Is the Magnum legacy in danger due to reboot?

[Magnum4eva]

Something's been on my mind for a while now and I have to just get it off my chest here because this is the best place for it. Does anyone else worry about the legacy of Magnum PI and Tom Selleck's iconic Thomas Magnum being erased due to the reboot? I'd like to think not but it's still something that worries me because the last thing I'd want is for the reboot to erase the hard work and many, many years of entertainment and memories that Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley, Larry Manetti, Don Bellisario and all the amazing writers\crew involved provided. I'm hoping that its place in streaming, reruns and new fancy complete series blu ray release will keep the legacy alive and keep the show from being erased or overshadowed by a "new model".

[KENJI]

No worries at all Magnum4eva!
The original will never be erased by the reboot!!
I've watched all 4 seasons of the reboot and feel the original is way better and Tom......well he is in a league of his own, end of story.
It will be interesting to see what NBC does with the show for the next two seasons.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I agree. No way you can erase the legacy of the original MPI. Not only did it turn Selleck into a superstar (both on the small and big screen) but it made the Ferrari 308 an iconic car. To this day people still know the 308 as the MPI Ferrari. Plus the show itself is just such an iconic part of 80s television. Whenever you see clips of 80s television (promos or highlights or whatever) you ALWAYS see clips from MPI included. SIMON & SIMON? Nope. T.J. HOOKER? Nope. HUNTER? Nope. SCARECROW & MRS. KING? Nope. All fine shows from the 80s to be sure but they just never reached the iconic status that MPI did. Hence why you don't see too much of them when highlights from the 80s are included. Random person on the street maybe never heard of THE FALL GUY but everybody has heard of MPI. That's the show's legacy right there.

On the other hand can you imagine the new MPI being included in the "best of television" when it comes to what people watch today? In fact not much on network television gets talked about anymore. People have drifted off to cable and that's the shows people talk about today. In a few years the new MPI will be just a faint memory (if that). Just like the FIVE-O reboot which actually ran for 10 seasons but is pretty much forgotten now (not that people talked about it when it was on). Now, if Jay Hernandez becomes some kind of a break-out star (a la Will Smith or something) and embarks on a major movie career then maybe his version of MPI would be better remembered but ultimately it would still get overshadowed by his movies, as has happened with Will Smith. Most folks today think of Will Smith as a movie actor and not the "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" (as good as that show was in the 90s). The new MPI just has no chance to cement any kind of legacy. None of Lenkov's shows do. Look at MacGYVER reboot. It came and went. But everybody still knows that Richard Dean Anderson IS MacGyver!

[Magnum4eva]

Boy you both sure do know how to make a guy feel better lol. You're right, I was just being a tad insecure. The legacy is too strong to be overshadowed, especially by a show that is known as its reboot and not as its own thing anyway. Tom Selleck had confidence and security that his show's legacy will always be safe which is why he told them to go ahead and do it once he thought about it. The reboot has its audience and I'm happy that the actors have found steady jobs and success on television but that's all it is because ultimately everyone knows very well that Magnum PI will always be Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti. Just like no matter how plays The Equalizer Edward Woodward will always be the first and the best to do it.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Just like no matter how plays The Equalizer Edward Woodward will always be the first and the best to do it.

Seriously! Queen Latifah as the Equalizer?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever come across. Is that show even still on? Or did it get cancelled already after a few episodes? I liked the fist EQUALIZER movie with Denzel Washington (the second not so much) but then I like Denzel overall as an actor so I thought he did fine in the role. But of course no one will ever replace Edward Woodward.

[T.Q.]

I think maybe a little bit.

Original die-hard Magnum, P.I. fans dying off.

And in some ways it’s being pushed out by Minimag online.

The more years pass the more if you Google “Magnum PI” or “Magnum PI gif” or whatever it’s a chore getting through the Minimag results.

The Internet rules 100% for Millennials and GenZ(ed). In a sense, it decides what is and what isn’t iconic these days to anyone under 30.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I think maybe a little bit.

Original die-hard Magnum, P.I. fans dying off.

And in some ways it’s being pushed out by Minimag online.

The more years pass the more if you Google “Magnum PI” or “Magnum PI gif” or whatever it’s a chore getting through the Minimag results.

The Internet rules 100% for Millennials and GenZ(ed). In a sense, it decides what is and what isn’t iconic these days to anyone under 30.

Actually I just googled MPI images and I got 18 images of classic MPI and 6 of the reboot MPI. So I think we're good. As for classic MPI search content decreasing over the years I don't buy that. Unless the reboot series plans on running for another 10 years. It just got renewed for what... 2 more seasons? Half seasons at that. This show ain't going anywhere. It's pretty much dead. It's not going to overshadow the classic series in any way.

[T.Q.]

Actually I just googled MPI images and I got 18 images of classic MPI and 6 of the reboot MPI. So I think we're good. As for classic MPI search content decreasing over the years I don't buy that. Unless the reboot series plans on running for another 10 years. It just got renewed for what... 2 more seasons? Half seasons at that. This show ain't going anywhere. It's pretty much dead. It's not going to overshadow the classic series in any way.

I dunno.

My DuckDucKGo search is pretty Minimag filled.

I get only 3 lines of iconic Magnum exclusively and then seems to me Minimag starts taking over a bit.

[Magnum4eva]

Just like no matter how plays The Equalizer Edward Woodward will always be the first and the best to do it.

Seriously! Queen Latifah as the Equalizer?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever come across. Is that show even still on? Or did it get cancelled already after a few episodes? I liked the fist EQUALIZER movie with Denzel Washington (the second not so much) but then I like Denzel overall as an actor so I thought he did fine in the role. But of course no one will ever replace Edward Woodward.

Oh you didn't know about that? Believe it or not it is still on. LOL yeah I actually gave it a shot but it was too blah for me. I actually liked the first Denzel movie better than the reboot for sure, but like I said EW will always be the definitive and best Equalizer.

[Magnum4eva]

I think maybe a little bit.

Original die-hard Magnum, P.I. fans dying off.

And in some ways it’s being pushed out by Minimag online.

The more years pass the more if you Google “Magnum PI” or “Magnum PI gif” or whatever it’s a chore getting through the Minimag results.

The Internet rules 100% for Millennials and GenZ(ed). In a sense, it decides what is and what isn’t iconic these days to anyone under 30.

About original fans dying off, I'm actually in my late twenties and have become a mega fan of Magnum since I discovered it just four years ago. I think Magnum being passed down from generation after generation from original fans back in the initial first run helps a lot, as well as its presence on streaming services like Paramount + and Amazon etc. and like I mentioned the new special DVD complete series release was done with such care that there's no way they would've gone all out to do that if they didn't think they were gonna get some big time money from it. So while I have my little insecure moments, ultimately there are still plenty of OG fans left and a crop of new ones like myself.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Actually I just googled MPI images and I got 18 images of classic MPI and 6 of the reboot MPI. So I think we're good. As for classic MPI search content decreasing over the years I don't buy that. Unless the reboot series plans on running for another 10 years. It just got renewed for what... 2 more seasons? Half seasons at that. This show ain't going anywhere. It's pretty much dead. It's not going to overshadow the classic series in any way.

I dunno.

My DuckDucKGo search is pretty Minimag filled.

I get only 3 lines of iconic Magnum exclusively and then seems to me Minimag starts taking over a bit.

That's why you should use Google. I imagine most folks do.

[Reef monkey]

Just like no matter how plays The Equalizer Edward Woodward will always be the first and the best to do it.

Seriously! Queen Latifah as the Equalizer?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever come across. Is that show even still on? Or did it get cancelled already after a few episodes? I liked the fist EQUALIZER movie with Denzel Washington (the second not so much) but then I like Denzel overall as an actor so I thought he did fine in the role. But of course no one will ever replace Edward Woodward.

I've watched a couple of episodes, I didn't think it was terrible. Queen Latifah is fun to watch in most stuff she does, and she's believable in the role, unlike a lot of movies/TV shows where the female "badass" is a pretty little 98 pound waif who takes down professional operators two and a half times times her size. I don't care how highly polished your krav maga skills are, in a fight with much bigger people who also have decent hand-to-hand combat skills, physics still does come into play, Force still does equal MASS times acceleration.

Since you mentioned the Denzel movie reboot, how about Mark Wallberg's movie reboot of Spenser: For Hire?

[Magnum4eva]

Just like no matter how plays The Equalizer Edward Woodward will always be the first and the best to do it.

Seriously! Queen Latifah as the Equalizer?? That's the dumbest thing I've ever come across. Is that show even still on? Or did it get cancelled already after a few episodes? I liked the fist EQUALIZER movie with Denzel Washington (the second not so much) but then I like Denzel overall as an actor so I thought he did fine in the role. But of course no one will ever replace Edward Woodward.

I've watched a couple of episodes, I didn't think it was terrible. Queen Latifah is fun to watch in most stuff she does, and she's believable in the role, unlike a lot of movies/TV shows where the female "badass" is a pretty little 98 pound waif who takes down professional operators two and a half times times her size. I don't care how highly polished your krav maga skills are, in a fight with much bigger people who also have decent hand-to-hand combat skills, physics still does come into play, Force still does equal MASS times acceleration.

Since you mentioned the Denzel movie reboot, how about Mark Wallberg's movie reboot of Spenser: For Hire?

Oh god that was a mess! I like Mark Wallberg but that was NOT Spenser and that for damn sure was NOT Hawk!!! It was more of a typical lame comedy centric buddy over the top action fest that we see a lot of today so not exactly Spenser in tone or style. As much as Tom will always be Magnum to me, Robert Urich and Avery Brooks will always be Spenser and Hawk, accept no substitutions. But I wholeheartedly believe that the ONLY reason Equalizer Reboot is still even on is strictly because of Queen Latifah and her star power and charisma. I have become so jaded I refuse to watch any reboots but I checked out the first two episodes of Equalizer Reboot only because I've always loved and admired Queen, but even that wasn't enough for me to stick around.

[Reef monkey]

Yeah, agree on the Spenser reboot. There were some funny bits in it, but overall, it is something we've seen over and over many times before, and definitely not Urich's Spenser.

This gets me thinking. We have the traditional private investigator genre, like Rockford Files and Simon and Simon, where every episode is very case-oriented, then we have Magnum PI, which, while being in the traditional private investigator genre in a lot of ways, is sort of different, because even though there are a lot of case-oriented episodes, there is a lot of more deep character-driven storytelling, continuing story arcs, etc.

Spenser for Hire and the Equalizer at first seem to be part of the private investigator genere, but the more I think about it, they are something different. Spenser and Robert McCall aren't really traditional private investigators, they are really more troubleshooters or "fixers" who help people who are being victimized and the legal system can't help them. In that way Spenser and McCall are closer to the A-Team than they are to Rick and AJ Simon, just without the paramilitary stuff. And MacGyver kind of falls into this category, too, even though for the most part he is acting as an agent of a quasi-governmental organization rather than a freelancer. Knight Rider would be in this genre, too. Some of Magnum's cases lean into this "troubleshooter" role, too, but most of his cases are more traditional "find my lost sister" rather than "help me fight off this gang that is menacing my business/town".

So now I'm thinking about other more obscure shows from the 80s that fit this mold. A big one that comes to mind is Stingray. Its protagonist known only as "Ray" drives around in a black 1965 Corvette Stingray, solving the problems of people who find him through his classified ad advertising the Corvette "for barter only to the right party. He doesn't charge people for their services, just makes them understand that one day he will come to them and ask them to perform a service for him - and most episodes show some random person doing something for him that helps him solve his current case, anything from a doctor taking care of a gunshot wound so he doesn't have to go to the ER, to a bakery owner letting him borrow his delivery van. My brothers and I loved this show as kids.

And what about Midnight Caller starring Gary Cole as a former police detective who now hosts a late night call-in radio show where people call in with their problems, and he solves them during the day.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Spenser for Hire and the Equalizer at first seem to be part of the private investigator genere, but the more I think about it, they are something different. Spenser and Robert McCall aren't really traditional private investigators, they are really more troubleshooters or "fixers" who help people who are being victimized and the legal system can't help them. In that way Spenser and McCall are closer to the A-Team than they are to Rick and AJ Simon, just without the paramilitary stuff. And MacGyver kind of falls into this category, too, even though for the most part he is acting as an agent of a quasi-governmental organization rather than a freelancer. Knight Rider would be in this genre, too. Some of Magnum's cases lean into this "troubleshooter" role, too, but most of his cases are more traditional "find my lost sister" rather than "help me fight off this gang that is menacing my business/town".

So now I'm thinking about other more obscure shows from the 80s that fit this mold. A big one that comes to mind is Stingray. Its protagonist known only as "Ray" drives around in a black 1965 Corvette Stingray, solving the problems of people who find him through his classified ad advertising the Corvette "for barter only to the right party. He doesn't charge people for their services, just makes them understand that one day he will come to them and ask them to perform a service for him - and most episodes show some random person doing something for him that helps him solve his current case, anything from a doctor taking care of a gunshot wound so he doesn't have to go to the ER, to a bakery owner letting him borrow his delivery van. My brothers and I loved this show as kids.

And what about Midnight Caller starring Gary Cole as a former police detective who now hosts a late night call-in radio show where people call in with their problems, and he solves them during the day.

The obvious one that comes to mind is my childhood favorite - KNIGHT RIDER. A loner who cruises around in his black T-top and helps people with problems. In fact the tagline for the show "a young loner on a crusade to champion the cause of the innocent, the helpless, the powerless" is the perfect motto for the shows you mention above. You're right - these are not PI shows in the traditional sense. These are something different, something cooler (dare I say). These heroes take on cases where regular legal means may not work and they have to resort to other tactics.