what is the episode where Magnum "jumped the shark"?

[Work The Lock]

In my opinion Magnum never really jumped the shark, but an ongoing issue, even in the early seasons, was uneven writing quality from episode to episode. The credits almost always listed one primary writer for each episode, which was a much more common practice back in 1980's TV. The problem is that single writers, even with a Story Editor looking over their shoulder, tend to create "drift" that made for uneven viewing and ruined series continuity. In that setup, fans could be rewarded with one or two "Smaller Than Life" quality episodes for every one "Home from the Sea." Today's shows tend to have teams of 3-6 writers who focus heavily on continuity and cliff-hanger endings that drive viewers to the next episode and are quite effective at getting audiences into "binge" mode, especially with the advent of streaming services.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

In my opinion Magnum never really jumped the shark, but an ongoing issue, even in the early seasons, was uneven writing quality from episode to episode. The credits almost always listed one primary writer for each episode, which was a much more common practice back in 1980's TV. The problem is that single writers, even with a Story Editor looking over their shoulder, tend to create "drift" that made for uneven viewing and ruined series continuity. In that setup, fans could be rewarded with one or two "Smaller Than Life" quality episodes for every one "Home from the Sea." Today's shows tend to have teams of 3-6 writers who focus heavily on continuity and cliff-hanger endings that drive viewers to the next episode and are quite effective at getting audiences into "binge" mode, especially with the advent of streaming services.

That's a two-edged sword, however. If binging is your thing then I guess what today's writers do makes sense. I'm not big on binging and what I love about old shows is that you could jump into any episode and not worry about continuity or anything and still be entertained. Also bringing in a new writer here and there creates fresh ideas and episodes. That's why you can have a serious episode like "Home from the Sea" followed by a silly affair like "Smaller than Life". I like this variety. That's why modern shows don't appeal to me. It's all very samey, not just from one episode to the next but also from one show to the next.

[Work The Lock]

In my opinion Magnum never really jumped the shark, but an ongoing issue, even in the early seasons, was uneven writing quality from episode to episode. The credits almost always listed one primary writer for each episode, which was a much more common practice back in 1980's TV. The problem is that single writers, even with a Story Editor looking over their shoulder, tend to create "drift" that made for uneven viewing and ruined series continuity. In that setup, fans could be rewarded with one or two "Smaller Than Life" quality episodes for every one "Home from the Sea." Today's shows tend to have teams of 3-6 writers who focus heavily on continuity and cliff-hanger endings that drive viewers to the next episode and are quite effective at getting audiences into "binge" mode, especially with the advent of streaming services.

That's a two-edged sword, however. If binging is your thing then I guess what today's writers do makes sense. I'm not big on binging and what I love about old shows is that you could jump into any episode and not worry about continuity or anything and still be entertained. Also bringing in a new writer here and there creates fresh ideas and episodes. That's why you can have a serious episode like "Home from the Sea" followed by a silly affair like "Smaller than Life". I like this variety. That's why modern shows don't appeal to me. It's all very samey, not just from one episode to the next but also from one show to the next.

Zelensky, that's a good point. In a perfect world, a team of the old Magnum writers might have tag-teamed to keep story ideas fresh but also had a bit more quality control.