Thomas Magnum (Magnum, P.I.)

Created by Donald P. Bellisario & Glen A. Larson

I just don’t get it.

Never has such a so-so show had such a large impact on the genre as the MAGNUM, P.I. A watered-down and beefcaked-up Rockford Files wannabe, utilizing Hawaii 5-O‘s discarded props and then-rising star (and former cigarette commercial star) Tom Selleck…

Okay, okay, I know. You probably loved the show.

And you aren’t alone. Millions of people loved it. Love, love, loved it.

But it was all too cheesy and erratic for me. Maybe my disdain was simply generational? Maybe I’d been spoiled by the glut of great TV eyes from the previous decade, but Magnum just never did it for me.

It wobbled from wink-wink adolescent fantasy to heavy drama and back again (sometimes within the same show), and utilized voice-overs, dream sequences, characters playing multiple roles, fantasy episodes, cameos and other such gimmicks. The casual warmth and sly wit of Rockford was replaced by some by-the-numbers male bonding and a certain smug cleverness, more intent at appearing clever than actually being clever. And despite all their later attempts at humanizing the main characters, they never really came to life for me. They merely became smirky props–now with backstories!

Too bad. Tom Selleck was certainly affable enough, and to his credit, he tried to play against type, insisting that things wouldn’t always come easy for his character. THOMAS MAGNUM was a former SEAL and Naval Intelligence officer, who had seen action in Vietnam, and was now working as a private investigator (he’s got a pet peeve about being called a private detective or, GASP! a private eye) in Hawaii.

His drop-dead good looks were a lot easier to swallow when it was revealed he did have flaws (but not too many, of course), and it helped that he usually didn’t get the girl. He certainly didn’t dress for success, either. Jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and baseball caps were his basic wardrobe for the entire run. Despite this, somewhere along the line, he still managed to land a plush gig as live-in security at the Oahu estate of wealthy, best-selling (but never seen) novelist Robin Masters. Not only does Magnum get to live rent-free in the guesthouse, but he has access to all the estate’s many facilities, including a Ferrari or two. Or three.

The only catch? Masters’ major domo, Jonathan Higgins, a pompous, stiff upper lip prig, and his two Dobermann Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo, who seemed to dislike Magnum even more than Higgins did. Fortunately, Magnum had his pals from ‘Nam, Theodore “TC” Calvin, who does helicopter tours, and Orville “Rick” Wright, who runs a bar, to keep him company.

Ian Freebairn-Smith did the music for the premiere and the first few episodes of the series, but Mike Post, who went to high school with Selleck, and Pete Carpenter, who had already done the music for The Rockford Files, soon took over.

In fact, although it was no spinoff, The Rockford Files played a large part in setting Selleck up for the role of Magnum, thanks to a handful of popular appearances on that show as squeaky clean (and annoyingly perfect) private eye Lance White. One Magnum episode, “Tigers Fan” (November 4, 1987), even opens with two cops on a stakeout discussing an episode of The Rockford Files that one of them had seen the previous night, and how much he enjoyed watching this Lance White guy bust Jim’s chops.

Not that Magnum resembled Lance in any way — if anything, he was the anti-Lance. He seemed more like a smoother, less complicated version of Rockford–a hanger on crashing at a rich man’s estate, not unlike Rockford living in a trailer under the Malibu cliffs, both with a sort of everyman veneer. But Jim never drove a Ferrari.

Another part of the show’s (questionable) charm were the gimmicks, like the countless nods and sly tributes to other shows and films. Hawaii 5-O and Steve McGarrett were often mentioned, and both Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote, and the Rick and A.J. Simon from Simon and Simon showed up. Meanwhile, “Murder By Night” (January 14, 1987) was a black and white homage to classic detective films; most notably The Maltese Falcon, wherein a cast of characters strangely resembling Magnum, T. C., Rick, and Higgins attempt to solve a 1940s murder. Another episode, “A.A. P.I.” (October 22, 1986) featured TV cops Columbo, Kojak, and Detective Mike Stone (from The Streets of San Francisco) attending a convention. Stephen J. Cannell also makes an appearance. TheFebruary 27, 1987 episode, “Laura,” had Frank Sinatra drop by, in his last major acting role.

Despite the show and its star’s popularity, it all ended, not with a bang, but a prolonged whimper. The last few seasons, in particular, were full of the sort of “very special” episodes that usually indicate creative wheel-spinning, The series finale, “Resolutions” (May 1, 1988), written by Stephen A. Miller and Chris Abbott, and directed by Burt Brinkerhoff, was a letdown almost any way you looked at it.

But it was fun while it lasted. And it inspired a slew of 80s shows that tried to capture the high-flying, high-speed action scenes and the bromance of Magnum and his buddies: Simon and Simon, Riptide, Hardcastle and McCormick all spring to mimd.

Meanwhile. Selleck went on to a relatively successful film career, before returning to television to play Robert B. Parker’s Jesse Stone in a series of mostly entertaining made-for-TV movies, and star in the equally inexplicably popular Blue Bloods on CBS.

* * * * *

And that was it.

In the end, I thought of Magnum P.I. as one of those “okay, but nothing special” shows, and he was certainly no Rockford. Or Harry O. Or even Mannix. Still, a lot of people I know and respect remember it fondly, and for many folks of a certain age, Magnum was THE private eye.

So I guess I shouldn’t have been totally surprised when, almost forty years later, CBS took another whack at it.

By then, Selleck himself was already busy playing a cop in the network’s Blue Bloods (and shilling reverse mortgages in commercials), and he was probably a little long in the tooth for what CBS had in mind anyway. After all, they weren’t going to just bring the show back–they were going to “re-imagine” it.

Which means, in these days of warm-spit groupthink creativity: half-hearted tweaking that’s all surface. The basics are all still in place, without any real evidence that the showrunners had any idea (or cared) what made the original tick. Vietnam is now Afghanistan, but other than that, not much was changed. They cast a good-looking pretty guy (Jay Hernandez) as Magnum, cast some decent looking dudes as Rick and T.J., and in their only slightly daring–if predictable–bit of casting, decided that cranky, stick-up-his-ass Brit Higgins would be played by a good-looking young woman (Perdita Weeks) who just happens to be a former British intelligence agent.

The only problem? Juliet Higgins is by far the most interesting character in the show, and the only one who comes off as actually competent and tough. If they’d really wanted to “re-imagine” the show, they should have cast her as Magnum. She makes Magnum and his pals look like weenies.

But what do I know? The show’s slick and full of big loud action pieces, everyone’s affable and pleasant looking enough, there’s plenty of carefully crafted man-stubble, the plots aren’t particularly complicated, and the showrunner has a good track record, having already reheated leftovers like Hawaii 5-0 and McGyver and turning them into successful reboots. Very special crossover episodes were threatened with the revamped Hawaii 5-0, and promptly delivered.

Maybe it’ll grow on me, but it hasn’t happened yet.

And after four seasons, CBS gave up. Then along came the Peacock network, who promptly picked up the show and began streaming new episodes. The show remained more or less the same, except that Magnum and Juliet are (surprise, surprise!) now a thing, although the bickering and tit-for-tat will likely continue. Oh, and Juliet’s taken to flashing a lot more cleavage than in previous seasons.

People Magazine, in their hard-hitting capsule review of this new rendition, says ”The scenery remains enticingly rich in greenery, water and sun… and Hernandez is handsome, relaxing company.”

Relaxing? I’ll say.

Zzzzzzzz…..

TELEVISION

• MAGNUM, P.I.
  (1980-1988, CBS)
  Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson
  Writers: Donald P. Bellisario, Glen A. Larson, Frank Lupo, Babs Greyhosky, Joe Gores, Roger E. Mosley, Tom Selleck, Philip DeGuere, Ken Pettus, Frank Lupo, Craig Faustus Buck, Chris Bunch, Allan Cole, Rogers Turrentine, Robert Hamilton, Tim Maschler, Jeff Wilhelm, Diane Frolov, Alan Sutterfield, Andrew Schneider, Reuben Leder, Caroline Elias, Del Reisman, Robert Van Scoyk, Bob Shayne, Reuben Leder, Rob Gilmer, Alan Cassidy, Steven Hensley, J.Miyoko Hensley, Julie Friedgen, Louis F. Vipperman, Jeri Taylor, Stephen A. Miller, Chris Abbott, Stephen Miller, Kimmer Ringwald, Maryanne Kasica, Michael Scheff, Deborah Dean Davis, Richard Yalem, Jay Huguely, Nick Thiel, J. Rickley Dumm, Louis F. Vipperman, Chris Abbott-Fish, Judy Burns, Jill Sherman Donner, Deborah M. Pratt, J. Miyoko Hensley, Steven Hensley, Phil Combest, Sybil Adelman, Martin Sage, Don Balluck, Reuben Leder, Bruce Cervi
  Directors: Donald P. Bellisario, Roger Young, Larry Doheny, Douglas Heyes, Robert Loggia, Stuart Margolin, Roger E. Mosley, Leo Penn, Ray Austin, Rick Kolbe, Ron Satlof, Michael Vejar, Sidney Hayers, Alan Levi, Gilbert Shilton, Rod Daniel, Robert Totten, Lawrence Doheny, James Frawley, Ivan Dixon, Michael O’Herlihy, Jeff Hayden, Burt Kennedy, Jim Frawley, Virgil Vogel, Harvey Laidman, Reuben Leder, Ray Danton, Russ Mayberry, Burt Brinkerhoff, John C. Flinn, III, Corey Allen, Jackie Cooper, Jerry Jameson, Tony Wharmby, John Flinn, III., Joan Darling, Alan J. Levi, Harvey Laidman, Bernard Kowalski, Harry Falk, John L. Moxey, Georg Stanford Brown, Vincent McEveety, Arthur Seidelman, John Patterson, Peter Medak, David Hemmings, Harry Harris, Reuben Leder, Jerry Jameson
  Theme composed and performed by Mike Post.
  Starring Tom Selleck as THOMAS S. MAGNUM
  With John Hillerman as Jonathan Quayle Higgins
  and Roger E. Mosley as T.C.
  Larry Manetti as “Rick” Orville Wilbour Wright III
  and Orson Welles as The Voice of Robin Masters
  Recurring roles included Jeff MacKay as Mac Reynolds
  Gillian Dobb as Agatha Chumley
  Kwan Hi Lim as Lt. Tanaka
  Elisha Cook, Jr. as Ice Pick
  Eugene Roche as Luther Gillis
  Gwen Verdon as Katherine Peterson, Thomas’ mother
  Robert Pine as Thomas S. Magnum III, Magnum’s father
  Guest Stars: Robert Loggia, Lee De Broux, Ian McShane, Anne Lockhart, Miguel Ferrer, Scatman Crothers, Gretchen Corbett, Noah Beery, Stuart Margolin, Joe Santos, Andrea Marcovicci, Ted Danson, Erin Gray, Jacquelyn Ray, James Whitmore Jr., Marta DuBois, Soon Tech Oh, Paul Burke, Gillian Dobb, Tyne Daly, Mimi Rogers, Pat Morita, Phyllis Davis, Candy Clark, , Joe Regalbuto, Alan Hale, Dick Butkus, Eileen Brennan, Margaret Colin, Shannon Dougherty, Jean Bruce Scott, Kathleen Lloyd, Ernest Borgnine, Seth Sakai, Annie Potts, James Doohan, Norman Fell, Frank Sinatra, Dana Delany, Carol Burnett, Jillie Mack, Carol Channing (cameo), Chuck Mangione, Patrick MacNee, Deborah Pratt, Sharon Stone, Pat Hingle, John Ratzenberger , Cesar Romero, Shannon Doherty, Dennis Weaver, Paul Verdier, Gerald McRaney, Jameson Parker, Morgan Fairchild, Ronald Lacey, Laurette Spang, Jenny Agutter, Sharon Stone and Jill St. John.
  
  
  • Season One | Buy this DVD set
  • “Don’t Eat the Snow in Hawaii” (December 11, 1980)
  • “China Doll” (December 18, 1980)
  • “Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones, Too” (December 25, 1980)
  • “No Need to Know” (January 8, 1981)
  • “Skin Deep” (January 15, 1981)
  • “Never Again, Never Again” (January 22, 1981)
  • “The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii” (January 29, 1981)
  • “Missing in Action” (February 5, 1981)
  • “Lest We Forget” (February 12, 1981)
  • “The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club” (February 19, 1981)
  • “Thicker Than Blood” (February 26, 1981)
  • “All Roads Lead to Floyd” (March 12, 1981)
  • “Adelaide” (March 19, 1981)
  • “Don’t Say Goodbye” (March 26, 1981)
  • “The Black Orchid” (April 2, 1981)
  • “J. “Digger” Doyle” (April 9, 1981)
  • “Beauty Knows No Pain” (April 16, 1981)
  • Season Two | Buy this DVD set
  • “Billy Joe Bob” (October 8, 1981)
  • “Dead Man’s Channel” (October 15, 1981)
  • “The Woman on the Beach” (October 22, 1981)
  • “From Moscow to Maui” (October 29, 1981)
  • “Memories are Forever” (November 5, 1981)
  • “Tropical Madness” (November 12, 1981)
  • “Wave Goodbye” (November 19, 1981)
  • “Mad Buck Gibson” (November 26, 1981)
  • “The Taking of Dick McWilliams” (December 3, 1981)
  • “The Sixth Position” (December 17, 1981)
  • “Ghost Writer” (December 24, 1981)
    Elisha Cook Jr.’s first appearance. Later he takes over the role of Ice Pick.
  • “The Jororo Kill” (January 7, 1982)
  • “Computer Date” (January 14, 1982)
  • “Try To Remember” (January 28, 1982)
  • “Italian Ice” (February 4, 1982)
  • “One More Summer” (February 11, 1982)
  • “Texas Lightning” (February 18, 1982)
  • “Double Jeopardy” (February 25, 1982)
  • “The Last Page” (March 4, 1982)
  • “The Elmo Ziller Story” (March 25, 1982)
  • “Three Minus Two” (April 1, 1982)
  • Season Three | Buy this DVD set
  • “Did You See the Sunrise?(September 30, 1982)
  • “Ki’i’s Don’t Lie” (October 7, 1982)
    Crossover, written by Philip DeGuere, Bob Shayne. Concluded in the Simon & Simon episode “Emeralds Are Not A Girl’s Best Friend”.
  • “The Eighth Part of The Village” (October 14, 1982)
  • “Past Tense” (October 21, 1982)
  • “Black on White” (October 28, 1982)
  • “Flashback” (November 4, 1982)
  • “Foiled Again” (November 11, 1982)
  • “Mr. White Death” (November 18, 1982)
  • “Mixed Doubles” (December 2, 1982)
  • “Almost Home” (December 9, 1982)
  • “Heal Thyself” (December 16, 1982)
  • “Of Sound Mind” (January 6, 1983)
  • “The Arrow That is Not Aimed” (January 27, 1983)
  • “Basket Case” (February 3, 1983)
  • “Birdman of Budapest” (February 10, 1983)
  • “I Do?” (February 17, 1983)
  • “Forty Years From Sand Island” (February 24, 1983)
  • “Legacy From a Friend” (March 10, 1983)
  • “Two Birds of a Feather” (March 17, 1983)
  • “…By Its Cover” (March 31, 1983)
  • “The Big Blow” (April 7, 1983)
  • “Faith and Begorrah” (April 28, 1983)
  • Season Four | Buy this DVD set
  • “Home From the Sea” (September 29, 1983)
  • “Luther Gillis: File #521” (October 6, 1983)
  • “Smaller Than Life” (October 13, 1983)
  • “Distant Relative” (October 20, 1983)
  • “Limited Engagement” (November 3, 1983)
  • “Letter to a Duchess” (November 10, 1983)
  • “Squeeze Play” (November 17, 1983)
  • “A Sense of Debt” (December 1, 1983)
  • “The Look” (December 8, 1983)
  • “Operation: Silent Night” (December 15, 1983)
  • “Jororo Farewell” (January 5, 1984)
  • “The Case of the Red-Faced Thespian” (January 19, 1984)
  • “No More Mr. Nice Guy” (January 26, 1984)
  • “Rembrandt’s Girl” (February 2, 1984)
  • “Paradise Blues” (February 9, 1984)
  • “The Return of Luther Gillis” (February 16, 1984)
  • “Let the Punishment Fit the Crime” (February 23, 1984)
  • “Holmes Is Where the Heart is” (March 8, 1984)
  • “On Face Value” (March 15, 1984)
  • “Dream A Little Dream” (March 29, 1984)
  • “I Witness” (May 3, 1984)
  • Season Five | Buy this DVD set
  • “Echoes Of the Mind, Part 1” (September 27, 1984)
  • “Echoes Of the Mind, Part 2” (October 4, 1984)
  • “Mac’s Back” (October 11, 1984)
  • “The Legacy of Garwood Huddle” (October 18, 1984)
  • “Under World” (October 25, 1984)
  • “Fragments” (November 1, 1984)
  • “Blind Justice” (November 8, 1984)
  • “Murder 101” (November 15, 1984)
  • “Tran Quoc Jones” (November 29, 1984)
  • “Luther Gillis: File #001” (December 6, 1984)
  • “Kiss of the Sabre” (December 13, 1984)
  • “Little Games” (January 3, 1985)
  • “Professor Jonathan Higgins” (January 10, 1985)
  • “Compulsion” (January 24, 1985)
  • “All For One” (January 31, 1985)
  • “The Love-For-Sale Boat” (February 14, 1985)
  • “Let Me Hear the Music” (February 21, 1985)
  • “Ms. Jones” (March 7, 1985)
  • “The Man from Marseilles” (March 14, 1985)
  • “Torah, Torah, Torah” (March 28, 1985)
  • “A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken” (April 4, 1985)
  • Season Six | Buy this DVD set
  • “Deja Vu” (September 26, 1985)…Buy this video
  • “Old Acquaintance” (October 3, 1985)
  • “The Kona Winds” (October 10, 1985)
  • “The Hotel Dick” (October 17, 1985)
  • “Round and Around” (October 24, 1985)
  • “Going Home” (October 31, 1985)
  • “Paniolo” (November 7, 1985)
  • “The Treasure of Kalaniopu’u” (November 14, 1985)
  • “Blood and Honor” (November 21, 1985)
  • “I Never Wanted to Go to France, Anyway” (January 2, 1986)
  • “Summer School” (January 9, 1986)
  • “Mad Dogs and Englishmen” (January 23, 1986)
  • “All Thieves On Deck” (January 30, 1986)
  • “This Island Isn’t Big Enough” (February 13, 1986)
  • “Way of the Stalking Horse” (February 20, 1986)
  • “Find Me a Rainbow” (March 13, 1986)
  • “Who Is Don Luis, Higgins, …And Why Is He Doing These Terrible Things To Me?” (March 20, 1986)
  • “A Little Bit of Luck … A Little Bit of Grief” (April 3, 1986)
  • “Photo Play” (April 10, 1986)
  • Season Seven | Buy this DVD set
  • “L.A.” (October 1, 1986)
  • “One Picture is Worth…’ (October 8, 1986)
  • “Straight and Narrow” (October 15, 1986)
  • “A.A. P.I.” (October 22, 1986)
    Columbo, Kojak, and Detective Mike Stone attend the A. A. P. I. convention. See them in the audience. Stephen J. Cannell guest stars.
  • “Death and Taxes” (October 29, 1986)
    Joe Santos’ first appearance as Lt. Page.
  • “Little Girl Who” (November 5, 1986)
  • “Paper War” (November 12, 1986)
  • “Novel Connection” (November 19, 1986)
    A cross-over. The story continues in the Murder She Wrote episode “Magnum On Ice”. Angela Lansbury guests.
  • “Kapu” (November 26, 1986.
  • “Missing Melody” (December 3, 1986)
  • “Death of the Flowers” (December 10, 1986)
  • “Autumn Warrior” (December 17, 1986)
  • “Murder By Night” (January 14, 1987)
    Popularly known as the black and white episode, or the “Sam Spade” episode. A 1940s murder involves a cast of characters strangely resembling Magnum, T. C., Rick, and Higgins.
  • “On the Fly” (January 21, 1987)
  • “Solo Flight” (February 4, 1987)
  • “Forty” (February 11, 1987)
  • “Laura” (February 25, 1987)
  • “Out of Sync” (March 11, 1987)
  • “The Aunt Who Came to Dinner” (March 18, 1987)
  • “The People vs. Orville Wright” (April 1, 1987)
  • “Limbo” (April 15, 1987)
    Tom Selleck is co-writer of this “very special” episode. Magnum is heavily injured after a shooting. In coma, Magnum roams the island and finds his former wife. He helps her when she is pursued by killers…
  • Season Eight |  Buy this DVD set
  • “Infinity And Jelly Doughnuts” (October 7, 1987))
  • “Pleasure Principle” (October 14, 1987)
  • “Innocence … A Broad” (October 28, 1987)
  • “Tigers Fan” (November 4, 1987)
  • “Forever In Time” (November 11, 1987)
  • “The Love That Lies” (November 18, 1987)
  • “A Girl Named Sue” (January 13, 1988)
  • “Unfinished Business” (January 20, 1988)
  • “The Great Hawaiian Adventure Company” (January 27, 1988)
  • “Legend of the Lost Art” (February 10, 1988)
  • “Transitions” (February 17, 1988)
  • “Resolutions, Part 1+2” (May 1, 1988)
• MAGNUM, P.I.
  (2018-22, CBS)
  Developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim
  Based on characters created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson
  Premiere: September 24, 2018
  Writers: Peter M. Lenkov, Eric Guggenheim
  Directors: Justin Lin
  Theme composed and performed by Mike Post.
  Starring Jay Hernandez as THOMAS HIGGINS
  Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins
  Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright
  Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvi
  Also starring Amy Hill,Tim Kang, Domenick Lombardozzi 
  Guest Stars: Kimee Balmilero, Taylor Wily, Alex O’Loughlin
  
  
  • SEASON ONE
  • “I Saw the Sun Rise” (September 24, 2018)
  • “From the Head Down” (October 1, 2018)
  • “The Woman Who Never Died” (October 8, 2018)
  • “Six Paintings, One Frame” (October 15, 2018)
  • “Sudden Death”  (October 22, 2018)
  • “Death Is Only Temporary”  (October 29, 2018)
  • “The Cat Who Cried Worl” (November 5, 2018)
  • “Die He Said” (November 12, 2018)
  • “The Ties That Bind” (November 19, 2018)
  • “Bad Day to Be a Hero” (December 10, 2018)
  • “Nowhere to Hide” (January 14, 2019)
  • “Winner Takes All” (January 20, 2019)
  • “Day of the Viper” (January 21, 2019)
  • “I, The Deceased” (January 28, 2019)
  • “Day the Past Came Back” (February 18, 2019)
  • “Murder Is Never Quiet” (February 25, 2019)
  • “Black Is the Widow” (March 4, 2019)
  • “A Kiss Before Dying” (March 11, 2019)
  • “Blood in the Water” (March 25, 2019)
  • “The Day It All Came Together” (April 1, 2019)
  • SEASON TWO
  • “Payback Is for Beginners” (September 27, 2019)
  • “Honor Among Thieves” (October 4, 2019)
  • “Knight Lasts Forever” (October 11, 2019)
  • “Dead Inside” (October 18, 2019)
  • “Make It ‘Til Dawn” (October 25, 2019)
  • “Lie, Cheat, Steal, Kill” (October 4, 2019)
  • “The Man in the Secret Room” (November 8, 2019)
  • “He Came by Night” (November 15, 2019)
  • “A Bullet Named Fate” (November 22, 2019)
  • “Blood Brothers” (December 6, 2019)
  • “Day I Met the Devil” (November 13, 2019)
  • “Desperate Measures” (January 3, 2020)
  • “Mondays are for Murder” (January 10, 2020)
  • “A Game of Cat and Mouse” (January 31, 2020)
  • “Say Hello to Your Past” (April 10, 2020)
  • “Farewell to Love” (April 17, 2020)
  • “The Night Has Eyes” (April 24, 2020)
  • “A World of Trouble” (May 1, 2020)
  • “May the Best One Win” (May 8, 2020)
  • “A Leopard on the Prowl” (May 8, 2020)
  • SEASON THREE
  • “Double Jeopardy” (December 4, 2020)
  • “Easy Money” (December 11, 2020)
  • “No Way Out” (December 18, 2020)
  • “First the Beatdown, Then the Blowback” (January 8, 2021)
  • “The Day Danger Walked In” (January 15, 2021)
  • “Tell No One” (January 22, 2021)
  • “Killer on the Midnight Watch” (February 5, 2021)
  • “Someone to Watch Over Me” (February 12, 2021)
  • “The Big Payback” (February 19, 2021)
  • “The Long Way Home” (March 5, 2021)
  • “The Lies We Tell” (March 26, 2021)
  • “Dark Harvest” (April 2, 2021)
  • “Cry Murder” (April 9, 2021)
  • “Whispers of Death” (April 16, 2021)
  • “Before the Fall” (April 30, 2021)
  • “Bloodline” (May 7, 2021)
  • SEASON FOUR
  • “Island Vibes” (October 1, 2021)
  • “The Harder They Fall” (October 8, 2021)
  • “Texas Wedge” (October 15, 2021)
  • “Those We Leave Behind” (October 22, 2021)
  • “Til Death” (November 5, 2021)
  • “Devil on the Doorstep” (November 12, 2021)
  • “A New Lease on Death” (November 19, 2021)
  • “A Fire in the Ashes” (December 3, 2021)
  • “Better Watch Out” (December 10, 2021)
  • “Dream Lover” (January 7, 2022)
  • “If I Should Die Before I Wake” (January 14, 2022)
  • “Angels Sometimes Kill” (January 21, 2022)
  • “Judge Me Not” (January 28, 2022)
  • “Run, Baby, Run” (February 25, 2022)
  • “Dead Man Walking” (March 4, 2022)
  • “Evil Walks Softly” (March 11, 2022)
  • “Remember Me Tomorrow” (April 1, 2022)
  • “Shallow Grave, Deep Water” (April 8, 2022)
  • “The Long Sleep” (April 29, 2022)
  • “Close to Home” (May 6, 2022)
• MAGNUM, P.I.
  (2023, Peacock)
  Developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim
  Based on characters created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson
  Premiere: February 19, 2023
  Writers: Peter M. Lenkov, Eric Guggenheim
  Directors: Justin Lin
  Theme composed and performed by Mike Post.
  Starring Jay Hernandez as THOMAS HIGGINS
  Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins
  Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright
  Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvi
  Also starring Amy Hill,Tim Kang, Domenick Lombardozzi 
  
  • SEASON ONE
  • “The Passenger” (February 19, 2023)
  • “The Breaking Point” (February 19, 2023)
  • “Number One With a Bullet” (February 26, 2023)
  • “NSFW” (March 5, 2023)
  • “Welcome to Paradise, Now Die!” (March 12, 2023)
  • “Dead Ringer” (March 19, 2023)
  • “Dark Skies

FURTHER INVESTIGATION

• The Return of Magnum P.I.
  My thoughts. Your mileage may differ.
• Let’s Go to Hawaii
  Hawaiian Eyes.

THE DICK OF THE DAY

• August 6, 2021

Respectfully Submitteed by Kevin Burton Smith. I don’t know who did the caricature of Magnum up at the top, but it’s been bootlegged all over the place, and you can buy T-shirts, tote bags, coffee mugs, mouse pads, socks, bookbags and probably snowshoes emblazoned with the image.