Magnum P.I. (1980) - General Discussion

[Chip]

I have not listened yet, but there is an episode of the "AutoPilot" podcast where the pilot episode of "Magnum, P.I." is analyzed/discussed.
 
http://frogpants.com/autopilot/?p=205
 
It might be relevant to the interests of people on this board. Or not.

[Kierstyn]

thank you!  I look forward to checking it out.
I watched this show avidly as a child, but haven't seen it since its original airing.  they are now showing re-runs on the Encore Channels, and I am having a ton of fun re-watching them.  Also good is the magnum-mania.com website - there's some fun factoids that my husband and I enjoy perusing after we watch the episodes.

[soybombyx]

I watched the reruns on Cozi a lot this summer and autumn. I got a little obsessed.

 

This summer Thomas Magnum will be turning SEVENTY. Ha, I say that like he's a real person.

[Kierstyn]

"a real person..."

You laugh... you might enjoy this.

The year was 1984.  I was a 9. and if you asked me what my favorite things in the world were I probably would have said my dog, my plush Ewok toy (yeah... I know), and watching Magnum with my dad.  He was facing his 20th high school reunion.  He did NOT want to go (that was not his scene), but my mom insisted.  So when the reunion committee asked everyone to write up a two paragraph "what have you been doing the last 20 years" blurb, he wrote it as if he a PI in from Hawaii...  It just so happens my dad is tall, had dark hair, the tan of a person who golfs a lot, and a mustache that with some trimming approached Selleck-style.  And he rented a Ferrari for going to the reunion.  And yes, he wore a red Hawaiian shirt. 

When I asked about 'the magnum reunion incident' (as it had long since been dubbed by my mom) some years later, my dad told me two things I will never forget.  First - when being forced to do something you don't want to do, you have to make your own amusement where you can.  Second, if you are going to do something ridiculous, you had best commit, BIGtime.

My dad turns 70 this year, too. :)

[soybombyx]

Your dad = HERO

[Chip]

@Kierstyn: That is an awesome story!

[Primetimer]

Pretty sure this is 100% legit.

Read the story

[SunShine Gal]

The up and down eyebrows made my face hurt just watching that.

Nice screen shots. I forgot how handsome he was back then. I don't get Magnum on my cable.

[Cranberry]

I haven't heard the theme song in a while, but that's exactly how I remember it.

[bilgistic]

The up and down eyebrows made my face hurt just watching that.

Nice screen shots. I forgot how handsome he was back then. I don't get Magnum on my cable.

"Back then"--the man is still smokin'! My mom used to love watching Tom Selleck/Magnum, P.I.. I didn't get it then (in my defense, when MPI started, I was, like, six). Now I do. I watched him lay that thick mustache on Monica Geller.

[AriAu]

Always been partial to any episode with Magnum's backstory with Michelle (and hence Lily), but also have a soft spot for the ones with Higgins's half brothers. Saw the one with Father Paddy today and hearing Higgins tell the story of how his siblings (half siblings!!) were begat always cracks me up.

[fishcakes]

I love the half-brother episodes too. I wish they had done an episode with his Chinese half-brother.

 

My favorites are two of the more serious ones, though. "Home From the Sea," where Magnum loses his kayak on the ocean and has to tread water for hours waiting for rescue. The last scene of Magnum as a little boy saluting his father's casket makes me cry every time. And the other one I really like is "Laura" with Frank Sinatra as a retired New York detective who comes to Hawaii to find his granddaughter's killer.

[AriAu]

"Home From the Sea,"

 

I think it is the perfect episode to watch right now since I think it is set on 4th of July....and yes, it gets a little dusty in my house at the end.

 

Laura was not one of my favorites since Frank did not do a particularly good job. On the other hand, in the gumshoe from the mainland category, it wipes out any of the Luther Gillis episodes, which I always turned off.

Edited July 3, 2014 by AriAu

[fishcakes]

I didn't mind Luther Gillis once, but he wasn't really a character I needed to see over and over again. The annoying recurring character was a staple of the show, I guess. I wasn't crazy about the episodes with Ms. Jones or the hooker played by Candy Clark either.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Thought I'd create a topic for the first season since I didn't see one. I remember watching this show during my tween and teen years, and as someone who prefers men without a 'stache, One Thomas Magnum surely changed my mind. Heck, I think he's the ONLY man I love with a 'stache! And it's incredibly unfair how good looking he was, and continues to be.

?

That said, I've got Cozi, and yippee, they're airing the first season, though they skipped over episode 4 and 6, which is just...odd. And out of order up until 8 or 9, I think.

 

But I've got a question about the pilot, that I'm hoping someone here can answer for me. I may have missed it, even though I was paying close attention.  Was Captain Cooley, played by Fitz Weaver, in on the plot to kill Magnum's friend? Or did he just know about the evidence he was investigating and derailed said investigation?

 

And I totally knew who the killer was once Cooley bit it, even though I was hoping it wouldn't be him.

[SpencerHawk]

Thanks for sharing! That's how I remember it too.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

My all-time favorite magnum ep was, I believe, "Blood and Honor" where right at the beginning, Paul Burke, as Admiral Hawkes, is speaking to someone in a welcoming party for some diplomat who is about to deplane.  He mentions how those who were once enemies can later become allies....the diplomat emerges, Hawkes turns and salutes smartly, as the emissary from Vietnam walks down the steps.  

 

What a chilling moment for me.  Outrageously profound.  The timing of Burke's words and movements, along with the camera move, and the emerging man from the plane was sublime.

 

Then we learn that the point of the ep is that Thomas needs to stop seeing the USN as an enemy and to re-up.  Which he does.  Closure and openings all over the place!  

 

My second fave also involves Burke's Hawkes.  Magnum ends up killing Ivan.  I have been in many a heated discussion as to the legality of that killing.  I say Ivan was a war criminal and a spy.  As such, he was subject to extinction by anyone, at anytime.

 

Anyway, for me, when Magnum's love and hate for the USN was central to a given ep, the show was at its best.  These two being the best example. 

[kassygreene]

I'm thinking you are describing the Admiral's musings as he welcomes visiting dignitaries from Japan,, in part one or two of "Did You See the Sunrise?".  The US and Vietnam did not normalize relations until 1995.  This is also the episode which ends with Magnum killing Ivan.  The story leads inexorably to that point, but there is no way outside of television that the act was legal or justifiable.  That it would be overlooked by the governments in question I can buy.  That don't make it legal.  Ivan had diplomatic immunity, and was being deported probably more for his attempt to set up a "deranged" Vietnam vet to execute visiting Japanese royalty and generally embarrass the US.  Everyone knew what he'd done; everyone knew the murder attempt on Magnum (which is how Mac was killed) to build in to TC's paranoia was done by Ivan.  And because of the diplomatic immunity nothing could be done.

 

Other than that :-) I completely agree - welcoming the Japanese to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in 1982(!) is profound.  I remember being moved and impressed  on the original broadcast.

Edited September 5, 2014 by kassygreene

[Lonesome Rhodes]

To me, it was clearly a Vietnamese emissary receiving an honor welcome.  There was a single yellow star on a flag with a red field.  Blew my mind.  I also seem to recall that the emissary was wearing a military uniform, something a Japanese diplomat would never do. The ep revolved around spy issues related to the Vietnamese.

 

Diplomatic immunity does not extend to war criminals.

 

If I am wrong about any of this, apologies.   

Edited September 5, 2014 by Lonesome Rhodes

[AriAu]

On a much less serious note, just saw a repeat of the LA episodes with Dana Delany. Wow, did she have great chemistry with Selleck or her character with Magnum, not really sure which. Very fun episode and boy, did I have a crush on her, but this time I think it was with the actress and not the character.

[kassygreene]

A late reply to Lonesome Rhodes: we were both right.  Paul Burke was the Admiral in Season 2's "Memories are Forever", where Magnum's dead wife turns out to a) not be dead and b) not technically be his wife, as her dead first husband (omg I've forgotten the acronyms), who was a North Vietnamese general (not VC - NVKD maybe??), turned up not-dead-at-all just before the fall of Saigon.  Rather then tell him she was staying with her first husband (she was very Catholic), she faked her death.  The secret Vietnamese delegation is bartering remains of missing US war dead for something, and Paul Burke's Admiral is the head of the US delegation, which arrives at one meeting in helicopters flying low in an "attack formation"  and suddenly appearing over a ridge, just like the "old" days.

 

The episode where Burke's character is musing over old enemies is Season 3's two-part opener, "Did You See The Sunrise?" and in that story the old enemies are the Japanese, making an official and very public visit to Hawaii.  The other old enemy is Ivan, launching a nefarious Cold War psy-ops plan, which led to one of the more shocking episode endings of the era.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Thank you, kassygreene.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

I just saw "The Big Blow" episode from 1983. which was an homage to Key Largo.  In it, a threat on Robin's life was received and party guests were suspected.  One of the guests fired her gun into a bed where she believed Robin was laying.  

 

Then, we saw a man from the torso down and who spoke with a european accent of some sort.  Higgins was elsewhere.  There was a discussion and the guest, who had known Robin for decades, spoke to the man with zero ambiguity.  She was certain she was speaking to Robin.  Magnum was right there and he was also proceeding as if there were zero doubt Robin was standing next to him.

 

So, the answer to the proverbial question as to who Robin was can not be, "Higgins." 

[kassygreene]

Apparently the Anderson Estate has been sold after about 14 months on the market, and for quite a bit less than the original listing price.

 

The Obamas apparently did not buy it.  And while the new owner is involved in building the Obama Presidential Library, let me just say that location, while gorgeous, is not exactly a simple setup for a Presidential Library.  Although I would totally go there just to explore the grounds.  

 

On the other hand, if it was bought for them, it's a really cool site, and already walled and wired.

 

The one time I went to O'ahu (1986), my sister and I put four hundred miles on a rental car in four days, looking for the "perfect" beach for her, and looking for Robin's Nest for me.  We found what I was looking for.  It's a very distinctive gate, easily detected with peripheral vision.

 

Anybody have any stories?

[Raja]

Aside from Magnum and Rick assassinating Ivan there was the early episode before the theme song changed with the martial arts assassin where magnum had to blow his head off or die. And near the end when Magnum was about to do the same to a Vietnamese delegation when the operietic scene which must have been influenced by Miami Vice's use of music only to find a returning MIA/POW in his rifle sight.

[AriAu]

Nice article on some of the darker episodes-surprised they left out the Michelle arcs and the one where he almost shoots Quan Key as he is turned over, but still a good piece.

 

http://www.avclub.com/article/10-episodes-darker-and-smarter-magnum-pi-you-remem-225251

[fishcakes]

Magnum P.I. Sequel About His Daughter In Works At ABC From John Rogers

Quote

The project, from Leverage creator John Rogers and Eva Longoria’s UnbeliEVAble Entertainment, will keep the fun, action-packed style of the original as it follows Magnum’s daughter, Lily “Tommy” Magnum, who returns to Hawaii to take up the mantle of her father’s PI firm. She and her tribe of friends mix tropical beaches with the seedy underbelly of international crime and modern espionage, even as she tries to unravel the mystery of the blown spy operation that ended her career in Navy Intelligence.

I will probably watch this, but I'm not expecting it to be any good.

[Moose135]

Magnum had a daughter? Was it the kid from Three Men and a Baby?  In any case, this sounds awful.

[Partly]

4 hours ago, Moose135 said:

Magnum had a daughter? Was it the kid from Three Men and a Baby?  In any case, this sounds awful.

Lily was his daughter with Michelle.  Some of the very best episodes of the series focused on Michelle, what happened between them and Magnum dealing with the aftermath.  The final episode of Magnum reunited him and his daughter.  And I actually think that it sounds wonderful.

I love the idea that they are going to focus on Lily for several reasons.  1) it's not a reboot so all the things that happened in Magnum will real in this new show.  That makes me happy.  2) I love that the lead is a woman.  Granted I think they may mimic the dynamics in the original show, but it was a good dynamic, so I'm okay with that.  3) I'm not sure how I feel about expanding into international espionage and giving her the background of being disgraced, but I would be willing to give it a chance.  4)Oddly enough, I like the idea that she took the nickname "Tommy".  

I'm really surprised that it took this long to get a "second generation" off an 80s show, rather than a direct reboot.  Then again, not a lot of 80's action shows had kids...

[DavidJSnyder]

9 hours ago, Partly said:

 

I'm really surprised that it took this long to get a "second generation" off an 80s show, rather than a direct reboot.  Then again, not a lot of 80's action shows had kids...

I think the main character in the newer Knight Rider series was also supposed to.be Michael Knight's son some how.

[AriAu]

Quote

Lily “Tommy” Magnum

It was Lily Katherine, if I remember correctly.

Quote

Some of the very best episodes of the series focused on Michelle, what happened between them and Magnum dealing with the aftermath.  The final episode of Magnum reunited him and his daughter.  

Yes, yes they were, and they were also the best acting of the series by Tom Selleck.

Quote

And I actually think that it sounds wonderful.

Agreed, but it all depends on the writing, the character development and the acting.

She;s not going to living on the estate, will she.

I hope they limit the stunt casting, and in particular limit the number of visits by Uncle Rick, since Larry Manetti was the worst part of the show. Too bad her Uncle Jonathon Quail Higgins/Robin Masters won't be able to give sage advice and boring stories about the campaign in East Africa etc., since I heard John Hillerman is not only retired but not getting around. AND no one, I mean NO ONE else should ever play Higgins.

[yeswedo]

Magnum's mustache is #2 on Superfan's top TV mustaches salute for Movember!

[Raja]

On 9/27/2014 at 9:13 AM, AriAu said:

On a much less serious note, just saw a repeat of the LA episodes with Dana Delany. Wow, did she have great chemistry with Selleck or her character with Magnum, not really sure which. Very fun episode and boy, did I have a crush on her, but this time I think it was with the actress and not the character.

McMurphy from China Beach did it for me. I watched her, Dana Delany as the medical examiner on her show a couple of years ago. She still does it for me.

[whiporee]

If they end up doing it, I hope she ends up on the estate. Robin Masters must be rolling in the royalties now from the various movies made. 

And my guess is he'd leave everything to her.

That said, the less Uncle Rick, the better. He really was a drag on everything. 

[Raja]

Looks like CBS has a reboot in progress with the Hawaii 5-0 show runners. The gender flip won't be Magnum but Higgins

[snarkylady]

On 10/20/2017 at 9:45 PM, Raja said:

Looks like CBS has a reboot in progress with the Hawaii 5-0 show runners. The gender flip won't be Magnum but Higgins

I don't like the gender flip, to me it has to change the way Magnum and Higgins interact.  My vote is for Michael Emerson to play Higgins. 

[Raja]

On 11/3/2017 at 0:20 PM, icemiser69 said:

If they have to do this, I was hoping Robin Master's nephew (R.J.) would be running the estate.  R.J. was played by Tate Donovan in the original Magnum P.I. series for one episode. 

That said, I would hope they would just let the original series stand on its own, and not try to piggyback off of the success of the original.

Regardless, I don't see how a female version of Higgins would work. 

Why not even if she were a soldier and not the proposed spy moving forward 30 years would still make her a possible veteran? The only problem would be no stories of policing a shrinking empire to mirror Magnum being a veteran of a war we lost 

Edited November 5, 2017 by Raja

[Jaded]

I've been watching a Magnum P.I. marathon on one of the Encore channels this weekend which made me look for a show forum here. I don't like the sound of the CBS reboot especially since it has H50 people involved. I liked the sound of the ABC show better.

[Jaded]

There isn't a general discussion thread so I'm putting this here. I've been watching a weekend marathon and just watched the Season 7 Ep. 17 of the series titled Laura and it was so sad. I kinda shed a tear at the end.

[Partly]

I loved the idea of the ABC show since it was (sort of) a continuation of Magnum. I'm disappointed that it didn't get a showing -- although, I liked the idea of Leverage a lot more than the actual show, so there's that.  I'm willing to give this new reboot a chance (if it gets picked up).  The concept is a sound one, even if it has a lot to live up to.  Magnum broke a lot of ground in the 80s, being one of the first fictional works that showed Vietnam vets in a positive light.  It will be interesting to see if they keep the voice-overs, Magnum's "little voice", the (still unique) self-depreciating humor surrounding the main character, and all those little touches that made the show so good. 

As for other Lenkow shows, I didn't watch Haiwii 5-0 past the first season, however, I do enjoy the MacGyver reboot.  I also liked CSI:NY and 24, and Lenkov worked on both of those.  A lot will depend on the actors.  Tom Selleck really grew into the role and had that boyish charm that worked with the humor and, yet, he could pull off the seriousness that colored a lot of the episodes.  Guggenheim wrote the movie Miracle and episodes for Parenthood, so there is some skill there.

[BW Manilowe]

From the Honolulu Star-Advertiser: Actor John Hillerman, Who Played Higgins on 'Magnum, P.I.', Dead at Age 84

[fishcakes]

Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I knew he'd been in poor health for a while, but I hope the end was kind to him. Coincidentally, I'm rewatching the series right now (not binge-watching, just watching one episode at a time) and the one on tap for tonight is the Elmo Ziller episode. That seems oddly appropriate given Hillerman's Texas roots.

[BW Manilowe]

From Hawaii News Now: An updated version of John Hillerman's obituary, including comments by his nephew & word that no services marking his passing be held.

[fishcakes]

The architecture of the guest house where Magnum lives has always bothered me. You have to go up the stairs on the outside to get in, and then down the stairs on the inside to get to the living area. It seems like it would have been much simpler to put the door at ground level.

[BW Manilowe]

From Variety: Jay Hernandez Cast as Thomas Magnum in Peter Lenkov's Magnum, P.I. Reboot Pilot for CBS

[ElleMo]

I agree that the premise of a show about Lily sounded awesome.  There are certain roles that I don't want to ever be recast -- Tom Selleck as Magnum and John Hillerman as Higgins are two.  

I don't like most reboots. Interestingly,  the ones that I do like had Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica & Hawaii 5-0).

But I will give it a try, especially since the Hawaii 5-0 people are involved.   At the very least there will be nice scenery shots.

Is Hawaii 5-0 being canceled? If it is that the networks are repeating exactly what happened when Magnum first aired.  H 5-0 was going off the air and the network brass wanted another show in Hawaii and Magnum was created.

And be prepared for Larry Manetti guest spots.  He's appeared on H 5-0 a few times and I am sure he would do the same on the new Magnum, esp. since some of the same people are involved. 

Edited March 14, 2018 by ElleMo

[BW Manilowe]

On 3/12/2018 at 4:19 PM, ElleMo said:

I agree that the premise of a show about Lily sounded awesome.  There are certain roles that I don't want to ever be recast -- Tom Selleck as Magnum and John Hillerman as Higgins are two.  

I don't like most reboots. Interestingly,  the ones that I do like had Grace Park (Battlestar Galactica & Hawaii 5-0).

But I will give it a try, especially since the Hawaii 5-0 people are involved.   At the very least there will be nice scenery shots.

Is Hawaii 5-0 being canceled? If it is that the networks are repeating exactly what happened when Magnum first aired.  H 5-0 was going off the air and the network brass wanted another show in Hawaii and Magnum was created.

And be prepared for Larry Manetti guest spots.  He's appeared on H 5-0 a few times and I am sure he would do the same on the new Magnum, esp. since some of the same people are involved. 

CBS hasn't announced yet if Hawaii Five-0 is being canceled after this season or if it will return for a ninth season in the Fall of 2018 (when, presumably, Peter Lenkov's other reboots, MacGyver & Magnum P.I., would also have timeslots on CBS' Primetime schedule--perhaps they could schedule all 3 shows on the same night). Since it's March, that announcement could come anytime between now & when the season finale airs (presumably in May); sometimes they announce the renewal decision right away, & other times they leave the show's announcement until it's practically the last "veteran" show they haven't announced the fate of.

Despite having lower ratings since it was moved to Friday nights (It was moved, after S2 ended, to accommodate the summer run of another series in its original Monday timeslot & was never switched back to Mondays afterwards), combined with Peter Lenkov's (currently) second reboot MacGyver, & Tom Selleck's show Blue Bloods, about a family of NYC cops, with the only female in the family being a prosecuting attorney, the CBS Friday Primetime shows have won the Friday night ratings for most, if not all, of the time Hawaii Five-0's been airing on that night (S3-Present).

I will say this, for whatever reason (the departures of Grace Park & Daniel Dae Kim, & the additions of Meaghan Rath & Beulah Koale--a guy, despite the name; he's from New Zealand--as new members of Five-0, the elevation of Ian Anthony Dale's, Dennis Chun's, Kimee Balmilero's & Taylor Wily's characters from recurring to lead status, complete with the actors' names in the main title sequence, or something else) the show is enjoying its best ratings this season, possibly since the first season aired. That bodes well for renewal.

And at least some of those sites which attempt to predict which shows will be renewed or canceled each season have had the show listed as "a safe bet" (to be renewed for next season), or whatever terminology they use to say the same thing, pretty much all season--which is something else that hasn't happened since Season 1; in seasons 2-7, the show wasn't given as high as "a safe bet" status until right before CBS actually announced the official renewal, & it had "languished" at a "could go either way" type status for most of those seasons until officially being renewed.

So I guess we'll see what happens, or doesn't, as far as a renewal goes. My feeling is they could work it out to do both the Magnum reboot & Five-0 at the same studio at the same time, if necessary (like schedule each show at the studios on different days of the week &/or different times of the day, if need be); besides, at least Five-0 seems to do a lot of local location filming as opposed to in-studio, which could help with sharing studio space with Magnum.

[BW Manilowe]

From Variety: Perdita Weeks Cast as (the Now Gender-Swapped) Juliet Higgins in CBS' Magnum P.I. Reboot

From Deadline: Zachary Knighton Cast as Rick in CBS' Magnum P.I. Reboot

Edited March 17, 2018 by BW Manilowe
To add italics.

[BW Manilowe]

This From the Honolulu Star Advertiser: CBS Picks Up Peter Lenkov's Magnum PI Reboot; the Article's Unclear If It'll Air in the Fall or Midseason

[GHScorpiosRule]

I saw one of the saddest and painful episodes this week-it may have aired last week-I’m blanking on the name, but it was a Fourth of July episode and how Magnum doesn’t celebrate it. TC dropped him off in the middle of the ocean so he could do his...kayaking? But then some asshole in a speedboat knocked him over and he spent nearly 24 hours in the water. Treading, swimming, trying not to get eaten by a shark, all the while we got flashbacks to 1950, where Tom Senior (played by Robert Pine!) was teaching junior how to tread before he left for Korea.

I figured he would die there, and it made me ??that the last words Magnum said as Higgins carried him back to the ‘copter, was “I made it, Dad!” And simultaneously ????that the asshole who was responsible was never caught. Wee Magnum was all kinds of adorbs and he also made me ? when he saluted his dad’s casket.