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Magnum, P.I.

Plot

With the cancellation of the long-running Hawaii Five-O, CBS was stuck with two valuable commodities: the series' choice Thursday-night time slot, and the series' filming facilities on the island of Oahu. The solution? Commission another Hawaii-based detective show and schedule it in the old Thursday-evening berth. And that, boys and girls, was how Magnum, P.I. came to be. Tom Selleck starred as Thomas Magnum, a Vietnam veteran formerly with the Naval Intelligence service. Now a private eye with very rarefied tastes, Magnum was hired to handle security for a reclusive mystery writer named Robin Masters, who maintained a lavish estate on the "gold coast" of Oahu. Magnum was not only given full run of the estate, but was also allowed to drive around in an extremely expensive Ferrari -- and to take whatever "outside" jobs that happened to come his way. Since Masters was never actually on the estate (in fact he and the detective had never met), Magnum took his marching orders from the author's prim, stuffy, and very frugal manservant Jonathan Quayle Higgins II (John Hillerman), a former military man who preferred doing things "by the book," and who backed up his authority with a pair of fearsome Doberman pinschers, Zeus and Apollo. Though Magnum and Higgins were always bickering, it was clear that the two men liked and respected one another. Determined that his Vietnam buddies share in his good fortune, Magnum frequently called upon the services of his two best friends from his Navy days, charter helicopter pilot T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and nightclub owner-turned-beach club manager Orville "Rick" Wright (Larry Manetti). Another of Magnum's old service chums was Mac Reynolds (Jeff MacKay), who was killed early in the series' run, only to be "reincarnated" in the form of a con artist lookalike, also named Mac (also Jeff MacKay).

The series' episodes ran the gamut from lighthearted caper to deadly serious vendetta; indeed, on one occasion, Magnum made TV history by being the first detective-show protagonist to kill a man in cold blood (the victim, of course, had it coming!). There were also a couple of well-publicized "surrealistic" episodes; in one, Magnum's entire life flashes before him as he sloshes around in the middle of the ocean; and in the climactic episode of season seven, Magnum is actually killed, whereupon he ascends to heaven. This episode was meant to be the series finale, but when Magnum, P.I. was renewed for its eighth and final season, some hasty rewriting was in order! Debuting December 11, 1980, Magnum, P.I. ran until September 12, 1988. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Credit

Donald P. Bellisario - Executive Producer, Jesse Wayne - Stunts, Donald P. Bellisario - Show Creator, Glen A. Larson - Show Creator

Episodes

Magnum, P.I.: Season 01 (1980)
The first season of Magnum, P.I. opens with the two-hour pilot episode, as former Naval Intelligence officer-turned-private eye Thomas Magnum takes up residence in a guest house on the Oahu estate of mystery writer Robin Masters, for whom he has agreed to work security. But Magnum's first job is a personal one, as he and the sister (Pamela Susan Shoop) of his childhood buddy Dan Cook travel the length and breadth of the island to solve Dan's murder. Later episodes find Magnum continuing to take "outside" assignments, much to the disdain of the never-seen Masters' snooty manservant Higgins (John Hillerman). By episode three, the viewer has made the acquaintance of not only the protagonist but of his two Vietnam buddies and sometimes assistants, chopper pilot T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and nightclub owner Rick (Larry Manetti), the latter having gone into business with Masters as co-manager of the exclusive King Kamehameha Club. In one episode, Magnum comes to the rescue of one of Higgins' former comrades in arms, who has been targeted for assassination by the IRA (not that this makes Higgins any friendlier, of course). And in another installment, Magnum has a nightmarish "Vietnam flashback" while seeking clues to a model's death on a secluded island. Episode nine, "Missing in Action," marks the first appearance of Magnum's pal (and key information supplier) Mac Reynolds (Jeff MacKay), whose "history" on the series developed into perhaps the most remarkable of any of the regulars, including a horrible death and a highly suspicious rebirth. And "Lest We Forget" is the earliest of Magnum's "homage" episodes, set in 1941 and appropriately filmed in a lush, black-and-white Hollywood classic style. The 18th and final first-season episode is "Beauty Knows No Pain," in which Marcia Wallace (The Bob Newhart Show) plays a client who has only enough money to hire Magnum for a single day -- and he'll need every minute of it to locate her fiancé before one of the missing man's many enemies beats him to it! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 02 (1981)
Private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) continues to enjoy the hospitality of his wealthy (and never-seen) benefactor, author Robin Masters, on Masters' lavish Oahu estate as Magnum P.I. enters its second season. Our hero must also endure the verbal slings and arrows of Masters' snobbish manservant Higgins (John Hillerman), not to mention a nip or two from Higgins' pet Dobermans, Zeus and Apollo. The season opener, "Billy Joe Bob," finds Magnum trying to locate the sister of a trigger-happy Texan. In later episodes, Magnum and his Vietnam buddies T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti) are neck-deep in intrigue as they attempt to help a Russian Olympic champ defect; Magnum is unexpectedly and disastrously reunited with his wife, Michelle (Marta DuBois), whom he assumed had been killed years earlier; Darren McGavin guest stars as Hemingwayesque novelist Mad Buck Gibson, whose ex-wife hires Magnum to keep her husband alive until she collects her back alimony; an assignment to protect a ballerina reveals a hitherto undisclosed facet of T.C.'s personality (but one that would be mentioned time and time again in future episodes); and in "Texas Lightning," a birthday party and a card game segue into one of the series' most thrilling helicopter chases. Weaving in and out of the proceedings is a new Magnum, P.I. recurring character, Lt. Yoshi Tanaka of the Honolulu police (played by Kwan Hi Lim). Another "new character" in every sense of the word is "Bronco" Elmo Ziller, the estranged half-brother of the persnickety Higgins (both roles are played by John Hillerman in a textbook example of "versatility"). The season finale, "Three Minus Two," is distinguished by the presence of two of Hollywood's most attractive leading ladies: Jill St. John and Beverly Garland. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 03 (1982)
Season three of Magnum, P.I. finds former Navy Intelligence officer Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) continuing to live the good life on the Hawaiian estate of reclusive mystery writer Robin Masters, who has hired Magnum to handle security. Likewise still in attendance are Magnum's "friendly enemy," Masters' haughty manservant Higgins (John Hillerman), and Magnum's Vietnam buddies, chopper pilot T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and country club manager Rick (Larry Manetti). Making the first of their several appearances this season are a trio of recurring characters: police lieutenant Maggie Poole (Jean Bruce Scott), Assistant DA Carol Baldwin (played here by Patricia McCormack and in later seasons by Kathleen Lloyd), and middle-aged Agatha Chumley (Gillian Dobb), who has clearly set her cap for Higgins. Alas, season two marks the exit of Magnum's lifelong friend and chief informant Mac Reynolds (Jeff MacKay), who is killed in the two-part season opener, "Did You See the Sunrise?" Another episode, "Ki'is Don't Lie," represents a rare crossover between Magnum and another private-eye series, in this case Simon & Simon. In subsequent adventures, future Deadwood star Ian McShane shows up as Higgins' former comrade-in-arms Edward Clutterbuck, who has taken it upon himself to save his old chum from renegade Mau Mau warriors; Magnum attends the reading of the will of a prankish millionaire, thereby plunging himself into a near-surrealistic spoof of every "greedy relative" melodrama ever made; Sylvia Sidney guests as Elizabeth Barrett, mentor of the elusive Robin Masters -- or maybe she isn't Elizabeth Barrett after all; and in the second of the series' "retro" black-and-white episodes, a flashback sends Magnum 45 years in the past to solve a Chandleresque murder case, while the other regulars pop up in different guises. The season ends with "Faith and Begorrah," representing another opportunity for co-star John Hillerman to cut loose in a dual role, as the snobbish Higgins and as another of Higgins' estranged half-brothers, boisterous Irishman Father Paddy McGuinness. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 04 (1983)
Tom Selleck returns as the title character in Magnum, P.I. as the Hawaii-based detective series enters its fourth season. The opening episode is the now-legendary "Home From the Sea," in which Magnum, stranded on the remnants of a surf ski in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, helplessly witnesses his whole life flashing before him. After surviving this ordeal, Magnum makes his first acquaintance with seedy, middle-aged "hard-boiled" private eye Luther H. Gillis (Eugene Roche), who in his typical take-charge fashion even provides voice-over narration for most of the story! On a more somber note, Magnum's friendship with his former Vietnam comrade in arms T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) takes a nosedive when T.C.'s footloose sister Wendy is murdered while on a date with our hero; this episode also introduces another recurring character, retired mob functionary Ice Pick Hofstetler, played by the great Elisha Cook Jr. Also making her first appearances this season is Kathleen Lloyd as assistant DA Carol Baldwin, a role played by Patricia McCormack during the previous season. Carol's function is similar to that of Higgins (John Hillerman), the snooty overseer of the estate where Thomas has been hired as security, to not-so-gently "persuade" Magnum to provide unofficial assistance in otherwise unsolvable cases. Among the guest stars appearing on Magnum P.I. during season four are Carol Channing, Leslie Uggams, Carol Burnett, Dick Shawn, and Patrick Macnee. The season closer, "I Witness," focuses on the King Kamehameha Club, co-owned by Magnum's never-seen boss, Robin Masters, and his war buddy Rick (Larry Manetti) -- and may be the only live-action TV episode in history to feature a talking pig as one of the villains! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 05 (1984)
Season five of Magnum, P.I. opens with the two-part episode "Echoes of the Mind," in which Hawaii-based private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), tackles a decade-old missing-persons case; this episode features an early guest appearance by Sharon Stone, and also serves to strengthen the relationship between Magnum's boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman) and Higgins' longtime lady friend Agatha Chumley (Gillian Dobbs). Subsequent episodes find Magnum dividing his time between his security duties at the lavish Oahu estate of elusive author Robin Masters (for whom Higgins also works as a manservant-of-all-trades) and his usual P.I. gigs in and around the rest of the island. In a surprise development, Magnum's old buddy Mac Reynolds (Bruce MacKay), presumed killed at the beginning of season three, suddenly reappears, apparently none the worse for wear. Before long, however, we learn that this Mac is actually a lookalike impostor, a con artist named Mac Bonnick. Among the season's best episodes is another of Magnum's genre spoofs, "Kiss of the Sabre," in which most of the series' characters show up in different guises in a fantasy sequence; this time it's a mystery novel, wherein Magnum morphs into dashing international investigator "Sebastian Sabre," with Higgins as his loyal servant "Boris," and Magnum's friends T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti) respectively cast as "Winston" and "Swift" (with the same jobs they hold down in real life!). Another top-notch episode, "Compulsion," finds British actor David Hemmings doing double duty as guest star and director. The season's final installment is a prison yarn, "A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken," based on a story by Anthony Pellicano, a genuine private detective and forensic expert. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 06 (1985)
Normally based in Hawaii, Magnum, P.I. launches its sixth season with a jaunt to Merrie Old England, where private detective Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) and his boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman) have been assigned to oversee the London estate owned by their mutual employer, the celebrated (and never-seen) author Robin Masters. Upon his return to Oahu, Magnum resumes his usual duties, acting as security at Masters' Hawaiian estate and accepting whatever "outside" P.I. jobs come his way. Season six has many highlights, among them the near-surrealistic episode "The Kona Winds," in which everybody in the cast behaves in a thoroughly unexpected manner -- including Magnum, who enters into an affair with a married woman. Another semi-fantasy installment, "Rapture," involves what appears to be a scuba-diving ghost. In "The Hotel Dick," Magnum leaves Masters' employ for a less glamorous job as house detective at the Hawaiian Gardens Hotel -- and in the course of events rather uncharacteristically admits to needing glasses to read. Gwen Verdon guest stars in "Going Home," in which Magnum returns to his hometown only to get enmeshed in a bitter feud. And in "Mad Dogs and Englishmen," Higgins is accused of theft and fired from the Masters estate -- but what appears to be happening, isn't. The season ends with "Photo Play," guest-starring Cassie Yates in the recurring role of photographer Sally Faraday, whose arrival in Hawaii proves disastrous for everyone within Magnum's circle of friends. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 07 (1986)
Having moved from Thursdays to Saturdays to Tuesdays in previous seasons, Magnum, P.I. settles upon a Wednesday-night CBS slot for its seventh season on the air. While the show itself has been shifting about quite a bit of late, several things remain constant. Private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) continues to work as security chief of the Oahu estate owned by celebrated (and never-seen) author Robin Masters, with Masters' stuffy manservant Higgins (John Hillerman) persisting in his efforts to get Magnum to behave himself and play by the rules. And as before, Magnum is frequently aided in his investigations by his Vietnam buddies T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti). Of the many season-seven episodes, several are standouts, notably "A.A.P.I.," in which Magnum and fellow gumshoe Luther Gillis (Eugene Roche) attend the 14th Annual Convention of Private Investigators, where they meet TV producer Stephen J. Cannell as security guard Ray Lemon, and Magnum semi-regular Elisha Cook Jr., normally cast as wizened underworld character Ice Pick, reprising his "Wilmer" role from the 1941 classic The Maltese Falcon! "Novel Connection" finds Magnum briefly teaming up with mystery writer Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote fame, with Angela Lansbury (who else?) guesting as Jessica. "Murder by Night" is the season's obligatory "homage" episode, set in the 1940s and filmed in the style of a black-and-white Bogart epic; "Solo Flight" is a reworking of season four's "Home From the Sea," with Magnum trapped in a perilous situation (his legs are caught under the wreckage of a plane), forcing him to relive past events in his mind, courtesy of excerpts from previous episodes. And in "Little Girl Who," Magnum discovers that he may have had a daughter with his first wife, Michele, a five-year-old girl named Lily Hue. Inasmuch as the producers were certain that Magnum, P.I. would be canceled at the end of its seventh season, a surrealistic two-part finale titled "Limbo" was conceived in which Magnum is shot dead, whereupon his soul ascends to heaven. Imagine their surprise when the series was renewed for an eighth year, requiring an extremely hasty "explanation" as to why the protagonist has suddenly returned to life! ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Magnum, P.I.: Season 08 (1987)
It had been assumed by the producers of Magnum, P.I. that the series would be canceled at the end of its seventh season, thus a two-part finale was written in which the hero, Hawaii-based private eye Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), was shot and killed, his soul ascending to heaven. However, the series was renewed for an eighth and final season -- which is why it is explained in that season's opener that Magnum was merely wounded, and that his journey to paradise was but a feverish nightmare! That said, the adventures of Magnum, his boss-by-proxy Higgins (John Hillerman), and his Navy buddies T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti), roll along in their customary thrilling and sometimes tongue-in-cheek fashion, until the end of the season -- which in this case is the climax of the series. On this occasion, the viewer finally learns the identity of Robin Masters, the elusive author for whom Magnum has been working the past eight years. And, among other things, Magnum is reunited with his long-estranged daughter, and decides to forsake civilian life for good and all to re-up with the Navy. (At least, that appears to be what happens. On this series, who can be certain?) ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi