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(Magnum P.I. Quizzes @ Funtrivia.com)
  1. "The Numbers": 8 seasons; 162 syndicated episodes (148 one-hour episodes, 7 two-hour episodes); ~ 122 hours of footage; 14 awards (2 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, 1 Edgar, 6 People's Choice), 30 additional nominations (13 Emmys, 11 Golden Globes); Avg. season Nielsen ranking (17); Highest season Nielsen ranking (3) - Season 3; Number of episodes produced by Tom Selleck (8); Number of times Magnum has been shot (13) - 10 times in the show, 3 times in Vietnam; Number of bad guys Magnum has killed (~50); Number of Robin Masters novels named in the show (13); Number of locks picked by Magnum (~50).

  2. Magnum P.I. has been enshrined in the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.. The museum owns three artifacts from the show: Magnum's Detroit Tigers baseball cap, Magnum's red hawaiian "jungle bird" shirt and the Croix de Lorraine team ring. The items are displayed in the Popular Entertainment section of the museum, but only one of the three items is on display at any given time. Surf legend and L.A. fabric store owner Philip "Flippy" Hoffman created the tropical screen-print design for the red hawaiian "jungle bird" shirt.

  3. The title of the original Donald P. Bellisario spec script for the show was called H.H. Flynn. The setting was Bel Air, California. Flynn was an ex-Vietnam vet, and private investigator, who provided security for a large estate. He lived in the guest house and drove a Ferrari. T.C. and Rick were his Vietnam buddies. T.C. flew helicopters to the oil rigs off the coast of California. Rick owned a bar in San Pedro. The character of Higgins, as we know him, did not exist in this script. In later drafts, Magnum's character was known as "Cutter" and the character of T.C. was supposed to be a crop-duster pilot from Texas (to be played by Gerald McRaney). The name "Cutter" would later be used as the last name of the main character in Tales of the Gold Monkey (1982), another Bellisario show.

  4. The main reason the show was set in Hawaii was so that CBS could re-use the studio facilities they built for Hawaii Five-O (1968-1980), which had just completed its twelve-year run in 1980. Several early episodes make reference to the fictional Five-0 squad, including the main character Steve McGarrett, setting this series in the same "universe" as Hawaii Five-O. Due to crossovers with other programs, the series is also shown to take place in the same "universe" as Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996) and Simon & Simon (1981-1988).

  5. Tom Selleck and John Hillerman both won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for their acting work on the show (Selleck in '84 & '85, Hillerman in '87 & '82).

  6. The original Bellisario/Larson script for the "Pilot Movie" of the show was rejected by Tom Selleck. He wasn't happy with the overly macho-heroic tenor of the script he was shown. According to Selleck, he "wanted the guy [Magnum] to make mistakes, to have flaws". The character was re-written to the Magnum we know and love today. A pretty gutsy move on Selleck's part considering he wasn't a star yet and was coming off six failed pilots in a row for other shows. Selleck would go on to earn roughly $50K per episode for the first seven seasons of Magnum P.I. (he earned more for the final season).

  7. Tom Selleck has appeared in all 162 syndicated episodes of Magnum P.I.. John Hillerman and Larry Manetti have appeared in all but one, Season Six's "Going Home" (6.7). Roger E. Mosley was absent in three episodes, "Dead Man's Channel" (2.2), "Going Home" (6.7) and "Who is Don Luis Higgins?" (6.19).

  8. The iconic Mike Post Magnum P.I. theme song was actually a Top 40 hit in 1982. In April of that year it peaked at #25 on the pop charts and made an appearance on the adult contemporary charts, as well. Legendary jazz/rock guitarist Larry Carlton plays the memorable guitar riffs.

  9. The original Magnum P.I. theme song and the original opening/closing title sequences, heard and seen in the "Pilot Movie" and the first nine episodes of the original broadcasts, were removed from all subsequent syndication airings. They were replaced with the more familiar Mike Post/Pete Carpenter iconic (standard) version and the standard opening/closing title sequences (seen in episodes 11-162). The original theme song and opening/closing title sequences were restored in the Complete First Season DVD.

  10. The season seven finale "Limbo" was originally intended to be the series finale (with Magnum seemingly walking off to heaven), but overwhelming fan support, and the backing of Tom Selleck, ended up bringing the show back for one more season (and 12 more episodes).

  11. The series finale "Resolutions" is the fifth most-watched television series finale of all-time, behind only M*A*S*H, Cheers, Seinfeld, and Friends. It was watched by some 50.7 million viewers, and had a huge 32.0 rating (percentage of all television households) and a 48% share (percentage of televisions in use).

  12. Magnum, T.C. and Rick were part of the same combat unit in Vietnam, the Da Nang VMO-2 (Marine Observation Squadron, Unit #2) unit. The 'V' means fixed wing; The 'M' means Marine; The 'O' means observation. The unit operated out of the Da Nang area of South Vietnam. In addition to basic combat operations, VMO-2 was also involved in troop support, escort missions, reconnaissance, and medical evacuations. Magnum and T.C. can often be seen wearing a VM02 Da Nang baseball cap in the show.

  13. The gold and black "Team Ring" that Magnum, T.C., Rick and Michelle wear is a Vietnam War memento that symbolizes the tight bond of wartime camaraderie that they all shared together. The ring was worn by all members of the "Vietnam Team", a covert, highly classified, multi-service MACV-SOG unit, comprised of Magnum (U.S. Navy SEAL), T.C. (U.S. Marine Huey Pilot), Rick (U.S. Marine Door Gunner) and Dan Cook (U.S. Navy SEAL) from the VMO-2 Da Nang unit, and Phillipe Trusseau and Pepe, two French Paratroopers. Their story is highlighted in the "Pilot Movie". The "double cross" pattern on the ring is the Cross of Lorraine, a resistance symbol dating back to Joan of Arc days. It was also used by the Free French Forces in World War II. The ring is not an official military decoration or emblem, and is not used in any capacity in the U.S. Navy SEALs or U.S. Marine Corp. Although it's contradicted several times in the show, the ring should be worn on the right hand.

  14. Prior to getting the role of Thomas Magnum, Tom Selleck had appeared in six failed TV show pilots!

  15. In the show, Thomas Magnum uses a Colt Government Model .45 ACP (Series 70) handgun, Colt's commercial version of the standard military-issue M1911A1. However, during scenes that required Magnum's gun to be fired, a Colt Government Model 9mm Parabellum (loaded with blanks) was used. At that time, .45's could not reliably cycle blanks. The Parabellum is nearly indistinguishable from the Colt .45 onscreen. Magnum's Colt Government Model .45 ACP (Series 70) is on display at the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia. (Gun ID'd by MaximRecoil)

  16. The hit TV show Quantum Leap (1989-1993), also produced by Donald P. Bellisario, had plans to have the main character Sam Beckett (Scott Bakula) leaping into the body of Thomas Magnum! Magnum P.I. cast members John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti were also slated to appear. Plans for a Magnum P.I. movie in the early 90s (which never materialized) led to the early demise of this episode plot, but some footage was filmed, namely the end-of-episode "juMagnum P.I.ng in" scene in which Beckett jumps into Magnum's body, turns to the camera, and raises his eyebrows the same way Tom Selleck made famous. If the episode had aired it would have created a bizarre continuity error, because Magnum P.I. had already been established as a TV show in the Quantum Leap "universe"! To add to the confusion, in the Quantum Leap pilot, Sam Beckett mentions that his sister is married to a man named Jim Bonnick (never seen). Jim Bonnick is the "Mac" look-a-like character (Jeff MacKay) in Magnum P.I.. Quantum Leap never clarified if this was supposed to be the same person or not, however.

  17. Season Seven almost had a crossover episode with The Equalizer (1985-1989), another hit CBS TV show. The idea was greenlighted, but then cancelled for unknown reasons. This would have been the third crossover episode of the series, following Simon & Simon (Season Three) and Murder, She Wrote (Season Seven).

  18. There were two attempts to spin-off series' from Magnum P.I.. One was the Joy "Digger" Doyle character (Erin Gray), a security expert, from "J. "Digger" Doyle" (1.17). The other revolved around Sam Houston Hunter (William Lucking), a pilot and treasure hunter, and his wife Jenny (Joanna Kerns), who were seen in "Two Birds of a Feather" (3.20). The Sam Hunter concept even had a Mike Post-composed theme song (which was also used during the Magnum episode). Using the Magnum episodes as the basis for the pilots, Bellisario shopped both concepts around, but nothing materialized. Bellisario eventually reworked the airplane pilot theme of the Lucking episode into Airwolf (1984-1987), which was moderately successful.

  19. Zeus & Apollo were played by several different Doberman Pinchers throughout the show's run. In the first half of the first season, three local dogs were used. Two female dogs named Cola and Nohea, and one male named Joe. Their trainer apparently left and Scott E. Hart was eventually hired as the official animal supervisor for the second half of the first season. At the beginning of the second year, the producers had Scott bring his own dogs from the mainland, and they were two males and one female. The two males were Whiskey and Brutus and the female was Dominique. At the beginning of the fourth season, Scott was told that the dogs were being written out of the script in order to save costs. However, the "Lads" were saved by Tom Selleck and John Hillerman! (Noted by IslandHopper)

  20. Both Tom Selleck and Donald P. Bellisario cite "Home From the Sea" (4.1) as their favorite episode of the series. For Larry Manetti, it's "Operation: Silent Night" (4.10) [If anyone knows about Hillerman or Mosley, let me know].

  21. During Magnum P.I. episode filming, the majority of guest stars stayed at the famous Colony Surf Hotel [pic] at 2895 Kalakaua Ave, in front of Diamond Head. In later seasons, some guest stars also stayed at the Kahala Hilton in Kahala, where outdoor King Kamehameha Club scenes were also filmed (in later seasons).

  22. The producers originally intended to use a Porsche 928 as 'Magnum's' car and asked Porsche to produce one with an extra large sunroof for aerial shots. Due to a strict policy by Porsche of not doing any special specifications at customer request, the Ferrari 308 GTS was chosen ('79, '81 & '84) instead and went on to become one of the most iconic cars of all time.

  23. Tom Selleck's contract commitment to the Magnum P.I. series famously cost him the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which went to Harrison Ford instead. Selleck screen-tested for the Indy role, and was Steven Spielberg's first choice, but he was unable to take the part because Magnum P.I. was due to start filming in March 1980, close to when Raiders was set to film. Ironically, the start of production on Magnum P.I. was delayed until December due to a writer's strike, meaning that Selleck would have been free to play Indy after all! In the final season, the producers gave a nod to his sacrifice with the episode "Legend of the Lost Art" (8.10), which parodied the film.

  24. There are four known screenplays that were completed for episodes but never filmed - "Forbidden Island" (1982), "Gypsy's Curse" (1983), "Cheapshot" (1984), and "Something Borrowed, Something Blue" (date unknown).

  25. The legendary Frank Sinatra, in his last major television or film role, guest starred in the Season Seven episode "Laura" (7.18). He was offered a choice of three different scripts for his Magnum P.I. appearance. He chose "Laura" and is said to have loved the story. He worked for scale and stayed at the The Colony Surf hotel in Diamond Head. He and his entourage took up an entire floor at the hotel. There were plans to have Frank come back for another episode in Season Eight, but Tom Selleck's scheduling conflicts forced the producers to cut back on the number of episodes and his turn never came.

  26. In the 2007 Las Vegas episode "When Life Gives You Lemon Bars", Larry Manetti and Roger E. Mosley appeared as guest stars (with new cast member Tom Selleck). The episode contained many subtle references to Magnum P.I. - Larry's character wore the "Team Ring" and started his nightclub eMagnum P.I.re with one glitzy club, Roger's character started his aviation eMagnum P.I.re with one chopper and had a Hawaii driver's license, there was mention of a British friend who couldn't make the poker game, a red Ferrari was briefly seen in the background, Tom Selleck's character mentions having to "let a girl go" (ala Michelle) and all three were buddies from the Vietnam War days.

  27. During the first syndicated broadcast of the series on TVG (Spain), a voice-over narrator uttered the title of the series during the opening. However, due to a misunderstanding of the abbreviation P.I. (Private Investigator), the narrator said "Magnum Pi". Needless to say, this was confusing for the audience! The voice-over mistake was corrected for future syndicated broadcasts.

  28. Robin Masters voice is heard in only six episodes. The first four were done by Orson Welles in "J. "Digger" Doyle" (1.17), "The Big Blow" (3.22) [uncredited], "Squeeze Play" (4.7) and "Luther Gillis: File #001" (5.10) [uncredited]. The producers had plans to reveal Robin Masters as Orson Welles, but he passed away in 1985 before this could happen. Red Crandall provided the voice in "Deja Vu" (6.1 & 6.2), after Orson Welles' death, and an uncredited actor voiced Robin in "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" (6.14).

  29. Magnum wore several different baseball caps in the series - the ubiquitous Detroit Tigers (Home) and VMO-2 Da Nang caps, the Al's Automotive and Muffler King cap (with the word "Tigers" in large letters in the middle), the SEAL camouflage cap (with the SEAL insignia sewn into it), the "Get Wet!" cap (with the words "Downing Hawaii" in small letters), and several different varieties of plain-colored caps (grey, off-white). In addition, Magnum wore a Detroit Tigers (Away) cap, one time. The "Al's Automotive and Muffler King" cap was actually a holdover from the 1979 Tom Selleck/James Whitemore Jr. pilot movie The Chinese Typewriter.

  30. Magnum wore two different types of watches in the show. For the first three seasons he wore a Chronosport Sea Quartz 30. For Seasons 4-8, he wore a Rolex Oyster Perpetual GMT Master (16750 with the "pepsi" bezel). The Rolex first appeared in Season Four's "Home From the Sea" (4.1). It originally belonged to Magnum's father. Magnum inherited the watch when he died in the Korean War in 1951. Note: The Rolex GMT Master didn't appear until 1955.

  31. Magnum's MIA bracelet that is worn throughout the series has the following inscription - "SGT. Kenneth Lancaster, 1-3-68". A closeup of the bracelet can be seen briefly in Season Five's "Fragments" (5.6). SP4 Kenneth R. Lancaster was a team leader in the Vietnam War who was assigned to the Headquarters & Headquarters Company Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon (LRRP) of the 9th Infantry Division. On January 3, 1968, Lancasters LRRP team was being extracted by helicopter from a designated pickup point in Khan Hoa Province, South Vietnam, near the city of Duc My. About one minute after takeoff, a member of the team saw SP4 Lancaster hanging onto the right skid of the aircraft as the aircraft continued to gain altitude. The pilot was informed and requested to land. When it became evident that the pilot was not able to land due to rough terrain, immediate efforts were made to lower a rope. However, before the rescue attempt could be made, Lancaster fell from the skid of the aircraft while the helicopter was at an altitude of 1000 to 1500 feet above the ground. The area in which Lancaster fell had heavy vegetation and a triple canopy jungle, creating a slim possibility that the trees and heavy vegetation may have broken Lancaster's fall to some degree. The area was searched that day and again on January 7 and January 8 by American and indigenous platoons without success. Efforts to conduct a thorough search were limited because no one was able to pinpoint the precise location where Lancaster fell, and the area was under heavy enemy patrol. It was felt that there was a very high probability that the enemy knew the fate of SP4 Lancaster, alive or dead. (Noted by N1095A)

  32. When Magnum P.I. aired on ARD in Germany in the late 80s, all scenes (and references) involving Vietnam were removed. Starting in 1994, when the show aired in Germany on RTL, the scenes and references were restored.

  33. Largely because of his work in Magnum P.I., Tom Selleck has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. He received the star on June 4th, 1986.

  34. The opening scene of "Echoes of the Mind (1)" (5.1) features the End Title theme from the first original soundtrack of Ridley Scott's Sci-Fi masterpiece Blade Runner (1982). [audio]

  35. Tom Selleck's signed Detroit Tigers baseball cap and red hawaiian "jungle bird" shirt have been on display at the Honolulu Hard Rock Cafe since the early 1990s.

  36. Famed journalist and writer P.J. O'Rourke wrote an essay about the same exact 1979 308 GTS that was used in the "Pilot Movie" (and all of Season One). It's called Ferrari Refutes the Decline of The West, and it appeared in his book Republican Party Reptile (1989). In 1979, Ferrari asked him (and his boss at Car & Driver magazine) to drive the car from New York to L.A (as part of the process to get the car to Hawaii) and write an essay about it. The result was a fantastic road trip story at 140 mph!

  37. Tom Selleck owned a beachfront house in the exclusive Black Point community of Kahala (Oahu) from 1981 to 2001. The 1929 house was acquired for $700,000 and, after many renovations by Selleck, sold for a cool $2.7 million!

  38. Magnum's birth date is in dispute as it has been contradicted in several episodes. In "Memories Are Forever (1)" (2.5) his drivers license shows his birth date as 1/5/46. In "Try to Remember" (2.15) his birth date is given as 8/8/44. In "Letter to a Duchess" (4.6) his age is mentioned as 38, which would make his birth year 1945. In "Forty" (7.17) we see Magnum celebrating his 40th birthday which would put his birth year at 1947! And in the series finale "Resolutions" (8.12), Magnum has a surprise birthday party thrown for him during his trip to Annapolis, a trip where he is seen wearing a heavy leather jacket, scarf and gloves! Despite the contradictions, 8/8 is considered to be the right date and has been confirmed by series creator/executive producer Donald P. Bellisario. Bellisario's own birth date is also 8/8.

  39. When the eighth and final season was greenlighted, Tom Selleck received a $350,000 bonus from Universal Studios, all of which he gave back to the entire cast and crew of the show in the form of lavish gifts and thousand dollar checks!

  40. Mike Post (co-composer the iconic Magnum P.I. theme song and in-episode music) was a high school classmate of Tom Selleck at Grant High School in Los Angeles. Micky Dolenz (The Monkees) was also a classmate.

  41. The large "Gauguin" painting in the guesthouse (seen throughout the show's run) is actually a combination of two different Gauguin paintings - Vairumati (1896) and When Will You Marry (1892) - that have been merged together. This "combo" painting was created specifically for the show by the Magnum P.I. prop department.

  42. Thomas Magnum has an effigy in wax at the Hollywood Wax Museum in Hollywood, California. There is also a very similiar one at the Hollywood Wax Museum in Branson, Missouri.

  43. The only known official release of Magnum P.I. bloopers and/or outtakes occurred in the short-lived 1983 television show Life's Most Embarrassing Moments. The show featured seven Magnum P.I. clips (1:22), all from Season Two. None of the official Magnum P.I. DVD releases (Region 1 or 2) have included any bloopers or outtakes of any kind as bonus material.

Accolades

  1. 2 Emmys, 2 Golden Globes, 1 Edgar, and 6 People's Choice awards.

  2. One of only a small number of TV shows, voted by an overwhelming majority, to have never "jumped the shark", according to the definitive source on the subject, jumptheshark.com - voter comments here.

  3. The Classic TV Database ranks Magnum P.I. as the 60th best TV show of all time.

  4. TV Squad ranks Magnum P.I. at #14 on its list of Best '80s TV Shows.

  5. Rate it All ranks Magnum P.I. at #17 on its list of Best '80s TV Shows.

  6. Magnum P.I. is listed in Entertainment Weekly's 1998 hardcover book The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. The book does not rank the finalists in any particular order.

  7. Thomas Magnum comes in at #43 on Bravo TV's The 100 Greatest TV Characters of all-time list. Higgins, unfortunately, did not make the list.

  8. Thomas Magnum is ranked #4 on TopTenz.net's list of Top 10 TV Detectives.

  9. According to the Sleuth Channel, as selected by voters in their 2006 online poll, Thomas Magnum was voted "America's Top Slueth"! Columbo came in second, Jim Rockford third.

  10. IGN's Top 50 TV Theme Songs of All Time has the Magnum P.I. theme song coming in at #22. What's interesting is that this is for the original Ian Freebairn-Smith theme song, not the standard Mike Post/Pete Carpenter theme song! This version of the theme song was only heard in the first eleven episodes (including the pilot) of the show, during its original broadcast only! The original theme song was pulled from future syndication airings and replaced with the iconic version, although it was restored on the DVD version.

  11. Magnum P.I. received a special "Hero Award" at the 2009 TV Land Awards. The award "salutes a lead character whose crime-solving feats were astounding, yet remained thoroughly authentic, offering equal parts of street smarts, wit and charisma."

Cultural References

  1. Magnum P.I. was parodied in the December 1981 issue of MAD magazine (#227), in a piece titled "Magnumb, P.U.", and in a November 1982 issue of Cracked magazine (#191).

  2. In the 1982 Fall Guy episode "License to Kill" (Part 2), Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) and Howie Munson (Douglas Barr), dressed as female navy officers, bump into Tom Selleck (standing next to the Ferrari) as he is in-between takes on a Magnum P.I. shoot. They talk for a bit, then the scene ends with Colt saying he'd love to work with Tom on the show!

  3. Walt Disney Television Animation created an animated spoof of Magnum P.I. called "Cro-Magnum P.I.", which aired on 10/3/1992 as a Totally Tasteless Video short on the short-lived CBS animated series Raw Toonage. This prehistoric film noir spoof features a stone-age gumshoe investigating a tycoon who is stealing invention ideas (like, the wheel). Cro-Magnum (P.I.) is, of course, a word play of Cro-Magnon, the earliest known European examples of Homo sapiens. Despite the title, the episode has very little in common with Magnum P.I..

  4. Magnum P.I. has been parodied in four Family Guy episodes:

    * In Season Two's "Da Boom", Lois talks about how much food has been wasted in the house, and we suddenly see Peter mock feeding a can of beans to Magnum on the television set ("open up Tom Selleck"). Higgins soon appears, to which Peter replies, "Hey, not you Higgins, you've had yours. Shame on you, trying to steal Tom Selleck's food! No! No!"

    * In Season Three's "Stuck Together, Torn Apart", there is a scene showing Magnum repeatedly referring to Higgins as "Tattoo". When Higgins tries timidly to correct him, Magnum steps out of the Ferrari, slaps him to the ground, and asks him to say his name. Higgins, even more timidly, says "Tattoo".

    * In Season Seven's "Love Blactually", Peter, Quagmire, Cleveland and Joe are dressed in Halloween costumes. Joe is dressed as Olympic champion swimmer Mark Spitz (speedo, mustache, 7 gold medals around his neck), but can't convince anybody. Peter, Quagmire and Cleveland try to guess who he is (FDR, Stephen Hawking at the beach). Cleveland then says, "Oh I get it, you're crippled Magnum P.I.", to which Joe responds, "Fine, I'm crippled Magnum P.I.!"

    * Also in Season Seven, in "Three Kings", we see Higgins and Magnum in the study at the estate. Higgins says to Magnum, "I found a fingerprint smudge at the crime scene. Do you have poo on your hands?" Magnum looks at his hand and says, "A little." Echoes of the Magnum P.I. theme song can be heard, and we see the words "Executive Producer: Donald P. Bellisario" several times on the screen.

  5. The Simpsons (1989-Present) seventh christmas episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season" (Season 15) features a scene where Lenny gives Homer a DVD player and the Magnum P.I. - The Complete First Season DVD as a Christmas gift. The Simpsons also (somewhat) spoofed Magnum P.I. in the eighth season episode "The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase", which featured a short called Chief Wiggins, P.I.. Besides the name, nothing else resembles the show, however.

  6. NCIS (2003-Present) has made references to Magnum P.I. on at least four different occasions (Agent Tony DiNozzo is a fan of Magnum P.I. in the show): (1) Tony DiNozzo goes through a closet and comes across the iconic red "jungle bird" Hawaiian shirt and becomes excited ("Magnum shirt!"), (2) a little boy has a Ferrari bed ("Like Magnum..."), (3) a Magnum P.I. lunchbox is shown, and (4) Tony DiNozzo mentions watching a Magnum P.I. episode ("the one where Magnum is stranded alone on the ocean...") when interrogated. The executive producer of NCIS is Donald P. Bellisario, the co-creator and executive producer of Magnum P.I..

  7. In one episode of The Cosby Show, Cliff Huxtable wears a Magnum P.I. baseball cap with the Cross of Lorraine logo (from the Team Ring). The cap was a gift to Bill Cosby from Tom Selleck to congratulate him on the success of the show (and for beating out Magnum P.I. in the ratings). At the time the gift was presented, the shows were rivals as they were on different networks and on the same day and time slot (Thursdays at 8:00PM).

  8. The American animated television series Archer paid homage to the famous ending in "Did You See the Sunrise?" (3.2) in the 2011 episode "Placebo Effect". A villian is killed in cold blood, prefaced with the question, "Did you see Regis this morning?"

  9. In the My Name Is Earl episode "Little Bad Voodoo Brother" (S4), Earl Hickey dresses up as Thomas Magnum (Tigers hat, red "jungle bird" Hawaiian shirt) for Halloween.

  10. Psych's 2010 episode "Thrill Seekers and Hell Raisers" features a scene where Magnum P.I.'s "Did You See the Sunrise?" is mentioned by name. It's the favorite Magnum P.I. episode of Burton "Gus" Guster's new girlfriend. When asked what her second favorite episode is she says, "Did You See the Sunrise? Part 2... No, actually reverse those two!"

  11. A 2008 USA Network promo for the seventh season of Monk spoofs the Magnum P.I. opening title sequence, with Adrian Monk starring in "Monk, P.I", and features the iconic Magnum P.I. theme song. You can watch the (YouTube) clip here.

  12. Magnum P.I. is referenced/discussed in several Marvel comic book series, including "The New Mutants" (#3, #4, #7, #15, and #17), Young X-Men (#2) and Uncanny X-Men (#167). In The New Mutants, the main characters are big fans of the show and are often seen watching it in-between fighting evil villians.

  13. The video Hard to Explain by the garage rock band The Strokes opens with the famous scene from the Magnum P.I. pilot, where the Ferrari accelerates away from the camera with a controlled dirt slide. This scene is shown in the title sequence of the show for all eight seasons.

  14. Magnum P.I. was parodied in a 1995 episode of The Critic, "I Can't Believe It's a Clip Show", as "Rabbi, P.I.".

  15. Jazz composer/drummer Brooke Sofferman covered the iconic Magnum P.I. theme song on his 2004 album One Stone, Two Birds. This jazzed up version is over five times as long as the original song, clocking in at 5:26. You can listen to a sample of the song here.

  16. During select shows on their 1997 tour, the rock band Weezer walked onstage while the "iconic" Magnum P.I. theme song played in the background. According to Rivers Cuomo, the band's lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter, this was their all-time favorite "walk out" song, for any tour!

  17. Professional wrestler Joey "Magnum" Ryan has a Magnumesque persona (mustache, hawaiian shirts, etc.) and uses an altered version of the classic Magnum P.I. theme song as his entrance music.

  18. One of the teaser videos for the real-time strategy computer game World of Conflict is a parody of the Magnum P.I. theme song.

  19. MS Flight Simulator (2004 & X) has a free, Hawaiian-themed scenery add-in that features T.C.'s chopper (including T.C. in the cockpit!). You can even fly over, and land on, Robin's Nest.

  20. Hip Hop artist Cam'ron sampled the iconic Magnum P.I. theme song in his 1998 single 357.

  21. British Indian musician Panjabi MC sampled the iconic Magnum P.I. theme song on his 2003 single "Jatt Ho Giya Sharabee". The song was used in a Season 1 episode of the hit TV show Heroes ("Don't Look Back").

  22. German mobile game creator and publisher Ojom GmbH released a java-based, platform-style game for mobile phones that is based on the Magnum P.I. TV show! In this "jump 'n' run" style game, you control Thomas Magnum, "and it's your job to scour Hawaii for known criminals in your loud beach shirts"! Info/screens/download can be found here.

  23. Chicago-based jam band Umphrey's McGee has a song called "Higgins" that is based on the character from Magnum P.I.. The song was originally released on their 2007 studio album The Bottom Half. A live version of the song can be heard here.

  24. Ha Ha the Moose, a side project of jam band heavyweights moe., frequently play the Magnum P.I. Theme Song during their shows. They often open with it.

  25. In the 2008 Las Vegas episode "2 on 2", series star Josh Duhamel (Danny) is seen wearing a yellow Magnum P.I. t-shirt while playing in a basketball tournament! Cast member Tom Selleck (A.J. Cooper) is not in the scene, unfortunately. The shirt can be ordered online here.

  26. The arcade-style racing game Test Drive Unlimited (set in Oahu) features an add-on pack that includes the Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole as one of the cars you can drive!

  27. There is a well-known dance club in Frankfurt, Germany called King Kamehameha Club, which is named after the club in Magnum P.I.. The owners are big fans of the show.

  28. The Mike Post Magnum P.I. theme song was featured in a 2010 television commercial for Maybelline's "The Falsies" Volum' Express mascera (in a slightly modified version).

  29. Higgins' cannon was featured in a 2011 episode of the hit cable show Pawn Stars. The cannon is a genuine 1890's Strong Firearms Co. signal cannon, valued at between $20K-$40K. After the cannon was fired, Rick Harrison made a final offer of $15K, the seller (Rob from The R.H.A. Collection) wouldn't go lower than $35K, so no deal was made. You can watch the entire episode ("Cannons & Klingons") online here.



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