Things you DON'T Like About the Show

[Frodoleader]

On the other hand, TM is a guy who showed repeatedly that he would risk life and limb for his friends. So it's a tradeoff: you occasionally have to waste some fuel flying a delayed adolescent around the islands, but if you ever need somebody to shoot a Russian in the face he's only a phone call away.[/quote]

Very true marlboro, very true and valid points!

[Mrs. Higgins]

I never could stand the set for the KKC. I always thought that such an exclusive club would have better quality furniture. Looks like they got it a K-Mart!

[marlboro]

I never noticed that before. I guess they were operating under the theory that if you have enough hot women milling about in the background no one will notice your plastic patio furniture. And they were right!

[Little Garwood]

I never could stand the set for the KKC. I always thought that such an exclusive club would have better quality furniture. Looks like they got it a K-Mart!

As cheap as that patio furniture looks, I still prefer it and the often windblown set to that even cheaper interior KKC set--the one with the semi-painted brick and white lattice with discarded Christmas lights strewn on it. It IMO brings down the otherwise okay I Witness episode. However, I don't mind the other, similar set (or is it an actual club?) used for Rick's office.

[KENJI]

I remember seeing those chairs at Robin's Nest (can't remember what episode).....maybe Higgins negotiated a bulk deal on them for the KKC and picked up a few for the estate. I agree, not the greatest chair selection for either location. I also agree with Little Garwood on the KKC interior......I know the studio had a budget, but they dropped the ball here. One of my dislikes would be when they filmed a car chase scene and you can see two or three old sets of skid marks right where this particular car is spinning out etc. from another take. Magnum wasn't the only show that did this and yes, I get that it takes considerable time to set up a shot so finding fresh pavement is not an option, but it always took away something from the scene. One thing that drove me crazy watching many other shows back then was when they would show a car flipping over, crashing etc. and you can see the roll bars inside the stunt car, to me that was a blown shot! Don't show that close-up, pan out, add some more black material to the cage so it blends in more. Magnum may have been guilty of that on the odd occasion, but I can't think of one at the moment, maybe someone else can.

[ConchRepublican]

I never could stand the set for the KKC. I always thought that such an exclusive club would have better quality furniture. Looks like they got it a K-Mart!

As cheap as that patio furniture looks, I still prefer it and the often windblown set to that even cheaper interior KKC set--the one with the semi-painted brick and white lattice with discarded Christmas lights strewn on it. It IMO brings down the otherwise okay I Witness episode. However, I don't mind the other, similar set (or is it an actual club?) used for Rick's office.

I agree

[Jayman76]

I was probably slightly too young to remember the first time round, but being such a huge fan of all the shows of the 80s and recently Rewatching, all the Knight Rider episodes I started watching the ITV4 reruns of Magnum
I love the feel of the show and the music just like Knight Rider, they don’t make them like this anymore, but I have to say the one thing that has been really irritating me is the way that Magnum acts so childish and always throws tantrums with Higgins
I’ve been close to stop watching the series because of it and I’m on season five and he seems to be doing it more often
I only caught it during season four, so I feel like maybe I missed the best seasons
I’m currently watching Kiss of the sabre and he is constantly shouting and getting irritable all the time

It’s hardly the temperament for a private investigator

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

I was probably slightly too young to remember the first time round, but being such a huge fan of all the shows of the 80s and recently Rewatching, all the Knight Rider episodes I started watching the ITV4 reruns of Magnum
I love the feel of the show and the music just like Knight Rider, they don’t make them like this anymore, but I have to say the one thing that has been really irritating me is the way that Magnum acts so childish and always throws tantrums with Higgins
I’ve been close to stop watching the series because of it and I’m on season five and he seems to be doing it more often
I only caught it during season four, so I feel like maybe I missed the best seasons
I’m currently watching Kiss of the sabre and he is constantly shouting and getting irritable all the time

It’s hardly the temperament for a private investigator

Believe it or not, that was also the biggest reason why I initially couldn't get into MPI. I guess I was used to more serious dramas. At the time I was a big "24" fan (a pretty grim show) and also when it comes to Hawaii I was a huge fan (and still am) of the original HAWAII FIVE-O, which is a serious by-the-book detective/cop procedural. No hi-jinx to be found there. So when I tried to get into MPI because it was another Hawaii-based show and because I loved all things 80s (Knight Rider was a childhood favorite) I had a hard time getting past all the bickering nonsense between Magnum and Higgins. Two grown men acting so childish, over absolutely inconsequential matters. The whole thing seemed to be so forced to me. Like the writers kept going "let's see what these 2 can bicker about today". I also I remember thinking that Magnum's cases seemed so tedious and unexciting. Compared to Five-O anyway, where they had some serious criminals to contend with.

But after seeing a few of the more serious and darker episodes ("Did You See the Sunrise?" took me by complete surprise) I really started warming to the show. And before long the characters became like an extended family to me. Magnum, Higgy, TC, Rick. And Hawaii and Robin's Nest in particular became like my dream getaway - the most awesome and laid-back spot on earth. I visited Hawaii back in 2008, before I got into the show (I was a huge Five-O fan then). But then I visited again in 2018 and this time I made sure to swim in the tidal pool at Robin's Nest. Man, what an awesome experience that was! The house was already gone by then but they hadn't started building yet so the rear gate and all the sea walls were still there like they were on the show.

So now I love the show and I see the bickering between Mag and Higgy as part of the show's charm. It doesn't bother me anymore. I can appreciate the light-hearted episodes as well as the more serious ones. If it helps you can view the silly episodes as comedies instead of dramas. That way you don't have to rationalize why a PI is acting like a kid. You can't take it too seriously. To be sure, in the more serious episodes he doesn't act this way. In fact Magnum and Higgins show great concern for one another in the more serious episodes and definite act "grown up".

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote -
"But then I visited again in 2018 and this time I made sure to swim in the tidal pool at Robin's Nest. Man, what an awesome experience that was!
The house was already gone by then but they hadn't started building yet so the rear gate and all the sea walls were still there like they were on the show."

Ivan,
Wow, color me jealous! Did you take any photos? Liberate any souvenirs, such as a rock from the seawall? I guess every time you see Magnum swimming there
you flash back to when you were there as well. Except you never had Digger Doyle with you.

On a Hawaii Five - O note, did you see any of the locations associated with that series? Eat at the famous landmark Wo Fat's chop suey joint where the writers - I believe Pahonu said -
hung out? It appears in several Hawaiian Eye episodes, in the "Day in the Sun" episode Troy Donohue and Elizabeth MacRae(Gomer Pyle's girl Lou Ann) dine there.
Just a note, Season 4 Episode 14 "Maybe Menehunes" had Zulu appearing, he of course later played Kono.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry O -
At the end of "Elegy For a Cop", Harry visits a bar and buys a bottle to honor his late friend, Lt. Manny Quinlan.
Harry:
Every once in a while somebody will come in here and you'll see that you like 'em right away, 'cause they're decent and just good people.
So give 'em a drink out of this bottle. Doesn't matter whether they have money or not. Tell 'em the drink's on Manny Quinlan.
Maybe they'll remember him. And if you feel like it, tell them he was a friend of mine.
Bartender:
What'll I do when the bottle's empty?
Harry:
Nothing. Nobody lives forever.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote -
"But then I visited again in 2018 and this time I made sure to swim in the tidal pool at Robin's Nest. Man, what an awesome experience that was!
The house was already gone by then but they hadn't started building yet so the rear gate and all the sea walls were still there like they were on the show."

Ivan,
Wow, color me jealous! Did you take any photos? Liberate any souvenirs, such as a rock from the seawall? I guess every time you see Magnum swimming there
you flash back to when you were there as well. Except you never had Digger Doyle with you.

On a Hawaii Five - O note, did you see any of the locations associated with that series? Eat at the famous landmark Wo Fat's chop suey joint where the writers - I believe Pahonu said -
hung out? It appears in several Hawaiian Eye episodes, in the "Day in the Sun" episode Troy Donohue and Elizabeth MacRae(Gomer Pyle's girl Lou Ann) dine there.
Just a note, Season 4 Episode 14 "Maybe Menehunes" had Zulu appearing, he of course later played Kono.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry O -
At the end of "Elegy For a Cop", Harry visits a bar and buys a bottle to honor his late friend, Lt. Manny Quinlan.
Harry:
Every once in a while somebody will come in here and you'll see that you like 'em right away, 'cause they're decent and just good people.
So give 'em a drink out of this bottle. Doesn't matter whether they have money or not. Tell 'em the drink's on Manny Quinlan.
Maybe they'll remember him. And if you feel like it, tell them he was a friend of mine.
Bartender:
What'll I do when the bottle's empty?
Harry:
Nothing. Nobody lives forever.

Hey Dobie, you betcha I took plenty of pics of the old Five-O locations. Back when I first visited in 2008 I wasn't even a fan of MPI then but was a huge Five-O fan so I made sure to visit all the major places from that show - especially the Iolani Palace which served as the Five-O HQ. Also the Ali'iolani Hale (just across the street) with the King Kamehemeha statue in front of it which is the supreme court of Hawaii (seen in many episodes). Also the Hawaii State Capitol Building just behind the Iolani Palace (on Beretenia St.) which served as the Governor's (Richard Denning) office. I also made sure to visit Punchbowl Cemetary (where veterans are buried) and stood next to the Lady Columbia statue which features prominently in the show's opening titles. Also Jack Lord and Andrew Duggan have their meeting at that spot in the pilot episode "Cocoon". Also snorkeled numerous times at Hanauma Bay, also featured in the pilot episode where Hennessy's body is found on the beach. Then there's various locations from specific episodes. I already posted photos for you a few months back on another thread that I took of the building from "Hookman" and when I passed the "Wo Fat Chop Suey" restaurant. Of course one of the first things I had to see when I got to Waikiki was the Ilikai hotel and I even took the outdoor elevator ride to the top (which you can see in several episodes). Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the penthouse balcony where Jack Lord stood during the opening titles zoom.

Oh, and another cool detail - as I watched "Cocoon" one time and I saw Jack Lord driving his Mercury down Kalakaua Ave. through Waikiki I totally geeked out when I saw him passing the same hotel where I stayed in 2008. It was so cool to see that back in 1968 that hotel was already there! It was the Aston Waikiki Beachside which was one of the smaller hotels in Waikiki. Back in '68 they were all smaller, before all the high-rises. As of 2018 when I visited a second time that hotel was closed and was going through some renovations. Looks like it's renovated now but it looks different now and it's no longer the Aston Waikiki Beachside. Things change, time marches on...

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote -
"But then I visited again in 2018 and this time I made sure to swim in the tidal pool at Robin's Nest. Man, what an awesome experience that was!
The house was already gone by then but they hadn't started building yet so the rear gate and all the sea walls were still there like they were on the show."

Ivan,
Wow, color me jealous! Did you take any photos? Liberate any souvenirs, such as a rock from the seawall? I guess every time you see Magnum swimming there
you flash back to when you were there as well. Except you never had Digger Doyle with you.

On a Hawaii Five - O note, did you see any of the locations associated with that series? Eat at the famous landmark Wo Fat's chop suey joint where the writers - I believe Pahonu said -
hung out? It appears in several Hawaiian Eye episodes, in the "Day in the Sun" episode Troy Donohue and Elizabeth MacRae(Gomer Pyle's girl Lou Ann) dine there.
Just a note, Season 4 Episode 14 "Maybe Menehunes" had Zulu appearing, he of course later played Kono.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry O -
At the end of "Elegy For a Cop", Harry visits a bar and buys a bottle to honor his late friend, Lt. Manny Quinlan.
Harry:
Every once in a while somebody will come in here and you'll see that you like 'em right away, 'cause they're decent and just good people.
So give 'em a drink out of this bottle. Doesn't matter whether they have money or not. Tell 'em the drink's on Manny Quinlan.
Maybe they'll remember him. And if you feel like it, tell them he was a friend of mine.
Bartender:
What'll I do when the bottle's empty?
Harry:
Nothing. Nobody lives forever.

Hey Dobie, you betcha I took plenty of pics of the old Five-O locations. Back when I first visited in 2008 I wasn't even a fan of MPI then but was a huge Five-O fan so I made sure to visit all the major places from that show - especially the Iolani Palace which served as the Five-O HQ. Also the Ali'iolani Hale (just across the street) with the King Kamehemeha statue in front of it which is the supreme court of Hawaii (seen in many episodes). Also the Hawaii State Capitol Building just behind the Iolani Palace (on Beretenia St.) which served as the Governor's (Richard Denning) office. I also made sure to visit Punchbowl Cemetary (where veterans are buried) and stood next to the Lady Columbia statue which features prominently in the show's opening titles. Also Jack Lord and Andrew Duggan have their meeting at that spot in the pilot episode "Cocoon". Also snorkeled numerous times at Hanauma Bay, also featured in the pilot episode where Hennessy's body is found on the beach. Then there's various locations from specific episodes. I already posted photos for you a few months back on another thread that I took of the building from "Hookman" and when I passed the "Wo Fat Chop Suey" restaurant. Of course one of the first things I had to see when I got to Waikiki was the Ilikai hotel and I even took the outdoor elevator ride to the top (which you can see in several episodes). Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the penthouse balcony where Jack Lord stood during the opening titles zoom.

Oh, and another cool detail - as I watched "Cocoon" one time and I saw Jack Lord driving his Mercury down Kalakaua Ave. through Waikiki I totally geeked out when I saw him passing the same hotel where I stayed in 2008. It was so cool to see that back in 1968 that hotel was already there! It was the Aston Waikiki Beachside which was one of the smaller hotels in Waikiki. Back in '68 they were all smaller, before all the high-rises. As of 2018 when I visited a second time that hotel was closed and was going through some renovations. Looks like it's renovated now but it looks different now and it's no longer the Aston Waikiki Beachside. Things change, time marches on...

Ivan,
I had forgotten about the photos you shared in the other thread, unfortunately it has become apparent to me the COVID has affected my memory, as I never had a problem before contacting it.
Anyway, I am glad you took full advantage of your Hawaii Trek, I kept thinking as I read the above I would have done the same as you in regards to the specific places you visited.
Do they mention the Jack Lord/Hawaii Five-O connection when one tours the Iolani Palace? I would be the tourist who has his photo taken next to a cardboard cutout Jack Lord if there was one in
the Iolani's lobby.
The penthouse balcony where Jack Lord stood, is that normally open to the public but for some reason you weren't able to access it that day? I would get a huge kick standing on that.
But to me, nothing would beat a swim at the Pahonu's tidal pool, sigh I am sooo jealous that you did.
Jack Lord and his widow left every dime of their very large estate to various Hawaiian charities, as they had for decades given monies for scholarships etc to help local kids, they were
held in the highest esteem. All their personal possessions were auctioned off as well, all for charities.
If ever there was an actor perfectly cast for a role it was Lord as McGarrett, or Hillerman as Higgins.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote -
"But then I visited again in 2018 and this time I made sure to swim in the tidal pool at Robin's Nest. Man, what an awesome experience that was!
The house was already gone by then but they hadn't started building yet so the rear gate and all the sea walls were still there like they were on the show."

Ivan,
Wow, color me jealous! Did you take any photos? Liberate any souvenirs, such as a rock from the seawall? I guess every time you see Magnum swimming there
you flash back to when you were there as well. Except you never had Digger Doyle with you.

On a Hawaii Five - O note, did you see any of the locations associated with that series? Eat at the famous landmark Wo Fat's chop suey joint where the writers - I believe Pahonu said -
hung out? It appears in several Hawaiian Eye episodes, in the "Day in the Sun" episode Troy Donohue and Elizabeth MacRae(Gomer Pyle's girl Lou Ann) dine there.
Just a note, Season 4 Episode 14 "Maybe Menehunes" had Zulu appearing, he of course later played Kono.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Harry O -
At the end of "Elegy For a Cop", Harry visits a bar and buys a bottle to honor his late friend, Lt. Manny Quinlan.
Harry:
Every once in a while somebody will come in here and you'll see that you like 'em right away, 'cause they're decent and just good people.
So give 'em a drink out of this bottle. Doesn't matter whether they have money or not. Tell 'em the drink's on Manny Quinlan.
Maybe they'll remember him. And if you feel like it, tell them he was a friend of mine.
Bartender:
What'll I do when the bottle's empty?
Harry:
Nothing. Nobody lives forever.

Hey Dobie, you betcha I took plenty of pics of the old Five-O locations. Back when I first visited in 2008 I wasn't even a fan of MPI then but was a huge Five-O fan so I made sure to visit all the major places from that show - especially the Iolani Palace which served as the Five-O HQ. Also the Ali'iolani Hale (just across the street) with the King Kamehemeha statue in front of it which is the supreme court of Hawaii (seen in many episodes). Also the Hawaii State Capitol Building just behind the Iolani Palace (on Beretenia St.) which served as the Governor's (Richard Denning) office. I also made sure to visit Punchbowl Cemetary (where veterans are buried) and stood next to the Lady Columbia statue which features prominently in the show's opening titles. Also Jack Lord and Andrew Duggan have their meeting at that spot in the pilot episode "Cocoon". Also snorkeled numerous times at Hanauma Bay, also featured in the pilot episode where Hennessy's body is found on the beach. Then there's various locations from specific episodes. I already posted photos for you a few months back on another thread that I took of the building from "Hookman" and when I passed the "Wo Fat Chop Suey" restaurant. Of course one of the first things I had to see when I got to Waikiki was the Ilikai hotel and I even took the outdoor elevator ride to the top (which you can see in several episodes). Unfortunately I wasn't able to get to the penthouse balcony where Jack Lord stood during the opening titles zoom.

Oh, and another cool detail - as I watched "Cocoon" one time and I saw Jack Lord driving his Mercury down Kalakaua Ave. through Waikiki I totally geeked out when I saw him passing the same hotel where I stayed in 2008. It was so cool to see that back in 1968 that hotel was already there! It was the Aston Waikiki Beachside which was one of the smaller hotels in Waikiki. Back in '68 they were all smaller, before all the high-rises. As of 2018 when I visited a second time that hotel was closed and was going through some renovations. Looks like it's renovated now but it looks different now and it's no longer the Aston Waikiki Beachside. Things change, time marches on...

Ivan,
I had forgotten about the photos you shared in the other thread, unfortunately it has become apparent to me the COVID has affected my memory, as I never had a problem before contacting it.
Anyway, I am glad you took full advantage of your Hawaii Trek, I kept thinking as I read the above I would have done the same as you in regards to the specific places you visited.
Do they mention the Jack Lord/Hawaii Five-O connection when one tours the Iolani Palace? I would be the tourist who has his photo taken next to a cardboard cutout Jack Lord if there was one in
the Iolani's lobby.
The penthouse balcony where Jack Lord stood, is that normally open to the public but for some reason you weren't able to access it that day? I would get a huge kick standing on that.
But to me, nothing would beat a swim at the Pahonu's tidal pool, sigh I am sooo jealous that you did.
Jack Lord and his widow left every dime of their very large estate to various Hawaiian charities, as they had for decades given monies for scholarships etc to help local kids, they were
held in the highest esteem. All their personal possessions were auctioned off as well, all for charities.
If ever there was an actor perfectly cast for a role it was Lord as McGarrett, or Hillerman as Higgins.

Yeah the whole Covid thing... I feel for ya, man. Hang in there. You're still incredibly sharp on all your TV and movie trivia though.

Can't remember now if they mentioned anything about Five-O or Jack Lord during our Iolani Palace tour. I'm sure I was chomping at the bit to at least have them acknowledge it. Maybe they did. Can't remember now since it was back in 2008. But if they did it must have been very fleeting and brief because otherwise I would have remembered something about it. I loved going up those front palace steps and I think I even ran down them at a slow pace (re-enacting the many times McGarrett ran down those steps lol) and also enjoyed going inside and seeing the curved wooden stairs which led up to the second floor (where presumably the Five-O offices were - of course that was filmed on a sound stage at the Diamond Head studios). Upstairs in reality is just several different rooms where the Hawaiian royalty used to live. But the wooden staircase (leading from first floor to second floor) was prominently featured in 2 of my favorite Five-O episodes "Yesterday Died and Tomorrow Won't Be Born" (where Danno shoots and kills vengeful John Larch who was about to assassinate the attorney general, after earlier nearly killing McG and putting him in a coma) and my all-time favorite episode "Rest in Peace, Somebody" where vengeful ex-cop Cameron (Norman Alden) is inside the Iolani Palace around the wooden staircase getting ready to assassinate the governor! So that was fun going up and down that staircase. I think that's as much as we got to see inside the Iolani Palace on the show. But besides the Iolani tour I visited the place on my own several times. You can just park outside the palace where McG used to park his Mercury and just walk the grounds. I would walk around back of the palace and then walk over to the State Capitol Building which was the governor's office on the show. It's got that iconic huge coin looking thing hanging on the front of the building: https://docomomo-us.org/resource/deskto ... ij5quf.jpg (you can even see Iolani Palace just in the back on the right-hand side).

As far as the penthouse at the top of the Ilikai where Jack Lord stood I believe that's a private residence, or at least a room that you can book (for a lot of moolah I imagine). No public access there as far as I know. But I did take the outdoor elevator (which runs along the outside of the hotel) to the top where there's a restaurant/bar at the very top. I wanted to see if maybe there was access to the penthouse from there. But I didn't see any other exits or entrances up there. So I think the only thing up there was the bar. Still, there's a nice view from up there of the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor.