Magnum Mania!

I cannot recall if we have ever really discussed JAG, another series by Donald Bellisario, on here or not. This was also "a must watch" in our house for a long time.
This show seems to follow the Bellisario canon: a young US Navy officer; a father that left way too soon; an ensemble cast; a mixture of drama and comedy.
This show originally aired on NBC, but after one season it was picked up by CBS. The main character, Harmon Rabb (spelling?), was very similar to Thomas Magnum, except that he was an aviator by trade, but changed his MOS to lawyer. In the pilot his sidekick was Andrea Parker (later of the Pretender). For the first season on NBC, Tracy Needham (Meg Austin) was his assistant, then Catherine Bell (Sarah Mackenzie) took over with the switch to CBS. Actually, I liked all three sidekicks.
We got a little tired of the show, mostly from the romantic jousting between Harm and Mac, and stopped watching it weekly. But we got back to it, right before it ended its run.
This show was also notable for one of the last appearances by Jeff McKay, on network TV, at least from what I saw of him. If anything I always felt this show just screamed for a MPI tie-in. Can you imagine the Rabb character, going to investigate a case in Hawai'i. where he meets up with a retired Commander from the NIA, by the name of Thomas Sullivan Magnum III?
Overall, wasn't a bad show.

I've gotten caught up in NCIS. Although it is essentially another CSI clone, it's somehow different. I'm convinced it may just be the best show on television today. Likewise Mark Harmon may be the best actor on television today. NCIS has all the elements that made Magnum great, Humor, action, suspense, and most important loyalty between friends. In this case it's between the team members, and they have largely a teenage brother and sister relationship. The show also has it's version of Higgins in "Ducky" portrayed by David McCallum. He's an older Englishman with an interesting past who often rambles on and is often cut off by other cast members with long stories most times only loosely related to the subject at hand. Also notable is Anthony Dinozzo played by Michael Weatherly. He, Much like TM is pretty much a kid who never really grew up. His character and Harmon's Gibbs put together are Thomas Magnum. Tim McGee is pretty much a modern, more computer geeky version of Jeff MacKay's Mac. And who doesn't love Pauley Parette as the brainy and "hot" goth Abby Sciuto?

N1095A wrote:

Likewise Mark Harmon may be the best actor on television today.

I think that honor goes to James Spader as Alan Shore on Boston Legal. Mark Harmon is excellent in his role on NCIS, too. JMHO, though!

N1095A wrote:I've gotten caught up in NCIS. Although it is essentially another CSI clone, it's somehow different. I'm convinced it may just be the best show on television today. Likewise Mark Harmon may be the best actor on television today. NCIS has all the elements that made Magnum great, Humor, action, suspense, and most important loyalty between friends. In this case it's between the team members, and they have largely a teenage brother and sister relationship. The show also has it's version of Higgins in "Ducky" portrayed by David McCallum. He's an older Englishman with an interesting past who often rambles on and is often cut off by other cast members with long stories most times only loosely related to the subject at hand. Also notable is Anthony Dinozzo played by Michael Weatherly. He, Much like TM is pretty much a kid who never really grew up. His character and Harmon's Gibbs put together are Thomas Magnum. Tim McGee is pretty much a modern, more computer geeky version of Jeff MacKay's Mac. And who doesn't love Pauley Parette as the brainy and "hot" goth Abby Sciuto?

Oh no N1095A, I do not like NCIS at all! In fact it was the Dinozzo character that completely turned me off to this show. Just MHO.

If more officers looked like Catherine Bell the retention rate would be a lot higher in the military!

IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:If more officers looked like Catherine Bell the retention rate would be a lot higher in the military!

HAHA that ain't no lie!

JAG is my second favorite show after Magnum, p.i. I always felt they lost a golden opportunity to have Tom Selleck guest star on JAG as one of Adm. Chegwidden's old navy SEAL team buddies, Thomas Magnum! Wouldn't that have been cool! Then see Col. Sarah McKenzie watch Rabb get jealous! Oh that would have been a great episode!

Coops that sounds like a great idea for an episode for me. Too bad it never materialized.

I think they missed a great chance with another Bellisario show NCIS. A visit from TM would have been great on that show, but unfortunately they chose to refer to Magnum PI the TV show many times on NCIS. For those of you who don't know the character Tony DiNozzo is a MPI fan of enormous proportions. So, with that established the characters can't exist in the same TV universe.

IKnowWhatYoureThinking wrote:If more officers looked like Catherine Bell the retention rate would be a lot higher in the military!

You should have seen the original blond partner. Great smile and a nice butt.

Frodoleader wrote:Can you imagine the Rabb character, going to investigate a case in Hawai'i. where he meets up with a retired Commander from the NIA, by the name of Thomas Sullivan Magnum III?
Overall, wasn't a bad show.

That would have been a great episode, and possibly the start of many Magnum movies. The ratings would have gone through the roof.

This is not far fetched either. I think Bellisario had multiple cross over shows on Magnum including Simon and Simon. And I remember at the old tvtome site they had said that Bellisario planned a Magnum crossover on Quantum Leap where Sam leaps into the body of Magnum.

We could have had some great episodes.