In the mid 1970's until the mid 1980's, television offered a vast assortment of action-adventure-mystery thrillers, such as Charlie's Angels, Simon & Simon, and the Rockford Files. And in the middle of the pack was Magnum P.I. Funny how in some ways it doesn't seem that long ago but Magnum P.I. was from another age. All those shows had a certain stylized "look" that is very identifiable and different from today. And at the time, Ronald Reagan was in the White House, the World Wide Web was just a germ of an idea in Switzerland, IBM's new PC had only two floppy drives (no hardisk), and only rich people had answering machines. Most televisions were color but the sound was only mono. Can you believe it was almost 30 years ago at this writing that Magnum P.I. first aired which seemed so fresh and original at the time?
If you were a young American in the early 1980's (I was in Junior High at the time), you were probably familiar with the electric guitar riff that accompanied the slick red Ferrari streaking through the back streets of Oahu in Hawii at 8:00pm on Thursday nights. Magnum was the coolest of the cool. In addition to the Ferrari, he has the best job in the world: he provides security at the estate of a wealthy and faceless mystery-romance writer named Robin Masters who is never seen throughout the run of the show, a bit like Charlie of Charlie's Angels. Although, we never hear him either. His wishes are relayed through his most loyal British right-hand man, Jonathan Higgins, played to the hilt by the incomparable Tony Hillerman. Higgins seems a cross between General Montgomery (of WWII fame) and Prime Minister Gordon Brown. So Magnum has free lodgings which allows him to be a private investigator. His only hindrance is Higgins. And of course Magnum's voice-over adds a bit of the noir investigator flair of the 1940's.
Except for a few episodes dealing with Vietnam (which are some of the best), Magnum rarely rose above the straight-forward pure entertainment TV action sequence. Aside from a couple of excellent actors like Tony Hillerman as Higgins and Jeff McKay as Mac Reynolds, it's entertainment that rarely transcends itself. In the wake of more recent drama series like Law and Order and The West Wing, Magnum's plots seem rather linear and predictable. He is always hired by gorgeous women who probably just finished their stint with Vogue Magazine. And then Magnum drafts his two best friends, Rick and TC, to help him with the case. Unfortunately, both the acting and the writing of Magnum's friends were marginal at best and down-right poor at worst. Sometime during the episode, the woman who hired Magnum might be a potential love interest.
Of course, you always knew who the bad guys were from beginning until the end. They were always in sport coat and polyester shirt without a tie. You know the look, with the shirt collar pulled over the plaid lapels. I guess they never wear ties in Hawii. And there were usually five or six of them working for the head guy, often a drug ring or some kind of political corruption. And of course the bad guys got it in the end, usually being run over by garbage cans in some god-forsaken hideout in the last few minutes of the show.
If you look closely at the show today, in some ways the real talent is Tony Hillerman. Hillerman, a bona fide Texan, plays Higgins with just the right amount of upper-lip (but not too much) to convince you that he is a Brit formerly of the English aristocracy. He has two Doberman Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo, whom Hillerman is always sicking at Magnum, again some of the best moments of the show. The writing for Hillerman along with his acting are some of the most memorable of Magnum, rather than the throw-away characters Rick and TC who seem more like caricatures than people. Strangely, a weird chemistry evolved between Hillerman and Selleck which saves the show from being a total cliché. Somehow the fact they are nearly opposite in every way made for an interesting dynamism which kept the show together. Which holds to my theory that some of the best actors are in fact of the supporting variety rather than the "stars", who are there more for charisma and presence than character-acting ability. Hillerman, in my judgment, is the real star of the show.
All things considered Magnum P.I. is not a bad show, but it is not a great show either. Aside from the Higgins/Hillerman character, it is very much entrenched with the style and vogue of the era which still relied on the tried-and-true formula of good versus bad in a singular storyline, unlike the West Wing and other shows whose writers recognized the need for overlapping non-linear stories which may or may not be resolved by the end. Maybe if Magnum had had a little bit less resolution it would stand up better today. Or maybe the bad guys should have won a few times. To the show's credit, Selleck didn't always get the girl. But she still wanted him regardless, and maybe that's why the show is a little bit dated today.
If you were a young American in the early 1980's (I was in Junior High at the time), you were probably familiar with the electric guitar riff that accompanied the slick red Ferrari streaking through the back streets of Oahu in Hawii at 8:00pm on Thursday nights. Magnum was the coolest of the cool. In addition to the Ferrari, he has the best job in the world: he provides security at the estate of a wealthy and faceless mystery-romance writer named Robin Masters who is never seen throughout the run of the show, a bit like Charlie of Charlie's Angels. Although, we never hear him either. His wishes are relayed through his most loyal British right-hand man, Jonathan Higgins, played to the hilt by the incomparable Tony Hillerman. Higgins seems a cross between General Montgomery (of WWII fame) and Prime Minister Gordon Brown. So Magnum has free lodgings which allows him to be a private investigator. His only hindrance is Higgins. And of course Magnum's voice-over adds a bit of the noir investigator flair of the 1940's.
Except for a few episodes dealing with Vietnam (which are some of the best), Magnum rarely rose above the straight-forward pure entertainment TV action sequence. Aside from a couple of excellent actors like Tony Hillerman as Higgins and Jeff McKay as Mac Reynolds, it's entertainment that rarely transcends itself. In the wake of more recent drama series like Law and Order and The West Wing, Magnum's plots seem rather linear and predictable. He is always hired by gorgeous women who probably just finished their stint with Vogue Magazine. And then Magnum drafts his two best friends, Rick and TC, to help him with the case. Unfortunately, both the acting and the writing of Magnum's friends were marginal at best and down-right poor at worst. Sometime during the episode, the woman who hired Magnum might be a potential love interest.
Of course, you always knew who the bad guys were from beginning until the end. They were always in sport coat and polyester shirt without a tie. You know the look, with the shirt collar pulled over the plaid lapels. I guess they never wear ties in Hawii. And there were usually five or six of them working for the head guy, often a drug ring or some kind of political corruption. And of course the bad guys got it in the end, usually being run over by garbage cans in some god-forsaken hideout in the last few minutes of the show.
If you look closely at the show today, in some ways the real talent is Tony Hillerman. Hillerman, a bona fide Texan, plays Higgins with just the right amount of upper-lip (but not too much) to convince you that he is a Brit formerly of the English aristocracy. He has two Doberman Pinschers, Zeus and Apollo, whom Hillerman is always sicking at Magnum, again some of the best moments of the show. The writing for Hillerman along with his acting are some of the most memorable of Magnum, rather than the throw-away characters Rick and TC who seem more like caricatures than people. Strangely, a weird chemistry evolved between Hillerman and Selleck which saves the show from being a total cliché. Somehow the fact they are nearly opposite in every way made for an interesting dynamism which kept the show together. Which holds to my theory that some of the best actors are in fact of the supporting variety rather than the "stars", who are there more for charisma and presence than character-acting ability. Hillerman, in my judgment, is the real star of the show.
All things considered Magnum P.I. is not a bad show, but it is not a great show either. Aside from the Higgins/Hillerman character, it is very much entrenched with the style and vogue of the era which still relied on the tried-and-true formula of good versus bad in a singular storyline, unlike the West Wing and other shows whose writers recognized the need for overlapping non-linear stories which may or may not be resolved by the end. Maybe if Magnum had had a little bit less resolution it would stand up better today. Or maybe the bad guys should have won a few times. To the show's credit, Selleck didn't always get the girl. But she still wanted him regardless, and maybe that's why the show is a little bit dated today.