| Magnum, P.I. | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} Series' logo used in seasons 3–8 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Tom Selleck |
| Theme music composer |
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| Composers |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 8 |
| No. of episodes | 162(list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producers |
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| Production locations | |
| Running time | 46—49 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | CBS |
| Release | December 11, 1980 (1980-12-11) – May 1, 1988 (1988-05-01) |
| Related | |
| Magnum P.I. (remake series) | |
Magnum, P.I. is an Americancrime drama television series starringTom Selleck asThomas Magnum, aprivate investigator (P.I.) living onOahu,Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on the American television networkCBS.
Magnum, P.I. consistently ranked in the top 20 U.S. television programs in theNielsen ratings during the first five years of its original run, finishing as high as number three for the 1982–83 season.[1] The series entered syndication in 1986 under the titleMagnum in order to differentiate reruns from new episodes still airing under the original title on CBS.
Aremake series of the same name was ordered to series on May 11, 2018,[2] and premiered on September 24, 2018, on CBS.[3]
Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is aprivate investigator played byTom Selleck. He lives in the guesthouse of a 200-acre (81 ha) beachfront estate called Robin's Nest, inHawaii, at the invitation of its owner, Robin Masters. Ostensibly this isquid pro quo for Magnum's services based upon his expertise in security; the pilot and several early episodes suggest Magnum had done Masters a favor of some kind, possibly when Masters hired him for a case.
Masters is rarely depicted and is the celebrated author of several dozen lurid novels. His voice, heard only in five episodes, was provided byOrson Welles (one last appearance was provided by a different actor, Red Crandell).[4]
Magnum lives a luxurious life on the estate and operates as a P.I. on cases that suit him. The only thorn in the side of his near-perfect lifestyle isJonathan Quayle Higgins III, played byJohn Hillerman. An ex-British Armyregimental sergeant major, he is on the surface a stern, by-the-book caretaker of Robin's Nest, whose strict ways often conflict with Magnum's more easygoing methods.
He patrols Robin's Nest with his two highly-trained "lads",Dobermanns named Zeus and Apollo. Magnum has free use of the guesthouse and the car, aFerrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, but as a humorous aside in various episodes, often has to bargain with Higgins for use of estate amenities such as the tennis courts, wine cellar, and expensive cameras.
The relationship between Magnum and Higgins is initially cool, but as the series progresses, an unspoken respect and fondness of sorts grows between them. Many episodes dedicate more screen time to this "odd couple" pairing after the relationship proved popular with fans. A recurrent theme throughout the last two seasons, starting in the episode "Paper War", involves Magnum's sneaking suspicion that Higgins is actually Masters, since he opens Masters's mail, calls Masters's Ferrari "my car", etc. This suspicion is neither proved nor disproved, although in at least one episode Higgins is shown alone in a room, picking up a ringing phone and talking to Masters, indicating they are different people.[4]
Aside from Higgins, Magnum's two main companions on the islands are Theodore "T.C." Calvin (Roger E. Mosley), who runs a one-person local helicopter charter and tour van service, "Island Hoppers", and often finds himself persuaded by Magnum to fly him during various cases, and Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright (Larry Manetti), who refuses to use hisWright brothers-esque given name of Orville and owns a local bar. In the pilot episode, this was "Rick's Cafe Americain", inspired byCasablanca, with Rick appearing in suitable 1930s attire. After completing the pilot, though, executives felt that audiences would be unable to fully connect with this element.
Instead, Rick moved to running the plush, beachside King Kamehameha Club, which has exclusive membership and Higgins on the board of directors. Magnum often strolls around the club, using its facilities and running up an ever-unpaid tab, further fueling the Magnum-Higgins feud. T.C. and Rick are both former Marines fromVMO-2 with whom Magnum, a former member of theUnited States Navy SEALs and Naval Intelligence officer, served in theVietnam War.[note 1] The series was one of the first to deal with Vietnam veterans as "human beings" and not as shell-shocked killers, and was praised by many ex-servicemen groups for doing so.[5]
Magnum often dupes or bribes T.C. and Rick into aiding him on his cases, much to their frustration. T.C., whose assistance often involves the use of his helicopter, often tells Magnum, "gas money. All I need is gas money", referring to the high cost of the helicopter's fuel.
Magnum comes and goes as he pleases, works only when he wants, and has almost unlimited use of the Ferrari and many other luxuries of the estate. He keeps a mini-refrigerator with a seemingly endless supply of beer ("altbier"), wears his father's treasuredRolex GMT Master wristwatch, and is surrounded by countless beautiful women, who are often victims of crime, his clients, or otherwise connected to the cases he solves.
Other characteristics specific to Magnum are his thick moustache, baseball caps (usually aDetroit Tigers or VMO-2 cap), arubber chicken, and a variety of colorfulAloha shirts. Nearly every episode is narrated, in voice-over, by Magnum at various points. At the end of the seventh season, Magnum was to be killed off, to end the series. Following an outcry from fans who demanded a more satisfactory conclusion, an eighth season was produced to bring Magnum "back to life" and round off the series.
Robin's Nest (21°19′30″N157°40′46″W / 21.324917°N 157.679526°W /21.324917; -157.679526) is the fictional beach front estate on the island ofOahu,Hawaii, which serves as the residence of the main characters. In the series, it is owned by renowned novelist Robin Masters, who employs Jonathan Higgins as the estate's caretaker and Thomas Magnum as its security expert. Higgins resides in the estate's main house while Magnum occupies the guest house.[6][7]
In reality, the 3-acre (1.2 ha) beachfront property was on Oahu's east shore at 41-505Hawaii Route 72, nearWaimanalo Beach, Hawaii (21°19′30″N157°40′48″W / 21.32500°N 157.68000°W /21.32500; -157.68000). Designed by AmericanarchitectLouis Davis and called "Pahonu" ("turtle enclosure" inHawaiian),[8] it was also known as "The Anderson Estate" after its longtime owner, politicianEve G. Anderson.[9] The grounds were used for hundreds of years to raisegreen sea turtles for the Hawaiian royal family and include a 500-by-50-foot stone wall that surrounds the former turtle-raising pond. Since 1978, the turtle pond has been on theNational Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii.[8][10] A residential estate since the early 1930s, comprising an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) main house, a boathouse (which in the series appears as the guesthouse Magnum occupies), a gatehouse, and private tennis court.[8]
Owned in January 2014 byCox Communications heiressBarbara Cox Anthony, it was placed on the market withSotheby's for $15.75 million[8] and sold for $8.7 million in March 2015. In April 2018, the estate was demolished by its new owner, a friend of former President Barack Obama.[10][11][12][13]
Many of the indoor scenes ofMagnum, P.I. were filmed on the oldHawaii Five-O soundstage, as the network did not wish for its Hawaiian production facilities to go to waste afterHawaii Five-O ended its run.[14][15]
Through the years, fans of the show have noted commonalities in the settings of time and space (the so-called fictional TV universe) betweenMagnum, P.I. andHawaii Five-O. For example, in Season 1, Episode 5, "Thank Heavens for Little Girls, and Big Ones Too", Higgins calls Five-O to report a theft. In Season 1, Episode 6, "Skin Deep", Magnum gets on the radio pretending he's with the police and asks: "Billy, this is McGarrett of Five-O. Is David Norman armed?"[16] The producers ofMagnum, P.I. unsuccessfully attempted to convinceJack Lord to make a cameo.[17]
In a 2013 episode of theHawaii Five-0 remake, the characters "sing" theMagnum, P.I. theme song while discussing which person most resembled the characters on that program.[18] The purported connection between the programs appears to be preserved in the remakes, as explained by their creators inTV Guide, where plans for acrossover were announced as well as acknowledgment of the coexistence ofMagnum withHawaii Five-0 in the same TV universe.[19] AHawaii Five-0 andMagnum P.I. crossover event aired on CBS in January 2020, with theHawaii Five-0 episode "Ihea 'oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana?" (Hawaiian for "Where were you when the rain was pouring?") followed by theMagnum P.I. episode "Desperate Measures".
The original theme music for the opening credits of the pilot episode was a mid-tempo jazzy piece byIan Freebairn-Smith. This music was also used for the next nine regular episodes.[20]
Beginning in Episode 12, it was replaced by a more up tempo theme typical of 1980s action series byMike Post andPete Carpenter with guitar byLarry Carlton. This theme had been used during the show and over the closing credits from Episode 8. A longer version of this second theme ("Theme from Magnum P.I.", 3:25 in duration) credited to Post was released as asingle by Elektra Records in 1982 and featured on theBillboard Hot 100 chart that same year, peaking at No. 25 on May 8, 1982.[21][22] This version also appeared on Post's 1982 albumTelevision Theme Songs.[23]
Robin Masters' cars (with license plates)
Others
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Development ofMagnum, P.I. was originally slated atABC, which aired other Glen A. Larson seriesThe Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977–1979) andBattlestar Galactica (1978–1979). In January 1979, ABC cancelled both series, and development onMagnum, P.I. Larson then took the series over to CBS.[35]
Selleck's contract commitment to theMagnum, P.I. series famously cost him the role ofIndiana Jones in the firstIndiana Jones film,Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which went toHarrison Ford.[36] Selleck was unable to take the part of Jones asMagnum was due to start filming in March 1980. Owing to the1980 AFTRA/Screen Actors Guild strike, production ofMagnum was delayed until December 1980, which would have allowed Selleck to play Jones.[37]
In the 1986–87 season 7 ofMagnum, P.I., Selleck was brought in as a producer and the program was moved from its Thursday night slot on CBS to Wednesday, which increased its slumping ratings from competing withThe Cosby Show (1984–1992) onNBC.[38]
| Season | Episodes | Originally released | Rank | Rating | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First released | Last released | |||||
| 1 | 18 | December 11, 1980 (1980-12-11) | April 16, 1981 (1981-04-16) | 14 | 21.0 | |
| 2 | 22 | October 8, 1981 (1981-10-08) | April 1, 1982 (1982-04-01) | 17 | 20.9 | |
| 3 | 23 | September 30, 1982 (1982-09-30) | April 28, 1983 (1983-04-28) | 3 | 22.6[a] | |
| 4 | 21 | September 29, 1983 (1983-09-29) | May 3, 1984 (1984-05-03) | 6 | 22.4 | |
| 5 | 22 | September 27, 1984 (1984-09-27) | April 4, 1985 (1985-04-04) | 15 | 19.1 | |
| 6 | 21 | September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26) | April 10, 1986 (1986-04-10) | 46 | 14.6 | |
| 7 | 22 | October 1, 1986 (1986-10-01) | April 15, 1987 (1987-04-15) | 33 | 16.1 | |
| 8 | 13 | October 7, 1987 (1987-10-07) | May 1, 1988 (1988-05-01) | 40 | 14.4 | |
For re-run and overseas purposes, the first half of these crossovers (theMagnum episode) also had alternate endings filmed, which wrapped the story up in a single episode and so allowed repeat showings as "stand-alone" stories rather than two-part crossovers.[citation needed]
One mooted crossover from later in the series' run was with theCBSvigilantism dramaThe Equalizer, starringEdward Woodward as the retired spy Robert McCall. According toEqualizer executive producer Coleman Luck, interviewed for a special-feature documentary onThe Equalizer, the crossover was proposed byUniversal Television and was opposed by theEqualizer production staff.[citation needed]
In 1992, three years after the conclusion ofMagnum, a script was written for a potential crossover with Donald P. Bellisario's next show,NBC'sQuantum Leap, in which Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) would "leap" into the body of Thomas Magnum. It is unknown whether any original cast members fromMagnum were slated to appear in the episode or how far production had progressed, though test footage does exist of the attempted recreation of Tom Selleck's famous fourth-wall breaking "eyebrow" shot from the opening credits with Bakula in the role.[citation needed]
Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released all eight seasons ofMagnum, P.I. on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4. On October 1, 2013, Universal releasedMagnum, P.I. - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1. The 42-disc set features all 162 episodes of the series as well as bonus features.[39][40]
On December 12, 2016, in the United Kingdom, the complete series was released in HD on Blu-ray.[41]
In Australia, Madman Entertainment has re-released all eight seasons on DVD from November 18, 2015 to June 20, 2018, followed by "The Complete Series" on October 9, 2019.
| DVD name | Ep # | Release dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region 1 | Region 2* | Region 4 | ||
| The Complete First Season* | 18 | September 7, 2004[note 3][note 4] | September 13, 2004 | December 1, 2004 November 18, 2015 (re-release) |
| The Complete Second Season | 22 | April 12, 2005 | July 4, 2005 | September 19, 2005 November 18, 2015 (re-release) |
| The Complete Third Season* | 23 | January 31, 2006 | January 30, 2006 | July 12, 2006 November 18, 2015 (re-release) |
| The Complete Fourth Season | 21 | April 4, 2006 | June 26, 2006 | September 20, 2006 March 9, 2016 (re-release) |
| The Complete Fifth Season | 22 | October 10, 2006 | February 12, 2007 | March 21, 2007 March 9, 2016 (re-release) |
| The Complete Sixth Season | 21 | February 27, 2007 | May 7, 2007 | July 4, 2007 March 9, 2016 (re-release) |
| The Complete Seventh Season** | 22 | October 30, 2007 | March 31, 2008 | June 4, 2008 May 23, 2018 (re-release) |
| The Complete Eighth Season*** | 13 | March 4, 2008 | May 19, 2008 | September 3, 2008 June 20, 2018 (re-release) |
| Seasons One, Two****, Three & Four | 84 | N/A | November 20, 2006 | N/A |
| The Complete Series | 162 | October 1, 2013[39][40] | March 7, 2016 | October 9, 2019 |
* Includes the crossover Season 2 episode fromSimon & Simon titled "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend".[42]
** Includes the crossover Season 3 episode fromMurder, She Wrote titled "Magnum On Ice".
*** Includes the bonus Season 5 episode fromThe Rockford Files titled "White on White and Nearly Perfect" featuring Tom Selleck.
**** Includes bonus episodes fromThe A-Team, Season 2 titled "Diamonds 'n' Dust" andKnight Rider, Season 2, titled "Brother's Keeper".
Selleckwon an Emmy in 1984 for his portrayal of the title character. Three years later, co-starJohn Hillerman also won an Emmy. In 1981, series creators and writersGlen A. Larson andDonald P. Bellisario received anEdgar Award from theMystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series.[note 5]
Magnum, P.I. was nominated for multipleGolden Globe Awards:[43]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | American Cinema Editors | Best Edited Episode for a Television Series | Michael Berman & Ed Guidotti | "Memories are Forever" | Won |
| 1981 | Edgar Award | Best Television Episode | Donald P. Bellisario &Glen A. Larson | "China Doll" | Won |
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite New TV Dramatic Program | Nominated | |||
| 1983 | Young Artist Award | Best Young Actress, Guest in a Television Series | Dana Hill | Won | |
| Kim Richards | Nominated | ||||
| Best Young Actor, Guest in a Television Series | Chad Sheets | Nominated | |||
| 1984 | Young Artist Award | R.J. Williams | Nominated | ||
| 2003 | TV Land Award | Hippest Fashion Plate – Male | Tom Selleck | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Favorite Private Eye | Nominated | |||
| 2009 | Hero Award | Won |
On September 16, 2017, a group of 45 men dressed asThomas Magnum were ejected from aDetroit Tigers game[44] for smoking and catcalling women in the park.The story quickly became one of international interest as the group, from nearbyAllen Park, Michigan gave dozens of interviews to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, podcasts and more.
In October 2013, Selleck saidTom Clancy had planned to write a screenplay for aMagnum, P.I. film in the 1990s, withUniversal Pictures interested in producing it.[45] However, the project never materialized.
In September 2016,ABC began developing a sequel fromLeverage creatorJohn Rogers and producerEva Longoria centering on Lily "Tommy" Magnum,[46] which never made it to series.
In October 2017,CBS announced they had issued a pilot commitment for a remake of the series, to be developed byPeter M. Lenkov, who has helped remake other series likeHawaii Five-0 andMacGyver for the network.[47] CBS officially ordered the pilot three months later, along with one for a reboot of another hit 1980s television series for the network,Cagney & Lacey, as well as one for 1990s favoriteMurphy Brown.[48]On February 20, 2018,Jay Hernandez was cast as Thomas Magnum.[49][note 6]
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