Magnum, P.I.

Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is a private investigator played by Tom Selleck. He lives in the guesthouse of a 200-acre (81 ha) beachfront estate called Robin's Nest, in 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 is rarely depicted and is the celebrated author of several dozen lurid novels. His voice, heard only in five episodes, was provided by Orson 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 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", Dobermans 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, 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 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. 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 from VMO-2 with whom Magnum, a former member of the United States Navy SEALs and Naval Intelligence officer, served in the Vietnam 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 treasured Rolex 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 a Detroit Tigers or VMO-2 cap), a rubber chicken, and a variety of colorful Aloha 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.

The guesthouse in Magnum, P.I., a boathouse during the mid-2000s

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). Called "Pahonu" ("turtle enclosure" in Hawaiian),[6] 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.[6][7] 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.[6]

Owned in January 2014 by Cox Communications heiress Barbara Cox Anthony, it was placed on the market with Sotheby's for $15.75 million[6] and sold for $8.7 million in March 2015. In April 2018, the estate was demolished.[7][8]

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.[9]

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?"[10] The producers of Magnum, P.I. unsuccessfully attempted to convince Jack Lord to make a cameo.[11]

In a 2013 episode of the Hawaii Five-0 remake, the characters "sing" the Magnum, P.I. theme song while discussing which person most resembled the characters on that program.[12] The purported connection between the programs appears to be preserved in the remakes, as explained by their creators in TV Guide, where plans for a crossover were announced as well as acknowledgment of the coexistence of Magnum with Hawaii Five-0 in the same TV universe.[13] A Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. crossover event aired on CBS in January 2020, with the Hawaii 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 the Magnum P.I. episode "Desperate Measures".

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.[14]

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.[15][16] This version also appeared on Post's 1982 album Television Theme Songs.[17]

Publicity photo 1980

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.[28]

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.[29] 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.[30]

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.[31]

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.[32][33]

On December 12, 2016, in the United Kingdom, the complete series was released in HD on Blu-ray.[34]

In Australia, Madman Entertainment has re-released all eight seasons on DVD from November 18, 2015 - 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".[35]
** 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".

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.[note 5]

On September 16, 2017, a group of 45 men dressed as Thomas Magnum were ejected from a Detroit Tigers game[37] 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.

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.[38] The project remained unmaterialized.

In September 2016, ABC began developing a sequel from Leverage creator John Rogers and producer Eva Longoria centering on Lily "Tommy" Magnum,[39] 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 by Peter M. Lenkov, who has helped remake other series like Hawaii Five-0 and MacGyver for the network.[40] 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.[41] On February 20, 2018, actor Jay Hernandez was cast as Thomas Magnum.[42][note 6]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Magnum, P.I..

• Magnum, P.I. at IMDb
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