A few years back the decision to revisit
old movies and TV series suddenly kicked into high gear. One of the most
successful was HAWAII FIVE-O which brought back Steve McGarrett to take down
bad guys in Hawaii. Since that show has done so well and since they’re filming
in Hawaii at least part of the time it only seems natural that CBS would
revisit yet another series that takes place there. With that in mind, MAGNUM
P.I. was released last year.
The original series told the tale of Thomas
Magnum (Tom Selleck), an ex-service man who lives on the estate of friend Robin
Masters as his head of security while working as a private investigator on the
island. Along with his friends Rick and T.C. whom he met in Vietnam, he solved
cases and was looked on disapprovingly by the head of the estate Jonathan
Higgins. The series made a star of Selleck.
The new series takes its cue from the
original but adds a few new twists. Thomas Magnum is at the center of things as
portrayed by Jay Hernandez. He’s still aided by both Orville “Rick” Wright
(Zachary Knighton) and Theodore “TC” Calvin (Stephen Hill) but their friendship
began in the service in the Middle East rather than Vietnam. He still tends to
borrow money or services from both of them as well as information. One of the
biggest changes among the three though is a larger background story provided
and seeing more of them than in the past.
In addition to help from these two Magnum
also finds an occasional assist from police Detective Gordon Katsumoto, played
by ex-MENTALIST actor Tim Kang. Katsumoto has a tendency to find Magnum more a
thorn in his side but as the first season played out a begrudging friendship
began to develop. Another police department character in the mix is Dr. Noelani
Cunha (Kimee Balmilero), the coroner seen on HAWAII FIVE-O.
The biggest change is in the form of
Higgins. No longer an aging male major domo Higgins is now Juliet Higgins and
played by Perdita Weeks. Being female and younger this sets in motion more
potential than the previous Higgins. There is the possibility of romance though
both characters openly push that notion aside. Body language and a growing
respect between the pair makes it seem that it will always be a possibility.
The character is also ex-MI6 so she comes from a world of spies with access to
information and talents that lend themselves in a helpful role to Magnum more
often than he’d probably like to admit.
With the set up in place and the characters
defined what is the show like? Well it’s actually much better than I expected
it to be. The location, as with HAWAII FIVE-O, is gorgeous and odds are will
encourage tourism to the state, in spite of the number of crimes committed in
each episode. The stories range from personal problems from the past to clients
with varying concerns. Whether it’s looking for a 30 lb. tuna worth $350,000 to
helping a man locate the love of his life to helping a little girl find her
lost cat, Magnum does his best to solve the case.
Being the first season much takes place
here to set the stage for potential items to raise their heads as the series
moves forward, which it will having been given a second season this year. One
episode involved tracing a professional assassin, a professional who was
responsible for the death of Higgins ex-fiancé. And several episodes involved
Magnum’s ex, a woman he and his friends thought betrayed them while in the
Middle East and who they thought was dead.
The thing that made the original series
work was the gelling of the actors in their roles, how they related to one
another and the acting abilities to bring that off among the cast. It was solid
then and it is the same today with the new cast. Hernandez has big shoes to
fill as Magnum, left behind by Selleck who fans grew to love over the years. He
turns in a nice performance here, completely different than that of Selleck and
making the character his own. It would be interesting to see Selleck return in
a cameo as his uncle or some sort of character.
The rest of those involved do an incredible
job as well in what are supposed to be supporting roles but end up being more
like co-stars. They share the screen with each other and work towards telling a
story rather than upstage one another. That’s nice to see.
While it never happened in season one fans
can only hope that a HAWAII FIVE-O/MAGNUM crossover will take place in season
two, especially with the presence of Dr. Cunha established already. If you
missed the series when it aired then this collection of season one will end up
being a treat for you and a welcome addition to your collection. It’s a show
worth watching and worth collecting.
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