Why do you love Magnum, P.I.? What drew you to it?
Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2017 10:57 pm
I was born in 1990, so the show was never on my radar as a kid. It was never part of the "Nick-at-Nite" lineup, which included some pretty amazing shows like Three's Company, The Brady Bunch and others. My parents were at BEST casual watchers of it - it wasn't a big deal to them, they never watched it on even a semi-regular basis. I I didn't discover MPI until around 2006 or 2007. I'm a big Indiana Jones fan, and I heard how this guy Tom Selleck was originally going to be Indiana Jones. I watched his screentest and something about his presence and "regular"-ness made me interested in finding out more about him. Selleck is a guy who has both charisma and yet also a common touch. He is iconic, without seeming larger than life in the way guys like Harrison Ford or such are. I watched interviews with him and he just seemed like a regular, nice guy who happened to find success.
I was never into police shows or anything of the sort. But after watching a few episodes of Magnum, P.I. I was hooked, and still am. Here's why for me:
-Selleck has pretty great range for a "TV actor." He can be silly, goofy, serious, charming, sarcastic, and, when need be, threatening and scary. He has a goofy laugh and yet also has eyes that can seem shining with a frightening rage. He isn't menacing in some over the top way, but in a quiet way when he has to be, which is scarier. He doesn't have an iconic voice like Connery or Ford, but he uses what he has to great effect and never seems to overdo it ala Shatner. This allows Magnum to be a really dynamic, well-rounded and very intriguing character, who can be equal parts manchild and hardened killer. Magnum's portrayal by Selleck, and the way he is written, is a great mixture of the best parts of James Bond, Mike Hammer, Clark Gable and Joe Friday without seeming like a mimic. He's suave and confident like Bond without seeming sexist. He's skilled and ruthless like Hammer without the politics or racism. He's Gable in snark without overdoing it. He's Joe Friday sans the uptight conservatism. He meets many people - whores, druggies, junkies and such - without judging them or coming off condescending.. Even today, the values of Magnum and the show don't seem particularly outdated or preachy. You can enjoy a Connery Bond, but there's some elements which you wince at because they haven't stood the test of time - Magnum, P.I. does.
-John Hillerman, a Texan, is almost a method actor he plays Higgins. I don't think I could see Hillerman in any other role without seeing Higgins. For the longest time, I genuinely believed he was British. He pulls it off so convincingly that he seems born to play the part. Higgins is stuffy, yet not a fossil. He's not some relic of the past but merely a more erudite, perhaps snobbier, older version of Magnum. The contrast between Magnum's boyish, bordering on childish, charm and Higgin's old fashioned British debonair is perfect. He is the stern schoolmaster, the hardass Majordomo who seems to view Magnum as nothing more than a boor, an uncultured irritant...Yet there is even at the start, which only grows, an often said deep seated respect and admiration between the two men. Higgins is harsh, but when Magnum REALLY needs him, he helps without question. He's the father Magnum never truly had, and Magnum is the (sometimes frustrating) son Higgins never had. Their dynamic is the heart of the show. Higgins also is just as interesting, if not moreso, than Magnum itself. A show with two truly interesting leads is rare.
-The chemistry between the main four cast members is always fun, always great. You care about the main four and the actors make you do so. There is a great contrast between each character, and each one plays off the other like they really do go back a long ways. The guests or side characters often slide effortlessly into the show. We never hear of or see Kacy before the episode about her, but the show is written well enough that you feel bad when she is dead; the show makes you feel like she's been a part of the guy's lives even though she's never talked about before - this is true for many of the characters we meet once and never see again. As the show develops, characters like Maggie, Mac and Agatha expand the universe of the show and round it out further.
-Every week, the story is different. There's no repetition. The show isn't some boring procedural but runs the gamut of genres and themes.
-The way the show has a bit of an infatuation with the past. The show is very generational and pays great reverence to the 1930s and 1940s, and never seems just like some Baby Boomer oriented thing, as many 1980s shows do in retrospect. Many episodes either bring us back to an earlier time period, or reference in some way, and it's always done with respect. The show has a very timeless feel compared to other 1980s shows because it feels old fashioned in some ways.
-Hawaii, both in its upper class grandeur, and it's lower class seediness, is always interesting, not simply beautiful. Hawaii could easily have just been a beautiful backdrop, but instead in a way, Hawaii is almost a character in and of itself.
-The show has aged surprisingly well. For a show almost 40 years old, it doesn't seem like a dusty relic, or irrelevent. It doesn't lean too heavily on fashion trends, references or politics of the 1980s so as to seem hopelessly outdated. It isn't over the top, nor is it defined by some singular image (IE the pastels of Miami Vice or the hammy antics of the A-Team). Because it often is away from the mainland, Reagan's America doesn't really exist here - and that's a good thing, because otherwise it would date the show. Hawaii is removed enough from America proper so as to exist outside of the issues of the day.
-It's nostalgic. While it avoids the 1980s, it's 80s enough to evoke nostalgia for a different world - a pre-cell phone, pre-Skype, pre-Smart Phone world. A simpler, if more challenging world.
-It knew when to quit. After 8 years, the show was beginning to slow down. The characters and actors were older and the show reflected this well. They could've easily done another two or three seasons, but the quality would've suffered. Bellisario and co. knew when the show was running out of gas and ended it in a proper, circular way rather than run a show into the ground simply to keep it going. Too many shows hopelessly try to beat back against failing ratings or diminished popularity by resorting to desperate measures to get the ratings back (IE Cousin Oliver) or lose sight of what the show was originally about in a bid for controversy and thus relevancy (IE Fonzie jumping the shark). While Magnum keeps abreast of the times (IE some of the Vice inspired later episodes) it never blatantly copies another show. It never did any gimmicks to keep it afloat. When it was over, it was over, and it ended with dignity.
I was never into police shows or anything of the sort. But after watching a few episodes of Magnum, P.I. I was hooked, and still am. Here's why for me:
-Selleck has pretty great range for a "TV actor." He can be silly, goofy, serious, charming, sarcastic, and, when need be, threatening and scary. He has a goofy laugh and yet also has eyes that can seem shining with a frightening rage. He isn't menacing in some over the top way, but in a quiet way when he has to be, which is scarier. He doesn't have an iconic voice like Connery or Ford, but he uses what he has to great effect and never seems to overdo it ala Shatner. This allows Magnum to be a really dynamic, well-rounded and very intriguing character, who can be equal parts manchild and hardened killer. Magnum's portrayal by Selleck, and the way he is written, is a great mixture of the best parts of James Bond, Mike Hammer, Clark Gable and Joe Friday without seeming like a mimic. He's suave and confident like Bond without seeming sexist. He's skilled and ruthless like Hammer without the politics or racism. He's Gable in snark without overdoing it. He's Joe Friday sans the uptight conservatism. He meets many people - whores, druggies, junkies and such - without judging them or coming off condescending.. Even today, the values of Magnum and the show don't seem particularly outdated or preachy. You can enjoy a Connery Bond, but there's some elements which you wince at because they haven't stood the test of time - Magnum, P.I. does.
-John Hillerman, a Texan, is almost a method actor he plays Higgins. I don't think I could see Hillerman in any other role without seeing Higgins. For the longest time, I genuinely believed he was British. He pulls it off so convincingly that he seems born to play the part. Higgins is stuffy, yet not a fossil. He's not some relic of the past but merely a more erudite, perhaps snobbier, older version of Magnum. The contrast between Magnum's boyish, bordering on childish, charm and Higgin's old fashioned British debonair is perfect. He is the stern schoolmaster, the hardass Majordomo who seems to view Magnum as nothing more than a boor, an uncultured irritant...Yet there is even at the start, which only grows, an often said deep seated respect and admiration between the two men. Higgins is harsh, but when Magnum REALLY needs him, he helps without question. He's the father Magnum never truly had, and Magnum is the (sometimes frustrating) son Higgins never had. Their dynamic is the heart of the show. Higgins also is just as interesting, if not moreso, than Magnum itself. A show with two truly interesting leads is rare.
-The chemistry between the main four cast members is always fun, always great. You care about the main four and the actors make you do so. There is a great contrast between each character, and each one plays off the other like they really do go back a long ways. The guests or side characters often slide effortlessly into the show. We never hear of or see Kacy before the episode about her, but the show is written well enough that you feel bad when she is dead; the show makes you feel like she's been a part of the guy's lives even though she's never talked about before - this is true for many of the characters we meet once and never see again. As the show develops, characters like Maggie, Mac and Agatha expand the universe of the show and round it out further.
-Every week, the story is different. There's no repetition. The show isn't some boring procedural but runs the gamut of genres and themes.
-The way the show has a bit of an infatuation with the past. The show is very generational and pays great reverence to the 1930s and 1940s, and never seems just like some Baby Boomer oriented thing, as many 1980s shows do in retrospect. Many episodes either bring us back to an earlier time period, or reference in some way, and it's always done with respect. The show has a very timeless feel compared to other 1980s shows because it feels old fashioned in some ways.
-Hawaii, both in its upper class grandeur, and it's lower class seediness, is always interesting, not simply beautiful. Hawaii could easily have just been a beautiful backdrop, but instead in a way, Hawaii is almost a character in and of itself.
-The show has aged surprisingly well. For a show almost 40 years old, it doesn't seem like a dusty relic, or irrelevent. It doesn't lean too heavily on fashion trends, references or politics of the 1980s so as to seem hopelessly outdated. It isn't over the top, nor is it defined by some singular image (IE the pastels of Miami Vice or the hammy antics of the A-Team). Because it often is away from the mainland, Reagan's America doesn't really exist here - and that's a good thing, because otherwise it would date the show. Hawaii is removed enough from America proper so as to exist outside of the issues of the day.
-It's nostalgic. While it avoids the 1980s, it's 80s enough to evoke nostalgia for a different world - a pre-cell phone, pre-Skype, pre-Smart Phone world. A simpler, if more challenging world.
-It knew when to quit. After 8 years, the show was beginning to slow down. The characters and actors were older and the show reflected this well. They could've easily done another two or three seasons, but the quality would've suffered. Bellisario and co. knew when the show was running out of gas and ended it in a proper, circular way rather than run a show into the ground simply to keep it going. Too many shows hopelessly try to beat back against failing ratings or diminished popularity by resorting to desperate measures to get the ratings back (IE Cousin Oliver) or lose sight of what the show was originally about in a bid for controversy and thus relevancy (IE Fonzie jumping the shark). While Magnum keeps abreast of the times (IE some of the Vice inspired later episodes) it never blatantly copies another show. It never did any gimmicks to keep it afloat. When it was over, it was over, and it ended with dignity.
