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Magnum, P.I.

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Magnum, P.I.
File:Magnum P.I..jpg
Title screen
GenreDrama
Created byDonald P. Bellisario
Glen A. Larson
Written byDonald P. Bellisario
Glen A. Larson
Chris Abbott
Directed byRay Austin
Michael Vejar
Ivan Dixon
StarringTom Selleck
John Hillerman
Roger E. Mosley
Larry Manetti
Narrated byTom Selleck
Theme music composerMike Post
ComposersPete Carpenter
Mike Post
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons8
No. of episodes162 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersDonald P. Bellisario
Glen A. Larson
Tom Selleck
ProducersTom Greene
Production locationUnited States Oahu, Hawaii
Running time60 min.
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseDecember 11, 1980 –
May 1, 1988

Magnum, P.I. is an American television show, presented in a weekly, network-television, series format, that depicted the adventures of Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living in Oahu, Hawaii. The character is portrayed by the actor Tom Selleck. The Magnum, P.I. series format extended to eight seasons, in first-run broadcast through the American CBS television network, from 1980 to 1988.

Magnum, P.I. consistently ranked in the top twenty U.S. television programs--according to the Nielsen Ratings--during the first five years that the series was originally telecast in the United States.[1] Originally appearing in a first-run American network "timeslot" of 8 p.m. Eastern, Magnum, P.I. was one of the highest-rated items of programming telecast on U.S. television--until The Cosby Show arrived on rival network NBC, and at that point began being accorded higher ratings than Magnum, P.I., on a regular basis.

Premise

Tom Selleck, filming a scene for Magnum P.I., with Sharon Stone, in April 1984 at the Kahala Hilton Hotel in Hawaii.

Selleck portrayed the series' lead character, Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV. The Magnum character's back-story includes a previous "career" as a former U.S. Navy SEAL. Magnum is a 1967 graduate of the United States Naval Academy. Magnum's specialized training includes acquiring appropriate expertise as a counter-insurgency expert, and also demonstrating additional expertise in lock picking and safe-cracking. Magnum played the field position of quarterback for the United States Naval Academy football team. The Magnum character is depicted to have resigned his commission in the U.S. Navy in disillusionment after approximately eleven years of service, including three "tours" of service during the U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War.

Thomas Magnum lives and resides in the 'guest house' of a posh, 200-acre beachfront estate, known as Robin's Nest, in Hawaii, at the invitation of its owner, Robin Masters, the celebrated-but-never-seen author of several dozen lurid novels. Ostensibly this is quid pro quo for Magnum's services based upon Magnum's demonstrated expertise in quality control of the estate’s "security".

In addition, Robin’s Nest is guarded by two highly-trained Doberman pinschers, Zeus and Apollo, and all other aspects of the estate are managed by Englishman Jonathan Quayle Higgins III (played by John Hillerman), an ex-British Army Sergeant Major with whom, often as a humorous aside during various episodes of the series, Magnum must "barter" for use of estate amenities other than the guest house and the Ferrari (i.e., tennis courts, wine cellar, expensive cameras, etc.). During early seasons of Magnum, P.I., the voice of Robin Masters, heard only a few times per season, was voiced by Orson Welles.

A recurrent theme throughout the series involves Magnum's suspicion that Higgins is actually Robin Masters. This possibility is never fully substantiated or refuted--Higgins' dual identity remains an open question until the final episode. That he may, in fact, be the elusive pulp-fiction writer Robin Masters is a pet theory of Magnum's, and one that the other characters do not particularly embrace, until the series finale.

Magnum lives a "dream" (but, in fact a "pseudo-dream" lifestyle): he comes and goes as he pleases, works only when he wants to, has the almost unlimited use of a Ferrari 308 GTS as well as many other of Robin Masters’ luxuries. He keeps a mini-fridge with a seemingly endless supply of beer, is seemingly surrounded by countless beautiful women (who are often his clients or victims in the cases he solves), and enjoys adventures with his two buddies, both former U.S. Marines he served with in VM-02 (a Marine Observation Squadron operating in Bắc Thái Tỉnh, Vietnam) during the Vietnam War.[2] The buddies are:

  • Theodore "T.C." Calvin (played by Roger E. Mosley) (who sports a Da Nang baseball cap, and who occasionally calls Higgins "Higgie-baby"), a helicopter pilot who operates a tourist charter business called Island Hoppers, wherein he pilots a Hughes 500D helicopter, "decked out" with distinctive livery. T.C.'s combat-trained flight skills are often solicited and put to good use by Magnum during the course of an investigation. T.C. is also powerfully built, a trait which Magnum often benefits from when he expects to, and often does, run into 'physical trouble'. With the exception of some early season 1 episodes, T.C. avoids alcohol, instead preferring milk, soda, or juice, but mostly coffee.

Recurring characters

The series featured a large ensemble of minor characters who appeared in many episodes over multiple seasons. Many of these actors first played other characters in earlier episodes and then became regulars in the following roles:

  • Lt. Yoshi Tanaka — "Homicide-division" police lieutenant with the Honolulu police department (played by Kwan Hi Lim), characterized by his casual dress and ironic sense of humor. Seasons 2–8
  • Agatha Chumley — Higgins' quintessentially English friend (played by Gillian Dobb). Seasons 3-8
  • Col. “Buck” Greene — Marine Corps intelligence officer (played by Lance LeGault), often Magnum's nemesis. Seasons 2–8
  • Carol Baldwin — assistant district attorney (played in all but the first appearance by Kathleen Lloyd). Seasons 3–8
  • Lt. “Mac” MacReynolds — doughnut-munching Navy Intelligence lieutenant (played by Jeff MacKay), killed off in the series, and later brought back as a look-alike character (see below). Seasons 1–3 and 7–8
  • Jim Bonig — con man (played by Jeff MacKay) who was MacReynolds’ look-alike. In at least two episodes ("Mac's Back" and "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts") MacKay appeared in both roles. Seasons 5–8.
  • Francis “Icepick” Hofstetler — see above (played by Elisha Cook Jr who had a number of other roles in the series as well)
  • Doc Ibold — very minor character (played by Glenn Cannon) who nevertheless appeared in many episodes whenever a physician was needed in the script. First referred to as "Script Writer #1", he was known for writing prescriptions for opiates for any and all ailments. Seasons 2–8
  • Michelle Hue — Magnum’s (Presumed former wife- to the viewers' acknowledgment, no divorce/annulment papers were ever signed, even though she returned to her presumed-dead first husband when he resurfaced) (played by Marta DuBois), presumed dead but reappearing as the wife of a North Vietnamese general and the mother of Magnum’s child, and often seen in flashbacks. Seasons 2–8
  • Lt. (later Lt. Cdr.) Maggie Poole — successor of the deceased MacReynolds (played by Jean Bruce Scott). Seasons 3–8
  • Luther H. Gillis — mock-film noir private eye from St. Louis (played by Eugene Roche), and narrator of the five episodes in which he appeared. Seasons 4–8
  • Moki - bartender of the King Kamehameha Club in Season 1. He was later replaced with Keoki. Seasons 1-?
  • Keoki - bartender / server of the King Kamehameha Club starting in Season 2. Seasons 2-4

List of episodes

Guest Stars

The Cast of Magnum P.I. - Larry Manetti as Orville "Rick" Wright (left), Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum (center-bottom), Roger E. Mosley as Theodore "T.C." Calvin (upper-center) and John Hillerman as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III (right).

DVD releases

Universal Studios Home Entertainment has released all eight seasons of Magnum P.I. on DVD in Region 1 for the very first time. Season 8 will be released in Region 2 on May 192008.

Season(s) Ep # Region 1 Region 2 Region 4
The Complete First Season 18 September 72004 [4][5] September 132004 December 12004
The Complete Second Season 22 April 122005 July 42005 September 192005
The Complete Third Season* 23 January 312006 January 302006 July 122006
The Complete Fourth Season 21 April 42006 June 262006 September 202006
The Complete Fifth Season 22 October 102006 February 122007 March 212007
The Complete Sixth Season 21 February 272007 May 72007 July 42007
The Complete Seventh Season** 22 October 302007 March 312008 June 4, 2008
The Complete Eighth Season*** 13 March 42008 May 192008 TBA
Seasons One, Two, Three & Four 84 N/A November 202006 N/A

* Includes the crossover Season 2 episode from Simon & Simon titled "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend".
** Includes the crossover Season 3 episode from Murder She Wrote titled "Magnum On Ice".
*** Includes the bonus Season 5 episode from The Rockford Files titled "White on White and Nearly Perfect" featuring Tom Selleck.

Awards

Selleck won an Emmy in 1984 for his portrayal of the title character; three years later costar John Hillerman also won an Emmy.[6] In 1981, series creators and writers Glen A. Larson and Donald P. Bellisario received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series.[6][7]

Film "remake" version

In January 2006, it was announced a feature film is again in the planning stages (after several false starts most recently in 2005) and Rawson Marshall Thurber (whose filmmaking credits notably include Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story) would write and direct the screenplay.[citation needed]

In January 2007, it was reported Matthew McConaughey would play Magnum, with Steve Zahn as Rick, Tyrese Gibson as T.C., and William H. Macy as Higgins. [8]

IMDBpro.com has said that on January 172007, the script is finished and the film will be released in 2009.[9]

Broadcasters

References

Wikiquote has quotations related to Magnum, P.I..
  1. ^ Entry for Magnum, P.I from the Museum of Broadcast Communications website
  2. ^ The three buddies wear a gold Team Ring, which bears a Croix de Lorraine on a black field, as a bond of wartime camaraderie.
  3. ^ In the last episode, "Resolutions 2", where Rick gets married, the priest announces Rick's full name as being Orville Wilbur Richard Wright. The series ended in a cliffhanger, as the audience never sees whether or not Manetti's character said the legally-operative phrase "I do". The name may be a discontinuity, as early on in the series Roger E. Mosley's character had referred to him as "Elliot," though in the first episode he is in fact identified as Orville.
  4. ^ The Region 1 version of the Season 1 DVD release comes with an extra disk, featuring extra episodes from later in the series.
  5. ^ The Season 1 (Region 1) release has an error in the episode "China Doll": the musical cues are about 30 seconds off throughout much of the episode.
  6. ^ a b Magnum, P.I. (series) at IMDb
  7. ^ The 1981 Edgar Award was won for an episode entitled "China Doll."
  8. ^ Magnum at BitsofNews.com
  9. ^ Magnum News
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