Three episodes to intro someone - no two parters

[ConchRepublican]

Here's the question:

You have three episodes to choose from as the Best of Magnum to show people who have not seen, or have passing interest, in the show. No two parters, they must be hour long shows.

What three do you choose?

My three were:

1 - China Doll - as the first real episode, it sets the tone for the series
2 - Death and Taxes - a classic showing the true investigator side of TM
3 - Paper War - Captures the dynamic between Magnum and Higgins, exposes the "Higgins is Robin?" theory and counterpoints the gravity of DnT

As a wild card I threw in Laura for the Sinatra factor.

I stayed away from the Michele/Lily dynamic because I don't think they work as stand alone episodes. No two parters was also tough.

[Doc Ibold]

Hmmm.

China Doll
Tropical Madness
Home from the Sea.

Agree with China Doll for setting the tone of the series.
Tropical Madness for the wacky tone
Home From The Sea for the character driven arc (And to prove Magnum can work without a bad guy)

[terryfromkerry]

Hmmmmm indeed ............ a great subject matter.

I love both your selections guys.

I am thinking .....................

The Sixth Position ( Magnum to Kendall Chase ...... " You walk like a duck !" )

Luther Gillis: File # 521 ( duelling voice overs )

Paper War ( of course !)

[IKnowWhatYoureThinking]

Home from the Sea
Death and Taxes
Paper War

[ConchRepublican]

This was a lot harder than I expected. Not exactly choosing between my children, but ....

I was considering Home from the Sea as well as Jororo Kill, Way of the Stalking Horse, No Need to Know, Black on White and J. Digger Doyle.

It was important to me to have at least one early episode to show how things began, the carefree attitude TM had on the surface.

Death and Taxes to me had to be there, so it was then all about the other two. Which early episode and then what fills out the arc and brings something different to complete it. I was on the fence about Paper War, but At the end it was just too much fun not to be included.

[Steve]

Home from the Sea
Death and Taxes
Paper War

Yeap, extremely tough choices but I think those would be my three as well..............

[J.J. Walters]

Toughie, for sure. Um, I guess I'd go with:

The Last Page - for the Vietnam emphasis
Operation: Silent Night - to immerse them in the characters of TM, Hig, TC and Rick
Death and Taxes - for a darker, more serious Magnum

I'd then email them the link to the Complete Series box set and say, "Have fun!"

[Reef monkey]

J. Digger Doyle
Home from the Sea
Death and Taxes

[mctyler]

I think that it needs to discern who have seen Magnum and who never seen it..For Who is a virgin I suggest to fish in the first few seasons.I select 3 differnt types of story:

Thank heaven for little girls and big ones too: funny and serious episode to introduce anybody in the Magnum's world

Woman on the beach: a touch of mystery is basic and consistent after

The arrow that is not aimed: we know that Magnum is the professional p.i.

China doll and Jororo kill are extraordinary episodes too,but I prefer the Samurai that is similar
Basket Case is delightful ma The little girls of Gauguin are better

[Reef monkey]

Thank heaven for little girls and big ones too: funny and serious episode to introduce anybody in the Magnum's world

Funny, back in ~1998-1999, right after I graduated from college, I started thinking about Magnum again, and I got the idea to see if any Magnum PI episodes were available on VHS. This was before every TV show that was ever broadcast had DVD box sets of the entire series, and every new show released a complete season almost as soon as the season finale aired. There were very few episodes of Magnum available. I bought two tapes, each had two episodes on it, I think. One was "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii", but another one had "Thank Heaven for Little Girls, And Big Ones Too" on it. I actually was disappointed in that one, I wanted one with a more "Hawaii-esque" feel to it than that, and maybe a cooler case to solve.

That reminds me. One of the reasons I started thinking about Magnum again at that time was that I moved into an apartment that was just down the street from a Bennihana, and I would go there for sushi occasionally. This Bennihana had been built in the late 1970s, and hadn't be updated since, so it had a very "Magnum PI" feel to it. It totally could have been a set for Magnum in one of the early seasons. That's where I first got the idea of how someone could live the "Mangnum PI Lifestyle", which is why I started the thread below.

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2419

[Frodoleader]

1. China Doll
2. Way of the Stalking Horse
3. What is the one where Magnum follows then decides not to kill his Vietnamese antagonist (with the sniper rifle)?

Conch is correct: this is a hard choice.

[ConchRepublican]

1. China Doll
2. Way of the Stalking Horse
3. What is the one where Magnum follows then decides not to kill his Vietnamese antagonist (with the sniper rifle)?

Conch is correct: this is a hard choice.

That's Unfinished Business. I didn't include it in mine because of the Michele/Lily dynamic. I felt that without knowing the back story the episode loses a lot of it's emotional impact.

That's what's tough to me, so many of the episodes have meaning, and are great, at least IMO, because of the universe they created and the history of the characters and what they mean to each other.

[terryfromkerry]

True that Conch !

[MagnumILWU]

I've watched Magnum from the start. I've always enjoyed the earlier episodes more. They weren't as serious as many of the later shows. Even his hair and mustache looked better in the earlier shows. Not as dark, and his mustache, not so small as later shows! The earlier shows were just more fun and laid back!( Yes, I know not all!) It is hard to pick just three! 1. The Women on the Beach 2. J 'Digger' Doyle 3. Beauty Knows No Pain

[Pahonu]

I think a newbie would need to start in the first season. Those episodes spent more time establishing the characters roles, not depth of character, but relationships. Of course, this was because everyone was getting to know the characters then. I've always been partial to China Doll, No Need To Know, and Beauty Knows No Pain. I also think the first handful of episodes had more interesting cinematography especially some of the cuts, such as in China Doll the cut from the antiques shop killing of Ho to Higgins practicing martial arts.