User Reviews

Jessica visits Hawaii and gets caught up in a murder, chief suspect is Magnum, who is arrested and placed in jail, it falls on Jessica to put the pieces together.

It's very much a fun episode, once you get past the opening Magnum episode, which is a little bit slow, the conclusion is actually quite satisfying.

Firstly the production values are rather good, it's nicely filmed, it's definitely vibrant. The beautiful Hawaiian setting looks glorious, the sound of the sea etc all add to the quality feel.

Lansbury and Selleck make a really good duo, once you get past the Mr Magnum. She has an extra twinkle in her eye.

Find of this one. 8/10

A Jessica Fletcher/Magnum crossover! It's pretty exciting. This is actually the second half of a two parter, the first half airing on Magnum. The episode is great as they always are, but there are some huge missed opportunities. They could have struck up some sort of subtexty romance between Hillerman and Lansbury, since their characters are so much alike. Not to mention they're in Hawaii and Jessica doesn't wear one single Hawaiian costume. It's obvious this is more Magnum than Murder She Wrote. Jessica's character acts a bit off. Jessica Walters (aka Lucille Bluth) makes her second guest appearance since she was murdered in season one. The greatest injustice is that the legendary Dorothy Loudon is given such a boring character to play. Dorothy was the queen of overacting and in this she's too subtle. On a side note, Angela left her Tony Award winning run in Sweeney Todd to appear in Murder She Wrote. Her replacement? Dorothy Loudon. John McMartin is another Sondheim alumnus who appears in the episode. The Hawaiian music is something straight out of Spongebob Squarepants. I would have liked to see an episode where Magnum comes to Cabot Cove. Just think of the possibilities! This is an adequate episode, if not just for the novelty of seeing JB with the Magnum gang.

This Part Two "MSW" episode continues from "Magnum, P.I.: Novel Connection (#7.09)," originally broadcast three evenings prior to CBS crossover episode "MSW: Magnum on Ice: Part 2 (#3.08)," also filmed on location in Hawaii.

Angela Lansbury, Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Ramon Bieri, Stephanie Faracy, Dorothy Loudon, Jessica Walter, Jared Martin and John McMartin co-star in both of these episodes, while Andrew Prine and Kwan Hi Lim enter for "Part Two." "Magnum, P.I." regulars Roger E. Mosley as TC, and Larry Manetti as Rick, appear in "Part One," but disappear from "Part Two," along with guest star Don Matheson as Paul Mayfield.

"Magnum, P.I.: Novel Connection (#7.09)" covers the arrival of Pamela Bates (Dorothy Loudon), Amy Salyer (Stephanie Faracy) and Joan Fulton (Jessica Walter) to Honolulu, Pamela to vacation, and Joan to conduct business, along with her secretary, Amy, whom Pamela arranged for Joan to hire in the aftermath of Amy's failing marriage.

Landowner Jason Bryan (John McMartin) arranges for a gathering at his estate for Pac-Isle Industries owner Arthur Houston (Jared Martin) to socialize with the visitors as he negotiates a purchase of newly-widowed Joan's technology company. Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) and Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman) are consulted by the three to protect them against attack by a rumored hit-man, who holds a purported contract upon one of the three ladies, but they don't know which one.

When two gunshots are heard originating from the floral shed on the day of the party and a victim is slain, Hawaii Metro Police Captain Frank Browning (Ramon Bieri) arrests Thomas Magnum for first degree murder, while Pamela Bates contacts her dear old friend Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) to join her in Hawaii, to figure who's been trying to kill which of the ladies. Jonathan, a fan of Jessica's Mysteries, gives Thomas a copy of one of her books, which generates the title, "Novel Connection."

Part Two begins on "MSW: Magnum on Ice: Part 2," with Thomas Magnum's arrest, with Lieutenant Tanaka's (Kwan Hi Lim) booking Thomas, as Captain Frank Browning carts him off to jail, while postponing any bail hearing. When Jessica visits the falsely-accused Thomas behind bars, Thomas requests that she ask Jonathan Higgins to post bail, but there are further police delays.

Jessica visits Jason Bryan to recreate the scene of the crime, as Jason informs Jessica that he merely acts as party host for client Arthur Houston, as Jessica attempts to connect a link with the hit-man and his intended victim once she learns who has been included on the guest list, and who designed the guest list.

Victor Salyer (Andrew Prine) arrives at Royal Hawaiian Hotel, to which the ladies relocate, to confront estranged wife, Amy Salyer, who harbors her collection of valuable jewelry, after Victor has squandered the balance of their assets. Amy informs Jessica that the she has inherited the jewelry from her grandmother, but Thomas, still imprisoned, doesn't believe Amy's story, as Jessica reports upon visiting.

Joan Fulton claims that she has contributed more input into her company than her late husband has, so she knows how to handle conducting the negotiations with Arthur Houston, who repudiates her claim when Jessica stops by Arthur's outdoor office to investigate.

Pamela Bates, meanwhile, apologizes to Jessica for dragging her into this dangerous situation, and now she plans to board the next flight from Hawaii.

But when Jessica stumbles across a second body, a victim of the same 45-calibre pistol with silencer, which she has decided has claimed the first victim, her list of suspects narrows to five, excluding Thomas, for whom she tells Captain Browning that he has delivered the perfect alibi, imprisonment without bail.

Yet Captain Browning, who arrives at the second murder scene ahead of Jessica, informs her that Magnum has been released on bail for two hours, and the presence of his Detroit Tigers' baseball cap beside the body proves his guilt even though Jessica counters that this proves that Thomas Magnum has been framed.

Jessica decides that the poster of bail must be the perpetrator of both murders, and when she sneaks into a hotel room to uncover the missing pistol, while the police hunt down Thomas Magnum, the trap which she sets seems to backfire, as the perpetrator enters carrying the weapon, thus complicating matters with "Magnum On Ice."

The cast is rounded out by Rhonda Aldrich as Maid, Harry Endo as Desk Clerk, Keahi Farden as Bellboy, Byron Ono as Houseboy #1, Winston Char as Houseboy #2, and Pe'a as Officer.

This episode represents one of the last television roles by Dorothy Loudon, the most recent acting credit to date each by Winston Char and Keahi Farden, and the only acting credit to date each by Byron Ono and Pe'a.

This also marks the first of two "MSW" appearances for John Hillerman, the second of two for Jared Martin, the second of three for Ramon Bieri, and the second of four "MSW" guest roles each for Jessica Walter, John McMartin and Andrew Prine.

Dorothy Loudon, acting on television and in film since 1952, Ramon Bieri, acting since 1962, and Harry Endo, acting since 1977, have unfortunately since passed.

Have always been quite fond of 'Murder She Wrote'. It is a fun and relaxing watch that makes you think as you try to unwind in the evening. If one wants more complex, twisty mysteries with lots of tension and suspense 'Murder She Wrote' may not be for you, but if you want something light-hearted and entertaining but still provide good mysteries 'Murder She Wrote' fits the bill just fine.

"Magnum On Ice" is actually the concluding half of a two part crossover, the first half being on 'Magnum P.I' and named (if remembered correctly, apologies if wrong) "Novel Connection". That half is the better half, despite everything being tied up and more than satisfactorily explained. There was just some gleeful creation of motivation and suspicion, which "Magnum On Ice" didn't for my liking have enough of, focusing more on explanation of what happened and reasons for how everybody is acting.

It's an entertaining enough watch, but it could have been more compelling considering the enormous potential it had. The exquisite location of Hawaii, two great characters in Jessica Fletcher and Magnum and actresses like Jessica Walter and Dorothy Loudon along for the ride. Potential not entirely lived up to. Particularly in the case of Loudon, who is far too subdued agreed in a dull role that she does nothing with. The others actually fare well.

Pacing could have been sharper in places and some of the Hawaiian music agreed sounds inauthentic, cheap-sounding and doesn't hold up that well.

However, the production values are high in quality as to be expected, with slick photography and the Hawaiian setting does look exquisite. Mostly, the music has energy and has presence but also not making the mistake of over-scoring, while it is hard to forget or resist the theme tune.

Much of the writing is thought-provoking and amiable and the second half of the episode where things especially get tied up and more happens is very engaging.

Angela Lansbury is great as always, as is Tom Selleck. Jessica Walter doesn't disappoint in her guest performance.

In conclusion, pretty good but could have been better. 7/10 Bethany Cox

This is the second part of a two part story that started On Magnum PI. JB Fletcher is a guest of her friend Jonathan Higgins at the Robin Masters estate along with others. A woman is being stalked by a killer and in the first part Tom Selleck shoots it out with a bads guy and the bad guy is killed. But no weapon is found and Magnum is arrested.

Continuing on MSW Angela Lansbury aided and abetted by John Hillerman tries to find who did it since it sure wasn't Selleck. Hillerman and Lansbury have a nice chemistry.

Honolulu PD Detective Ramon Bieri was one of the few cops not impressed with JB Fletcher. More fool he and he looks it too.

When the murderer is revealed it's a most ruthless individual Stiklkl a good lawyer could save the culprit.

Nice crossover story.

whereas American TV from the 70s was littered with "cross-overs" and guest appearances from other shows, it was a rare thing to see in the 80s, and was not something the world would see again until the 90s when shows like Friends and, to a lesser reliant extent Seinfeld, picked up on the concept. the reason for this could be the vast scales which both Magnum and Murder, She Wrote reached with this stunning climactic episode; a height which neither show would never, arguably, reach again.

whereas Angela gives a conventional, superb performance, it was in this episode in particular that Selleck really came into his own in embracing the character of Magnum. the performance he delivers was one he would not equal until the infamous prison sequences in An Innocent Man, and several keys to unlocking the later, more complex relationships Magnum had with TC and Higgins are latent within the subtext of this show. if you never really cared for Murder, She Wrote, you are nonetheless encouraged to bear witness to this episode if you wish to fully understand Magnum.

American television really didn't get as good as this particular episode again until the early 90s series of Doogie Howser, MD. this is must-watch viewing for anyone who sees a television set as something more than a background noise in their lives.

A few days before "Magnum on Ice" debuted, Jessica Fletcher guest starred on "Novel Connection". Now, in "Magnum on Ice", it's a continuation of the story.

In the previous episode, it ended with Magnum shooting an assassin dead....and it looked as if the story was complete*. However, although there must have been many witnesses, bullets from BOTH guns and all, now suddenly the police are holding Magnum and charging him with murder. This isn't logical. What also isn't logical is the scene of the shooting is not exactly the same as the previous episode...and was slightly altered to fit the plot of episode two.

I really wish this had NOT been the second part and they'd just had Magnum on "Murder, She Wrote" on some other case. This is because the plot to "Novel Connection" was pretty bad...confusing and really not much fun to watch. Why exactly? Well, the people that Magnum was trying to help in the first episode were annoying...and Pamela, in particular, kept treating Magnum like dirty...which made no sense. As for Higgins, he wasn't much better...and I had no idea why. I also have no idea why the women who were potential targets of the assassin didn't do anything to protect themselves and went to a party...where the assassin was there to kill one of them.

Back to this episode. After the police arrest Magnum, Jessica decides to investigate the case. She finds a shell casing from the assassin's gun...which is odd since the police apparently didn't look very hard. Had they found it, they likely should have never arrested Magnum. Well, logic would seem to dictate this. Instead, when Jessica brings the shell casing to the cops, the lead detective is a jerk and thinks this has nothing to do with the case...which certainly was baffling.

Many things people say and do in the two episodes were baffling....as if they were written by folks who had never seen the shows nor consulted with each other on parts one and two. The characters are inconsistent, often annoying and it was a frustrating program. Overall, I really wish I'd just skipped both episodes. The stories weren't well written and the stars deserved better.

By the way, part of the episodes rests on the use of a gun with a silencer. Well, a silencer doesn't silence a gun...only makes it not quite as loud...so this portion of the show is, well, not great. But, with so many problems, this is very, very minor.

*According to IMDB: "In the Magnum crossover episode Magnum, P. I.: Novel Connection leading up to this episode, it showed that Paul Mayfield was shot in the chest. On this episode, it is repeatedly stated that he was shot in the back with the bullet hitting his spine.". Didn't anyone care about this and other details?!