The new Magnum P.I. show thread

Cafe Society
1

I’m probably one of the biggest Magnum, P.I. fans in the world. I even have the theme song as the ring tone on my cell phone. And I was soooo looking forward to the reboot. Well, I watched it tonight. Man, I LOVED it! I DVRed it tonight, and watched it twice.

But, knowing the Straight Dope for lo these many decades, I’m guessing that I’m alone in approving of the reboot, and that the rest of you hated it. Please tell me I’m wrong!

Things I liked:

  1. The theme song - they kept it. Shortened, but still there.
  2. Rick and TC - still there, much the same, but tweaked and updated in a refreshing way.
  3. Higgins - still there. A chick now, but hey, I can roll with the changes. She kicks ass.
  4. Robin’s Nest, the Ferrari, the guest house, all still there.
  5. Cross overs with 5-0 - I’m pretty sure the coroner he visited is the same one from the *Hawaii 5-0 *show. That’s cool.
  6. The LADS!!
  7. The Cross of Lorraine ring - still there.
  8. Detroit Tigers hat - still there.
  9. The voice over, and “I know what you’re thinking…” - still there.
  10. And probably Number One - the major theme of *Magnum, P.I. *was always friendship. And that seems to be a major theme of the reboot as well. I am so happy about that.

Also - I’m please to see that they tweaked the title. The original series was called Magnum, P.I. The new series is called *Magnum P.I. *(no comma). This is nice, because it allows my DVR to keep the new and old versions stored in separate folders.

Things I didn’t like:

  1. The theme song was too short. That’s all I can complain about.

Okay, what do the rest of youse guys think?

2

We tuned in for just a few minutes to see the lads, because we have Dobes also. They were beautiful killing machines. :smiley:
There was something said as voiceover right near the beginning of the show that struck a somewhat “boys will be boys” note I didn’t care for, but I can’t even remember it now.

3

Maybe it will be better after the pilot - but this one seemed to be trying to outstupid macgiver - and won in the first few minutes.

(yeah, I realize that was the scene from a book and not what ‘really’ happened - but sheesh).

4

The new guy is no Tom Selleck. That is all.

5

Didn’t watch it. Never going to watch it.

But I’ll read y’alls comments.

You can tell me if they eventually have a crossover scene with H50 where Mags and McG sit down for a beer together and trade SuperSeal [del]lies[/del] stories.

6

Does Higgins still tell long-winded war stories?

7

Does he have a Tiger’s hat?

8

Me, too. And it has nothing to do with sullying the original–it looks awful all on its own (like the new Mcguyver and the new Lethal Weapon.)

9

Lethal Weapon is the exception to the rule - its turned out to be pretty good.

10

This seems the part that wouldn’t work. JQ Higgins was everywhere*, WWII, Israel, Africa, Ireland, MI-6. He was like the British Empire personified. What can the new one have done during the last 20 years that could be comparable? What would she have to tell stories about? (that is, that she could talk about, and not be classified?)
*Assuming the original JQH wasn’t lying. I don’t believe that, but it seems that’s what Bellisario was going for in the last season. I should start a different thread about that very question.

11

Are they going to show Robin Masters in this one, or be coy like the original series?

They’re not going to go for the “Higgins is really Robin Masters” thing again, are they?

12

Magnum knows Robbin Masters personally since the latter was a journalist embedded with his unit. Higgins being Masters wouldn’t fly.

13

I think this one is pretty tiresome while the new Macgyver is good stupid fun.

14

You’re correct: the character is Dr. Noelani Cunha, played by Kimee Balmilero.

I didn’t watch the episode, but the ads and teasers were very reminiscent of the new “5-0.”

15

Good. Because that got tiresome in the original.

16

I liked the preview. The pilot is sitting on the DVR for now.

The director of the pilot also directed some of the Fast & Furious movies.

17

I was one of those who didn’t believe it could live up to its own hype let alone the original series. Watched it last night and was won over by the sheer exuberance of the reboot. I am a fan of the new show without letting it diminish my fondness for the original. (I had to get past the driving stunts to appreciate the reboot but they made more sense in the episode than they did in the trailer – “well that didn’t work”). Having had a recent opportunity to watch the pilot episode from the original show, I have to say that the reboot exceeds the original but that makes sense since the reboot has seven seasons of refinement to draw upon the original pilot did not. I am very optimistic for the future of this show.

On another topic, could Tom Selleck make a cameo or periodic guest appearances without ruining the whole thing? What if he turns up as Ice pick? What if early next season he appears as Robin Masters, would that be too Meta? Would Tom Selleck as Robin Masters be ideal . . . or disastrous? There is a theory that having two Magnums on screen at the same time would cause a tear in the space/time continuum and end all life as we know it.

18

I think I may give it a try after reading your thoughts on the show.

They seem to agree with a review I read. That review kind of knocked what he thought was the core audience, gen Xer’s like me, calling us “oldies”. He went on to say that CBS programing in general is aimed to an older demographic. His main point was that it was good, but not great so younger people won’t go out of their way to watch as it airs.

19

Have Selleck show up as a retired Lance White. Shouldn’t be much of a problem as Universal has a hand in both shows.

20

Original Viewer

They got about 90 percent right, but I don’t like the new Magnum. The supporting cast check off all the right boxes for me, even Higgy, but the new Magnum looks like he was typecast for a newer generation of viewers.