My magnum opus on Magnum, P.I.
05/10/2016
Warning: spoilers throughout
The beginnings…and season one
The biggest shock of the pilot episode if you haven’t seen it before is probably the theme music. Instead of the iconic uptempo theme written by Mike Post and Pete Carpenter, we have instead a mid-tempo jazz-style piece written by Ian Freebairn-Smith. This episode also revolves heavily around Magnum’s Vietnam War experience and shows footage in a number of flashback sequences of Magnum in the jungle as a special forces operator. You’ll also notice how many of the clips for the opening credits come from this episode. The rest, with the odd exception, mostly come from the next two episodes. Finally, Magnum’s voiceover has a slight echo to it, like it’s bouncing off the inside of his empty head, or something. Thankfully, it was never used again after this episode.
Magnum’s gold and black ‘team ring’ also features prominently in this episode and the silhouette of the ‘double cross’ motif is used in the opening credits sequence and serves as a transition edit between scenes quite a lot in this two-part episode. Unlike other elements that are tweaked and refined throughout the series, this icon and the association the main character’s have with it remains consistent and it even pops up later in the series on one of TC’s baseball caps and on Magnum’s surfski.
It’s called the Cross of Lorraine and Magnum, TC and Rick – and the other members of their outfit – all wore one during the Vietnam War as it symbolizes the tight bond of combat camaraderie that they all shared. It’s not an official military decoration or emblem and is not used in any capacity in the US military as we’ve learned that Magnum is a former Navy SEAL and TC and Rick were both in the Marine Corp.
It’s primarily identified as a French resistance symbol, but it’s also used for many other purposes. The cross was originally used by the Knights Templar in the Middle Ages, and later by Joan of Arc in the 15th century. The double cross insignia was later used by the US Army 79th Infantry Division in both world wars as well as the French resistance in WWII. The full backstory to the ring is never seen. There is a flashback scene in the beginning of Memories Are Forever (S2, E5 parts 1 & 2) that shows Rick and TC on a Saigon street corner briefly looking at a tattoo flash of the Cross of Lorraine. Rick and TC already have their rings at this point and Michelle soon appears wearing her Cross of Lorraine pendant. We see the rings in other Vietnam flashbacks also, so we know they were made for the team at some point during that time. We don’t know why they chose the double cross symbol, but there are a few reasons that support this choice:
• it’s a long-used symbol of military resistance
• two members of his Veitnam unit were French and his former wife Michelle was French
• TC is originally from New Orleans, a city with a rich French history
• The French were driven out of Vietnam before the Americans arrived
The Cross was also memorably seen on a ring belonging to Mr Berger played by John Qualen in the classic 1942 movie Casablanca, a movie that is referenced many times on Magnum largely because Rick, whose real name we learn is Orville, tries to model himself on Humphrey Bogart’s character.
The budget constraints are more obviously apparent in the early days and this was to be expected from a show still in its infancy. The number plate on the red Ferrari changes to ROBIN 1 in episode three, China Doll, and the famous footage of Magnum nonchalantly putting the car into gear and pulling out, tearing up the grass hard shoulder behind him remained in the opening sequence through all eight seasons, causing a few continuity issues since that’s from the pilot episode and still shows the car with the 56E-478 number plate.
Oddly, in two of the first three episodes Magnum ends up shooting and killing the bad guy. As the series progressed, this hardly happened and when it did, significant effort was made to show Magnum’s reluctance and that only a very special set of circumstances would make him shoot to kill.
We first hear the familiar Magnum, PI theme in The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii (S1, E7) as a variation is used for the end credits and as incidental music during the story. Unusually, a few outtakes are included in the end credits sequence and it’s fantastic to see Tom Selleck and John Hillerman having a laugh together. It’s a shame this wasn’t done more. This episode also notable for being arguably the single most annoying of the entire first season. Possibly ever.
Towards the end of the first season, some of the reoccurring themes are introduced and J.”Digger” Doyle (S1, E16) is memorable for a number of reasons. It’s the first time we see Robin Masters, or at least the shadow of Robin Masters, voiced by Orson Welles. You may remember that much later in the series, Magnum starts to suspect that Higgins is actually Robin Masters and despite this episode unequivocally disproving that, it’s fun to entertain the idea and you might not have seen this particular episode in the past. We learn that in addition to the Hawaii estate, Mr Masters, celebrated pulp fiction novelist extraordinaire, has an apartment in Manhattan, a villa in Andros, a chalet at Innsbruck and the estate in Hawaii. We also see Magnum being a complete bastard to TC by pretending to be sick after a helicopter ride just as TC’s very important customers arrive at the airfield. Naturally they then drive off so TC no longer has an excuse to not help Magnum.
Throughout the early episodes we can see Magnum waving his Government model Colt 1911 A1 .45 cal. automatic pistol around, shooting from the hip, like he’s in an old western: something that happened all too often in TV shows of the time. The tactical technique that we see the most today is what’s called the Weaver Stance – a superior two-handed method of tactical advance with elbows and knees bent, one foot forward and where the handgun, body and head are turned together. It became popular in the 70s as many law enforcement professionals opted to use this instead of the old-fashioned Isosceles Stance, so Magnum certainly would’ve been aware of it.
Chemistry
Above all else, it’s the chemistry between Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC that makes this series more memorable than any other. The relationship between all four is quickly and nicely established in the pilot episode and then gradually built upon, albeit sometimes with better episodes than others.
The first time we see the four of them being forced to work together is in The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club (S1, E10) and it’s a joy to watch as these four utter blockheads realize what they can accomplish when they’re not all arguing. That particular episode is also a nice example of how the series occasionally dipped into Hawaiian history and culture as part of the plot. Did you know a ‘kahuna’ was a Hawaiian wise man or shaman? I didn’t.
Despite the fact that Thomas Magnum lived the dream lifestyle, effort was made to reaffirm in almost every episode how poor he actually was. He was always in financial debt to Rick and TC and unlike later shows like Miami Vice that also feature a crimebuster with a cool car, he didn’t possess a particularly extensive or expensive wardrobe. Or pet alligator or yacht. There’s a nice scene in Need To Know (S1, E4) where Magnum has to borrow TC’s white dinner jacket. Magnum returns it after having it cleaned…and it’s shrunk. TC is understandably furious and Magnum laughs and runs off, providing the final moment of hilarity before the end credits.
Throughout the series, Magnum continues to be amazed that everyone is reluctant to lend him anything…and he still bitches and whines about it. All part of his charm, supposedly.
In Never Again… Never Again (S1, E6) we see for the first time Higgins showing a genuine sensitivity towards Magnum, which nicely reaffirms our suspicion that actually, against all odds, the two of them are secretly becoming friends. Naturally, they test this to its very limits in almost every episode. It’s difficult to determine who exactly is at fault, and that, possibly more than anything, is why the relationship never gets stale. Magnum undoubtedly acts like a spoilt brat, but he is staying at the Masters Estate as a guest of Robin, not Higgins, who is employed by Robin. Therefore, technically, Magnum doesn’t have to answer to Higgins, who is a little highly-strung. However, he could very easily extend more common courtesy than he does, in return for having access to the tennis courts, wine cellar, dark room, Ferrari and everything else.
This relationship is slowly but steadily built upon throughout the entire series. When Magnum moves out of the Robin Masters estate in One More Summer (S2, E16), Higgins at first celebrates the peace and quiet, but in a subtle manner, it’s fairly obvious he misses the company: like a parent, once the children have left for college. Magnum undeniably acknowledges what Higgins means to him in Past Tense (S3, E4).
By the time we hit Under World (S5, E4) the relationship between Magnum and Higgins and indeed Higgins and the rest of the gang is now pretty secure. Naturally, there are still arguments over the use of the tennis courts, unpaid bar tabs and so on, if there weren’t then it just wouldn’t be Magnum…but, when Higgins is the one who – after hours of regaling the time he was in Suez in ’56 on a camel patrol, tracking down the Egyptian 3rd Division – finally coaxes TC out of his coma, it provides a touching moment and cements a bond between the two, even if they don’t realize it themselves. Actually, it’s interesting to see a stronger relationship develop over the course of time between TC and Higgins than Rick and Higgins.
The married couple-like union between Higgins and Magnum is taken to its very limits in Paper War (S7, E7) when the dueling duo more or less declare war on each other. This could have been very easily mishandled, but the end result is thoroughly entertaining and more importantly, within the contextual realms of believability. Acts of reprisal include a hilarious nod to the Godfather (1972) when Higgins decapitates Magnum’s rubber chicken and leaves the head next to his pillow, Magnum fills the barrel of Higgins’ antique cannon with cement, Higgins donates all of Magnum’s belongings to charity and Magnum blows up Higgins’ River Kwai Bridge model. Magnum also accuses Higgins of secretly being Robin Masters…a theory that surprisingly holds some merit.
