Gorilla Mask wrote: ↑Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:52 pm
In France, 'Magnum PI' was a resounding success until about season 4.Maybe because these seasons are quite focused (in a certain number of episodes) on comedy and this lightness, with some good moments of drama, appealed a lot to the French audience.
I also agree to say that season 1 has a lot of "roller coaster" with some very good episodes (Never never again, China doll, Lest we forget) but also some "lead in the wing" (Beauty knows no pain, Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too, Adelaide).
Season 1 is more experimental and we can feel that the writers, directors and especially the actors are looking for their places... All this will be much more fluid from season 2 and especially from season 3 which, in my opinion, is the most balanced.
The best episodes are often either those of Bellisario or, later in the series, those produced by Selleck himself.
As the series progresses, the episodes become more 'standard' with about 1 in 3 being (often happily) experimental, or a few small masterpieces but sometimes on the creepier, sleazier and darker side (Way of the Stalking Horse, Death and taxes).
What I like the most in the first seasons is the 'time capsule' atmosphere; what attracts me the most in the last ones are the more solid and sometimes more original scenarios, in order to renew the interest for the series. It is this subtle and fragile balance that will also feed its success, later on.
My favorite episode is "Black on White" because the scenario and the pitch are fabulous with a very good guest star.
The worst is without doubt possible "Two Birds of a Featherr" which is totally bankrupt... too bad!
I think Gorilla Mask nails this thread with this comment. Nice job
Like the OP (who never came back with a response??) I've been finding solace in Magnum through these weird times. I think I tend to do that at different stages in life. If I recall back to when the board was much more active, there tended to be a common theme among many Magnum devotees who turned to the familiar reassurance of the show in times of trouble. One, if I recall, lost his house and wife and was in the midst of moving to another state. Another guy in the UK suffered from depression and immersed himself in the Magnaverse. The show certainly does tap into something that is reassuring - particularly for men, I think.
The question makes me wonder if we've already got a thread somewhere ranking everyone's favourite "serious" episodes. If not, there should be.
"How fiendishly deceptive of you Magnum. I could have sworn I was hearing the emasculation of a large rodent."
IvanTheTerrible wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:49 pm
I know that Donald Bellisario tended to write the more "important" episodes - often serious in tone and referencing TM's past. Episodes like the pilot, Memories are Forever, Did You See the Sunrise?, Home from the Sea, Skin Deep, Black on White, Lest We Forget, etc. His episodes are ALWAYS great and among my favorites!
This makes sense as the co-creator that he advanced the backstories of the characters with his scripts. His were the scripts with major revelations. In some seasons it appears that as many as half the episodes were scripts submitted by outside writers that only wrote a couple of episodes or even just one. They relied on the show bible and would never make a major change to a main character.
IvanTheTerrible wrote: ↑Wed Apr 28, 2021 3:49 pm
I know that Donald Bellisario tended to write the more "important" episodes - often serious in tone and referencing TM's past. Episodes like the pilot, Memories are Forever, Did You See the Sunrise?, Home from the Sea, Skin Deep, Black on White, Lest We Forget, etc. His episodes are ALWAYS great and among my favorites!
Lest We Forget is one of my favorites, I really liked to 40s scenes, and the real life father-son, mother-daughter casting worked for me.
I liked the show JAG too. A few of my fav episodes are JAG: San Diego and Hail and Farewell... I believe DPB is part of the writting team, not sure if the idea originated with him though.
I believe DPB is part of the writting team, not sure if the idea originated with him though.
DPB was showrunner for JAG for the entire run and the idea for the show was his. His kids, Julie B. Watson and David Bellasario, were also producers/writers for the show.
Like the OP (who never came back with a response??) I've been finding solace in Magnum through these weird times. I think I tend to do that at different stages in life. If I recall back to when the board was much more active, there tended to be a common theme among many Magnum devotees who turned to the familiar reassurance of the show in times of trouble. One, if I recall, lost his house and wife and was in the midst of moving to another state. Another guy in the UK suffered from depression and immersed himself in the Magnaverse. The show certainly does tap into something that is reassuring - particularly for men, I think.
Hi Styles, nice to get there again... You're absolutely right and that is a vivid topicality for me at the present day. I had six months with very rough sea times and anchoring back to 'Magnumverse' Cove is of great relief for me !
"Je sais ce que vous allez me dire, et vous aurez raison..."
MikeS wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 8:52 am
Lest We Forget is one of my favorites, I really liked to 40s scenes, and the real life father-son, mother-daughter casting worked for me.
I liked the show JAG too. A few of my fav episodes are JAG: San Diego and Hail and Farewell... I believe DPB is part of the writting team, not sure if the idea originated with him though.
Right. This episode - i was only six when i saw it for the first time - was a great rememberance of my childhood... This surely led my unreasonable interest around Pearl Harbor attack stories and writings...
"Je sais ce que vous allez me dire, et vous aurez raison..."
80s Big Hair wrote: ↑Tue Apr 20, 2021 5:00 am
When did the supernatural stuff creep into the series? By that I do not mean "A little voice in my head..." but things like solving stuff through Magnum's dreams?
IMO, Severals episodes gave the opportunity to TM to maintain his "psychic" abilities while experiencing 'dreams' or visions', and especially the ability to perceive etheral entities that wander the material world...
2.4 - The Woman on the beach
3.7 - Flashback
5.3 - Mac's Back
6.11 - Rapture
7.5 - A.A.P. I.
7.14 - Murder by Night
8.5 - Forever in time
Of course, you could add 'Limbo"(7.22) too, if you consider that being a spirit between two worlds is a Mediumship experience !
As the time past by, the later seasons let more part to these 'supernatural" fantasies and it was often well driven. We can even assume that TM's incredible intuition to solve his cases may come from some supernatural gifts...
I think that the first supernatural thing that happened on the show was in 1.11 - The Curse Of The King Kamehameha Club (the "ruby flash" in Charlie's eye at the end).
