Talk:Magnum, P.I.

Dead or alive?

I have never heard of the Magnum 'dead or alive' arguement until now, can you provide a link supporting this? The reason Magnum had a short haircut and in full uniform at the end of the final episode was that he had re-joined the Navy. The image of blood in the final episode after the fight with the knife was a teaser to make you think Magnum was maybe stabbed(not shot) and killed in the final episode, a tounge in cheek moment on the final episode of the next to last season where Magnum was thought to be killed for good. Also, there has been a 'Magnum' movie in the works for years until the green-light was finally given in 2004. That should be proof enough that Magnum was never thought to be killed off. [19:21, 14 December 2004 63.167.255.30] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.167.255.30 (talk • contribs) .

Please sign your comments. This discussion was rampant in the pre-internet days so no link is easily available. I remember seeing at least one magazine article on the subject. There are numerous clues to be seen throughout the final season, ranging from appearances by the ghost of Magnum's friend, to the sudden revelation by Higgins that he was Robin Masters -- a direct contradiction of earlier seasons in which Robin is shown to be another man played by Orson Welles. At the end Magnum is shown walking along the beach with a little girl ... I forget the details of the series this far down the line, but I believe this is his deceased daughter. Also, IIRC there was no time for Magnum to get a haircut and get changed because he was already late for the ceremony when he got into the final fight. And Magnum's death is not taken as happening in the final episode anyway ... we're clocking from the final episode of the previous season. I believe the section should be put back, preferably expanded with examples of the clues. Unfortunately we're still a few years away from the season being released to DVD. The fact a movie is being considered doesn't mean anything, since most likely it'll be a reboot or reimagining ... and it's not uncommon for series to "retcon" themselves to avoid storytelling entanglements. 23skidoo 14:58, 15 September 2005 (UTC)

"Paul is Dead", anyone? At risk of starting a debate, the "little girl" was Lily, and she was far from killed in the car bomb explosian, as the series went to great pains to explain. But if it's a debate or discussion, it definitely belongs HERE. Whether the topic is Jim Bonig, the ghost of MacReynolds, Magnum dying at the end of season 7 and resurrected at the beginning of season 8--none of that had to do with creativity but actors' availability or willingness to do another season. The fact a movie is being considered doesn't mean anything, since most likely it'll be a reboot or reimagining ... and it's not uncommon for series to "retcon" themselves to avoid storytelling entanglements. Change this to a sentence about a haircut when discussing what does and "doesn't mean anything" and it makes much more sense. Haircut=continuity error, plausible. Haircut=dead Magnum....grist for the Talk page.--Buckboard 11:22, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

New movie?

There is also a movie in the works for 2005.

Sounds great, but do we have a source for this? IMDb doesn't seem to have anything about this under either "Magnum, P.I." or "Tom Selleck". — Jeff Q (talk) 28 June 2005 05:53 (UTC)

update--they're now touting a release in 2007 on IMDB but you have to subscribe to I-pro to "get the details". --Buckboard 11:02, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Jumping the Shark

I agree with Angmering - we can't just say the show "never jumped the shark" because that violates NPOV. Now if someone can put, "Magnum PI is one of the few shows listed on the user-edited website Jumpingtheshark.com" and then include a URL link to the page, then that would work. However I advise not to bother, as the link would have to be continually checked to make sure it is still accurate. I mean, I personally believe the show jumped the shark when they brought Magnum back to life ... there's nothing stopping me going there this minute and posting same, which would render the whole thing moot. And as more seasons of the show are released to DVD the greater the chance that someone will find a fault with the show (maybe it was the Murder, She Wrote crossover? Higgins claiming to be Robin?), again rendering this trivia item moot. Best to leave this one be. 23skidoo 12:55, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

I've restored the item, using the above suggestions, and moved it next to the "critically praised" paragraph. This is a useful piece of empirical evidence, unlike many WP statements about something being "considered great" with no evidence presented at all. Nearly 200 JTS votes have been cast re Magnum. If you look at the list of never-jumped shows in the link I've added, you can see that they are all pretty clearly classic TV shows, and so this metric has some value. Wasted Time R 13:53, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Perhaps, but I still say this is going to have to be checked regularly because all it takes is one dissenter and it renders the "never jumped the shark" argument useless. 23skidoo 14:02, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

The guideline is "an overwhelming majority of 'never jumped' votes" and a sizeable number of overall votes. So it takes more than one dissenter. But yes, you are right to put in the "As of December 2005" clause. Wasted Time R 14:08, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

Others may still differ as to whether JTS should be mentioned, but I think with the qualifier added and the link, it works. 23skidoo 15:33, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

This seems like a good compromise all-round. Angmering 19:34, 2 December 2005 (UTC)

They jumped the shark & landed in Caesars' swimming pool when he died. Unless we accept 23skidoo is right, & the whole last season is in Hell, or Pacoima, or someplace. Trekphiler 19:31, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Well not so much me being right, but all the university discussion groups, etc that were formed to discuss Magnum during that last year. I never really followed it and wasn't made aware of that whole "ghost" thing till I read an article on it. 23skidoo 19:37, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

I wouldn't know; this is the first I've heard it. And I'm deleting the jumped the shark ref, besides. It doesn't bear on the show. I'm interested, does anybody think commentary on how the show changed from the first season, very gritty & macho, to lighter & more beefcake later, appropriate? Trekphiler 19:42, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Robin?

The article said:

"Near the end of the series it was implied that Higgins and Robin Masters might be one and the same person. In the final episode Higgins admitted to being Robin Masters, but he whimsically retracted his admission at the very end of the show, leaving the question indefinitely unanswered."

This needs correction, or something. The pilot implies Magnum not only met Robin but knew him rather well; there is no chance he would believe Higgins was Robin, as late-run episodes' writers implied (evidently having forgotten to read the show bible...). Trekphiler 19:27, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

A lot of people bought into the Higgins-as-Robin twist. There is of course no "right" answer. The adherents always say something like "There was a guy hired to play Robin" and all the serpentine stretches that entails--but in one episode Robin had a nephew, and in an early episode (the spy after the Hungarian birdwatcher) Robin had a high school teacher and a high school yearbook--much harder to deflect if Robin was an after-the-fact invention of Higgins.--Buckboard 11:09, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

"A lot of people bought into the Higgins-as-Robin twist." A lot of people hadn't watched the show from the start. A lot of people were only interested in Tom Selleck with his shirt off. That proves nothing. Trekphiler (talk) 06:25, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

The claim's back, & I still don't believe it. It needs better evidence. TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 09:53, 28 July 2008 (UTC)

The quote up top is perfectly accurate. It was implied, and Higgins did admit and then retract it. Whether you and I "bought" it or not, it WAS implied, Higgins DID admit it and then RETRACT it. I dunno that the other quote about a lot of people buying it is objective enough to belong in the article, but enough did that lively debate abounds at various Magnum Web sites.

For the reasons cited and some others, I never bought it. But that isn't what the passage originally in question in this string is about. It doesn't go to whether Higgins was or might be Masters, it just says that was implied, admitted and whimsically retracted - all as completely true as (artfully) written.

As for "(evidently having forgotten to read the show bible...)," this heretical idea was introduced in an episode co-written by series co-creator Donald P. Bellisario and was a running plotline while Tom Selleck was producing the show. If the Bible and God conflict ... you gotta go with God ...

Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 17:38, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

"Five-0"?

Just because there are references to "Five-0", you can't conclude "in the same 'universe'"; more accurately, it suggests familiarity with the TV show & an inside joke (which I always presumed). If the same universe, howcum Magnum never met a beat cop named Kimo, when every other uniform in Five-0 had that name? Trekphiler 19:52, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

There is an episode that specifically refers to Five-0. That's different than a throwaway reference to a TV show. A similar example: an episode of the TV series Strange Luck ended with a character being referred to an FBI agent named Fox Mulder. That places that series in the same "universe" as X-Files. There are other examples. 23skidoo 22:11, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

It's in the first season, he tells someone to contact "McGarrity at 5-0". I can't remember the exact episode, but it's there. --CaesarGJ 05:29, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

There was an episode where Magnum was in the chopper using the radio and pretended to be the police by saying he was "Garrett at Five-O". If Hawaii Five-O was just a TV series in Magnum continuity, I doubt Magnum would've used the ploy. Who would believe he was a fictional character? -Jay Pennington

You're being ridiculous. All that proves is the show writers have heard of "X-Files" & "Five-O", which I take as given. It's an inside joke. Or does the vampire reference mean "Smallville" takes place in the Buffyverse? Give me a break. Trekphiler (talk) 06:28, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

In "Thank Heaven for Little Girls," only the third episode of the series, when Higgins stops insisting on calling the police and instead finally does - his first words to the party who answers the call are: "Five-O?" Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 12:34, 27 July 2009 (UTC)

magnum's life style

I have met many fans of Magnum and I can say that most of them liked his life style and in their dreams wanted to be like him. The real success of this tv movie has been to create a character with plausible roots in men's dreamsland.

Antonio Cattivera

Wife and daughter

No where in this article or the Thomas Magnum article is Michelle, his wife or Catherine Ann (that is her name, right?), his daughter are mentioned. Should this be added? ~Babygator23~

The daughter's name is Lily Catherine Hue. Tony DiNozzo Cat 11:38, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

Create Episode Pages?

I want your opinion on this. Should I create some episode pages for Magnum, P.I. or should I just leave it? Tony DiNozzo Cat 08:06, 28 June 2007 (UTC).

Icepick

Entry lists a single actor for the character but he was portrayed by at least two.

"Neither do they 'snap'” ...well....

There was an episode in which Rick did "snap". Three shots from it ended up in the show open, where he leaps through a window with a machine gun.

Also, Magnum suffered hallucinatory flashbacks in "Skin Deep".

-Jay Pennington

Mork calling Robin

Orson Welles may've died before it was revealled, but I recall his voice used as Robin's. Was it dubbed in, or did Rich Little or somebody fake it? Trekphiler 07:15, 15 August 2007 (UTC)

Orson Welles did indeed "voice" the Robin Masters character, who was never seen well enough to identify by sight but was certainly BEEG enough to have been Welles (not that I think it was - I don't), until his death. After that, a different actor was employed in the same way; I have seen his name somewhere but remember neither the name nor the somewhere. Apologies, not much help.

Interesting that you'd come up with Rich Little, though - he also voiced an unseen character, but not Robin. In the episode "Smaller Than Life," Little (geez, puns abound!) voices some politician named Ronnie: "Waldo? Is that yeww?".

Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 16:23, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

I'm tempted to edit the above but I think that would be unfair. I made a boo-boo and need to own up to it. President Reagan was voiced not by Rich Little (who often did him; hence my projected memory) but by a disc jockey whose shtick included impressions, especially that one, Gene Price. I used to listen to Gene on AFRN when I was overseas - he was a lot of fun.

Also, according to show credits, Red Crandall replaced Orson Welles in voicing Robin Masters. The body below the never-seen-face was Bruce Atkinson's.

Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 00:03, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Wine list

The broadcaster section lists current; should A&E be listed as "former"? (If it is, I missed it...) Trekphiler (talk) 06:31, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Looking for a particular Magnum P.I. episode, NEED HELP!

I'm wondering if someone can please help me identify a particular episode of Magnum P.I. It's a long shot I know but I'm hoping someone out there can help. The only info I have is that sometime during the episode the scene takes place with the actual musicians that composed the theme song (Magnum P.I.) they were extras (in the background somewhere in a bar scene, I think) in the show. One of the guys names was Andrew Steele. If any body knows ANYTHING about what I'm talking about I would really appreciate your help, Thank You so much! 65.74.27.69 (talk) 05:31, 21 May 2008 (UTC)

I don't know if this is the episode you are referring to, but there was a bar band that was on the show for quite a bit of time in the season 5 episode "Let Me Hear The Music." Country singer Amanda McBroom sang covers of Tanya Tucker's "Texas (When I Die)" and Linda Ronstadt's version of the Everly Brothers' song "When Will I Be Loved." Grundle2600 (talk) 00:26, 9 August 2008 (UTC)

Integrating trivia with rest of article

I sorted the trivia into several different subsections to make it easier to integrate with the rest of the article. Hopefully someone will step in and help with that :). -Roger (talk) 04:32, 25 August 2008 (UTC)

I've been going through trivia tagged articles and have been merging in material. I'll give it a shot when I finish fixing ones with less trivia. - Tbsdy lives (talk) 08:28, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

I've removed all the unsourced material, and merged in the rest. - Tbsdy lives (talk) 11:05, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Analysis is out there

The article is missing a lot of the flavor of what made it popular. It is easy to find secondary sources for Magnum PI: From Hanoi to Hollywood, which talks about the show's relationship to the American experience in Vietnam, or Television Culture, about Sellek as sex object. There's Channels of Discourse which considers the character of Higgins in the context of submission to authority. This sort of analysis is missing from the article. Phlegm Rooster (talk) 06:51, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

What made the show popular is easy - it had good, likeable characters, in good, sunny, photogenic locations, and had plenty of action. It also had (IIRC) plenty of attractive women to look at - presumably for female viewers the lead male stars held the same sort of attraction.

The same went for shows like Hawaii Five-O, Starsky and Hutch, Cannon, Harry O, The Rockford Files and other similar US TV shows from the heydays of television in the 1960s-1980s. For someone sitting watching these in a wet and miserable UK in the middle of winter, such things should not be underestimated. All these things seem to have disappeared from US-made shows, with programmes such as Homicide: Life on the Street and Hill Street Blues being rather dull and depressing compared to what was made before. It may have had something to do with (seemingly) having many more indoor studio scenes, or perhaps the style of programming just changed. Perhaps the programme budgets went down, leading the writers to limit the location shots. It could be something as simple as moving shooting from sunny California to New York. Thinking about it, I suppose the last of the earlier type of shows I have seen would probably have been Miami Vice in the late 1980s.

The thing about shows such as Magnum P.I. and Hawaii Five-O and the others I mentioned is that you can sit and watch them on a number of levels, even if the programme and plot doesn't interest you, you at least get to see nice locations. The shows are nice to look at if nothing else. The later shows (for whatever reasons) aren't. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.112.74.176 (talk) 20:35, 20 February 2011 (UTC)

Unsourced material in trivia section

I have to say, there is an enormous amount of information in the trivia section. Most of it isn't trivia! Trivia, after all, in "unimportant items" or information. Worst of all, however, is that most of it isn't sourced. I'm removing the bits that aren't sourced, then I'm going to merge in the material that is sourced as best I can.

The unsourced info is:

In "Show development"

• The producers originally intended to use a Porsche 928 as 'Magnum's' car and asked Porsche to produce one with an extra large sunroof for aerial shots. Due to a strict policy by Porsche of not doing any special specifications at customer request, the Ferrari 308 GTS (which came equipped with a removable roof from the factory) was chosen instead and went on to become one of the most iconic cars of all time.
• The Ferrari used in the pilot episode was driven across the United States by noted author P.J. O'Rourke. His essay "Ferrari Refutes the Decline of The West", published in his book "Republican Party Reptile" is a great road trip story in itself. O'Rourke was working for Car and Driver in 1979, when he and his boss were asked to drive a brand new 308GTS from New York to LA, and then write an article on it. Naturally they do so (at speeds as high as 140 mph) and "Ferrari refutes the Decline of The West" was the result. At the very end of the essay O'Rourke remarks the car was being shipped to Hawaii to be used in filming a movie called "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii", which (although O'Rourke didn't know it at the time) was the title Magnum pilot.
• In the E! True Hollywood Story episode on the series, Donald Bellisario reveals the character of Rick was designed to be a faithful impression of Humphrey Bogart's character of the same name from Casablanca. This is further evidenced in the restaurant, called Rick's Cafe Americaine, owned and operated by Rick in the pilot. According to Bellisario, the studio execs at CBS "just didn't get it," and asked that this gimmick be discontinued. For the remainder of the series, Larry Manetti simply played Rick as himself.
  • Note: There is a comment in there that says "There's no truth to the rumor Armin Shimmerman was originally cast as Rick"
• It was originally intended for there to be an episode of the science fiction program Quantum Leap where Scott Bakula's character, Sam Beckett, leaps into the identity of Thomas Magnum. The episode would depict Beckett stumbling through a day-in-the-life of Magnum, P.I., and presumably interacting with the varied series regulars. Both Magnum P.I. and Quantum Leap were produced by Donald P. Bellisario. Plans for a Magnum, P.I. movie led to the early demise of the crossover, but some footage was filmed; namely, the end-of-episode “jumping in” scene, in which Beckett jumps into Magnum’s life, turns to the camera, and raises his eyebrows the same way Selleck made famous. If this episode had been made, however, it would have presented a minor continuity problem, (note that there is a comment that says "Not unless Tom Selleck was a fictional person..." - lol!) as the episode "Another Mother" showed a character watching Magnum, P.I. on television, implying Magnum is a fictional show within the Quantum Leap universe.

In 2011 at German science fiction convention FedCon actor Scott Bakula confirmed that there had been plans for this crossover, but that Tom Selleck was not interested in it.--80.136.161.105 (talk) 04:40, 4 May 2011 (UTC)

• The fictional license plate on the Ferrari changed from “56E 478” to “ROBIN 1” after thirteen episodes (the first 13 bought)(Note that there is a comment that says "It didn't change immediately, & CBS would've bought 13 to see if the show would succeed"), which it remained for the duration of the series. The original plate number can be seen, briefly, in the titles of every episode, just as the 308 pulls away from the shoulder of the highway. Other vehicles in the series displayed similar “ROBIN” vanity plates, including an Audi 5000 with "ROBIN 2", a GMC Jimmy SUV with "ROBIN 3", and a green Ferrari (“ROBIN 28”) driven by Robin’s nephew, R.J. Masters.
• The writers originally wanted to eventually reveal Orson Welles as being Robin Masters all along, but Welles died before the storyline could materialize.
• Robert Loggia, who starred as the bad guy in the pilot, directed a number of episodes.

In "Cultural references" section

• In the Invincible Iron Man series, Maria Hill mocks Tony Stark's mustache by saying "1982 called, Magnum. It wants to know where you parked the Ferrari!"

In "Misc" section

• During the broadcast of the series on TVG in Spain, a voice-over narrator uttered the title of the series during the opening. However, due to a misunderstanding of the abbreviation P.I. (Private Investigator), the narrator said "Magnum Pi", thus confusing the audience.
• In the Galician dub of the opening, a narrator reads the title Magnum, P.I. as "Magnum Pi", not recognizing that P.I. is an abbreviation.
• In the episode "Unfinished Business", Magnum receives a package addressed to "Mr. Thomas Magnum, c/o Robin's Nest, 1541 Kalakaua Ave., North Shore, HI 96801". Kalakaua Avenue is in Waikiki, Honolulu (South part of the island) rather than the North Shore of Hawaii and 1541 Kalakaua Ave., is the address of the Senior Citizens Section of the Department of Parks & Recreation. The estate used in the series is in Waimanalo, HI 96795 and is owned by a lady named Eve Anderson.

We really need to get this information sourced, and then incorporated into the main article. - Tbsdy lives (talk) 07:06, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Reuse of sets?

The following is interesting, and it has a reference to ref tag "museum" but unfortunately I just don't see where it actually says this in the source!

One reason this show was set in Hawaii was so CBS could re-use many of the sets from its other hit show, Hawaii Five-O which had just completed its on-air run in 1980. Several early episodes make reference to the Five-O squad. While this could be seen as setting this series in the same “universe” as Hawaii Five-O (highly likely,^{[citation needed]} due to the numerous references), such references are common even in real life, due to the cultural impact of that series; given "Magnum"'s ironic reference to McGarrett, however, this "shared universe" theory is questionable. Due to crossovers with other programs, the series is also shown to take place in the same continuity as Murder, She Wrote and Simon and Simon, and, by extension, The Law and Harry McGraw and Whiz Kids.

Can someone confirm this and provide a more reliable source? - Tbsdy lives (talk) 07:08, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Can't say for sure they reused the sets, but I've heard something along those lines, CBS having space available after 5-0 went off the air. Could've been the production facility in Hawaii, sound stages paid for there or something. Also a connection to 77 Sunset Strip is tickling my memory, for some reason. TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 20:23, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Cool... if you could provide a source, I'll try to incorporate this info into the main article :-) Tbsdy lives (talk) 11:04, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

I would if I could. It was a TV doc on the history of CBS, IIRC, not a paper source. (Could've been liner notes for a collection of TV themes, too, not what I'd count as reliable...) Sorry. TREKphiler ^{hit me ♠} 16:52, 7 September 2008 (UTC)

Magnum Mania external link

The Magnum Mania website is a very well done website with a huge amount of information about Magnum P.I. I put the link back into the external link section. Please leave it there. Grundle2600 (talk) 20:11, 19 September 2008 (UTC)

I created this new userbox

Magnum, P.I.	This user is a Vulgarian Visigoth.

The code is:

{{User:Grundle2600/userboxes/Magnum P.I.}}

That's a reference to the season 2 episode "The Woman On The Beach."

Grundle2600 (talk) 14:30, 2 January 2009 (UTC)

Magnum's Military Service

I was under the impression Thomas, Rick etc were not in the Marines, but the US Navy, possibly Navy SEALS.

Thomas was in the Navy; Rick and TC were in the Marines. Wiki publius (talk) 04:11, 11 February 2009 (UTC)

And he was indeed a SEAL. Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 00:45, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Just a note

"Tidewater, Virginia" is not a fictional place. I was born there and lived there until I was 25. The name is used to refer to the cities of Hampton, Newport News, and the surrounding areas.71.127.128.21 (talk) 04:01, 15 March 2009 (UTC)Linda Lyons-Bailey 3/15/08.

Recurring characters

Some actors appeared as more than one character, including main additional cast members. Lance LeGault was a civilian OGA in one episode. The episode is called Missing in Action. This was before he was a regular recurring supporting member, Col Greene.

Jeff Mckay was a gate guard at Pearl Harbor in the pilot. He was a marine, and not the Naval Intlelligence clerk. This was before he was Lt McRenyolds "Mac" and Jim Bonig.

The show's writers and producers never intended for Higgins to be Robin Masters. There are scenes with Higgins talking to Masters on the phone, with nobody else around. There would be no need for the scene. On the final season DVD, one of the writers or producers, I don't remember who is talking, said they decided to give Magnum that idea, and left it up in the air. But the original intent isn't there. They were just having fun with it.

The show didn't jump the shark, as it isn't a soap opera/plot driven show. It might not be possilbe for a show to even do that. It is a character driven show. Some good, some not so good, but the direction doesn't change. Which is what Fonzi jumped the shark for. There wasn't anything left, and it was a publicity stunt. Magnum getting shot, but then reviving him for fan intrest isn't the same thing. At least, I don't see it as the same thing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 210.5.194.36 (talk) 09:42, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Your post inspired me to use data I collected years ago for something else to elaborate on this phenomenon on the article page. Someone doesn't seem to think it's allowable, although it is factual, not original research and verifiable. Hope it stays there this time. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Patrick M. Sullivan (talk • contribs) 00:06, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 00:06, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

I removed the section again. Even per the discussion at the help desk - It is not referenced, it does not meet WP:V and WP:RS. Please add a secondary source. Just saying you investigated or looked this information up does not suffice. _{El Greco}^(talk) 14:13, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Can't. Don't have a secondary source, and none should be needed; there is no better source than the credits themselves. Not referenced? Ridiculous!

I've decided not to be offended by "just saying" even though it questions my honesty, which would be okay in context EXCEPT that the FACT I state CAN be confirmed and is therefore verifiable. And don't tell me again that it's original research, because it is simple reference work.

What I HAVE done is decide that Wikipedia is too narrow a place for me. Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 01:04, 11 August 2009 (UTC)

Why was Magnum renewed that last time?

The main article addresses this, but in a way I find suspect because:

1) It isn't sourced

2) It doesn't make as much sense as the story I know

3) I can't figure out how to say this without sounding egotistical, but I simply never heard this - I was a big Magnum fan and if there'd been such an outcry I'd have been a part of it

Here's what it says:

"At the end of the seventh season, Magnum was killed off, and this was intended to be the end of the series. However, there was outcry from fans, and an eighth, final season was produced, to bring Magnum 'back to life', and to round the series off."

There've only been a handful of cases in which learning of a cancellation spurred a successful outcry, at least until TV Guide started its "Best Shows You're Not Watching" series. I have difficulty imagining such a response to a mere story line - even this one. The effort would've been to save the show, not to save Magnum.

I was the kind of fan who read everything I saw about Magnum as well as watching every episode, and I didn't know he was going to die until Tom Selleck came on TV to imply he wasn't.

That promo is another reason I don't buy it. Selleck, speaking to the camera in a promo CBS aired several times leading up to the FIRST run of the episode, invited people to watch it by saying something like "it was going to be our last one but now it's just a great one because we're coming back." So this hue and cry both occurred AND succeeded BEFORE the offending ep ever aired? It takes more and longer to turn around a roomful of network suits!

I actually started to write what I know in the main article, but two things stopped me.

1) Ironically, I can't adequately source it

2) Even more ironically, in trying to source it I turned up info that disputes what I think I know

I think, or thought:

Selleck wanted out to take a crack at a movie career, which Magnum had famously derailed (he was offered the role of Indiana Jones). The standard series acting contract is seven years, and this being the seventh season, Selleck was free not to re-sign. The show was no longer a big hit, having never fully recovered from being bounced out of the Top 20 by The Cosby Show in the 1984-85 season, so CBS was willing to let it go. I've even heard that Selleck suggested the extremely final ending, so there'd be no temptation to give up on the silver screen too easily.

What changed?

Selleck's Three Men and a Baby was a #1 hit, Magnum ratings spiked in rerunds, and CBS asked for another season. Selleck has said he negotiated the network back from a full schedule to the 11 episodes that ran, which of course suggests he really wasn't thrilled. He has also said he went as far as he did out of concern for the rest of the cast and crew, who didn't have anything waiting but next month's mortgage/rent payment. Hawaii is not Hollywood, and c&c living there were either going to have to find other work - scarce in their field - or move.

What did I turn up that flouts all this?

Three Men and a Baby, at least according to its imdb.com post, premiered in November 1987. That was not early in the seventh season, in time to impress CBS with S7 reruns, but early in the last season that it supposedly enabled. Could the pre-release buzz have been THAT great?

So now I don't know what's true.

Except that I doubt what is posted at the main article is correct, for the reasons I stated, and even if it is it should be sourced!

Patrick M. Sullivan (talk) 00:43, 28 July 2009 (UTC)

Magnum's age

I'm not sure why it is unclear.

Pilot episode: I woke up and found at 33, I'd never been 23. That is when he resigned his commission. The officer at the gate (in the pilot episode) recognizes Magnum as having resigned "eight months ago" but Magnum says "more like a year". So Magnum is 34-35. Additionally, having graduated from the Naval Academy in 1967, most graduates are 21. This puts his birth year in 1945-6. Given the show starts in 1980, this would add up - 1980-1946 = 34 (35 for 1945). So his age is not "unclear". It's clearly 34-35. Pejorative.majeure (talk) 05:04, 26 October 2010 (UTC)

Alt vs old

He keeps a mini-fridge with a seemingly endless supply of fictional beer ("Old Dusseldorf in a long neck")

I haven't listened to the undubbed english version, but there is a kind of beer called "Alt" (Altbier) which is actually brewed in Düsseldorf, so Magnum's source may note be all that fictional... -- Syzygy (talk) 11:38, 13 May 2011 (UTC)