Magnum, P.I.

Premise

Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV (played by Tom Selleck) is a private investigator. He lives in the guesthouse of a 200-acre (81 ha) beachfront estate (named "Robin's Nest"), in Oahu, Hawaii, at the invitation of its owner, Robin Masters. Ostensibly this is quid 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 – who is rarely depicted – is the celebrated author of several dozen lurid novels. His voice, heard only in seven episodes, was provided by Orson Welles (except for the last, voiced by Red Crandall).

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 is Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, played by John Hillerman. An ex-British Army regimental 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, a Ferrari 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, for he opens Masters's mail, calls Masters's Ferrari "my car", etc. This suspicion is never completely 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.

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 his Wright brothers-esque given name of Orville and owns a local bar. In the pilot episode, this was "Rick's Cafe Americain", inspired by Casablanca, 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.

Cast

Main cast

Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum

Roger E. Mosley as Theodore "T.C." Calvin

Larry Manetti as Orville "Rick" Wright

John Hillerman as Jonathan Higgins

Recurring characters

Lieutenant Yoshi Tanaka: A homicide-division police lieutenant with the Honolulu police department (Kwan Hi Lim), he has a slight Lieutenant Columbo-like enigmatic quality, characterized by his casual dress and ironic sense of humor. He is also, like Magnum, a Detroit Tigers fan. He appears in Seasons 2–8.

Agatha Chumley: Higgins's stereotypically English lady friend (Gillian Dobb), who seems to have a crush on Higgins. Her first appearance was in the episode "Black on White". She appears in Seasons 3–8.

Colonel "Buck" Greene: A Marine Corps aviator and intelligence officer (Lance LeGault), who is often Magnum's nemesis in seasons 2–8. LeGault also played John W. Newton, aka "Delta One", in episode 9 of season 1, "Missing in Action".

Carol Baldwin: An assistant district attorney (Patty McCormack in season 1, followed by Kathleen Lloyd in seasons 3–8); before playing Carol Baldwin, Lloyd guest-starred in the episode "Almost Home" (season 3, episode 11) as Bridget Archer.

Lieutenant "Mac" McReynolds: A doughnut-munching Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) lieutenant (Jeff MacKay), killed by a car bomb planted by "Ivan", a Russian KGB officer. Mac returns as a ghost for four episodes ("Mac's Back", "Limbo", "Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts" and "Pleasure Principle") and later as a lookalike character. In the pilot, MacKay portrays "Ski", a guard at the entrance gate of Pearl Harbor. He appears in Seasons 1–3 and 7–8.

Jim Bonnick: A con man and an ex-Navy pilot who was released on a medical discharge (Jeff MacKay); he is Mac McReynolds's lookalike. In at least one episode ("Mac's Back"), MacKay appears in both roles. He appears in Seasons 5–8.

Francis "Icepick" Hofstetler: An American loan shark and major underworld figure from Chicago, and a quasi-father figure to Rick Wright (Walter Chotzen and later Elisha Cook Jr.).

Dr. Ibold, M.D. "Doc Ibold": A minor character (Glenn Cannon) who appeared in episodes when the script called for a physician. First referred to as "Script Writer #1", he is known for prescribing opiates for any and all ailments. He appears in Seasons 2–8. Cannon also plays Dr. Bernard Kessler in Episode 1.7, "Never Again...Never Again".

Setting

Robin's Nest (21.324917°N 157.679526°W / 21.324917; -157.679526) is the fictional beach front estate on the island of Oahu, 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.

In reality, the 3-acre (1.2 ha) beachfront property was on Oahu's east shore at 41-505 Hawaii Route 72, near Waimanalo Beach, Hawaii (21°19′30″N 157°40′48″W). Designed by American architect Louis Davis and called "Pahonu" ("turtle enclosure" in Hawaiian), it was also known as "The Anderson Estate" after its longtime owner, politician Eve G. Anderson. The grounds were used for hundreds of years to raise green 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 the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii. The property was a residential estate from the early 1930s onward, 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.

Owned in January 2014 by Cox Communications heiress Barbara Cox Anthony, it was placed on the market with Sotheby's for $15.75 million 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.

Many of the indoor scenes of Magnum, P.I. were filmed on the old Hawaii Five-O soundstage, as the network did not wish for its Hawaiian production facilities to go to waste after Hawaii Five-O ended its run.

Through the years, fans of the show have noted commonalities in the settings of time and space (the so-called fictional TV universe) between Magnum, P.I. and Hawaii 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?" The producers of Magnum, P.I. unsuccessfully attempted to convince Jack Lord to make a cameo.

Theme music

The original theme music for the opening credits of the pilot episode was a mid-tempo jazzy piece by Ian Freebairn-Smith. This music was also used for the next nine regular episodes.

Beginning in Episode 12, it was replaced by a more up tempo theme typical of 1980s action series by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter with guitar by Larry 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 a single by Elektra Records in 1982 and featured on the Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year, peaking at No. 25 on May 8, 1982. This version also appeared on Post's 1982 album Television Theme Songs.

Vehicles

Cars

Robin Masters' cars (with license plates)

"ROBIN 1"

1979 Ferrari 308 GTS - season 1

1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi - season 2

1982 Ferrari 308 GTSi - season 3

1984 Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole - seasons 4–8

"ROBIN 2"

1980 Audi 5000 - seasons 1–4 (2 units with one blown up in S01E05)

1985 Audi 5000 - seasons 5–8

1974 Jaguar XJ (seen only in S04E18)

(all these sedans were in various shades of dark grey)

"ROBIN 3"

1980 GMC Jimmy Sierra (full size K5) — season 1–3

1983 GMC S15 Jimmy (mid-size S-series) — seasons 4–6

1984 Jeep Cherokee — seasons 7–8

(all these SUVs were in shades of brown, with red stripe on the C/K & large yellow stripe on the S15)

"Robin 23"

1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi in dark green/Verde Pino – seen only in the episode "Summer School" (S06E13). This car was provided by Robin Masters for his visiting nephew, 'R.J.'.

"56E-478"; regular/non-vanity license plate

1978 Ferrari 308 GTS (seen in the pilot, and all episodes' opening credits)

Aircraft

Island Hoppers (TC's) helicopter — MD Helicopters MD 500 (various models)

Ken Enderlin Charters — N9267F is a Hughes Model 369HS built in 1975, Construction Number (C/N) 1150778S, in the episodes "Dream a Little Dream" and "Missing Melody".

Development and production

Development of Magnum, P.I. was originally slated at ABC, which aired other Glen A. Larson series The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977–1979) and Battlestar Galactica (1978–1979). In January 1979, ABC cancelled both series, and development on Magnum, P.I. Larson then took the series over to CBS.

Selleck's contract commitment to the Magnum, P.I. series famously cost him the role of Indiana Jones in the first Indiana Jones film, Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which went to Harrison Ford. Selleck was unable to take the part of Jones as Magnum was due to start filming in March 1980. Owing to the 1980 AFTRA/Screen Actors Guild strike, production of Magnum was delayed until December 1980, which would have allowed Selleck to play Jones.

In the 1986–87 season 7 of Magnum, 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 with The Cosby Show (1984–1992) on NBC.

Episodes

Crossovers

"Ki'is Don't Lie" — Magnum works with the Simon brothers to recover a stolen Hawaiian artifact that's supposedly cursed. The plot concludes on Simon & Simon in the episode "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend".

"Novel Connection" — Jessica Fletcher comes to Hawaii when an attempt is made on the lives of Robin's guests. The plot concludes on Murder, She Wrote in the episode "Magnum on Ice".

For re-run and overseas purposes, the first half of these crossovers (the Magnum 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.

One mooted crossover from later in the series' run was with the CBS vigilantism drama The Equalizer, starring Edward Woodward as the retired spy Robert McCall. According to Equalizer executive producer Coleman Luck, interviewed for a special-feature documentary on The Equalizer, the crossover was proposed by Universal Television and was opposed by the Equalizer production staff.

In 1992, three years after the conclusion of Magnum, a script was written for a potential crossover with Donald P. Bellisario's next show, NBC's Quantum Leap, in which Dr. Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) would "leap" into the body of Thomas Magnum. It is unknown whether any original cast members from Magnum 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.

Home media

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has released all eight seasons of Magnum, P.I. on DVD in Region 1, 2 and 4. On October 1, 2013, Universal released Magnum, 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.

On December 12, 2016, in the United Kingdom, the complete series was released in HD on Blu-ray.

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.

Region 2 release dates refer to the United Kingdom market only.

* Includes the crossover Season 2 episode from Simon & Simon titled "Emeralds Are Not a Girl's Best Friend".

** Includes the crossover Season 3 episode from Murder, She Wrote titled "Magnum On Ice".

*** Includes the bonus Season 5 episode from The Rockford Files titled "White on White and Nearly Perfect" featuring Tom Selleck.

**** Includes bonus episodes from The A-Team, Season 2 titled "Diamonds 'n' Dust" and Knight Rider, Season 2, titled "Brother's Keeper".

Awards

Selleck won an Emmy in 1984 for his portrayal of the title character. Three years later, co-star John Hillerman also won an Emmy. In 1981, series creators and writers Glen A. Larson and Donald P. Bellisario received an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Episode in a TV Series.

Golden Globe Awards

Magnum, P.I. was nominated for multiple Golden Globe Awards:

Detroit Tigers incident

On September 16, 2017, a group of 45 men dressed as Thomas Magnum were ejected from a Detroit Tigers game for smoking and catcalling women in the park.

The story quickly became one of international interest as the group, from nearby Allen Park, Michigan gave dozens of interviews to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, podcasts and more.

Proposed sequels

In October 2013, Selleck said Tom Clancy had planned to write a screenplay for a Magnum, P.I. film in the 1990s, with Universal Pictures interested in producing it. However, the project never materialized.

In September 2016, ABC began developing a sequel from Leverage creator John Rogers and producer Eva Longoria centering on Lily "Tommy" Magnum, which never made it to series.

Remake

In October 2017, CBS announced they had issued a pilot commitment for a remake of the series, to be developed by Peter M. Lenkov, who has helped remake other series like Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver for the network. 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 favorite Murphy Brown.

On February 20, 2018, Jay Hernandez was cast as Thomas Magnum.