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Magnum, P.I. Season 3 Episode 6

Black on White

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Episode Summary

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AIRED: 10/28/82

Magnum manufactures a fake quarantine in effort to keep an eye on and protect Higgins from Kenyans taking revenge for a 1950s massacre by killing members of Higgins' old army regiment.

Fan Episode Reviews (1)

Higgins is quarantined in the guest house with Magnum, who has supposedly been exposed to a rare fever. But it is actually a ploy by Magnum to keep Higgins safe from Mau Maus seeking revenge for a massacre on their tribe years before. Another classic...moreless

10

By Jay-Spacedust, Jun 28, 2010

This review contains spoilers.

'Black on White' is another Donald P. Bellisario classic, and one of the best episodes of the third season.

The episode opens with a very stereotypical and very mixed up shot of London. Horse and carts… people in suits smoking pipes... it was way off (I live a few miles from London). But many American shows seem to have such bizarre images of London, that I won't single this one out too much!

Ian McShane ('Lovejoy') returns, after playing another character in the strong first season episode 'Skin Deep', and puts in another good performance, although I felt from the beginning that he would turn out to be the villain.

The episode also marks the first appearance of Higgins' friend Agatha Chumley, played by Gillian Dobb (who had made several small appearances in other episodes previously). The character would reappear many times though the course of the series.

I love the idea of Higgins being quarantined with Magnum. Although it turns out to all be a ploy, Magnum goes out of his way to annoy Higgins as much as possible! ...Actually, maybe he HAD to do that, else Higgins really would have been suspicious!!

With Magnum being deliberately slobbish (how can he stay in such good shape eating so much junk food?!), and playing his noisy Pac-Man game, Higgins really has his patience tested. But beyond the comedy, there are some great character moments, and this is a great showcase for both Hillerman and Selleck's talents.

The only small niggle I have with this episode, is that I wish the whole quarantine ploy could have been kept going a bit longer. The 'explanation' scene in the study is slightly over-long, and I would have preferred to have seen the time used to continue the quarantine idea a little longer. But that's only a small quibble in an otherwise terrific story.

All-in-all, I love this episode, and it is another example of the high quality of the third season.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Tom Selleck	Thomas Magnum
Larry Manetti	Rick Wright
Roger E. Mosley	Theodore "T.C." Calvin
John Hillerman	Jonathan Higgins

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Ian McShane	Ex-Pvt. Edwin Clutterbuck	Guest Star
Lynne Moody	Bibi Kiamani	Guest Star
Gillian Dobb	Agatha Chumley	Recurring Role
Glenn Cannon	Dr. Ibold	Recurring Role

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TRIVIA (0)
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QUOTES (1)
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- Magnum: (narrating) Living alone has some terrific advantages; you can eat, sleep, go in and out, and burp whenever you want. It also has one terrific disadvantage; when you lose something, you've got no one to blame but yourself.
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NOTES (2)
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- The German episode title is "Die Rache der Mau-Mau", meaning "The Revenge of Mau-Mau". The French title is "Mau Mau". The Italian title is "Nero su bianco", an exact translation.
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- This is the second of Ian McShane's two, unrelated appearances on Magnum P.I. He can also be seen in season one's "Skin Deep".
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