Magnum PI

I also enjoyed watching the episodes. One in particular was when Magnum drove the front end off the road and got stuck. The front wheels were hanging over the ditch. Magnum could not get the 308 out of this situation. So he did what he always did, he called TC. Next scene, TC and Magnum standing in the ditch looking up and the underside of the FRONT end. TC says "here's the problem, it's the transmission". Gotta love that!

 

I'm a little under the weather and spent most of today watching the end of season four and a couple episodes of season five on Netflix. One episode in particular, "Mac's Back", begins with Magnum in a deep depression after he witnessed Diane's suicide.

Anyway, as Magnum is trying to come out of it, he thinks he sees his old buddy Mac, killed off when the Ferrari was blown up in "Did You See the Sunrise Pt 1", season 3. Everyone thinks he's delusional and he's given a sedative to rest. When he wakes, clean shaven, he appears to have put things behind him. I noticed he got a shorter haircut, so it's like a new "Magnum."

He convinces Higgins he's ok to drive and leaves the estate. He puts his sunglasses on, and throttles the Ferrari out of the estate entrance. It's a cool scene. I went over to youtube, searched "Mac's Back" Magnum and lo and behold, it's the first scene that came up, perfectly cut. I bet it was really cool when it aired back in 1984. Hope you enjoy it (again) too:

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvF3t2CpbDA]Magnum P.I. Tom Selleck Awesome! S05E03 - YouTube[/ame]

 

It was cool. I was an 11th grader and I recorded that scene on a Bata VCR. Watched it a million times.

 

I'm a couple years younger but I hardly ever missed the show. Didn't record them, much less re-watch any episodes. I have certain memories of particular scenes and this one seemed familiar. I definitely remember the chase with the Pontiac GTO because the Ferrari couldn't elude it, and Magnum made comment about not always having the faster car, or something like that.

Thursday nights @ 8:00pm EST if I recall correctly...

 

My favorite episode is on tonight on ECLAS - Luther Gillis File No. 521.

One of the funniest, guest staring Eugene Roche.

 

Magnum fans must check this site out Magnum Mania! - Trivia

 

I have never watched any of the Magnum, p.i. series, but now that I own a 308, felt obligated to do so. Last night, through the miracle of my wife's Netflix account, I found this 1983 "Luther Gillis" episode and watched it.

My observations:

-It is not the modern-style drama with standard "invincible enforcer" that I had expected. Magnum is rather hapless, vulnerable and otherwise human in his interaction with his world. I don't need to watch more, but through it was a pretty good show.

- It was cool to see a 1983 QV in the context of 1983. Wow. Compared to all the Detroit iron that it was sharing the Honolulu streets with, it would have stuck out much more than it would now. Now we have "sports cars" from all car manufacturers. It ain't no Chrysler Le Baron.

- I wonder how they got it lay down a half a block of tire smoke as Magnum accelerates in the car.

- At another point, Magnum drives up and gets out of the car. Contrary to what I've read on this site, the car had a plain seat and his head did not unnaturally stick out above the windshield.

 

The original character was the "always gets the girl" type. I remember hearing and reading that Selleck made the change so he would't be that way. Good move I thought.

He always had a 308 seat. Some mention of it being modified, but it was a stock seat otherwise.

 

Regarding having one's head stick above the windscreen, I'm the same height as Mr. Selleck- 6'-4"- and with the stock seat, my head DOES stick above the roofline. Remember also that the targa top version- the GTS- has a small spoiler at the top of the windscreen surround, a bit higher than the normal roofline, which the berlinetta version does not. If your head were level with the spoiler, your head would very definitely be above the targa top roofline, which is lower than the spoiler, not to mention the interior padding they all have. Not overwhelmingly but enough to not be able to use the targa top while driving without bending your head over to fit. Which is why I'm making different seats for my 328. They will allow me to clear the underside of the targa top by a bit less than 1 inch, which will do. The new seats will also allow me to stretch out to operate the pedals, which few other sports cars allow me to do as well.

Cheers, Rich

 

Tommy,

Maybe they switched interior of the car to tan for filming. Remember, the Testas that Ferrari gave Miami Vice were originally black but they found the black was too difficult to shoot at night. I realize that was exterior paint but maybe it was a similar problem for the producers of Magnum and they redid them in tan.

Just a thought.

Craig

 

The original 308 used in Magnum PI first season was driven cross country by PJ O'Rourke, with the drive written up in Car and Driver magazine. The first 308 had a tan interior in that article before it ever got to Hawaii, and there'd be no reason to change it or get the subsequent cars with a black interior.

It's kind of like the Daytona Spider used in Gumball Rally - it certainly had the tan interior in the movie (with black accent stripes in the Daytona seats), but a museum shows a Daytona Spider claiming it to be the Gumball Rally car and it has a black interior.

 

" I wonder how they got it lay down a half a block of tire smoke as Magnum accelerates in the car."

Yours will do it too; just launch the car without worrying about it! My 328 will/has done it with no trouble at all and will do a serious "bark" into 2nd but it will require that you treat it like you SERIOUSLY want to get moving, not like some prissy "gosh, I'm afraid my car will break" weenie. Rev it to 4500 RPM and dump the clutch/floor the gas pedal. You will be quite impressed...and it won't break…

 

As a kid watching it....I always remember Magnum having a certain "everyman" as well as "boyman" quality about him, but a kid sees it as a guy just trying to make a living then suddenly set upon by sinister elements, and it being within his right to return fire when fired upon, and becoming the champion of the good, and still have the cool car. Magnum seemed far more natural in the 308 than Crockett and Tubbs ever did in the Testarossa. I think Don Johns and Three first names could make any car, any place, seem contrived and unnatural.

Looking back now, the "normal guy" stuff looks all the more absurd given the ridiculous affluence, coolest car in the world, in exotic Hawaii, no job description, gets to shoot a bad guys. I realize now that the "everyman" quality really derived from Sellecks natural affibility and sense of unsuspecting innocence as much as anything. It also occurred to me that Magnum PI is more or less an updated "Hawaii Five-O" but Jack Lord had a cool that wen way beyond Selleck.

Aaron Spelling had the great ability to combine the ordinary boring dolt with a sense of justice, put him in ridiculous situations and exotic settings, and make it believeable. That was his skill....Spellling's production had a characteristic bawdyness and swag that was either inevitable or necessary to get the story scross. I'm thinking now about Farrah Fawcett driving a Ford Mustang and actually shooting at the bad guys/girls.

 

"It also occurred to me that Magnum PI is more or less an updated "Hawaii Five-O" but Jack Lord had a cool that wen way beyond Selleck."

A different kind of cool. I wouldn't have wanted to hang out with McGarrett.

"BOOK 'em Dano!"

 

The cars interior was always tan, never black.

The standard seats were used but had some padding removed and were bolted directly to the floor of the car to get Tom Selleck lower in the car. Despite this, his head still clears the top rail of the windscreen slightly.

As for being an updated Hawaii five-0, Hawaii five-0 was deemed to have run it's course and so production ended and the network wanted a new show to replace it.

Magnum P.I was deliberately set in Hawaii to make use of the film crew and some of the old sets and locations used in Hawaii five-0, in order to help keep the costs of production down.

In Magnum P.I, the police are referred to as five-0, and in a few episodes, Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett is mentioned by Magnum and his friends. This was done in part to give a degree of continuation between the two programmes, and also because the producers were hoping to coax Jack Lord into appearing on Magnum as McGarrett, but he refused to!

 

Great way to put it-and that's got to be a huge part of the reason the show worked. 'Just a dude' Selleck was perfect for this role-and it is absurd but still seemed realistic (I was a kid watching it also ha ha) and the excesses of the 80s probably helped smooth how ridiculous it was also. And if an episode was dragging they just had TC show up and fly everybody around in his chopper to shoot people! It's flipping good TV and there's nothing like it out there now

 

?

 

analogy maybe?

 

well into season 5...brings back a lot of memories. I loved this show and find that I still do!!! this is fun.

 

My 308 is named Michele.

 

328 engine is very smooth at low Rpm but at 6000 rpm starts to be very aggressive with the typical flat crankshaft V8 emotional sound: just then you learn what a Ferrari engine is.

ciao

 

well played! a nice tribute to Tm's late wife.

 

Hey All,

I just got back from Oahu on Tuesday. We drove around the island and I was going to stop by "Robin's Nest", but our daughter had a high fever and we ended up in the ER...oh well.

Not too many references to Magnum left there...did see some choppers flying around with TC's paint scheme.

Saw a couple Maseratis, some Benzs & Beemers, and even an R8, but no F cars. Lot's of tourist walking around with Ferrari hats, shoes, and shirts...never know if I should approach them and ask if they are a fellow Ferrari owner.

 

Magnum who?

 

The last season I didn't watch too closely, but in the final episodes TM was considering getting back together with the asian newscaster (an old flame). I don't remember her from previous episodes...

I always thought he should have gotten together with Cynthia (Dana Delany)...great actress.

Any thoughts?