U.S.A. 11 December 1980 - 1 May 1988
162 x 60 Minutes
Produced by: MCA/Universal
Shown on: CBS
| Regular Cast: | |
| Thomas Sullivan Magnum | Tom Selleck |
| Jonathan Quayle Higgins III | John Hillerman |
| T.C. (Theodore Calvin) | Roger E. Mosley |
| Rick (Orville Wilbur) Wright | Larry Manetti |
| Occasional Cast: | |
| Robin Masters (Voice only) | Orson Welles ('81 - '85) |
| Col. Buck Greene | Lance LeGault |
| Mac Reynolds | Jeff MacKay ('81 - '82, '84 - '85, '87 - '88) |
| Lt. Tanaka | Kwan Hi Lim ('82 - '88) |
| Lt. Maggie Pool | Jean Bruce Scott ('82 - '84, '86 - '88) |
| Agatha Chumley | Gillian Dobb ('82 - '88) |
| Asst. D.A. Carol Baldwin | Kathleen Llyod ('83 - '88) |
| Francis 'Ice Pick' Hofstetler | Elisha Cook Jr. ('83 - '88) |
| Crew: | |
| Creators | Donald P Bellisario & Glen A. Larson |
| Music | Pete Carpenter & Mike Post |
In the late sixties, CBS put a lot of time and money into constructing production facilities in Hawaii for long running police show Hawaii Five-O.
When Five-O came to an end in early 1980, after twelve years, they began looking for a new show to make use of the facilities, and the scenery.
Around the same time CBS were looking for a vehicle for a young actor they had under contract named Tom Selleck, whose main exposure at the time had been several guest spots in the final series of NBC's The Rockford Files as Lance White, an irritatingly perfect private eye.
In 1979, TV writer / producer Donald P. Bellisario, who had previously worked on Battlestar Galactica and Kojak, had written a script for a new show called H.H. Flynn about a private eye who lived in a mansion guest house in Bel Air, and drove the owner's red Ferrari. Flynn would get help on his cases from his Vietnam vet buddies T.C., who flew helicopters to the oil rigs off the coast of California, and Rick, who owned a bar in San Pedro.
So, these were the elements which came together as Magnum P.I.. H.H.Flynn became Thomas Magnum, who lived in the guest apartment of 'Robin's Nest', the estate of wealthy author Robin Masters, on the island of Oahu. In exchange for providing security for the estate when Masters was away, which was always, Magnum lived rent free and was able to keep a successful private investigations business going. Robin Masters was never seen on the show, but was heard on the phone occasionally, a la Charlie's Angels. In fact, Magnum had never actually met Masters, and from time to time speculated that the prolific author was in fact Higgins.
Higgins was Robin Masters' English manservant, who looked after the administrative side of Robin's Nest and the estate's two Doberman Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo. Higgins was staid and regimented, which conflicted with Magnum's laid back style,
and led to constant bickering between the two. Beneath this however, was genuine admiration and respect on both sides. Either man could be relied upon to help his friend if in a bind.
A couple of old army buddies of Magnum's from Vietnam came in very helpful from time to time. First of all there was T.C. who had been a chopper pilot during the war, and now flew tourists around the islands with his company, Island Hoppers. T.C.'s helicopters not only aided Magnum with his cases, but gave the producers excellent opportunities to show of the beautiful Hawaiian scenery.
Finally, there was Rick, who ran a bar fashioned after Rick's Cafe American in Casablanca, and later sold this to go into partnership with Robin Masters and manage the King Kamehameha Beach Club. Rick had a lot of contacts, in legal and criminal circles, which were very useful to Magnum.
The show was praised extensively for it's positive portrayal of Vietnam Veterans, with the characters, especially Magnum (who had been a Navy SEAL) and T.C., putting their military training to good use in civilian life. It was really the first show to challenge the stereotype of vets being unemployed drunks and drug addicts who had trouble re-adjusting to life after the war, or psychotic Rambo/Chuck Norris types. Although the subject wasn't dwelt on, the guys' experiences in 'Nam were touched on now and then, and were always handled sensitively. There is, in fact, a course in the U.S. which uses episodes from the show to introduce Vietnam War issues to college students.
Magnum P.I. was full of well drawn characters, and gave a potent mix of action and humour. The red Ferrari 308, while totally unrealistic for a
P.I., who would want to be inconspicuous, became a trademark for the show, along with Magnum's voice-over narration, which in a way harked back to detectives of old, such as Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, but also made the viewer feel closer to the story, with Magnum often opening a VO with "I know what you're thinking..."
The series' excellent finale, 'Resolutions', aired on May 1 1988, and was one of the series highest rated individual episodes.
There has been a lot of talk about a Magnum movie, with all of the original cast, as well as Don Bellisario, very interested. Tom Selleck's good friend, writer Tom Clancy (Hunt For Red October, etc.), has agreed to write a movie, which would be a feature film, rather than a TV movie. However, Universal, the studio which still owns the rights to Magnum P.I., has recently changed hands, and is slowing the project down remarkably. Still, we may eventually see our old friends back together on the big screen. I just hope they don't change the theme tune!
1. Some of the Ferraris used on the show are still on Oahu, and are available for hire.
2. Magnum's birthdate (8 August 1944), mentioned in the Season 2 episode 'Try to Remember', is also Donald P. Bellisario's
birthdate.
3. Thomas Magnum served three tours of duty in Vietnam.
4. Both Tom Selleck and John Hillerman won acting Emmys for the show.
5. Selleck was Spielberg's first choice for the role of Indiana Jones, but he couldn't do it because of Magnum P.I.
Season 1
Please Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (1)
Please Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2)
China Doll
Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too
No Need to Know
Skin Deep
Never Again... Never Again
The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii
Missing in Action
Lest We Forget
The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club
Thicker than Blood
All Roads Lead to Floyd
Adelaide
Don't Say Goodbye
The Black Orchid
J. Digger Doyle
Beauty Knows No Pain
Season 2
Billy Joe Bob
Dead Man's Channel
Woman on the Beach
From Moscow to Maui
Memories Are Forever (1)
Memories Are Forever (2)
Tropical Madness
Wave Goodbye
Mad Buck Gibson
The Taking of Dick McWilliams
The Sixth Position
Ghost Writer
Jororo Kill
Computer Date
Try to Remember
Italian Ice
One More Summer
Texas Lightning
Double Jeopardy
The Last Page
The Elmo Ziller Story
Three Minus Two
Season 3
Did You See the Sunrise? (1)
Did You See the Sunrise? (2)
Ki-i's Don't Lie
The Eighth Part of the Village
Past Tense
Black on White
Flashback
Foiled Again
Mr. White Death
Mixed Doubles
Almost Home
Heal Thyself
Of Sound Mind
The Arrow That is Not Aimed
Basket Case
Birdman of Budapest
I Do?
Forty Years From Sand Island
Legacy From a Friend
Two Birds of a Feather
By Its Cover
The Big Blow
Faith and Begorrah
Season 4
Home From the Sea
Luther Gillis: File 521
Smaller Than Life
Distant Relative
Limited Engagement
Letter to a Duchess
Squeeze Play
A Sense of Debt
The Look
Operation: Silent Night
Jororo Farewell
The Case of the Red-Faced Thespian
No More Mr. Nice Guy
Rembrandt's Girl
Paradise Blues
The Return of Luther Gillis
Let the Punishment Fit the Crime
Holmes is Where the Heart Is
On Face Value
Dream A Little Dream
I Witness
Season 5
Echoes of the Mind (1)
Echoes of the Mind (2)
Mac's Back
The Legacy of Garwood Huddle
Under World
Fragments
Blind Justice
Murder 101
Tran Quoc Jones
Luther Gillis: File #001
Kiss of the Sabre
Little Games
Professor Jonathan Higgins
Compulsion
All For One (1)
All For One (2)
The Love-For-Sale Boat
Let Me Hear the Music
Ms. Jones
The Man From Marseilles
Torah! Torah! Torah!
A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken
Season 6
Deja Vu (1)
Deja Vu (2)
Old Acquaintance
The Kona Winds
The Hotel Dick
Round and Around
Going Home
Paniolo
The Treasure of Kalanio Pua
Blood and Honor
Rapture
I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway...
Summer School
Mad Dogs and Englishmen
All Thieves on Deck
This Island Isn't Big Enough
Way of the Stalking Horse
Find Me a Rainbow
Who is Don Luis Higgins... and Why is He Doing These Terrible Things to Me?
A Little Bit of Luck... A Little Bit of Grief"
Photo Play
Season 7
L.A. (1)
L.A. (2)
A Picture is Worth
Straight and Narrow
A.A.P.I.
Death and Taxes
Little Girl Who
Paper War
Novel Connection (1)
Kapu
Missing Melody
Death of the Flowers
Autumn Warrior
Murder by Night (b&w)
On the Fly
Solo Flight
Forty
Laura
The Aunt Who Came to Dinner
Out of Sync
The People vs. Orville Wright
Limbo
Season 8
Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts
Pleasure Principle
Innocence: A Broad
Tigers Fan
Forever in Time
The Love That Lies
A Girl Names Sue
Unfinished Business
The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company
The Legend of the Lost Art
Transitions
Resolutions (1)
Resolutions (2)
Articles:
Video clips:
Theme tunes
Marco Smetz's Magnum P.I. Page
Episode Guide with synopses.
Ben's Magnum P.I. Page
The 'Official' Magnum P.I. Homepage
