Hawaii Five-O: Any Fans?

[Pahonu]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

Great! Nice list.

Of course I would disagree with your season 1 pick. It's a fine episode and William Windom is always good but there are too many better episodes that season for my taste, including The First Day of Forever, The Takers, The Bullet, Tower Beyond Tragedy, and a few others. I like the Five-O equivalent of this one much better - "Just Lucky, I Guess", where John Randolph plays the William Windom role of a hardware salesman who's in Honolulu for a convention and gets in over his head when he witnesses a murder of a prostitute that he was with in her hotel room (nothing happened between them, he was too nervous) and then the gangster who killed her is after him. Albert Paulsen is really slimy there as the gangster!!! In both episodes the hardware salesman is an upstanding guy who has a wife and daughter back home and is afraid of what will happen to his reputation and his marriage. But I like the Five-O episode much better!

As for Hot Dog, all I remember is it was Don Johnson on a motorcycle!

[Pahonu]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

Great! Nice list.

Of course I would disagree with your season 1 pick. It's a fine episode and William Windom is always good but there are too many better episodes that season for my taste, including The First Day of Forever, The Takers, The Bullet, Tower Beyond Tragedy, and a few others. I like the Five-O equivalent of this one much better - "Just Lucky, I Guess", where John Randolph plays the William Windom role of a hardware salesman who's in Honolulu for a convention and gets in over his head when he witnesses a murder of a prostitute that he was with in her hotel room (nothing happened between them, he was too nervous) and then the gangster who killed her is after him. Albert Paulsen is really slimy there as the gangster!!! In both episodes the hardware salesman is an upstanding guy who has a wife and daughter back home and is afraid of what will happen to his reputation and his marriage. But I like the Five-O episode much better!

As for Hot Dog, all I remember is it was Don Johnson on a motorcycle!

The first three episodes of series are all really strong. Quite a start. I seriously wavered between The Thirty-Year Pin and The First Day of Forever that you mentioned, before going with 45 Minutes from Home. I enjoy the episodes with Stone’s daughter and Hot Dog was my favorite of those because of his struggle with Don Johnson’s character’s methods as an officer. Several of my choices involve officers and significant moral ambiguity. Many of them end badly but I find those type of stories interesting, where there’s gray area and things are not so clear cut. Poisoned Snow is absolutely tragic.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

Great! Nice list.

Of course I would disagree with your season 1 pick. It's a fine episode and William Windom is always good but there are too many better episodes that season for my taste, including The First Day of Forever, The Takers, The Bullet, Tower Beyond Tragedy, and a few others. I like the Five-O equivalent of this one much better - "Just Lucky, I Guess", where John Randolph plays the William Windom role of a hardware salesman who's in Honolulu for a convention and gets in over his head when he witnesses a murder of a prostitute that he was with in her hotel room (nothing happened between them, he was too nervous) and then the gangster who killed her is after him. Albert Paulsen is really slimy there as the gangster!!! In both episodes the hardware salesman is an upstanding guy who has a wife and daughter back home and is afraid of what will happen to his reputation and his marriage. But I like the Five-O episode much better!

As for Hot Dog, all I remember is it was Don Johnson on a motorcycle!

The first three episodes of series are all really strong. Quite a start. I seriously wavered between The Thirty-Year Pin and The First Day of Forever that you mentioned, before going with 45 Minutes from Home. I enjoy the episodes with Stone’s daughter and Hot Dog was my favorite of those because of his struggle with Don Johnson’s character’s methods as an officer. Several of my choices involve officers and significant moral ambiguity. Many of them end badly but I find those type of stories interesting, where there’s gray area and things are not so clear cut. Poisoned Snow is absolutely tragic.

Ah, I see a pattern now that you've mentioned it - "when cops go bad..." I agree - those are very interesting stories indeed! I need to catch "Poisoned Snow" with Clu Gulager and Mark Hamill sometime soon. It's been a long time. As you said, the ending was very tragic.

And I have to say that Leslie Nielsen was probably the best guest star ever on that show! Between the 2 episodes you mentioned he delivered an Emmy-worthy performance, especially in "One Last Shot" where his unraveling is absolutely tragic - he goes from taking a little nip from the bottle at the start to storming Stone's office with a gun at the end with intent to kill. Crazy!!! He did the whole drunk bit VERY convincingly!

P.S. There's a KOJAK episode that is essentially a reworking of "Before I Die" where Harry Guardino plays the Nielsen role of a terminally ill cop who's gunning for a mobster responsible for the death of the cop's partner. Both aired during the 1973-1974 season but the SOSF episode came first.

[Pahonu]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

Great! Nice list.

Of course I would disagree with your season 1 pick. It's a fine episode and William Windom is always good but there are too many better episodes that season for my taste, including The First Day of Forever, The Takers, The Bullet, Tower Beyond Tragedy, and a few others. I like the Five-O equivalent of this one much better - "Just Lucky, I Guess", where John Randolph plays the William Windom role of a hardware salesman who's in Honolulu for a convention and gets in over his head when he witnesses a murder of a prostitute that he was with in her hotel room (nothing happened between them, he was too nervous) and then the gangster who killed her is after him. Albert Paulsen is really slimy there as the gangster!!! In both episodes the hardware salesman is an upstanding guy who has a wife and daughter back home and is afraid of what will happen to his reputation and his marriage. But I like the Five-O episode much better!

As for Hot Dog, all I remember is it was Don Johnson on a motorcycle!

The first three episodes of series are all really strong. Quite a start. I seriously wavered between The Thirty-Year Pin and The First Day of Forever that you mentioned, before going with 45 Minutes from Home. I enjoy the episodes with Stone’s daughter and Hot Dog was my favorite of those because of his struggle with Don Johnson’s character’s methods as an officer. Several of my choices involve officers and significant moral ambiguity. Many of them end badly but I find those type of stories interesting, where there’s gray area and things are not so clear cut. Poisoned Snow is absolutely tragic.

Ah, I see a pattern now that you've mentioned it - "when cops go bad..." I agree - those are very interesting stories indeed! I need to catch "Poisoned Snow" with Clu Gulager and Mark Hamill sometime soon. It's been a long time. As you said, the ending was very tragic.

And I have to say that Leslie Nielsen was probably the best guest star ever on that show! Between the 2 episodes you mentioned he delivered an Emmy-worthy performance, especially in "One Last Shot" where his unraveling is absolutely tragic - he goes from taking a little nip from the bottle at the start to storming Stone's office with a gun at the end with intent to kill. Crazy!!! He did the whole drunk bit VERY convincingly!

P.S. There's a KOJAK episode that is essentially a reworking of "Before I Die" where Harry Guardino plays the Nielsen role of a terminally ill cop who's gunning for a mobster responsible for the death of the cop's partner. Both aired during the 1973-1974 season but the SOSF episode came first.

Agreed! Those two Leslie Nielsen episodes were powerful. Thanks for the tip about Kojak. I’ll see if I can find it. Harry Guardino was a solid actor. He’s in the SOSF episode with Jessica Walter that was excellent. Can’t think of the title at the moment. I also like the two Pat Hingle episodes. One made my list. He was really good. The other was Castle of Fear, if I recall.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

S1 45 Minutes from Home

S2 Before I Die

S3 Mask of Death and One Last Shot

S4 Poisoned Snow and Web of Lies

S5 Hang Tough and Hot Dog

Sorry I couldn’t decide on so many seasons.

H5-O will take me a while to figure out. I have several episodes that immediately come to mind but I have to figure out which seasons.

Great! Nice list.

Of course I would disagree with your season 1 pick. It's a fine episode and William Windom is always good but there are too many better episodes that season for my taste, including The First Day of Forever, The Takers, The Bullet, Tower Beyond Tragedy, and a few others. I like the Five-O equivalent of this one much better - "Just Lucky, I Guess", where John Randolph plays the William Windom role of a hardware salesman who's in Honolulu for a convention and gets in over his head when he witnesses a murder of a prostitute that he was with in her hotel room (nothing happened between them, he was too nervous) and then the gangster who killed her is after him. Albert Paulsen is really slimy there as the gangster!!! In both episodes the hardware salesman is an upstanding guy who has a wife and daughter back home and is afraid of what will happen to his reputation and his marriage. But I like the Five-O episode much better!

As for Hot Dog, all I remember is it was Don Johnson on a motorcycle!

The first three episodes of series are all really strong. Quite a start. I seriously wavered between The Thirty-Year Pin and The First Day of Forever that you mentioned, before going with 45 Minutes from Home. I enjoy the episodes with Stone’s daughter and Hot Dog was my favorite of those because of his struggle with Don Johnson’s character’s methods as an officer. Several of my choices involve officers and significant moral ambiguity. Many of them end badly but I find those type of stories interesting, where there’s gray area and things are not so clear cut. Poisoned Snow is absolutely tragic.

Ah, I see a pattern now that you've mentioned it - "when cops go bad..." I agree - those are very interesting stories indeed! I need to catch "Poisoned Snow" with Clu Gulager and Mark Hamill sometime soon. It's been a long time. As you said, the ending was very tragic.

And I have to say that Leslie Nielsen was probably the best guest star ever on that show! Between the 2 episodes you mentioned he delivered an Emmy-worthy performance, especially in "One Last Shot" where his unraveling is absolutely tragic - he goes from taking a little nip from the bottle at the start to storming Stone's office with a gun at the end with intent to kill. Crazy!!! He did the whole drunk bit VERY convincingly!

P.S. There's a KOJAK episode that is essentially a reworking of "Before I Die" where Harry Guardino plays the Nielsen role of a terminally ill cop who's gunning for a mobster responsible for the death of the cop's partner. Both aired during the 1973-1974 season but the SOSF episode came first.

Agreed! Those two Leslie Nielsen episodes were powerful. Thanks for the tip about Kojak. I’ll see if I can find it. Harry Guardino was a solid actor. He’s in the SOSF episode with Jessica Walter that was excellent. Can’t think of the title at the moment. I also like the two Pat Hingle episodes. One made my list. He was really good. The other was Castle of Fear, if I recall.

As I recall Pat Hingle was telling tall tales in one episode and was paranoid locking himself up in his house in the other one. But I really have very little recollection of the plots of each. Must check them out soon. Good actor for sure! Very good as Dr. Grant Ormsbee of the Navy in his Five-O appearances, bucking heads with McGarrett every step of the way.

[K Hale]

Pat Hingle was a nuclear scientist in “Man on Fire” which also featured John Hillerman as (per usual) a villain selling nuclear secrets.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Pat Hingle was a nuclear scientist in “Man on Fire” which also featured John Hillerman as (per usual) a villain selling nuclear secrets.

John Hillerman then came back the following season in "A Stranger in His Grave" as a crooked real estate developer, who loves to be particularly demeaning to his female receptionist. He also just happens to live at... ROBIN'S NEST!!!!!

[K Hale]

Pat Hingle was a nuclear scientist in “Man on Fire” which also featured John Hillerman as (per usual) a villain selling nuclear secrets.

John Hillerman then came back the following season in "A Stranger in His Grave" as a crooked real estate developer, who loves to be particularly demeaning to his female receptionist. He also just happens to live at... ROBIN'S NEST!!!!!

The massage scene at the estate blew my mind.

[Pahonu]

Ivan,

Five-Faux!!!

To Hell with Babe Ruth. That was the episode! Horrible acting by that guy. Painful to watch.

Rockford is my favorite show of all time. Garner was so good!

Janssen in the Fugitive is good. In Harry-O he’s fantastic. It was only a two year run for the show and the studio kept tinkering with it unfortunately, but it’s a favorite of mine. I got the DVD’s from Warner Bros. directly. You should try and see it. He’s an ex-cop pensioned off the force with a bullet in his back who’s now a private investigator. It’s very unique for a pi show. He’s a bit of a loner. The voice overs are great. Better than Magnum’s... really!!! Check this out:

http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=17813


http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=18144


http://mysteryfile.com/blog/?p=18475

I've heard of HARRY-O but never seen it. You might have some luck with Mike Quigley (if you're familiar with him and his expansive Hawaii Five-O site) who might have watched or might even have some of the episodes in his possession. He's very much into 70s crime dramas and, in addition to Five-O, has also reviewed every episode of SOSF and KOJAK. But I do know that Mike has talked about HARRY-O in the past. He has a discussion forum on his site where you can discuss Five-O as well as non-Five-O shows. So you might have some luck there.

I am familiar, thanks. I’ve gone through all his reviews of H5-O and SOSF. Very thorough. I’ve also read a few of the Kojak reviews after I watched some episodes.

Someday I’ll find a fan of Harry-O to discuss it with!

Mike did review at least 2 episodes of the show, seen here: http://mjq.net/harryo/harryo-1.html
He said he owned them on DVD but sold them to someone.

According to Mike, Ric Meyers in his book MURDER ON THE AIR has a whole chapter devoted to HARRY-O as well as H50 and PETER GUNN and MANNIX and other detective cop shows too!

Hey Ivan,
I got a used copy of Ric Meyers book you mentioned. I just finished it and ordered an older book of his called TV Detectives. Ric had really good things to say about Harry-O and also lamented the network constantly tinkering with it and lowering its quality. He has an interesting take on Magnum too. He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives plus all the “creative” episodes like Murder by Night. He liked that creativity but felt it was almost in it’s own category compared to previous detective shows. Interestingly, he thought Barnaby Jones had some of the most twisted villains and plot lines of any detective series and thought Buddy Ebsen’s low key manner was part of its success. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the recommendation.

[MagnumsLeftShoulder]

He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives

He's right. It's not a straight detective show, that's why it's better than all other detective shows!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Hey Ivan,
I got a used copy of Ric Meyers book you mentioned. I just finished it and ordered an older book of his called TV Detectives. Ric had really good things to say about Harry-O and also lamented the network constantly tinkering with it and lowering its quality. He has an interesting take on Magnum too. He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives plus all the “creative” episodes like Murder by Night. He liked that creativity but felt it was almost in it’s own category compared to previous detective shows. Interestingly, he thought Barnaby Jones had some of the most twisted villains and plot lines of any detective series and thought Buddy Ebsen’s low key manner was part of its success. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hey Pahonu,

Glad you enjoyed it! Maybe I should pick it up myself. Yes, I completely agree that MPI is not your typical PI show. In other words, it's not your "grandfather's PI show". When you think of old school classic TV PI's you probably immediately think of MANNIX. That's just classic 60s/70s PI fare. You can even throw in ROCKFORD FILES in there, even if Rockford was a slight departure from the norm (being a pessimistic anti-hero, reluctant to fight, stiffed by clients, scratching out a living, lacking any glamour) but every episode still dealt with Rockford investigating some type of crime or being hired for some kind of case. MPI was completely different because you could have an episode devoid of any kind of case (e.g. Magnum stranded in the ocean or a whole episode being some kind of farce or practical joke). I just watched "Basket Case" where Magnum and TC are competing in a basketball tournament involving local kids. You wouldn't see something like this on ROCKFORD and certainly not on MANNIX. And if you did, someone would of course have to die and then our hero would have to investigate. Your typical classic PI show followed a certain detective show formula. MPI basically did away with that formula and did its own thing. Which is what made it unique.

To be honest I initially couldn't get into MPI precisely because of this reason. I expected a certain detective formula and the stakes to be a little higher a la ROCKFORD or MANNIX, or my personal favorite HAWAII FIVE-O (yes, not a PI show, I know). But why the heck am I watching a story about some pooch who's the ugliest dog in Hawaii and Magnum having to protect this mutt? And the baddies are a bunch of comical bozos who keep tripping over themselves. Just didn't seem like my type of show. No real stakes. And why do 2 grown men (TM and Higgins) keep arguing with each other like little kids?? I certainly didn't get anything like that from more "grown-up" fare like FIVE-O. So it took me a while to warm up to this type of show. I loved Hawaii and the Ferrari and of course the theme song so I offered to give it a chance (especially since I knew how popular the show always was) and it wasn't long before I saw some of the darker and more emotional stories like "Memories are Forever" and "Did You See the Sun Rise?" and at that point I knew there was more to this show than met the eye. Very soon I grew to love the bickering between our 2 leads and really began to appreciate the "outside-the-box" approach to this show, and how varied things could get from one episode to another. You never really knew what to expect. Great show! Of course I appreciate the classic PI formula of the older shows as well.

[Pahonu]

Hey Ivan,
I got a used copy of Ric Meyers book you mentioned. I just finished it and ordered an older book of his called TV Detectives. Ric had really good things to say about Harry-O and also lamented the network constantly tinkering with it and lowering its quality. He has an interesting take on Magnum too. He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives plus all the “creative” episodes like Murder by Night. He liked that creativity but felt it was almost in it’s own category compared to previous detective shows. Interestingly, he thought Barnaby Jones had some of the most twisted villains and plot lines of any detective series and thought Buddy Ebsen’s low key manner was part of its success. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hey Pahonu,

Glad you enjoyed it! Maybe I should pick it up myself. Yes, I completely agree that MPI is not your typical PI show. In other words, it's not your "grandfather's PI show". When you think of old school classic TV PI's you probably immediately think of MANNIX. That's just classic 60s/70s PI fare. You can even throw in ROCKFORD FILES in there, even if Rockford was a slight departure from the norm (being a pessimistic anti-hero, reluctant to fight, stiffed by clients, scratching out a living, lacking any glamour) but every episode still dealt with Rockford investigating some type of crime or being hired for some kind of case. MPI was completely different because you could have an episode devoid of any kind of case (e.g. Magnum stranded in the ocean or a whole episode being some kind of farce or practical joke). I just watched "Basket Case" where Magnum and TC are competing in a basketball tournament involving local kids. You wouldn't see something like this on ROCKFORD and certainly not on MANNIX. And if you did, someone would of course have to die and then our hero would have to investigate. Your typical classic PI show followed a certain detective show formula. MPI basically did away with that formula and did its own thing. Which is what made it unique.

To be honest I initially couldn't get into MPI precisely because of this reason. I expected a certain detective formula and the stakes to be a little higher a la ROCKFORD or MANNIX, or my personal favorite HAWAII FIVE-O (yes, not a PI show, I know). But why the heck am I watching a story about some pooch who's the ugliest dog in Hawaii and Magnum having to protect this mutt? And the baddies are a bunch of comical bozos who keep tripping over themselves. Just didn't seem like my type of show. No real stakes. And why do 2 grown men (TM and Higgins) keep arguing with each other like little kids?? I certainly didn't get anything like that from more "grown-up" fare like FIVE-O. So it took me a while to warm up to this type of show. I loved Hawaii and the Ferrari and of course the theme song so I offered to give it a chance (especially since I knew how popular the show always was) and it wasn't long before I saw some of the darker and more emotional stories like "Memories are Forever" and "Did You See the Sun Rise?" and at that point I knew there was more to this show than met the eye. Very soon I grew to love the bickering between our 2 leads and really began to appreciate the "outside-the-box" approach to this show, and how varied things could get from one episode to another. You never really knew what to expect. Great show! Of course I appreciate the classic PI formula of the older shows as well.

Good points, all. You should totally get the book. I picked it up used on Amazon for only $8. Interesting story about your initial take on Magnum. I watched it from the beginning with my family when I was about 10. I think my mom and dad liked it for different reasons! I actually remember from 40 years ago my mom and a neighbor talking about how good looking this guy on this new show was. I had watched the last few seasons of Rockford with them also and remembered Selleck as Lance White so I like liked Magnum from the start.

Rockford is my favorite but it does follow the basic PI format EXCEPT many of the stories are pretty complex compared to the typical fare of the time. Sometimes I think they were to convoluted for just an hour long show. I didn’t always understand them the first time around, but that makes rewatching them more fun. Garner’s portrayal was just the best. That was the success of the show, no question.

The same could really be said about Selleck, no to slight the other actors. His portrayal of Magnum was so different and unique for the time, particularly playing against his looks. Garner was a handsome leading man in his day, but on Rockford he was pushing 50. Selleck demanded changes to the character as written and they were brilliant. That’s why we even care to watch an episode with him treading water in the ocean.

[T.Q.]

Hey Ivan,
I got a used copy of Ric Meyers book you mentioned. I just finished it and ordered an older book of his called TV Detectives. Ric had really good things to say about Harry-O and also lamented the network constantly tinkering with it and lowering its quality. He has an interesting take on Magnum too. He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives plus all the “creative” episodes like Murder by Night. He liked that creativity but felt it was almost in it’s own category compared to previous detective shows. Interestingly, he thought Barnaby Jones had some of the most twisted villains and plot lines of any detective series and thought Buddy Ebsen’s low key manner was part of its success. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hey Pahonu,

Glad you enjoyed it! Maybe I should pick it up myself. Yes, I completely agree that MPI is not your typical PI show. In other words, it's not your "grandfather's PI show". When you think of old school classic TV PI's you probably immediately think of MANNIX. That's just classic 60s/70s PI fare. You can even throw in ROCKFORD FILES in there, even if Rockford was a slight departure from the norm (being a pessimistic anti-hero, reluctant to fight, stiffed by clients, scratching out a living, lacking any glamour) but every episode still dealt with Rockford investigating some type of crime or being hired for some kind of case. MPI was completely different because you could have an episode devoid of any kind of case (e.g. Magnum stranded in the ocean or a whole episode being some kind of farce or practical joke). I just watched "Basket Case" where Magnum and TC are competing in a basketball tournament involving local kids. You wouldn't see something like this on ROCKFORD and certainly not on MANNIX. And if you did, someone would of course have to die and then our hero would have to investigate. Your typical classic PI show followed a certain detective show formula. MPI basically did away with that formula and did its own thing. Which is what made it unique.

To be honest I initially couldn't get into MPI precisely because of this reason. I expected a certain detective formula and the stakes to be a little higher a la ROCKFORD or MANNIX, or my personal favorite HAWAII FIVE-O (yes, not a PI show, I know). But why the heck am I watching a story about some pooch who's the ugliest dog in Hawaii and Magnum having to protect this mutt? And the baddies are a bunch of comical bozos who keep tripping over themselves. Just didn't seem like my type of show. No real stakes. And why do 2 grown men (TM and Higgins) keep arguing with each other like little kids?? I certainly didn't get anything like that from more "grown-up" fare like FIVE-O. So it took me a while to warm up to this type of show. I loved Hawaii and the Ferrari and of course the theme song so I offered to give it a chance (especially since I knew how popular the show always was) and it wasn't long before I saw some of the darker and more emotional stories like "Memories are Forever" and "Did You See the Sun Rise?" and at that point I knew there was more to this show than met the eye. Very soon I grew to love the bickering between our 2 leads and really began to appreciate the "outside-the-box" approach to this show, and how varied things could get from one episode to another. You never really knew what to expect. Great show! Of course I appreciate the classic PI formula of the older shows as well.

IvanTheTerrible,

Really enjoying Hawaii Five-0.

Up to season 1 ep. 9.

Mahalo

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Hey Ivan,
I got a used copy of Ric Meyers book you mentioned. I just finished it and ordered an older book of his called TV Detectives. Ric had really good things to say about Harry-O and also lamented the network constantly tinkering with it and lowering its quality. He has an interesting take on Magnum too. He liked it overall but pointed out how much of the series isn’t about detective work, with all the episodes about the character’s personal lives plus all the “creative” episodes like Murder by Night. He liked that creativity but felt it was almost in it’s own category compared to previous detective shows. Interestingly, he thought Barnaby Jones had some of the most twisted villains and plot lines of any detective series and thought Buddy Ebsen’s low key manner was part of its success. It was an enjoyable read. Thanks for the recommendation.

Hey Pahonu,

Glad you enjoyed it! Maybe I should pick it up myself. Yes, I completely agree that MPI is not your typical PI show. In other words, it's not your "grandfather's PI show". When you think of old school classic TV PI's you probably immediately think of MANNIX. That's just classic 60s/70s PI fare. You can even throw in ROCKFORD FILES in there, even if Rockford was a slight departure from the norm (being a pessimistic anti-hero, reluctant to fight, stiffed by clients, scratching out a living, lacking any glamour) but every episode still dealt with Rockford investigating some type of crime or being hired for some kind of case. MPI was completely different because you could have an episode devoid of any kind of case (e.g. Magnum stranded in the ocean or a whole episode being some kind of farce or practical joke). I just watched "Basket Case" where Magnum and TC are competing in a basketball tournament involving local kids. You wouldn't see something like this on ROCKFORD and certainly not on MANNIX. And if you did, someone would of course have to die and then our hero would have to investigate. Your typical classic PI show followed a certain detective show formula. MPI basically did away with that formula and did its own thing. Which is what made it unique.

To be honest I initially couldn't get into MPI precisely because of this reason. I expected a certain detective formula and the stakes to be a little higher a la ROCKFORD or MANNIX, or my personal favorite HAWAII FIVE-O (yes, not a PI show, I know). But why the heck am I watching a story about some pooch who's the ugliest dog in Hawaii and Magnum having to protect this mutt? And the baddies are a bunch of comical bozos who keep tripping over themselves. Just didn't seem like my type of show. No real stakes. And why do 2 grown men (TM and Higgins) keep arguing with each other like little kids?? I certainly didn't get anything like that from more "grown-up" fare like FIVE-O. So it took me a while to warm up to this type of show. I loved Hawaii and the Ferrari and of course the theme song so I offered to give it a chance (especially since I knew how popular the show always was) and it wasn't long before I saw some of the darker and more emotional stories like "Memories are Forever" and "Did You See the Sun Rise?" and at that point I knew there was more to this show than met the eye. Very soon I grew to love the bickering between our 2 leads and really began to appreciate the "outside-the-box" approach to this show, and how varied things could get from one episode to another. You never really knew what to expect. Great show! Of course I appreciate the classic PI formula of the older shows as well.

IvanTheTerrible,

Really enjoying Hawaii Five-0.

Up to season 1 ep. 9.

Mahalo

That's great, TQ! Which episode was that? It would be cool if by the end of the season you could list a few of your favorite episodes. Any standouts so far? I know you loved Cocoon.

Aloha!