Mannix

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Just don’t read The Thrilling Detective’s write up on Magnum…he’s not a fan.

Just curious... what did he have to say about MPI?

[Little Garwood]

Just don’t read The Thrilling Detective’s write up on Magnum…he’s not a fan.

Just curious... what did he have to say about MPI?

Here’s the (updated to include the MiniMag reboot) page:

As much of an MPI fan as I am (though it’s no longer my favorite), the fellow makes some valid points.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Just don’t read The Thrilling Detective’s write up on Magnum…he’s not a fan.

Just curious... what did he have to say about MPI?

Here’s the (updated to include the MiniMag reboot) page:

As much of an MPI fan as I am (though it’s no longer my favorite), the fellow makes some valid points.

Thanks for that link, Garwood. Good read. I agree with you that he makes some very valid points. In many ways MPI is a watered-down version of ROCKFORD. More "fluff" in it that's for sure. If you look at just the writing then ROCKFORD definitely has MPI beat. But then there's the actual cases that Jimbo worked on and the clients he got. They were always more interesting than what Thomas was investigating. And no one could pull a con the way Jimbo could. ROCKFORD was just a more grown-up detective show. I always think of it as the show that an adult would watch, whereas MPI would appeal more to the kids.

MPI has a juvenile feel to it which initially turned me off. Growing up on 70s detective fare like ROCKFORD and FIVE-O and STREETS OF SAN FRAN (which all felt more grown up to me) I had a hard time shifting gears to 2 grown men bickering with each other like Oscar and Felix on THE ODD COUPLE (another show I never really cared for). And even though I have totally turned around on the Mag vs. Higgins bickering "dynamic" (it's what makes the show ultimately) I still feel that all too often it's forced. Not very organic, the way Jimbo and Rocky might take jabs at each other from time to time. You know the bickering is there because that's what audience expects every single week so the writers have to go out of their way to create these "conflicts". Sometimes they feel organic but very often they're just there because it's called for. Ultimately what makes it work is that both Selleck and Hillerman are fine actors. Compare this with the new Five-0 where it DOES NOT WORK because the 2 leads are crap actors. Not to mention the writing is crap.

Not knocking MPI as I really do enjoy it now (it just took a while to get used to it) but it does have its share of fluff episodes that seem like filler where they're just coasting on the Hawaiian scenery, the red Ferrari, and Mag vs. Higgy. So someone who grew up with MANNIX, CANNON, and ROCKFORD might be scratching their head as to why this show is so popular. It's certainly not as tense as those earlier shows, nor is it as action-packed (in fact MPI is hardly an action show - I think it's labeled as such because it's the 80s and is often clubbed together with KNIGHT RIDER and THE A-TEAM), so all you have is the pretty scenery and the humor. As for the humor, your mileage may vary. If you're looking for more grown-up ROCKFORD humor then you might be disappointed. But if you're in the right mood, love Hawaii, love 80s television then you can really get a kick out of this show. As I do. And when you stumble across something truly magical like the pilot episode or "Memories are Forever" or "Did You See the Sunrise?" then it can be a downright fantastic show! The thing is that not all episodes were of that caliber. In fact very few were. But what we got for the most part was just the right mixture of humor, suspense, and adventure so it all worked out well in the end.


I also read his write-up of SIMON & SIMON. Like MPI, he wasn't crazy about that one either. Makes sense since they're of the same "type". He did mention a few of the episodes which I guess he thought were standouts, like the 2 Sam Penny episodes with Robert Lansing. But he also mentioned "The Bare Facts" as being the nadir of the series! I actually found that one enjoyable (if silly) and honestly I don't think anything from season 3 (my favorite season) can be labeled as any kind of nadir.

[Little Garwood]

MPI has a juvenile feel to it which initially turned me off. Growing up on 70s detective fare like ROCKFORD and FIVE-O and STREETS OF SAN FRAN (which all felt more grown up to me)

I agree. What's that ancient TV proverb? "When boys become men, they trade Magnum, P.I. for Rockford (and Mannix)."

When I was a kid, my dad and grandad would watch Rockford religiously; they never bothered with Magnum. I liked Rockford, but I considered it a "grown-up" adventure show.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

MPI has a juvenile feel to it which initially turned me off. Growing up on 70s detective fare like ROCKFORD and FIVE-O and STREETS OF SAN FRAN (which all felt more grown up to me)

I agree. What's that ancient TV proverb? "When boys become men, they trade Magnum, P.I. for Rockford (and Mannix)."

When I was a kid, my dad and grandad would watch Rockford religiously; they never bothered with Magnum. I liked Rockford, but I considered it a "grown-up" adventure show.

Were you a MAGNUM fan when you were a kid?

Funny but as a kid MAGNUM didn't appeal to me. Not enough action. At the time I was into KNIGHT RIDER and THE A-TEAM, you know, action shows! I tried to tune in once or twice but it just didn't hold my interest. It used to come on weekday afternoons after HAWAII FIVE-O on our local FOX affiliate back in the mid-90s. I would watch FIVE-O and then when MAGNUM came on I would tune out. Granted I didn't care for ROCKFORD at the time either, but like you said that was a "grown-up show". It wasn't until I started college that I really got into ROCKFORD. I got into MPI much later than that.

[Little Garwood]

"When it is time for a boy to become a man, he eschews Magnum, P.I. for The Rockford Files, just as when it is time for a boy to become a man, he eschews Steve McQueen for Paul Newman and The Beatles for The Clash."

~Epicurus (or was it Socrates? Or Nietzsche? Or Heidegger? Or Sartre? Or Robin Masters?)

[Little Garwood]

Clu Gulager has died, age 93. Gulager, who made a most memorable appearance on Mannix---S6'# The Man Who Wasn't There as well as Cannon, Hawaii Five-0--and even Magnum, P.I., but he is primarily remembered as having been in just about every '60s and '70s TV series.

We discuss The Man Who Wasn't There.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Clu Gulager has died, age 93. Gulager, who made a most memorable appearance on Mannix---S6'# The Man Who Wasn't There as well as Cannon, Hawaii Five-0--and even Magnum, P.I., but he is primarily remembered as having been in just about every '60s and '70s TV series.

We discuss The Man Who Wasn't There.

So sorry to hear about this, Clu was always a favorite of mine, as a kid I remember him from The Virginian. 93? hard to imagine him that old.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Clu Gulager has died, age 93. Gulager, who made a most memorable appearance on Mannix---S6'# The Man Who Wasn't There as well as Cannon, Hawaii Five-0--and even Magnum, P.I., but he is primarily remembered as having been in just about every '60s and '70s TV series.

We discuss The Man Who Wasn't There.

Gulager always played a great baddie!

On HAWAII FIVE-O in "Fools Die Twice" and "Assault on the Palace".
On THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO in "Poisoned Snow".
On KNIGHT RIDER in "Buy Out".
On AIRWOLF in "Day of Jeopardy".

And of course as the cackling villain in the MANNIX episode.

P.S. Apparently his name "Clu" came from the "clu-clu" birds that nested in their barn when he was a boy. But has anyone ever heard of these so-called "clu-clu birds"? I sure haven't. I even googled and aside from references to Clu Gulager I don't get any info about any such birds. Interesting...

[Little Garwood]

Yesterday I rewatched Gulager's Mannix episode. It's a 10/10 episode for me, as I get a kick out of any episode in which one of Joe Mannix's old squad "buddies" come back to try and kill him! The episode has a bunch of great hardboiled lines in it. I especially enjoyed the flashback scene in which Joe was a prisoner of war in North Korea. Superbly directed by the great Sutton Roley and well-acted by the great Mike Connors.

[Pahonu]

Clu Gulager has died, age 93. Gulager, who made a most memorable appearance on Mannix---S6'# The Man Who Wasn't There as well as Cannon, Hawaii Five-0--and even Magnum, P.I., but he is primarily remembered as having been in just about every '60s and '70s TV series.

We discuss The Man Who Wasn't There.

Gulager always played a great baddie!

On HAWAII FIVE-O in "Fools Die Twice" and "Assault on the Palace".
On THE STREETS OF SAN FRANCISCO in "Poisoned Snow".
On KNIGHT RIDER in "Buy Out".
On AIRWOLF in "Day of Jeopardy".

And of course as the cackling villain in the MANNIX episode.

P.S. Apparently his name "Clu" came from the "clu-clu" birds that nested in their barn when he was a boy. But has anyone ever heard of these so-called "clu-clu birds"? I sure haven't. I even googled and aside from references to Clu Gulager I don't get any info about any such birds. Interesting...

Poisoned Snow is one of my favorites, and Clu was excellent.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Poisoned Snow is one of my favorites, and Clu was excellent.

Yep, a great season 4 episode!

The episode has a real tragic ending, with his son Luke Skywalker. Maybe the most tragic ending of the entire series.

[Pahonu]

Poisoned Snow is one of my favorites, and Clu was excellent.

Yep, a great season 4 episode!

The episode has a real tragic ending, with his son Luke Skywalker. Maybe the most tragic ending of the entire series.

Agreed about the ending.

[Little Garwood]

And of course as the cackling villain in the MANNIX episode.

Soeaking of cackling villains, The Joker has already been mentioned as it relates to Clu's great performance in his Mannix appearance. In addition to that, I've had two friends who said--decades apart and who didn't know one another--that Clu Gulager should have played the Batman villain "Two Face" in the 1960s Adam West Batman series, had it ever happened. I'd have liked to have seen that. He was able to be subdued while eccentric and madcap at the same time; that's one helluva (rare) balancing act for an actor to achieve.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

And of course as the cackling villain in the MANNIX episode.

Soeaking of cackling villains, The Joker has already been mentioned as it relates to Clu's great performance in his Mannix appearance. In addition to that, I've had two friends who said--decades apart and who didn't know one another--that Clu Gulager should have played the Batman villain "Two Face" in the 1960s Adam West Batman series, had it ever happened. I'd have liked to have seen that. He was able to be subdued while eccentric and madcap at the same time; that's one helluva (rare) balancing act for an actor to achieve.

Well, Two-Face is one of the most tragic/tortured and sombre villains in the world of Batman. Nothing at all like the clown that Tommy Lee Jones played in BATMAN FOREVER. Aaron Eckhart was much closer in THE DARK KNIGHT. But the ultimate Two-Face was of course in BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES in the 90s, voiced by NIGHT COURT's Richard Moll. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgwKMzZ7UFw

That said, since we're talking about the Adam West version then of course we're in camp territory. So I guess why not Clu Gulager? Or anyone else for that matter.