Season 1 Episode 2: From The Head Down (1.2)

[karolis]

Hernandez considers mustache:
https://tvline.com/2018/10/01/magnum-pi ... -mustache/

And here Magnum meets Kamekona from Hawaii Five-0:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BoZc-njAcNE ... agnumpicbs

[T.Q.]

Well, hard to believe but I tuned in again.

This episode a bit better.

I’ll tell you something 100%.

I decided our female Higgins actually does a decent job.

Jay Hernandez is just AWFUL though.

Just a bad actor in general. He is not pulling this off.

The supporting cast is actually the only bright spot. And Hawai’i scenery of course.

[jeffran]

Quick post-episode thoughts:

* A little better tonight, I think it was simply a better story. A little over the top at the end.
* I'm not sure how to feel about TC yet, I didn't understand his logic of threatening the gun-toting guys with a baseball bat.
* The dinner scene - oh no, is Higgins already falling in love with Magnum?
* I hate, hate, hate the constant, horrible "here's how you're supposed to feel" music playing in the background. It never stops.

That's about it for now.

[KENJI]

Well we got our first OMG out of Higgins, our first wheeling and dealing between Higgins and Thomas and their first bickering session. I'm sure everyone caught the Da Nang cap that Dan (Carl Weathers was wearing). I'm wondering if Higgins boat building is her version of the Bridge over the River Kwai. Kamekona's scene was interesting at Steve and Danno's restaurant....he states that he had to bail them out.
The gunshot wound to Juliette's arm that we saw in the first episode healed with no marks in only one week....WOW!!! Thomas stating that he covered for the repairs to the Ferrari was far fetched.....the car was a write-off, maybe he covered the deductible which still would've been really steep. To repair that kind of damage on that kind of car would've cost WAY too much for him. Surprised that Carl didn't have more lines or a bigger part, plus no fight scene-oh well. The dinner scene with the reference to a straw and coloring book were so appropriate for miniature Magnum.

[karolis]

So Justin Lin is an Executive Producer now?

[Fr. Paddy McGuinness]

Once again the actor playing Higgins is the best actor on the show. But Hernandez is a dud. He’s like wallpaper paste. It’s brutal watching him. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the direction, but Rick, T.C. and Magnum are all equally bland and interchangeable. Plus the production values are identical to 5-0. It feels like you’re watching that show with different characters. I can’t see this thing making it past Christmas.

[karolis]

Once again the actor playing Higgins is the best actor on the show. But Hernandez is a dud. He’s like wallpaper paste. It’s brutal watching him. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the direction, but Rick, T.C. and Magnum are all equally bland and interchangeable. Plus the production values are identical to 5-0. It feels like you’re watching that show with different characters. I can’t see this thing making it past Christmas.

While i agree that Hernandez is bland, but i actually really like Rick, Higgins is pretty good too. I'm still not sure about T.C., he needs more depth, but it's definitely better that Magnum. My order would be like this:
1. Rick (very well)
2. Higgins (well)
3. T.C. (mediocre)
4. Magnum (not good).
Either way - this episode was way better then the pilot. It was paced better. I even started to think that they filmed Pilot as a two-hour episode but shrunk it into one when they got a full season order. I'd still love better plot with a twist end like in the original. I don't like big terrorist stories. I prefer ordinary people needing help. While this episode started with ordinary man, it ended with spies/terrorists. 1-2 episodes a season with spies/terrorists is no problem, but not majority of it. It's not believable that every week Magnum runs into spies and terrorists in Hawaii.

[Steve]

I guess I am still pretty much in the minority in that I thought the show was pretty good. So far two episodes in I am glad they are sticking with one story line with some twists and turns and starting to show the comaraderie of the characters . I am still loving Perdita Weeks, guess she is the one with the killer legs this go round and damn, those eyes are mesmerizing! I am hoping they have great guest stars every week and am liking the little easter eggs they keep throwing in (the attempt of a mustache and especially the VMO2 DaNang hat) . Little M does needs a better wardrobe to help him stand out more IMHO...........

Oh, and I did bust up at big red tallywacker comment by Higgins...........

[T.Q.]

Once again the actor playing Higgins is the best actor on the show. But Hernandez is a dud. He’s like wallpaper paste. It’s brutal watching him. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the direction, but Rick, T.C. and Magnum are all equally bland and interchangeable. Plus the production values are identical to 5-0. It feels like you’re watching that show with different characters. I can’t see this thing making it past Christmas.

It’s actually ridiculous and shows how shallow Hollywood has become.

The helicopter shots of Waikiki/Honolulu with the Hawaiian music and such is basically a complete copy H50.

Lenkov couldn’t come up with a new fresh style for a classic show reboot. Lazy.

[wilko]

Once again the actor playing Higgins is the best actor on the show. But Hernandez is a dud. He’s like wallpaper paste. It’s brutal watching him. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the direction, but Rick, T.C. and Magnum are all equally bland and interchangeable. Plus the production values are identical to 5-0. It feels like you’re watching that show with different characters. I can’t see this thing making it past Christmas.

It’s actually ridiculous and shows how shallow Hollywood has become.

The helicopter shots of Waikiki/Honolulu with the Hawaiian music and such is basically a complete copy H50.

Lenkov couldn’t come up with a new fresh style for a classic show reboot. Lazy.

Ditto! Magnum, Rick and TC are hard to watch, there is just nothing about their characters. Rick is frat boy trying to pretend he is not.

If this cast had it's own stand alone show without any of the Magnum PI imagery, associations, etc, you think it would stand up on its own or even stand out?

[ENSHealy]

My issue was, once again, way too much unnecessary background explanations. If I remember correctly, in the original, nobody ever explained how TM, Rick and TC all ended up on Oahu after the war, and yet us knuckleheads on here were able to figure out the symbolism. Hawaii is....half way between Vietnam and the U.S. But this time we have to sit through a hackneyed scene with Nuzo and TM having a heart-to-heart about how they "aren't ready" to come home.

For me that was the worst part of episode 2, and also I agree with karolis that I didn't like them going with the terrorist angle so soon. Let's hope that's not a frequent theme.

Also I found it a stretch that Higgins could track the terrorists cell phone on her own phone within about 10 seconds of finding out his name (which itself was a huge stretch). Maybe I don't watch enough current TV (I think the reboot is the first show on the big-4 networks I've made time to sit down for since Seinfeld went off the air) but there seems to be an awful lot of magic happening.

One last thought: I think Perdita Weeks is doing a decent job with the Higgins character, but I don't like how she's pretty much Magnum's partner in the first two episodes. I hope that's not a trend that continues. Her pitching in should be occasional and begrudging.

[ENSHealy]

Oh yeah, one question: did we see an aerial shot of the same intersection (Pali Highway?) where, in the original pilot, T.M. makes a left turn to head up in to mountains and the Challenger follows right behind him spewing gas? It was quick, but it seemed like the same intersection.

[T.Q.]

hackneyed scene with Nuzo and TM having a heart-to-heart about how they "aren't ready" to come home.

Yeah, what’s with dragging the viewer through this (supposedly) ‘emotional’ storyline with a character nobody cares about that appeared in 2 scenes and died 20 minutes into the pilot.

I find the constant references to Nuzo a bit nauseating... like we care?

Just like everything the new Magmun seems rushed. They deal with Nuzo like he’s a beloved character that was on the show for 3 seasons and died.

[KingKC]

I am waiting for episodes that are not "war buddy" oriented and do not have heavy action or special effects or international connections. I think Rick and TC are playing too much of a role in the investigations and "bromance" is rearing its ugly head. Higgins plays too much of role in the investigations as well and I even shuddered to think about the sexual tension-romance eventuality with Higgins and TM.

I am now resolved into simply hoping we get a good private investigator show. I think Carter is silly and Take Two broke the sexual tension in the first season which takes away a good element. So far Private Eyes is the best but it needs a new season.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Once again the actor playing Higgins is the best actor on the show. But Hernandez is a dud. He’s like wallpaper paste. It’s brutal watching him. I don’t know if it’s the writing or the direction, but Rick, T.C. and Magnum are all equally bland and interchangeable. Plus the production values are identical to 5-0. It feels like you’re watching that show with different characters. I can’t see this thing making it past Christmas.

Hi Paddy O' Furniture,
I agree with everything you say. However I thought the initial scene with Magnum reduced to doing low life 'keyhole' cases, that is taking photos of cheating spouses, was hilarious when the giant Hawaiian spotted him at the bedroom window and chased after him.
And as Steve noted Higgin's "red tally whacker" comment was funny as well.
I also quite like Perdita Weeks, she will be the only one who emerges from this horror with her career actually enhanced, she has star quality.
She can actually act and is a classic English Rose type beauty, though I hate when they have her doing the inane Magic Martial Arts For Women, where a 110 pound woman delivers 2 quick Magic Power Blows to hulking bad guys who keel over unconscious. This has no relation to objective reality, as is the Magically Disappearing Gunshot Wound from last week's episode.
This episode might have risen to mediocre entertainment if they had stuck to the reasonably realistic story line of Magnum chasing after a 350 lb. fish.
But of course they had to throw in a band of terrorists. Enough with all the military/security state tie ins, Magnum and his crew went to Hawaii to get away from all that, which just makes it even more obvious the producers were never fans of the original series, they just saw some highlight reels.
Absolutely no pride in their work.
30 years from now none of their series will be running on air, but 60 year old Magnum PI and the original Hawaii 5-0 will still be garnering new fans.

"If you hold a cat by the tail you will learn things you cannot learn any other way"...Mark Twain