You first time watching Magnum PI

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IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:29 pm

I remember it with Simon and Simon as well. I liked Rick and AJ but they were no TM. I thought Parker and McRaney worked well together on that show. They were almost like a Higgins and TC as far as differing personalities.

Jodykmg365 · #17 Post by **Jodykmg365** » Wed Jul 16, 2008 11:06 pm

I loved Simon & Simon. I never missed an episode. Those brothers were great together. I liked how Rick was supposed to pay the bills in the months without an R, and still couldn't manage to do it.

Coops · #18 Post by **Coops** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 1:39 am

Those Thursday nights on CBS were the best. In the late 70's I loved the Love Boat/Fantasy Island night, too.

SelleckLover · #19 Post by **SelleckLover** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:06 pm

Coops wrote:

In the late 70's I loved the Love Boat/Fantasy Island night, too.

Recently I saw an interview with Gary Marshall who was producer/director for the show Happy Days. He was talking about script submissions for the show and he said that when a script was rejected for another show on ABC, it would be tweaked and rewritten for The Love Boat and Fantasy Island. It kind of surprised me, but it was kind of a smart thing to do. Imagine making two hit series' with nothing but rejected scripts! He said the two shows were basically the same...drama happening in an isolated area, with some type of authority figure (Captain Steubing/Mr. Roarke) and actors with smaller parts (Gopher/Tattoo), and changing up the guest stars every week. Never thought of that before, and I thought it was kind of interesting.

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:29 pm

Those were good shows. I just don't think tv is as good as it used to be. Then again, maybe I am just getting too old!

lutherhgillis · #21 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:32 pm

I feel old! I was about 23 when I started watching MPI during its first run. Being a heterosexual male, I didn't think anyone was 'cute' but I was entralled with some of the female gueststars.

I was attracted to the show because of the location and the free-wheeling adventure of Magnum's life. Later, I became really involved in the characters' friendships with each other and the very positive yet realistic portrayal of the Vietnam Vet situation.

Sure, there are some episodes that were poorly written but overall, I think the show is strong. I still enjoy it all these years later.

Another thing. MPI was a huge hit for CBS. It borrowed from the success of its predecessors for sure but it spawned several big hits like S&S, A-Team, and Miami Vice. The latter two were admittedly created to try to compete with MPI. They also borrowed heavily from the MPI concept.

MPI was part of the 80s culture regardless of how much credit it receives.

MPS · #22 Post by **MPS** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:48 pm

Wow! The Love Boat and Fantasy Island... Saturday nights if I remember. I used to watch them while grading lab reports ( I was a grad student then.) It was the only way I could get through the grading. Neither show required too much attention.

There could be people out there who passed Chemistry, just because of those two shows

#23 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Thu Jul 17, 2008 5:17 pm

I remember seeing part of the title sequence when I was 11 or 12 ('81 or '82) while at a friend's house. His parents had it on and I clearly remember them telling us to leave the room. Hehe. I remember thinking, "Man, that show looks really cool!" I started watching it soon after that.

It's funny, as a kid, I remember Fantasy Island being this really dark, scary, mysterious, almost taboo, show! My friends and I used to talk about it whenever we caught (i.e. "sneaked in") an episode. Today this show would be considered lighter and fluffier than a box of rice cakes!

#24 Post by **ConchRepublican** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:48 pm

I was about 13 and I remember clearly the season preview issue of the TV Guide which had the summaries of the new shows. I was looking through it with my dad and remember commenting on how goofy Higgins looked in the picture. Of course, I didn't read the review. My dad was the one who said the show sounded interesting.

We watched it from the beginning (one TV house, and probably still black and white then, so we all agreed on what to watch) and I was hooked. If the opening scene from "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawai'i" doesn't grab ya, well, I don't know what will.

As for Simon & Simon, I watched them as well, but I remember liking Riptide more.

#25 Post by **J.J. Walters** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 1:59 pm

ConchRepublican wrote:I remember liking Riptide more.

Haha! Riptide! Now there's a show I had completely forgotten about! Heck yeah, that was a pretty darn good show, with Perry King and Joe Penny as two P.I.'s who operated out of a boat. One thing I'll always remember about that show was the computer techie guy (Boz?). He was way ahead of his time, man!

#26 Post by **ConchRepublican** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 2:21 pm

James J. Walters wrote:
ConchRepublican wrote:I remember liking Riptide more.
Haha! Riptide! Now there's a show I had completely forgotten about! Heck yeah, that was a pretty darn good show, with Perry King and Joe Penny as two P.I.'s who operated out of a boat. One thing I'll always remember about that show was the computer techie guy (Boz?). He was way ahead of his time, man!

Yup! The houseboat was the Riptide, the speed boat (I think) was the Ebbtide. They also had a helicopter, a big pink Sikorsky S-58T called Screaming Mimi as well as Boz' robot creation, Ro-Boz.

Again, corny, but funny. It knew not to take itself too seriously. Then again, I haven't seen that show in years, who knows what' I'd think about it now.

ten_of_spades · #27 Post by **ten_of_spades** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:54 pm

When I was 14 or 15, I caught a re-run on A&E. The only reason I even put it on was because of the title (the same day, I had read a newspaper article on this new Magnum hunting gun, so I thought it had something to do with the actual gun

). Anyways, I flip on the TV, and I see Tom Selleck dressed up like a commando saving some girl from an Italian villa...haha, it had me hooked instantly

lutherhgillis · #28 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:16 pm

Thanks for mentioning Riptide. I had totally forgotten it! It was cool but didn't really catch on. It was a copycat of MPI also.

Sometimes we mention the willing suspension of disbelief be a prerequisite for viewing TV in general. You had to have a HUGE amount when viewing RT, A-Team, and MSW.

VM02 · #29 Post by **VM02** » Fri Jul 18, 2008 4:22 pm

I don't remember the exact first time I watched, But I do remember watching "Did You See the Sunrise" the first and discussing in in JR high school with buddies.

If I remember right, MPI both first run and syndicated was a big part of my High School experience. Would Syndicated eps have been on afternoon TV 1984-1986?

Ice_Pick · #30 Post by **Ice_Pick** » Sat Jul 19, 2008 2:48 am

I was 12 when I first saw this show. My grandmother thought TS was cute

"Underworld" was the first episode I watched.