Thomas Magnum
Created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson

I just don't get it. Never has such a so-so figure had such a large impact on a genre as the MAGNUM, P.I. television show. A watered-down Rockford Files wannabe, utilising Hawaii 5-O's discarded props, it was created as a vehicle for rising star (and former cigarette commercial star) Tom Selleck...

Okay, okay, I know. The show has its defenders, who claim it was misunderstood, but it was all too erratic for me. It wobbled wildly from fantasy to heavy drama and back again, and utilized voice-overs, dream sequences, characters playing multiple roles, fantasy episodes, cameos and other such gimmicks. The casual warmth and sly wit of Rockford was replaced by some routine male bonding and a certain smug cleverness, more intent at appearing clever, I felt, than actually being clever. And despite all their attempts at humanizing the main characters, they never really came to life. They merely became props with backstories.

Too bad. Tom Selleck was certainly affable enough, and to his credit, he played against type, insisting that things wouldn't always come easy for his character. THOMAS MAGNUM was a former SEAL and Naval Intelligence officer, who had seen action in Vietnam, working as a private investigator (he's got a pet peeve about being called a private detective) in Hawaii. But his drop-dead good looks were a lot easier to swallow when it was revealed he was all too human, and usually, he didn't get the girl. And he certainly didn't dress for success. Jeans, Hawaiian shirts, and baseball caps were his basic wardrobe for the entire run. Despite this, though, somewhere along the line, he still managed to land a plush gig as live-in security at the Oahu estate of wealthy, best-selling (but never seen) novelist Robin Masters. Not only does he get to live rent-free in the guesthouse, but he has access to all the estate's many facilities, including a Ferrari or two.

The only catch? Masters' major domo, Jonathan Higgins, a pompous, stiff upper lip prig, and his two Dobermann Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo, who seemed to dislike Magnum even more than Higgins himself.

Ian Freebairn-Smith did the music for the premiere and the first few episodes of the series, but Mike Post, who went to high school with Selleck, and Pete Carpenter, who together had done the music for The Rockford Files, soon took over.

In fact, although it was no spinoff, The Rockford Files played a large part in setting Selleck up for the role of Magnum, thanks to a handful of popular appearances on that show as squeaky clean (and annoyingly perfect) private eye Lance White. One Magnum episode, "Tigers Fan" (November 4, 1987), even opens with two cops on a stakeout discussing an episode of The Rockford Files one had seen the previous night, and how much he enjoyed watching this Lance White guy bust Jim's chops.

Not that Magnum resembled Lance in any way -- if anything, he seemed like a smoother version of Rockford,. a hanger on on a rich man's estate, not unlike Rockford living in a trailer under the Malibu cliffs, both with a sort of everyman veneer. But Jim never drove a Ferrari.

Another part of the show's (questionable) charm were the countless nods and sly tributes to other shows and films. Hawaii 5-O and Steve McGarrett were often mentioned, and both Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote, and the Rick and A.J. Simon from Simon and Simon showed up. "Murder By Night" (January 14, 1987) was a black and white homage to classic detective films; most notably The Maltese Falcon, wherein a cast of characters strangely resembling Magnum, T. C., Rick, and Higgins attempt to solve a 1940s murder . Another episode, "A.A. P.I." (October 22, 1986) featured TV cops Columbo, Kojak, and Detective Mike Stone (from The Streets of San Francisco) attending a convention. Stephen J. Cannell also makes an appearance.

Despite the show and its star's popularity, it all ended, not with a bang, but a prolonged whimper. The last few seasons, in particular, were full of the sort of gimmicky shows and "very special" episodes that usually indicate wheel-spinning, The series finale, "Resolutions" (May 1, 1988), written by Stephen A. Miller and Chris Abbott, and directed by Burt Brinkerhoff, was a letdown almost any way you looked at it.

TELEVISION

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DVDS & VIDEOS

TWELVE NOVELS OF ROBIN MASTERS

In chronological order they are:

SPIN-OFFs

RELATED LINKS

Respectfully submitted by Kevin Burton Smith. Thanks to John Boyle for the scoop on the Ferrari, and Paul Collins for straightening the record.

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