Magnum, P.I. Production Order

[Little Garwood]

I have wondered aloud in many of my posts here over the years about the order in which MPI's episodes were filmed, hoping that someone here might be able to point me in the right direction. Maybe this epguides list is a step in the right direction.

The epguides.com site has a partial list of the order in which Magnum, P.I. was produced. I can't vouch for the accuracy of the site and its info. However, it does accurately list the original Hawaii Five-0's production order (probably taken from Karen Rhodes' Booking Five-0), so at least some effort has been taken in getting things right.

[Styles Bitchley]

I'm not sure I follow. On that site, the production # is supposed to note the order numerically that the shows were shot (vs, the dates they aired)?

[Little Garwood]

Yes. Broadcast order being the order in which the episodes were transmitted. Production order is the order in which the episodes were filmed. If we can see the episodes in the order they were made, we would get a better sense as to how things developed like character, concepts, etc.

[eltonsean]

well, according to that production order list, season 4's closer "I Witness" was filmed IN BETWEEN the 1st and 2nd part of Season 5's "Echoes Of The Mind". That seems questionable...
But I do like that website http://www.epguides.com. I use it often for other shows besides Magnum, of course. For Magnum, I come here!

[Styles Bitchley]

well, according to that production order list, season 4's closer "I Witness" was filmed IN BETWEEN the 1st and 2nd part of Season 5's "Echoes Of The Mind". That seems questionable...

Yeah. I noticed that too.

[J.J. Walters]

Good question LG. I've never seen a production order for the show. The only episode that I know for sure that was broadcast out of order from when it was produced was Season Two's "Three Minus Two" (although in the back of my mind I think there is one or two more, but for the life of me I can remember what they were). This was the last episode aired in Season Two, but it was obviously one of the first produced in that season because several clips from that episode were used in the Season Two opening title sequence starting from the beginning of the season: (1) Magnum holding the girl as she learns to snorkel (the famous "snorkel shot"), (2) Magnum almost dropping the expensive camera as Higgins hands it to him, (3) T.C. holding the camera and smiling as he directs the female models, and (4) a car exploding.

I would think that the vast majority of episodes aired in the order they were produced. You have to remember, each episode was filmed in 8-10 days (with 16-hour days), from August to late March or early April (with lots of on-location filming). Then post-production editing and right to the airwaves. 20+ episodes a season (none of this pansy 13-episodes or less per season shows do today). Super tight schedule. There just wasn't a lot of time to have episodes held back or switched around.

Edit: I just remembered what another one was: "The Legacy of Garwood Huddle". You know why? Magnum's hair. LOL! It's shorter in the previous episode ("Mac's Back") and the next episode ("Under World"). In Huddle it's much longer.

[Little Garwood]

Edit: I just remembered what another one was: "The Legacy of Garwood Huddle". You know why? Magnum's hair. LOL! It's shorter in the previous episode ("Mac's Back") and the next episode ("Under World"). In Huddle it's much longer.

That's part of the "inspiration" of what has me wanting to see the production order of this series! If shows from the '60s can have every last nuance known--I'm looking at you, Star Trek--then we MPI fans could at least get a hold of the order in which the show was filmed.