It had to happen. Lee and I would eventually get round to this. And it's very odd.
First off, it is "fabulous" without being in any way "good". The mystery (spanning an episode of Magnum and one of Murder, She Wrote) is almost incomprehensible. It's something to do with widows, hitmen, diamonds and public relations. The plotting is diabolical - for scheduling reasons, Jessica's only in the second half of the Magnum episode, and Magnum spends most of Murder, She Wrote in single-set prison.
And yet, it's still eye-watering as the New England sleuth descends on Hawaii and the corpses start piling up. It's the inevitable clash of the acting titans that we're here for as Tom Selleck does rueful charm and Angela Lansbury does... nope. Still no idea. It's a unique acting style that doesn't mesh with Tom Selleck at all. It's a weird "i'm the star of the show, dear" display of mugging and business, all delivered to the cheap seats at the back.
It's a wasted opporunity really. The two bicker gently, but not too much. There's precious little gun play, and all the chemistry you get when two inert gases intermingle. But who cares? Lee and I can tell people we've seen the fabled Murder, She Wrote/Magnum crossover, and we'll get looks of awe and wonder.
(As an aside, when I was young my favourite character was Higgins, but you now realise the poor actor appears to be being fed his lines off camera, managing a delivery that is both surprised and stilted, as though he's just reeled in from the pub to be confronted by bright lights and cue cards)
PS: Thanks to the wonders of the internet - here's the trailer. Amaze.
4 comments:
Hold on - and I'm an old man, so be kind - are you saying this isn't an internet mash-up, but evidence of an actual MSW/Magnum Alien vs Predator style crossover ep?
Absolutely real. If you get either the Murder, She Wrote S3 or the Magnum S7 boxset you'll get both jaw-dropping episodes.
It's genuinely unbelievable television. Not good. Just odd.
Talking of which we also watched the Family Guy / Bones crossover. Blech.
I think my brain just imploded with the sheer premise of how... weird that crossover would be!
Selleck not quite dashing/handsome, but having just something and Lansbury being the lady you want to invite over for a cup of tea and a cucumber sandwich!
**boggles**
In UK Telly it would either be Joan Hickson's Miss Marple turning up in Bergerac, or MEGA WRONG Geraldine McEwan's fake Marple turning up in Midsomer Murders.
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