How many seasons could MPI have run?

Message

lutherhgillis · #1 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:21 pm

Larry Manetti once said that the 'series had legs and could have run for 10 - 12 seasons'. How many seasons could it have lasted if CBS had stayed comitted to it and Belesario had stayed with it to lend his leadership and to maintain some cohesion to the story lines?

lutherhgillis · #2 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Wed Mar 18, 2009 1:28 pm

I voted for it to still be running

I really believe if Selleck had wanted to continue and Bellasario wanted to stay involved, the show could have run for at least 10 seasons. It would have required more cohesion to the writing of the epis however. I also assume the death/near death stunt had not happened. I also assume that season 8 would have been a real season with 22 episodes and most of them good ones.

I do not advocate 'jumping' but I think they should have used a recurring villan a little more often. I also believe they should have used more high tech gadgets since Robin was a gadget guy and had plenty of money. I also think they should have revealed Robin and used him in an episode or two. Maybe Wilford Brimley could have played Robin...

Kwanzaa · #3 Post by **Kwanzaa** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 3:03 pm

I agree with Luther. If all of the principals and elements of the show had remained intact and better episodes written, the show could have run for 10 seasons. I think they could have made some changes without jumping but nothing totally whacky like Magnum adopting a surfing monkey...

I wish they would have devoted an entire season to tying up loose ends from the show and leaving on a believable yet quirky note.

I think they should have taken more time for Magnum to grow up so it would have been gradual instead of somewhat rapid. Oh yeah, I think Margaret Colin should have made a few more guest apparences

.

IKnowWhatYoureThinking · Fri Mar 20, 2009 7:51 pm

I voted ten seasons, but I wish it had never gone off the air!

Agatha · #5 Post by **Agatha** » Fri Mar 20, 2009 8:39 pm

Didn't I read somewhere that Murder She Wrote lasted 12 seasons? I liked that series a lot, too, and don't see why Magnum couldn't have lasted at least that long as well. With committment on everybody's part and leadership from Bellisario...

There's a part of me that wishes it was STILL on the air but I really know that that would be impossible. Of course, it's that part of me that REALLY wants a reunion movie...with original cast members and a tight, sharp Bellisario plot!

Sigh.

Kwanzaa · #6 Post by **Kwanzaa** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 8:52 pm

Ag,

I don't understand the fascination of Murder She Wrote. It was ok but my grandmother watched it for goodness sake. It wasn't really in the same league with MPI. I cannot imagine my grandmother watching MPI.

Also, MSW did not spawn a bevy of copycats the way MPI did. Miami Vice, A Team, South of Sunset are the ones I can remember all sprang up after MPI and featured handsome men with shiny sportscars or a Viet Nam connection.

I think Selleck wanting to get out of MPI to do movies is what caused CBS to begin to back away. With TS and the others securly onboard, the show could have lasted longer...

Agatha · #7 Post by **Agatha** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 9:15 pm

Watch it, buster!! You're talking to a grandmother here!

It's OK if you don't understand my fascination with Murder She Wrote. It's all about live and let live, for goodness sake.

I actually wasn't a grandmother when I watched either Murder She Wrote or Magnum P.I. I think that the thing I liked about Murder She Wrote is that Jessica felt like just an ordinary person to me and yet she was able to put the pieces together and come up with an answer. I kind of felt that she could be me. Or vice versa. I also liked how closely knit the folks in Cabot Cove were.

Thomas also puts the pieces together...even when I think I'm paying attention, he figures out twists and turns that I'm not seeing. The difference for me is his Navy training. I don't really know if he's good at figuring things out because of his Navy training or if he chose his Navy career because he knew he was good at figuring things out. Whatever...he doesn't seem "ordinary" to me. In anyway, shape or form!!

And I still enjoy that close-knit feeling between the main characters.

If it makes you feel any better, I have to say that although I did enjoy Murder She Wrote, I don't have any of those DVDs, and they don't play all day while I'm puttering around the house, and I don't LOOK for opportunities to see Angela Lansbury in whatever projects she's involved in these days. And I'm writing to you...not somebody on a Murder She Wrote Maniac site!!

PS - Even though I'm old enough to be a grandmother, I really only have two "granddogs" and several "grandhorses."

Italian Ice · #8 Post by **Italian Ice** » Mon Mar 30, 2009 11:38 pm

Well, Hawaii 5-0 went on for 12 Seasons. Law and Order was the first show to beat that RECORD recently.

What did/are they doing better?

I also think its sad that other good shows like Greatest American Hero and Remington Steele didn't go for at least 8 seaons. Those shows had some good potential. 3 and 5 seasons respectively is unfortunate, especially since those 2 shows had some great actors too.

N1095A · #9 Post by **N1095A** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 12:49 am

Italian Ice wrote:Well, Hawaii 5-0 went on for 12 Seasons. Law and Order was the first show to beat that RECORD recently.

What did/are they doing better?

I also think its sad that other good shows like Greatest American Hero and Remington Steele didn't go for at least 8 seaons. Those shows had some good potential. 3 and 5 seasons respectively is unfortunate, especially since those 2 shows had some great actors too.

I really don't know where to credit the Law And Order success. They have or had 2 spin-offs, Criminal Intent and Special Victoms Unit. I tried watching once, but couldn't get through it. Seems when a genre clicls with the public, the networks try all kinds of variations on it. The CSI genre, while interesting, boggles my mind. There are at least 6 shows, probably more that are exactly the same. TV PI shows were big in the 80s, but at least you could tell them apart. Nowadays, you turn one of the CSI clones on, and it takes a few minutes to realize which one you're watching. Honestly in my opinion NCIS is the only one that's watchable.

I read and have heard that Pierce Brosnan and Stephanie Zimbalist couldn't stand each other, which might explain why Remington Steele didn't last longer.

Italian Ice · #10 Post by **Italian Ice** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 7:10 am

Ya, I know that about Zimbalist and Brosnan, plus he was upset that he didn't get to be 007 back then. Still, the show had enough potential and originality to go for a lot longer, as did GAH, which many fans like myself will never forgive DC Comics and those that sought out to destroy such an awesome show.

Your right, all the cop shows today are clones, CSI, NYDP Blue (which was actually pretty good), Law and Order, Castle, and God knows how many others out there, and there are LOTS. It seems that every day a similar show will premiere. Too much hype on drama and effects, but some of them have good story lines on occasion, but otherwise episodes that put me to sleep because they end up getting quite boring after just 10 minutes in

I don't know of any PI shows these days unless I'm missing something.

Hawaii 5-0 was cheesy at times, but it was very very enjoyable. I just started watching the first season!

N1095A · #11 Post by **N1095A** » Tue Mar 31, 2009 3:28 pm

The only PI show I know of today is MONK, And in my opinion it is unwatchable.

PhatCat · #12 Post by **PhatCat** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:47 pm

Yeah, it's hard to have an original show about anything anymore. Seems like it's all been done. It's the characters that make or break the shows these days.

I guess one cop show recently that I dug was New Amsterdam. I thought it had that "highlander" potential. But even it was pretty cliche.

My wife and I didn't want to get into Castle but they've had a few decent episodes so far. Doesn't hurt that the female lead is pretty easy on the eyes as well. Apologies: I can't recall her name right now.

BR

Italian Ice · #13 Post by **Italian Ice** » Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:58 pm

Hunter was my favorite cop show. It had a lot of the characteristics that Magnum had. He broke the 4th wall many times, it had humour, it had tension, and it was also dark at times, with very good plots. One of Stephen J. Cannel's best, right next to GAH of course, LOL

Still sad about GAH

Yah, too many cop "clones" these days, then there are the "weird" crime fighting shows like Dollhouse. ???

Jodykmg365 · #14 Post by **Jodykmg365** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:10 am

Simon & Simon is still my favorite. I just loved Rick and A.J. They made me laugh.

lutherhgillis · #15 Post by **lutherhgillis** » Thu Apr 02, 2009 1:03 am

I have a prediction to make. We have been enjoying a long run of serious, reality-based crime and investigative type show for many years now. I predict we will see some light-hearted shows pop up soon.