Modern Day vs. 80's Setting

[Shermy]

And it looks like the Iraqi War backstory is confirmed now, which means no 80s setting.

The above comment got me to thinking- how much will a modern day version differ?

It will certainly affect Magnum's investigations. After all, most people now have online access to the type of routine information Rick used to provide for him. Not to mention, think of how many problems a cell phone could've solved in the series. For example, why chase Higgins down when you could just call him up and say, "Hey, the car's about to blow up."

Also, how much do you think the loss of Vietnam will affect the character? By changing it to the Gulf War, it means no draft and no three years spent fighting an unpopular war.

Instead of "33 and I'd never been 23", will the character really seem all that different from a modern day thirty-something? Will Magnum playing an Xbox anger Higgins as much as his old computer games? Will audiences even notice the childlike trait, or simply identify with it?

And so on, and so forth...

[Waltstasz]

Interesting post...

I think that there are ways to handle most of the 'issues' with a modern setting. For instance, Rick would still have connections to the criminal element that would be useful and there is still probably quite a bit of work involved (online or otherwise) in chasing down information that Magnum could con him into doing.

I think the Iraq War vs. Vietnam is more of a problem because there seemed to be more of a cynical view of Vietnam in the perception of the audience of the 80s than of the Iraq War to a current audience. How the characters in the show dealt with their reality and experiences in Vietnam irregardless of the viewer's expectations was key. They were proud of their service and even if their memories haunted them a bit, they dealt with it and lived their lives unapologetically. However, I think that it should still translate well. I don't think that the character of Magnum was haunted by the politics of Vietnam, but the death and suffering that he witnessed there. And those sort of experiences aren't unique to that war.

The other thing to consider is that the movie can only be a couple of hours long. I think we have a tendency to weigh the potential of the movie against 8 seasons of the show, over 150 episodes. There is no way that the movie will be able to give the depth of character that the show did. Some of the things that the show was able to explore (flashbacks to the war, the ups and downs of a relationship w/ Higgins, minor characters, etc.) probably won't even be in the movie at all or, at most, be back-story or setting.

[J.J. Walters]

For example, why chase Higgins down when you could just call him up and say, "Hey, the car's about to blow up."

LOL! That cracked me up!

Well, it changes everything doesn't it. For me, a huge part of the charm of the show was its 80s setting - the nostalgia factor. The clothes, the hair, the cars, the games, the old IBM computers, the phone booths, the lack of seat belts, and on and on. All of that is gone with a modern setting.

The Vietnam War (and the Cold War) was a huge backstory of the show and now that's gone too. The Gulf War just seems like such a minor conflict compared to the two.

Of course setting the movie in the 80s was never seriously considered, I don't think - The original cast was too old to place it in the 80s and having a new cast in an 80s setting would just seem too weird and would have serious upset the fans.

[KC]

I think the film would simply use the military background as a rationale for Magnum's friendships and abilities. I don't see any reason for the film to dive into the subject of adjusting to life after war.

[Gritty]

Mr Shermy made me laugh too, I was bringing that up to a buddy after I saw the episode on Sleuth. It was more of a nostalgic thing bringing up the fact that 20 years has past and there were no cell phones back then where all Magnum had to do was ring Higgins in the Audi with his CO and tell him to stop cause there was a bomb in the car.

And just thinking about where Magnum would be today after 20 years since we left him re uping, he would be involved in Iraq today or North Korea if he were still in the military although, of course, I don't know in what capacity Magnum will be in the Navy in the movie interpretation.

Or would Magnum be out of the Navy by now after all this time?

Using Irag is more recent obviously. But the post is worth the thought, I say thank you for it Mr Shermy.

Glad to make this my first post on Magnum Mania!

Gritty

[Koolau Kine]

Comparing 80's to today. No internet, no cell phones etc...

It may have been episode Ki'i's Don't Lie (3.3). I think this is towards the end of the epi. The main gang was crusing in T.C.'s chopper about to return a supposedly "cursed" tiki god - like carving to wherever it came from because they had expericanced some bad luck or strange, unexplainable things.

Anyhow, I seem to remeber what I thought was one of, probably the only time, that there was a cell phone. It was a big old clunky Motorola.

I googled it and the first cell phone call was in '73 and it looked like the phone I remember.

I haven't seen this epi in a while and wondered if this did happen.

P.S.

This is a great site! Glad I found it.

Aloha fellow Magnum fans.

[grapeshot]

Aloha to you, too!

I think we have a tendency to weigh the potential of the movie against 8 seasons of the show, over 150 episodes.

That's undoubtedly true. What I dislike about most TV shows is their generally cheap production values (although Magnum is nowhere near as bad as some of the other shows of the time). But the one way TV shines over movies is that with a typical season consisting of 22 episodes, it can tell us more complex stories and let characters really grow.

That's a generalization, of course. Some TV shows never get beyond cardboard characters and situations, and the best movies manage to give us subtlety and complex characters in the short space of two hours. Nevertheless, time and time again, I watch a show on TV and wish that more care had gone into the set decoration, or the cinematography, or the lighting, or the editing...etc. But, that's just me.

It'll be interesting to see how this all gets balanced out in the movie.

[grundle]

Oh, that sucks. I bet instead of having women with style and class, the movie will have sluts with pierced belly buttons and lower back tattoos. Ewww!

[IslandHopper]

I still haven't decided whether I will see the MPI movie, especially with the expectation that there will be a different cast. I would certainly see it if the original cast was in the movie as their own characters.

Why can't there be a movie with Magnum retiring from the Navy as a Commodore and Commander of the Navy's SEAL Teams? Higgins plays himself, but now is known to the world unequivocally as Robin Masters. John Hillerman was only 48 when the series started and now is 74. Why can't he portray a novelist, who maybe is abducted and held hostage for ransom? I think people have a tendency to think of Higgins/Hillerman as older than he is because in the series, he was supposed to be a World War II veteran, so I think they purposely made him look older than he was. However, John Hillerman was born in 1932, obviously too young for a WWII vet.

Rick and TC could play similar roles, but maybe now Rick owns/manages his own club/restarurant(s) and TC owns a larger charter business. Lily could play a major role in the film, as well as some of the other often used cast members. I would like to see this happen. However, I realize that a movie would have to be geared to attracting as large of an audience as possible. I'm sure the powers that be at Universal believe that more people will see an MPI movie if younger actors are used. I can tell you right now that I won't see the movie if Ben Affleck plays Magnum. Give me a break. And, what's the deal with no mustaches?

[Koolau Kine]

Hey IslandHopper,

I like those ideas. I've thought that something along those lines would be pretty good myself, but I guess the studios who would be funding the movie want to attract a larger audience.
Something like that would be more towards die hard Magmum fans I guess.
All about the bottom line.

Aloha!

[eegorr]

If Selleck really wanted to do the movie himself I'm sure he could get the funding to do it, and they would probably make money at it, too!

For him, there would be the added benefit that many of his friends from Magnum would get something from it as well. Remember, the main reason he did the eighth season was so that these guys would get more work, and he even spent his bonus on presents for them.

It would probably be a lot of fun to make, as well.

His contract for Vegas might get in the way now, though, much as the upcoming Magnum role prevented him from playing Indiana Jones in the first movie.

[IslandHopper]

You're right Koolau Kine. You and I, and the rest of the die hard MPI fans would flock to see the movie with the original cast, but it may not be as much of a draw to larger audiences, especially young audiences who haven't seen MPI, if the original cast were used. That's unfortunate.

As you mentioned Eegorr, TS probably could get funding to do the MPI movie, but I think his biggest hurdle would be acquiring the rights from Universal to do the movie. As I understand it, Universal owns the rights to MPI and they would have to either sign off on the idea of doing the movie with the original cast, or sell the rights to MPI. So, I think Universal holds all the cards on this one.