Talk:Jonathan Higgins

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Why does an 'English' character have an American name - "III" is purely American. How can an RMS be described as representing "pomposity, elitism, and stuffiness"- those are not attibutes of an RSM, who are usually very practical, forceful and of working class origin. Why would a British soldier have served in Indo China? British troops in Palestine did not shoot refugees. That is a scurrilious and unwarranted attack on their reputation. Finally, why was this role played by an American? Why not simply have the character an American as
 * I'm not sure what the problem is with an American playing an Englishman or vice versa. It's called acting [rolls eyes] and happens all the time.  This whole character though was poorly researched, not least as you pointed out the suffix of "III" or, to add another example, when he refers to Magnum's attorney he meets with as his "barrister".  An English person making such a mistake would have said "solictor".  Anyway this is not a discussion forum, so to make any useful point about this it may be interesting to see there is any non-original research to be found for artciles on examples of poor cultural translations in drama as, like anachronisms, I suspect it is quite frequent. Dainamo (talk) 09:32, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Higgins never had a twin.
An unregistered user made this addition to the article more than two years ago, claiming that Higgins had a cojoined twin. The information is not verified at the source they added. Plus, I have the unedited version of the episode on DVD, and there's no mention there either. I have removed the claim and the reference. Grundle2600 (talk) 20:18, 28 June 2009 (UTC)

"Quantum Leap" appearance.
Is it worth clarifying in the article that Higgins's appearance in Quantum Leap was as a character in Magnum PI being watched on TV by the characters in Quantum Leap? And that the appearance took place in 1990, not 1981? See http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0026051/ Habfan29 (talk) 17:25, 23 March 2010 (UTC)

there was an episode of quantum leap that Sam leaped into Magnum (at the end of an episode, the next episode however did not have Sam playing Magnum, due to the fact that the TV show was seen on Quantum Leap) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 156.33.195.254 (talk) 13:51, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

Kwai river
If it was nothing like the movie, why did Higgins build a model of the wooden bridge from the movie instead of the actual concrete and steel bridge? Why does he call it the Kwai river when it was actually the Mae Klong? Either the writers decided the audience is a pack of know-nothings or Higgins is really lying about his experience. Whatever the reasons for Higgins' historical errors, the show missed a great opportunity to correct the myth perpetuated by the movie. 66.232.94.33 (talk) 03:30, 9 November 2010 (UTC)
 * The nearby Kwai river they picked instead is interestingly prononunced "Kway" and not "Kw-eye" which is funny thnking about all the people corrected on this when they first read it. They were right afterall! Dainamo (talk) 09:35, 16 October 2011 (UTC)

Possible sources
- Peregrine Fisher (talk) 17:47, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Moved from article, see article's history for attribution
He is fond of Byron and Shelley, which suggests a hidden romantic streak.

Higgins's trademark epithet is the slowly building "Oh...my...GOD!" - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 05:15, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

The character Higgins was born circa 1919, in England. He is a member of the Scottish peerage, and as the second son of the Duke/Earl of Perth, holds the title Baron of Perth in his own right. He also has a sister, who is currently "married and living in Sussex with four monstrous children" (ep. 1.10). He later discovered his father (Albert) had sired several other sons (all played by John Hillerman) during World War I, including; Father Paddy McGuiness, who is a Catholic priest in Ireland, Elmo Ziller, a Texan rodeo owner, Don Luis Mongueo, an heir to the throne of Costa De Rosa in South America, and Soo-Ling, the daughter of a raven haired Mongolian beauty.

The character Higgins attended Eton College. Later he attended but was kicked out of Sandhurst, and then served as a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army during World War II. He was present at the bridging of the River Kwai, which he claims was "nothing like the movie". He is referred to as "Punky" by his war buddies. (ep 3.7). He also attended the Nuremberg Trials. ("Never Again… Never Again" from season 1), and he was a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded by Commonwealth countries. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 04:35, 21 September 2011 (UTC)

Higgins and Ian Fleming
Higgins is loosely based on James Bond creator Ian Fleming:


 * Both were born into distinguished families of Scottish descent
 * Both attended Eton college
 * Both left Sandhurst, the British officers academy, before graduation
 * Both served in the British military during World War II with careers focused on intelligence and special operations
 * Both retired to tropical estates after retiring from military service

In addition, in 1946 Higgins refused a direct order to fire on Jewish refugees trying to reach Palestine. This episode ("Torah, Torah, Torah" from season 5) resembles an experience of Patrick Dalzel-Job, reportedly one of the inspirations for James Bond, who refused an order to stop evacuation of Norwegian civilians as that country was being overtaken by the German army near the beginning of WWII. - Peregrine Fisher (talk) 05:04, 21 September 2011 (UTC) That is a scurrilous attack on British trooops. Dalzel-Job was ordered not to organise an impromptu evacuation of civilians from Narvik - that is very different from being ordered to shoot Jews. No wonder Americans are disliked, making such nasty comments.

Nothing about Agatha…?
Not having been a follower of the series, but recently seeing repeats, I was struck that there is nothing in this article about Higgins’s admirer/ side-kick/ lady-friend, Agatha? There seems to be a theme of unrequited love there, at least from her, as she willingly participates in many of Higgins’s activities although they may not end well. Was Higgins ever obviously aware of this/ did Agatha ever make an obvious play for him? I think it’s a regular enough part of the series and the character’s story that there should be something about it (even if only along the lines of “Higgins is often shown in the company of an elderly lady, Agatha, who appears to overlook his short-comings in a manner which could be described as affection”). Jock123 (talk) 09:04, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Reveal that Higgins wasn't at the "Kwai" river?
ISTR an episode where Higgins revealed to Magnum that he wasn't one of the prisoners the Japanese forced to build the bridge over the "Kwai" river. The show could've used that as a great moment to tell something about the actual history of building the bridge over the Mae Klong River, and that Magnum always knew Higgins was full of it because the model bridge he built was the movie bridge, not like the actual wooden bridge or the concrete and steel one. Bizzybody (talk) 03:27, 11 November 2017 (UTC)