Magnum Mania!

32 yrs ago tonight, Magnum PI premiered on TV! It's hard to believe it's been that long! Who would have thought at the time, that so many years later, there was this great website devoted to the show, and all things Magnum! The complexity and volume of information available through Magnum Mania is amazing! What other TV show has a site like this, or the fans and members that keep it going, and make it fun to participate! The person and/or people who came up with, and started this, deserve are appreciation and thanks! It's a joy to be a member, THANKS!

Hear, hear!
Appropriate kudos!
(Hawaii 5-0 may have similar...)
32 years ago, who would have thought we would even have the interweb to make it all available and have available to the world, such a fabulous commemoration to the classic show.

I'm going to make a huge bowl of popcorn, grab a long neck, and celebrate by watching Don't eat the snow.
What a fantastic website, one I'm guilty of lurking in the shadows and not posting enough. Thanks to all who post great information and thanks to the show that made it all possible. I enjoy it as much today as I did 32 years ago. To bad my wife won't let me light up a cigar to go with my scotch tonight. Cheers

God, i'm 32 next week, nearly as old as magnum! Just finished jororo farewell, now time for 'the case of the red faced thespian'!

I agree, great website

Ditto, Gentlemen -

Here's to Magnum, and Rick, and T.C. and Higgins.
And here's to friendship and honor and fun.

Most of all, here's to my favorite show - One of the few things outside of my family that can always make me smile.

I've said it before and I'll say it again and again, Kudos to James for creating this Magnum Empire. No matter what other shows come and go, none even come close to MPI, and this website is a great constant in life. No matter what else is going on in our lives, Magnum Mania is always here, always, like coming home.

I do beliewve Hawaii 5-0 V1 comes close. As does SOA.

Who cares! This is about Magnum pi!

I agree. We have a great site here, and Braddah Kimo
it's nice to see someone else on the site that likes SOA! I didn't catch it until late. We will probably buy Season 5 on Amazon soon to catch up before Season 6 starts.

It's a great website no doubt but activity here is very slow with only a couple of people posting. Sometimes I feel like I am talking to myself. I think when this website was first launched the hearty Magnum P.I. fans who discovered it found it to be gold.

I rated every episode in this series between 1-5 stars and like to repeatedly watch these episodes. The 1 star episodes I avoid entirely and the 2 star episodes I will sometimes watch again. I rent the discs from Netflix and for some reason Season 1 Disc 1 is the most popular as it is often checked out with availability listed as very long wait.

While there are awful episodes and winners thoughout the 8 seasons, I found the quality was best in the first four years and the second four years the quality dropped off substantially. I understand why this series came to an end when it did.

I felt like Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley changed little over the years of filming but Tom Selleck and especially John Hillerman seemed to age on camera and lose their energy and enthusiasm.

Sisophous wrote:While there are awful episodes and winners thoughout the 8 seasons, I found the quality was best in the first four years and the second four years the quality dropped off substantially. I understand why this series came to an end when it did.

I felt like Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley changed little over the years of filming but Tom Selleck and especially John Hillerman seemed to age on camera and lose their energy and enthusiasm.

It's funny you say that. Overall, I enjoy the first three seasons most, but some of the all time best episodes (voted by you, the Magnum-Mania fans!) were in season's 7 & 8 when Thomas matured.

I don't find that TM and Higgins lost enthusiasm so much as Thomas was finally finding his way out of recapturing his lost twenties and getting on with his life. He's more mature, in his relationships (mostly), his work, his attitude, even his attire in the latter seasons than the earlier ones. To me, that's why the overall feel of the beginning of the series is better, TM is a bit more goofy and more fun then, the cool guy we want to hang around with. Later he's more accepting of his responsibilities which at times can be dry, but when the story clicks, it's great drama (or well planned practical jokes).

I have started looking at the show from a distance . . . it is about one man, who did and saw a lot of bad things, reconciling his past and finding his place back in the civilian world.

ConchRepublican wrote:
It's funny you say that. Overall, I enjoy the first three seasons most, but some of the all time best episodes (voted by you, the Magnum-Mania fans!) were in season's 7 & 8 when Thomas matured.

My take is what really made this series work was the humor. There are a few exceptions, the Season 7 episode Death and Taxes had no humor but it had a simple plot and a chilling feeling the way it was shot, never seeing the villains face, only his lips.

This series used a lot is a repetitiveness in their attempts at humor which worked well early on but tended to grow old later on when the script writers failed to come up with anything new. Some people age better than others, I got the feeling that Tom Selleck was bothered somewhat by his age during the second half of the series. There was a significant drop in his enthusiasm level. At times he seemed lethargic although Larry Manetti complimented his tireless work ethic on set.

I read somewhere that Season 8 was not intended to take place, that they were to close shop but by popular demand they shot one last season.

ConchRepublican wrote:I have started looking at the show from a distance . . . it is about one man, who did and saw a lot of bad things, reconciling his past and finding his place back in the civilian world.

I tend to agree with this perspective here of late.

Many good observations here in this thread, IMHO.

But back to the original intent of the thread...I have to agree and add my vote for one of the best organized, best run, easiest to use, friendliest membered forums I've had the pleasure of finding on the net thus far.

I frequent a few different car forums, but rarely post anymore, as there just seems to be more bickering, chest thumping, argueing, people who insist they're right all the time kind of situation, which I choose to not waste my time with.

Not sure what contribution I can make here, seems like just about every base has already been covered! But that's why I'm sticking my two cents in here, just to say I agree with those who are singing the praises of this site and those who put it together. And...I'm a fan of the show. K.....I'm done now. (for now! )

ConchRepublican wrote:

Sisophous wrote:While there are awful episodes and winners thoughout the 8 seasons, I found the quality was best in the first four years and the second four years the quality dropped off substantially. I understand why this series came to an end when it did.

I felt like Larry Manetti and Roger Mosley changed little over the years of filming but Tom Selleck and especially John Hillerman seemed to age on camera and lose their energy and enthusiasm.

It's funny you say that. Overall, I enjoy the first three seasons most, but some of the all time best episodes (voted by you, the Magnum-Mania fans!) were in season's 7 & 8 when Thomas matured.

I don't find that TM and Higgins lost enthusiasm so much as Thomas was finally finding his way out of recapturing his lost twenties and getting on with his life. He's more mature, in his relationships (mostly), his work, his attitude, even his attire in the latter seasons than the earlier ones. To me, that's why the overall feel of the beginning of the series is better, TM is a bit more goofy and more fun then, the cool guy we want to hang around with. Later he's more accepting of his responsibilities which at times can be dry, but when the story clicks, it's great drama (or well planned practical jokes).

I have started looking at the show from a distance . . . it is about one man, who did and saw a lot of bad things, reconciling his past and finding his place back in the civilian world.

Yeah, I think that sums it up well. It never bothered me as a little kid when I was first watching the early seasons as they originally aired, but as I reflected on them years later as and adult, it seemed weird to me that a naval officer, an academy man at that, would be a financially irresponsible mooching beach bum in his late 30s. But the idea of him doing so to recapture his lost adolescence, between losing his father so young, the things he lived through in Nam, losing his wife, it does make some sense. As Magnum himself said "I woke up one day at 33 and realized I had never been 23." As much as I found the later episodes so heavy, and still prefer the first 4-5 seasons when I want light hearted action tropical diversion, I appreciate what was going on in the later seasons, Magnum having worked through the need for a carefree delayed adolescence, faced his demons, matured, not aged, and accepted the responsibilities of a new life as an adult and a father. Though it changed the feel of the series, it was the right way to work it to resolution, IMO.

Braddah Kimo wrote:I do beliewve Hawaii 5-0 V1 comes close. As does SOA.

I don't know, I think in its own way, Quantum Leap is on par with Magnum. Of course, it didn't have the ensemble cast (only Sam and Al) nor did it have the exotic locale, but it had excellent writing, a close male friendship that was a brotherhood, and tackled many complex issues. Even before I realized both MPI and QL were Bellisaro shows, they were and still are my favorite shows ever. I also have a fondness for JAG, another Bellsario show. Not into the NCISs, though. The original wasn't bad, just didn't capture my attention (I don't care for police procedurals), but NCIS LA is just terrible, never have I heard such cheesy dialogue spoken by well-respected actors. Not Bellisario's best show, not by a mile.