AllMovie

Darren McGavin plays this episode's title character, a flamboyant and infamously self-destructive novelist. Magnum (Tom Selleck) is hired by Joan Gibson (Vera Miles), ex-wife of "Mad Buck" Gibson, to keep her former husband alive long enough so she can collect back alimony. This task proves problematic not only for Magnum but also for Higgins, who is nearly killed by one of Mad Buck's crazy stunts. Only at the end of the episode does Magnum discover the real reason for Mad Buck's "death wish." Gillian Dobb, later cast in the recurring role of Agatha Chumley, appears in an uncredited bit part.