Fr. Paddy McGuinness wrote:One of the best things about Oahu is that in many places it feels like you have one foot in Asia and one foot in America, all while standing in Hawaii.
You put into words what really sums up Hawaii, I could not agree more. I only visited the Big Island but it had the feeling of Southeast Asia and the best of America, well paved roads, solid infrastructure and accommodating which is missing in a lot of Asia. I also never saw the ocean any place in the world where it was so hypnotic it just takes your breath away, don't quite know how to describe it.
This shot from 1996 is the southernmost part of the entire United States, on the Big Island and not a single human around. I cycled the island and stopped to snap this shot. The ocean and crashing surf was mesmerizing.
Don't get me wrong I love this site and respect your decisions comments and opinions. Love the fact that we are enabled by JJ to still express our opinions 30 + years later. For me however Season 1 will always be my favourite. I watched the series back in '80's from episode 1 as the majority of us did.. It was new, innovative and exciting following in the footsteps of the Rochford Files breaking the mould of the formula of the genre.
I accept there are possibly better episodes / seasons etc but not for me . Season 1 is number 1 always .
I'm with you. There's something about the vibe of season one to me that, while there were many other excellent seasons and episodes, there was that certain magic about season one that will always stand apart.
I'm in too. The first season just has a different feel to it that's hard to describe, and the pilot is still my favorite episode with its classic opening scene.
The first season has quite a 70´s feel to it. It almost reminds me of the feel of Rockford placed in Hawaii in some ways.
But i have to say that the second season really took off in many ways. I mean an episode like Memories are forever was terrific and important for the whole series.
Six isn't great by any stretch but 8 just feels "phoned in." I think season seven's "Forty" was the perfect place to wrap up the series.
I didn't like "Limbo" or "Resolutions" and 5 of season 8's episodes tie into those episodes. "Tigers Fan" could have been great, but it felt too rushed; Tanaka deserved a two parter. Eight does have the best Carol episode, "The Love That Lies." I might have liked her character more if this episode had been written earlier in the series.
Currently, my best-to-least season ranking looks more like this:
3
4
1
2
7
6
5
8
What a difference a year makes! When looking back to see what I actually wrote, I thought that my present ranking was what I previously wrote! However, now that I've rewatched most of S2--I'm currently going through the entire series in broadcast order--I realize that I had ranked S2 a bit too high. Of course, this will no doubt change again; and that's part of the fun.
3
2
(big gap here in my opinion)
1
7
4
(even bigger gap here)
6
5
8
Don't get me wrong, every season is awesome! But for me 3 and 2 are heads and shoulders above the rest, literally every episode with maybe 3 or 4 exceptions is very, very good! And 1,7, and 4 still were consistently good with very few episodes that were not outstanding. It just seemed to me that while still very good 6,5, and 8 became a crapshoot of finding a good/very good episode mixed in with a lot of average and the majority of the bottom 1/4 of the entire series. Just my opinion and glad Magnum went 8 seasons so there are so many to rewatch:)
Well, I haven't watched all the episodes from every season. I've watched all (or nearly all) of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, and a good bit of 7, but only selected episodes of 4 and 6 (though I'm sure I saw most of them back in the day but can't remember them just via the title or synopsis). I am saving some "virgin" episodes to watch over the years to come. So, I can't really rate those.
From my incomplete perspective however, I actually like season 5 quite a bit (for the most part). Off the top of my head I would say, and obviously different than most on here:
Best to less best: 2, 5, 1, (gap) 7, 3, (big gap) 8 (will leave out 4 and 6).
Season five, for whatever reasons, really hit the spot this re-watch around. It just edges past six. Season seven drops down because I feel that I overrated it due to the small handful of outstanding episodes (Death and Taxes, Little Girl Who, Death of the Flowers...a sentimental favorite for me..and Laura)
...but then there are the four mediocre-to-below-average episodes to start the season, with the Not-So-Good "L.A." the worst of the season; taste is of course subjective but I'm still surprised at the number of positive ratings that one gets around here. Same goes for "Limbo" with an IMO insipid and downright corny ending. The best thing about season eight is that it didn't allow "Limbo" to be our last memory of this magnificent show (my negative remarks on certain episodes and program aspects notwithstanding).
It's quite hard to rank all the seasons, especially because there are some very good episodes in the weakest seasons (thinking of the last one for example).
Currently my top 3 is:
1
3
2
Higgins: Magnum, you are clad only in your undershorts. Magnum: Of course I am. Higgins: Even for you I find that just a trifle casual.
{Unless you treat failure as part of the journey, you're never going to get anywhere.} ~ Tom Selleck
Magnum's moustache wrote:It's quite hard to rank all the seasons, especially because there are some very good episodes in the weakest seasons (thinking of the last one for example).
Currently my top 3 is: