Steve wrote:Tying this thread into Tom Selleck and Magnum, those of us longer in the tooth may recall when Magnum,pi broke onto the scene with Sellecks rugged good looks and the "man we men wish we could be" persona, many critics were saying; finally, a manly TV character that breaks the Alan Alda, wishy washy mold of the seventies. Funny how years later Alda is still a polarizing character causing many tongue in cheek comments.......
Hi Steve,
I'm glad you were being tongue in cheek with your previous comment. As I have caught up on reading all the different posts here over the years I liked many of the ones you posted.
As for the Hawkeye character, he was anything but wish washy, at least in my opinion. He constantly stood up for what was right as he saw it no matter what the blow back. For the same reason he was indeed a self righteous jerk at times, but that zeal is also what made him a good doctor who would fight the elements and Death itself on a long shot to save someone.
I am surprised I am saying this but it now occurs to me Hawkeye Pierce is actually more ethical than Magnum.
There is no unethical sleight of hand manipulation of friends and co-workers for at times dubious ends by Hawkeye but Thomas does it all the time.
The Maggie character could easily have wound up in the brig with her career in the toilet for doing just one of the favors Magnum was always tasking her with.
On reflection, that's probably for the good, Magnum isn't some perfectly chiseled All American Yankee Doodle Hero, but a fully realized character with flaws, and a very Dark Side.
I think that the 2 parter(sorry guys I forgot the title) set in England wherein he discovers his buddy is an assassin, that's supposed to make us and Thomas realize and reflect on how much alike they are
and how thin the line is between good and evil and the choices that determine your own path.
This is the kind of writing that makes Magnum one of the most richly drawn roles in television history but which the casual viewer will miss.
By the way, Selleck mentioned years ago that a little remembered Randolph Scott Western floored him when he saw it for the 1st time, and tonite Encore Westerns ran it, "Decision at Sundown".
I agree with Tom, and the saloon scene in the last 2 minutes, damn, this is art and better yet I never saw it or the movie's twists coming.
Encore runs it's movies a few times over a months time so anyone who gets this channel can watch it. Okay, sorry to digress.
