# Watching 80s and 90s mystery and adventure shows (including kid shows) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 24, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742 "2026-03-24T23:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/21 "2026-03-26T14:56:55Z")
I actually had _Magnum_ in mind when I was talking about the damsels in distress, although you’re absolutely right about _MacGyver_ as well. _Magnum_ was Tom Selleck at his heartthrob peak, set in Hawaii, and as a result, had a lot of beautiful women in hot weather clothes/swimsuits, and Thomas Magnum and his mustache as the irresistible private investigator. Of course, part of the joke was that he wasn’t superhuman and screwed up a lot and got beat up a lot relative to the typical heartthrob action hero archetype. But even the non damsels in distress had a very 80s “isn’t that cute, she’s a strong woman” vibe about them. They weren’t played as competent equals; more like pretty curiosities. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/22 "2026-03-26T15:19:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > But even the non damsels in distress had a very 80s “isn’t that cute, she’s a strong woman” vibe about them. Now that you say that, I’m thinking of Erin Grey’s character from “J Digger Doyle”. She was competent, but somewhat uncharacteristically, Magnum was hostile to her. It helps excuse some of it when you realize the episode was a failed back-door pilot. > [@bump](#): > > Mr T’s general oddity, It seems obvious that the show was built around Mr T. But, even when it was current, I always though he was the worst of the four. Peppard was, as always, great, Benedict was fresh off BSG and I was surprised how good he could be, and Dwight Schultz was a lucky find of someone who was a way better actor than you’d think, given a character where his skills could shine. Mr T was completely out of place, like they took some over the top character, with all these personality quirks, from a Saturday morning animated show, and made him real. You really couldn’t take him seriously. Dude, lose the chains! And if you’re trying to hide from the Army, lose the distinctive haircut. Still, the guy was a genius with a torch and welder. “Let’s turn this farm tractor into a rocket powered tank.” OK! I used to watch the show for a weekly dose of gratuitous butt-kicking of deserving people, but after a while the sheer number of bullets that went now where got to be annoying. That, and the standard “ramp jump with a half-twist” in every episode became overdone. If you saw the bad guys driving a jeep with a really heavy duty roll cage, you know it would twist before the show was over. And no one ever got even a scratch. eta: do you all remember that they had a reporter lady that would tag along and find them jobs, or something? They eventually ditched her as an unnecessary fifth wheel. But the switch to them working for Robert Vaughn was stupid in a whole different way. He was sort of the action-show Cousin Oliver. ---
**Author:** ![De\_La\_Rue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@De\_La\_Rue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/De_La_Rue)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/23 "2026-03-26T15:36:37Z")
Tangent: You know what would have been great? A _Ghostwriter_/_Ghostbusters_ crossover (they’re both set in NYC, after all). Presumably something with a haunting at a library? Bonus points if you can work _Ghostbusters_’ librarian ghost in there. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/24 "2026-03-26T17:20:12Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Of course, part of the joke was that he wasn’t superhuman and screwed up a lot and got beat up a lot relative to the typical heartthrob action hero archetype. Try to watch Selleck’s two guest appearances on _The Rockford Files_. He plays exactly the heartthrob action hero; everybody loves him, things always go his way, and it drives Jim nuts. I think that’s what led to him being cast as Magnum. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/25 "2026-03-26T18:41:42Z")
Yeah, come to think of it, the whole Magnum getting beat up and messing up is very similar to Jim Rockford in the sense of neither was a archetypical action hero. I was always a bit young for _The Rockford Files_, so I sporadically watched it in re-runs, much like I did _Hawaii Five-O_. _Magnum PI_ on the other hand, was right in my wheelhouse as a nine through fifteen year old boy. Hawaii, beautiful women, gangsters, action, a funny and human protagonist- it had it all from my perspective back then. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742/26 "2026-03-26T21:17:09Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > You never saw the 1992 original _Ghostwriter_ kids’ series? I thought that was great and even engaging enough for an adult. I vaguely remember we watched (some of) that at school when I was about 10 years old. I was very chuffed to work out what THABTO stood for before it was revealed on the programme. I was easily pleased back then. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/watching-80s-and-90s-mystery-and-adventure-shows-including-kid-shows/1028742.md?page=1)