golfmobile wrote:I have some real problems with this article. Let me mull over my impressions for a little while, and I'll try to express my reaction to this article a little later.
golf
Gotta agree with
golf on this one (somewhat).
There were times when I read this (3rd time through), where I was doing the "yes" move, and others were I was saying to myself "WTF?!" I agree with
MPS in that some sections were a little "heavy", but I can't agree with a lot of Mr. Anderson's speculations - primarily that Magnum was an inept detective.
A couple of takeaways from me.....
1) Luther Gillis isn't from Detroit, he's from St. Louis!
2) I'm going to have to agree with Christopher Anderson (forthwith referred to as "CA") that Magnum did focus an inordinate amount of time on his past. I think we've hammered it out on the forums that the Magnum series was a time for Magnum to recover after the Vietnam War and find himself until he "grew up" again, (or for a better way to put it - regained those lost years between 23 and 33).
3) CA's point of calling out that Magnum acted like his friends of the past were still his friends of the past (aka Mac in this dissertation). Magnum did have a particular tendency to give "Mac" the benefit of the doubt - until "On The Fly" - despite Rick and TC protesting otherwise.
4) I will agree that Magnum is a tragic hero of sorts. A lot of the most poignant Magnum episodes show him dealing with a loss on some level. I think part of the appeal of Magnum is that he HAS lost people in his life, and no matter who you are or where you come from, that's a universal truth. A lot of times, his heroism shines, but despite that, there's nothing that he can do to rectify the situation - no matter how hard he tries.
5) Cheers to pointing out the differences between "Five-O" and "Magnum". I liked that. The first 4 episodes reference hit it out of the park.
6) When did Michelle betray him?!
7) I will say the "Dream A Little Dream" section was probably more of the author recently watching the episode than realizing that it was part of the 4-episode glance back into Magnum (Dream a A Little Dream), Higgins (Holmes Is Where The Heart Is), T.C. (A Sense Of Debt) and Rick (Smaller Than Life) glances into the background of each of the characters.
I love this quote..... "To master his life, he must first master his memories"
9) "The Bridge On The River Kwai" reference to Higgins and Magnumboth recollecting war stories at the same time - brilliant!
10) The inept detective comment - don't like it (as if I could do anything about something published 23 yrs ago!). I thought Magnum was a very unorthodox detective who utilized many methods to solve a case, and was very dedicated to solving said cases.
That being said, I'm very glad that this article was posted!
Love the site (ssying for the 156th time)!
-Doc
