
sequences near the end turn out to be false or dreams. And this theory
about the MPI finale might explain something that's been asked of me
many times over the years: Why are there no trademark "TM voice-overs"
in the finale? The fact that there aren't sets this episode apart from
the rest of the series and gives it an odd feel. Perhaps the reason
there aren't any is because it's all a dream sequence? I don't really
believe this but I also can't really argue against it; just as I've
never been one of the believers that Higgins is Robin -- yet can't argue,
with certainty, against it!
>BTW, I also didn't believe he died because I heard that a reunion show was
>proposed and without Magnum it wouldn't have made any sense.
His dying wouldn't prevent him from being in a reunion show. After all,
in the original version of "Limbo" there is no question that he has died.
He's DEAD. There are no hints that he might still be alive. Later,
when they decided to have an 8th season, they went back to Limbo and
added the scenes of him seeing his body being kicked in the warehouse
and a few other small ones throughout -- scenes that change the episode
to open up the possibility that he might not have died *completely*.
And that's the version that later was released in reruns. It's TV.
Death is not final. ;-)
Best,
David Romas
Magnum Memorabilia
David Romas
>Interestingly, does anyone else remember Magnum's mother introducing TM as
>"Lt. Commander Thomas Sullivan Magnum" in "Going Home" 10/31/85? In the
>show's first season, Magnum was clearly a Navy LT. In Memories are
>foreever, (11-5-81) Mac tells TM that he's been re-activated and promoted to
>"full commander" to testify about his old unit.
Yes. His rank is messed with quite a bit in the series -- one of the few
blaring inconsistencies over the years. Another is his birthday which on
his driver's license is January 29th (Selleck's real life b-day) but in his
own words is August 8th (Bellisario's b-day). And whichever date you choose
to believe, it was said to have been 1944 in which case he wouldn't have
been turning 40 in the seventh season when we saw the episode "Forty." So,
yes, gross liberties were taken with both his military rank(s) and his
birthday(s).
>And, if TM maternal grandfather's (and aunt's) name was Sullivan,
It was not. His maternal grandfather's name was Everett Wendel Currier.
His aunt's name, by marriage, is Phoebe Sullivan.
>why his his father and grandfathers middle name Sullivan too? Did
>Thomas Sullivan Magnum, III marry a Sullivan, or did a script assistant
>screw up?
TSM, III married a Currier. But Magnum does talk once or twice about the
"Sullivan side of the family." And Aunt Phoebe's husband's last name was
Sullivan. But we never know for sure *how* Aunt Phoebe is Magnum's aunt.
Is she his mom's sister, or just the woman his mom's brother married? Is
she his dad's sister, or just the woman his dad's brother married? One
way or another, it's either that a Currier married someone who's lastname
was Sullivan or a Magnum married someone who's lastname was Sullivan. In
either case, not something that's so hard to believe. However, I doubt
that the script assistants had things figured out in this much detail.
Most likely the whole confusion over who was a Sullivan and who simply
had Sullivan for a middle-name was a script assistant screw up.
SAVAK
I saw MPI. And who do we have to thank for that? USA Network. "Bad
network, bad."
David Romas wrote in message <7l5h15$1u...@drn.newsguy.com>...
Dale A. Del Fierro
David Romas <ac2...@wayne.edu> wrote in message
news:7l2kc9$l...@drn.newsguy.com...
> His dying wouldn't prevent him from being in a reunion show. After all,
> in the original version of "Limbo" there is no question that he has died.
> He's DEAD. There are no hints that he might still be alive. Later,
> when they decided to have an 8th season, they went back to Limbo and
> added the scenes of him seeing his body being kicked in the warehouse
> and a few other small ones throughout -- scenes that change the episode
> to open up the possibility that he might not have died *completely*.
> And that's the version that later was released in reruns. It's TV.
> Death is not final. ;-)
>
> Best,
>
> David Romas
> Magnum Memorabilia
>
Well, I guess that it's better than having him suddenly reappear as a
unrelated lookalike. Somehow I think that someone had a serious jones for
that Mac character and threw in any possible way to bring that guy back.
They could always have explained it as a faked death "in the name of
national security...".
DD
JakeMabe1
>that Mac character and threw in any possible way to bring that guy back.
This is one of the biggest regrets I have about the series is that Jeff MacKay
didn't come back as the "real" Mac except in "Limbo." I always thought he
might after "Tales of the Gold Monkey" flopped, but it wasn't to be.
Oh, well. At least he shows up on Jag.
Jake
Ed Potts
that he was interested. Every fan would like to know if Rick said yes, if TM
re-enlisted and most of all if Higgins is Robin. By the way David does TS
still have the 308GTS that Donald B. gave him?
David Romas <ac2...@wayne.edu> wrote in message
news:7l2kc9$l...@drn.newsguy.com...
Rose Odom
he was walking toward the light in the season finale. The next season he
is walking toward the light when Higgins voice brings him back . The
episode you are dicussing is the season finale.
There's one more season after that.
JAYC 10 97
serves me right. His daughter never died, she almost did in a car explosion,
but mom ended up losing her life and Magnm's daughter survived, to Magnm's
surprise.
Also Magnm made statements while in his unconscious state with his angel friend
Mac that he wasn't ready to "pass on". And, during the last season Tom Selleck
said he was tired of doing a series but open to the idea of doing two hour
movies with deeper plots every now and then. Not to mention the fan pressure
to keep Magnm alive.
JakeMabe1
javy...@aol.com writes:
>Since it has been years since I saw the final episode let me see if my memory
>serves me right. His daughter never died, she almost did in a car explosion,
>but mom ended up losing her life and Magnm's daughter survived, to Magnm's
>surprise.
This is all correct. All of this takes place in the final episode,
"Resolutions"
.>Also Magnm made statements while in his unconscious state with his angel
>friend
>Mac that he wasn't ready to "pass on".
No, the following did not take place in the final episode, but rather in the
last episode of the 1986-87 season, "Limbo." This episode was originally
scheduled to be the final episode, but turned out not to be when the series was
renewed for one final year.
Jake
Beverly Kai
consideration for the crew that had worked for him for seven years.
CBS was pressuring him - - - and the crews would be out of work with no
new series in sight.
There were not only the benefits of steady jobs for the crew, but
"shrinkage", for example, supplied the lumber which built three new
homes for crew members.
Since the sponsor winds up paying, there is that sense of Monopoly money
. . . .
But jobs are jobs that pay real money, and after all those years, TS and
the crew were on a personal level, day to day.
So he compromised. He felt a responsibility to the local crews - -so
that tipped him over the edge into one more year. But - - -he maried
Jilly on schedule..
They had been counting the days for years - - and CBS didn't want their
le;ading man to be seen with a wife - - -
TS and Jilly wanted to start their life - -and she held him to the seven
years.
So that was at least an implied part of the deal with CBS for the eiigth
season.
Sometimes real life intrudes into the fantasy.
denab...@gmail.com
msalt...@gmail.com
Elmo P. Shagnasty
My favorite part is when Rick sees him in his whites and says, "What'd
you do--re-up?" just like he did when he saw Magnum in his whites in
the very first episode, "Don't Eat the Snow In Hawaii".
rgl...@gmail.com
You probably may not remember me. Old time groupie for this show on the old forums.
Say ...on vacation in Honolulu drove to the old estate yesterday. Some of it still stands near the driveway... what was that structure used for as we did not see it much in the show.
Do you have the estate layout plan?
btw Obama’s friend still holds the property?
Ron Glaze
rgl...@att.net
lynne.c...@gmail.com
> IDK if anyone is still looking for a response to this question, but I just watched the final episode of MPI again yesterday from May 1988. After we see Magnum walking on the beach with his daughter and the credits role the camera zooms out and we see Magnum watching the credits wearing his tan Navy uniform. He says 'good night.'
cayl...@gmail.com
.. i
cmalli...@gmail.com
> I just watch the last episode, Resolutions 2. I want to believe it turned out okay, but sadly, it did not. Notice at the very end when Magnum is walking along the beach with Lily? He's in his Navy whites but she is wearing the same outfit she had on when the car exploded not the wedding outfit. Besides this, the whole episode was weird...no " I know what you're thinking" dialog, why would he enlist if he's the sole caretaker of Lily? Single parent deployed? And this " Playboy" mentality Higgins goes on about. Magnum is an excellent PI. It's a respectable job. And he left the Navy because he probably had Post tramatic issues. Why go back? He spent 8 seasons trying forget it. I really enjoyed the show's run but rather disappointed in the final 2 episodes. Just too convoluted. Oh, and remember the wedding March they played when he arrived? I bet that was a tip of the hat to his bride to be in real life who he promised he'd marry when the show ended...
>
>
>
>
>
> .. i
The one thing about Resolutions that bothered me was how it tackles too many story lines and is just generally too "busy". The Linda Lee story really turned out to be needless but my understanding is Selleck wanted the actress back to work with again.
Jim Dayton
JEMS EBERHARD HORBEL
> Man I can't believe the first post on this page was made in '99! I just watched the final episode too and was wondering the same thing. The whole episode was just odd and confusing. The thing that concerned me the most was after the fight scene in the haunted house thing, the camera goes all blurry and suddenly he's at the wedding. So was everything after that a dream??? And what even was the scene at the very end where Magnum turns off the TV and says good night.
JEMS EBERHARD
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