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Magnum, P.I.
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| Magnum, P.I. | |
|---|---|
Title card (seasons 3-8)
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| Genre | Crime drama |
| Created by | Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson |
| Written by | Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson Chris Abbott Jay Huguely Reuben Leder |
| Directed by | Ray Austin Michael Vejar Ivan Dixon |
| Starring | Tom Selleck John Hillerman Roger E. Mosley Larry Manetti |
| Narrated by | Tom Selleck |
| Theme music composer | Ian Freebairn-Smith (pilot, early season 1) Mike Post Pete Carpenter |
| Composer(s) | Ian Freebairn-Smith (pilot, early season 1) Mike Post Pete Carpenter |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Originallanguage(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 162 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executiveproducer(s) | Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson Tom Selleck |
| Producer(s) | Tom Greene |
| Location(s) | Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi |
| Running time | 48 min. (excluding commercials) |
| Productioncompany(s) | Universal Television |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | CBS |
| Picture format | Original Broadcast: 4:3 480i (SDTV) Remastered: 4:3 1080i (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Monaural |
| Original run | December 11, 1980 – May 8, 1988 |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Simon & Simon Murder, She Wrote |
Magnum, P.I. is an American television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from 1980 to 1988 in first-run broadcast on the American CBS television network.
According to the Nielsen ratings, Magnum, P.I. consistently ranked in the top twenty U.S. television programs during the first five years that the series was originally broadcast in the United States. [1] It has had a lasting impact and is currently aired in syndication on Cozi TV.
Contents
[hide]Premise[edit]
Private Investigator Thomas Sullivan Magnum resides in the guest house of a posh, 200-acre (0.81 km2) 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 expertise in security; the pilot and several early episodes suggest Magnum also did Masters a favor of some kind, possibly when Masters hired him for a case. The voice of Robin Masters, heard only a few times per season, was provided by Orson Welles (one last "appearance" was provided by a different actor, Reid Crandell).
With Magnum living a luxurious life on the Estate and operating as a P.I. on cases that suit him, the only thorn in the side of this near-perfect lifestyle on the Estate, isJonathan Quayle Higgins III (played by Texas-born veteran actor John Hillerman), an ex-British Army Sergeant Major, a (on the surface) stern, "by-the-book" ex-soldier whose strict ways usually conflict with Magnum's much more easy-going methods. He patrols Robin's Nest with his two highly trained "lads", Doberman Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo. Often as a humorous aside during various episodes of the series, Magnum must bargain with Higgins for use of estate amenities other than the guest house and the Ferrari 308 GTS (e.g., tennis courts, wine cellar, expensive cameras). The relationship between Magnum and Higgins was initially that almost of a "friendly nemesis", but as the series progressed over the seasons, an unspoken respect and fondness of sorts grew between the pair, and as such, many episodes dedicated more screen time to this "odd couple" pairing after the relationship proved popular with fans.
A recurrent theme throughout the last two seasons (starting in the episode "Paper War") involves Magnum's suspicion that Higgins is actually Robin Masters since he opens Robin's mail, calls Robin's Ferrari "his car", etc. This possibility is contradictory to numerous references throughout the series' earlier run (e.g., phone calls from abroad; the fact that Robin is recognized by famous people). Although the three of them have been together before, Magnum is convinced that Higgins hired an actor to play Robin Masters (a short rotund guy with an Orson Welles voice, as Magnum puts it).
Aside from Higgins, Magnum's two other main cohorts on the islands are Theodore "T.C." Calvin (Roger E. Mosley), who runs local helicopter charter service Island Hoppers - and so often finds himself persuaded by Magnum to fly him during various cases; and Rick Wright (Larry Manetti) (who refuses to use his birth name, Orville), who owns a local bar. In the Pilot, this was "Rick's Place" in town, inspired by Casablanca, with Rick appearing in suitable 1930s attire. However, after completion of the Pilot, executives on the series felt that audiences would be unable to fully connect with this element, and instead Rick moved to running the plush beachside King Kamehameha Club - which has exclusive membership and Higgins on the board of directors, and yet Magnum often strolls around, using the facilities and running up an ever unpaid tab, further fueling the Magnum / Higgins feud. T.C. and Rick are both former Marines from VMO-2 with whom Magnum served in the Vietnam War.[2] The series was one of the first to deal with Vietnam veterans as "human beings" and not as shell-shocked killers, and was praised by many ex-servicemen groups for doing so. Magnum often dupes, tricks or bribes T.C. and Rick into aiding him in various ways on the cases he works on, much to their frustration, though the deep friendship between the group, including Higgins, proved to be one of the key elements of the series over its eight-season run.
Magnum lives a 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 Quattrovalvole as well as many other of Robin Masters’ luxuries. He keeps a mini-fridge with a seemingly endless supply of beer ("Old Dusseldorf in a long neck"), wears his father's treasured Rolex GMT Master wristwatch, is surrounded by countless beautiful women (who are often victims of crime, his clients or connected in various other ways to the cases he solves). Other characteristics specific to Magnum are his thick mustache, a Detroit Tigers baseball hat, a rubber chicken, and a variety of colorful Aloha shirts.
Nearly every episode is narrated, in voice-over, by Magnum at various points; and Magnum and Higgins often break the fourth wall by locking eyes with or, occasionally, directly addressing the audience; other characters also do this, though less frequently.
At the end of the seventh season, Magnum was to be killed off, which was intended to end the series. The final episode of the season, "Limbo", after seeing Magnum wander around as a ghost for nearly the entire run-time, closes with him appearing to walk off into heaven. However, following outcry from fans, who demanded a more satisfactory conclusion, an eighth, final season was produced, to bring Magnum "back to life", and to round the series off.[3] A number of other episodes also make reference to supernatural occurrences and the seeming existence of ghosts.
The show also recognized the existence of the fictional elite police unit that appeared in the series Hawaii Five-O. In the pilot episode, Magnum references the unit's chief McGarrett by name. This was a tribute to the long-running show starring Jack Lord, that ran on CBS from the fall of 1968 through to the summer of 1980—to be replaced, in essence, in the fall of 1980 by Magnum, P.I.. The show also did crossover episodeswith Simon & Simon and Murder, She Wrote. The episodes "Ki'is Don't Lie" and "Novel Connection" begin respective plots that conclude on the Simon & Simon episode "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend" and the Murder, She Wrote episode "Magnum on Ice", both of which featured Tom Selleck as Magnum and John Hillerman as Higgins, while Jameson Parker and Gerald McRaney guest starred on Magnum, P.I. as the Simon brothers A.J. & Rick and Angela Lansbury guest starred as Jessica Fletcher. For re-run and overseas purposes, the first half of these crossovers (the Magnum episode) also had alternate endings filmed, which wrapped the story up in a single episode and so allowed repeat showings to be shown as "stand alone" stories instead of being two-part crossovers. The successor series to Hawaii Five-O, Hawaii Five-0, paid tribute to Magnum, P.I. when in the 2013 episode "Hoa Pili" the cast referenced the show Magnum, P.I. as they were flying over the island in a helicopter to the sound of the Magnum, P.I. theme.
Cast[edit]
- Tom Selleck as Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV: Growing up in Tidewater, Virginia, Magnum is a Detroit-born third-generation naval officer, the son of a deceased naval aviator killed during the Korean War. He is a 1967 graduate of the United States Naval Academy where he played quarterback for the Naval Academy football team. He served as a Navy SEAL "operator" during the Vietnam War where he was trained incounter-insurgency, as a sniper, in lock picking, safe-cracking and assorted firearms including his favored sidearm, the Colt M1911 pistol he carried in the Navy. He resigned from the Navy in disillusionment after approximately ten years of service, including three tours of service during the U.S. military involvement in the Vietnam War, his final post being with the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI), although the show referred to it as the NIA for Naval Intelligence Agency, in Hawaii. Asked why he resigned, Magnum explains, "I woke up one day at 33 and realized I had never been 23." Thomas begins the series at age 34, having resigned from the Navy one year prior. Magnum takes his job seriously and does not appreciate abbreviations such as P.I. or private eye — whenever referred to in such a manner he corrects the person and remarks that he is a "private investigator".
- Roger E. Mosley as Theodore Calvin, a.k.a. "T.C.": a helicopter pilot who operates a tourist charter business called Island Hoppers, wherein he pilots a Hughes 500D helicopter, decked out with distinctive livery. A former Marine Corps officer and rotary wing (helicopter) pilot in Vietnam, 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 — encounter trouble. With the exception of some early season 1 episodes, T.C. avoids alcohol, instead preferring milk, soda, or fruit juice, but mostly coffee. He often called Higgins "Higgy Baby" and is coach of a local peewee football team. The episode Missing Melody centers around his daughter who has been kidnapped. He also has a son with ex-wife, Tina.
- Larry Manetti as Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright:[4] a suave playboy who is manager of the King Kamehameha Club, an exclusive beachfront members-only club. In the pilot, Rick owned a disco themedRick’s Cafe Americaine, where the decor was styled after the nightclub in the film Casablanca and Rick dressed like Humphrey Bogart's character, Richard Blaine in the movie. Rick also maintains a number of underworld contacts (one of whom is gangland figure Francis "Icepick" Hofstetler, q.v.). Rick, a former U.S. Marine, is an expert in weaponry, particularly submachineguns and pistols. He was T.C.’s door gunnerduring the war in Vietnam while both served in the Marine Corps.
- John Hillerman as Jonathan Quayle Higgins III: The majordomo of "Robin's Nest," a mansion in Hawaii. Higgins has a storied military background as a sergeant major in the British Army's Yorkshire Regiment(he often wears a blazer with that regiment's cap badge of galloping horse on the pocket) and loves order above all else. As such, he and Magnum frequently argue over petty matters, often culminating in his use of the phrase "Oh my God!" in response to some outlandish act on Magnum's part. An inveterate "old war story" teller, Higgins received the Victoria Cross. He is frequently accompanied by his Doberman Pinscher guard dogs, Zeus and Apollo.
Recurring characters[edit]
- 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. He is also, like Magnum, a Detroit Tigers fan and is murdered early in the episode Tiger's Fan. Seasons 2–8
- Agatha Chumley — Higgins' quintessentially English lady friend (played by Gillian Dobb). First appearance in the episode "Black on White." Seasons 3-8[5]
- Colonel "Buck" Greene — Marine Corps intelligence officer (played by Lance LeGault), often Magnum's nemesis. Seasons 2–8 LeGault also played John W. Newton, aka "Delta One" in Episode 1.9 "Missing in Action"
- Carol Baldwin — assistant district attorney (played in all but the first appearance by Kathleen Lloyd). Seasons 3–8 (Before playing Carol Baldwin, Lloyd guest starred in the episode "Almost Home" as Bridget Archer.)[6]
- Lieutenant "Mac" MacReynolds — doughnut-munching Navy Intelligence Agency (NIA) lieutenant (played by Jeff MacKay), killed by a car bomb planted by "Ivan", a Russian KGB officer and nemesis of Magnum. Mac returns as a ghost for three episodes ("Mac's Back", "Limbo" and "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts") and later as a look-alike character (see below). In the pilot, MacKay portrayed "Ski," [7] a guard at the entrance gate of Pearl Harbor. Seasons 1–3 and 7–8
- Jim Bonnick — con man and an ex-navy pilot who was released on a medical discharge, (played by Jeff MacKay) who was also MacReynolds' look-alike. In at least one episode ("Mac's Back") MacKay appeared in both roles. Seasons 5–8.
- Francis "Icepick" Hofstetler — German American loan-shark and major underworld figure from Chicago and Rick Wright’s father figure (played by veteran actorElisha Cook, Jr.)
- Dr. Ibold, M.D. "Doc Ibold" — minor character (played by Glenn Cannon) who appeared in many episodes when scripts called for a physician. First referred to as "Script Writer #1", he was known for prescribing opiates for any and all ailments. Seasons 2–8. Cannon also played Dr. Bernard Kessler in Episode 1.7 "Never Again...Never Again".
- Michelle Hue — the love of Magnum’s life (played by Marta DuBois); she and Magnum married in Vietnam but the marriage was invalidated legally and in Michelle's eyes when her first husband, a North Vietnamese general who was presumed dead, resurfaced. Magnum had believed that Michelle died during the 1975 evacuation of Saigon. Seasons 2–8
- Lieutenant. (later Lt. Commander) Maggie Poole — successor of the deceased MacReynolds (played by Jean Bruce Scott). She dislikes her superior Col. Greene. 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
- Lt. Nolan Page — a hard-nosed, no-nonsense Honolulu Police Department lieutenant with a New York accent (played by Joe Santos) who assists Magnum on several cases.
- Moki — bartender of the King Kamehameha Club in Season 1 who was later replaced by Keoki. Seasons 1-2
- Keoki — bartender / server of the King Kamehameha Club starting in Season 2. He is arrested by Tanaka for trying to rob the club in the episode "I Witness". Seasons 2-4
Guest stars[edit]
In addition to the reoccurring stars and the weekly appearances of minor actors to fill the roles of victims and crooks, dozens of notable actors appeared on the show. Carol Burnett, Ted Danson, Ernest Borgnine,Kim Richards, Morgan Fairchild, Dana Delaney, Alfonso Ribeiro, Angela Lansbury (as Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote), Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker (as Rick and A.J. Simon from Simon & Simon), Frank Sinatra, and Sharon Stone (to name just a few) all appeared either before, during, or after making their names on the stage, in movies, or television.
Setting[edit]
Robin's Nest is the fictional beach front estate on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, which serves as the residence of the main characters. In the series, it is portrayed as owned by a renowned novelist Robin Masters, who is seldom present at the estate and entrusts Jonathan Higgins as the estate's caretaker and Thomas Magnum as its security expert. Higgins resides in the estate's main house while Magnum occupies the guest house.
In reality, Robin's Nest is a private residence owned by local Hawaiian politician Eve Glover Anderson, who is the stepdaughter of Cox Communications heiress Barbara Cox Anthony, the wealthiest Hawaiian resident until her death on May 28, 2007.[8] The property is known locally as "The Anderson Estate."
The Anderson Estate is located on the east shore of Oahu at 41-505 Kalanianaole Highway (Route 72) near Waimanalo Beach (21°19′30″N 157°40′48″W). It was built in the early 1930s, and comprises a large main house, a boathouse (which in the series appears as the guest house that Magnum occupies), a gatehouse, a private tennis court, a beach front and the tidal pool.
In the Magnum, P.I. series, the estate was primarily used for exterior scenes set at Robin's Nest. Virtually all of the indoor scenes set at Robin's Nest were filmed at the Hawaii Film Studio.
Vehicles[edit]
Cars[edit]
Robin Masters' cars
- ROBIN 1
- Season 1: Ferrari 308GTS
- Seasons 2-6: Ferrari 308GTSi
- Seasons 7-8: Ferrari 308GTSi QV[9]
- ROBIN 2
- Audi 5000 Type 43 (C2) (1980)
- Audi 5000 Type 44 (C3) (1985)[10]
- Jaguar XJ Series II (1974) (Season 4 "Holmes Is Where The Heart Is")
- ROBIN 3
- GMC Jimmy
- Jeep Wagoneer (XJ Model)
Others
- Island Hoppers (TC's) van - Volkswagen Caravelle T3 Type 25[10]
- Rick's convertible - Mercedes-Benz R107.[11] (Col. Buck Green referred to it as a 450SL when Rick went missing), Internet Movie Car Database, and at least one Corvette in an early episode while Thomas and Rick drove side-by-side on a two-lane byway. http://imcdb.org/vehicle_32875-Mercedes-Benz-SL-R107.html. Rick drove the Mercedes from the middle of Season 2 through the end of the series.
- Rick's Datsun 280ZX - Nissan S130.[12] Rick drove this car when the series started until middle of season 2, when he got the Mercedes. http://imcdb.org/vehicle_376849-Datsun-280ZX-S130-1980.html
Aircraft[edit]
- Island Hoppers (TC's) helicopter - Hughes 500D (various models)[13]
- Ken Enderlin Charters - N9267F is a Hughes Model 369HS built in 1975 - Construction Number (C/N): 1150778S
(in the episode "Dream a Little Dream" and "Missing Melody"),[14]
Development[edit]
![[icon]](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small} | This section requires expansion.(September 2008) |
Selleck's contract commitment to the Magnum, P.I. series famously cost him the role of Indiana Jones in the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark, which went to Harrison Ford.[15] Selleck was unable to take the part of Indy as Magnum was due to start filming in March 1980. However, because of a writer's strike, the start of production on Magnum was delayed until December 1980, which would have allowed Selleck to play Indy.[16] In Magnum, P.I.'s final season, the producers gave a nod to his sacrifice with the episode "Legend of the Lost Art", which parodied the film.[17]
List of episodes[edit]
Main article: List of Magnum, P.I. episodes
Broadcast history[edit]
| Season | Time slot |
|---|---|
| 1 (1980–81) | Thursday at 9:00-10:00 pm (EST) |
| 2 (1981–82) | Thursday at 8:00-9:00 pm (EST) |
| 3 (1982–83) | |
| 4 (1983–84) | |
| 5 (1984–85) | |
| 6 (1985–86) | |
| 7 (1986–87) | Wednesday at 9:00-10:00 pm (EST) |
| 8 (1987–88) |
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