Magnum Mania!

I dare you to say THAT three times fast!!

Anyway, I've been working my way through my first season commentaries. Watched Adelaide the other night and it occurred to me that Thomas isn't just a pretty face...and Magnum PI is not all "fluff" and "buff". There's a lot of wisdom being passed out on these shows and I'm wondering if anyone else has picked up on a "life lesson" while watching our guys. Here's a few of my "Ah-ha" moments.

As I said, it was Adelaide that got me started. Thomas tells her that she's going to..."take a deep breath, get on your horse and ride like the champion you are. Because if you don't, they'll win. They'll have beaten you even if they don't get Norman. Are you going to let that happen?"

Thomas gives similar "pep talks" to Dr. Karen Harmen in Heal Thyself (3.11) and to Holly Hudson in The Look (4.9). Nice reminder that it isn't what happens to us that matters but what we do about what happens to us that's important!

In Don't Say Goodbye, when Thomas is talking to Amy about telling Agatha that she's not really her granddaughter, Amy says "What if the words won't come out of my mouth?" And Thomas says "They're not supposed to come out of your mouth. They're supposed to come out of your heart." Nice.

As we all know, Higgins is FULL of it...I mean wisdom, of course. One of my favorites is in Dream a Little Dream when he says "For the better one feels about oneself, the better the world looks." Hear, Hear, Higgins!

In Under World, while waiting for TC to wake up from his coma, Thomas says "I believe you've got to pray as if you couldn't get anything done without Him. And then you go about doing it as if He doesn't exist." That sentiment was probably wasted on Gerald, the scummy, fake brother, but it sure caught my attention!

What do you think? Have you picked up any useful "kernels" of wisdom from watching Magnum PI?

My entry in the "Things I learned from Magnum PI" thread. I think it kind of fits here as well.

1) Nothing in life is as valuable as those close to you. Always, ALWAYS be loyal to them.
2) All a man really has in life is his honor.
3) Live with humor in your life.
4) Sometimes the bad guys win, but you don't have to make it easy for them.

Found the "Things I Learned..." thread, N1095A! All good stuff!! There's SO MUCH information on this site! I wonder if I'll EVER get it all checked out!!

Sorry Agatha. I should have posted a link to the thread. wasn't thinkin' I guess.

Not a problem N1095A! I tend to forget about the pages...and pages...and pages...that have "gone before". Will start cruising through them to see what else I can learn!

My guess, and it is just the conclusion I have come to on how Thomas Magnum became the honorable and wise person he did was.......

His Father (even though he died very early in TM's life)
His Uncles
His Mother
The Navy
Viet Nam
And my number one hypothesis is that TM became the man he is through.... his particiaption in Team Sports.Thats my conclusion and I'm sticking with it.....LOL

Agatha wrote:What do you think? Have you picked up any useful "kernels" of wisdom from watching Magnum PI?

Magnum

"It matters, because sometimes you get to a point where easy rationalizations don't cut it anymore. There's gotta be a place where you stop and examine your life, and if it isn't right then maybe you just gotta say no, and no more... or stop looking in the mirror."

"Maybe Thomas Wolfe was right. Maybe you can't go home again... but it sure is hell worth the try."

"A person is what they throw away."

"One of the pleasanter after effects of nearly meeting your maker is a renewed sense of the value of all life, of every creature's right to realize its full potential. In fact, I was quite pleased recently when I managed to avoid stepping on an ordinary garden snail. Pleased that it could crawl on to fulfill its full garden snail potential."

... and so many more!

And so many more is right, James!! I can see that I'm going to have to start listening more carefully to Thomas's narrations. Do you remember which episode that last one came from...the one about the snail?

Agatha wrote:And so many more is right, James!! I can see that I'm going to have to start listening more carefully to Thomas's narrations. Do you remember which episode that last one came from...the one about the snail?

"Innocence... A Broad"

Thanks, James! I'll listen for it!

Agatha wrote:Thanks, James! I'll listen for it!

Mike

I agree that much of TM's wisdom was dispensed during his narrations. Here is a conversational bit of wisdom:

“I can remember five years ago like it was yesterday. I can remember what you said: ‘That you can’t lay abstract words like ethics or ideals on your feelings cause they don’t apply.’ Well, I believe you can, and I believe you should. Goodbye, Karen.” (TM to Karen in Dream a Little Dream).

Good one, Autumn Warrior! That's a particularly retrospective episode, I think, and includes a lot of wisdom.

Me and my father watched Magnum Pi , simon and simon and all the cool 80's shows to long to list. My father was a hard working man who worked construction as well as farming a 160 acre farm in Kentucky..cattle, hay, tobbaco... alot of time and energy. Anyway he always kinda of reminding me of Tom Selleck, had brown hair and a mustache, wore those denim snap type shirt and always wore a cap, John Deere mind you and cheap avaitor sunglasses that he bought at a gas station.In 1996 he died and I was 24, not only were we father and son we also worked together, and when you work in the hot/cold weather conditions like we did, you bond even closer through respect and suffering together. The dialogue Magnum says about change at the first of the episode "CHANGES" really helped me through some tough times, sounds weird I know..but it did. I always wanted to tell the writers as well as Tom Selleck that.

I say "Do it!", only looking!

How many things do we all think we'd like to do and then never follow through? Has to effect our opinions of ourselves, don't you think? Leave us feeling like we have "unfinished business?"

Sometimes when I don't do something it's because it's negative and I'm afraid of confrontation. But this is a positive thing! I'm sure Mr Selleck would be pleased. You could ask him to forward your letter on to whoever the writers were...or figure that out from the credits and send them a letter, too. So Mr Selleck would feel better...the writers would feel better...and you would feel better!

Sounds like a "win-win" to me!!

Glad you had a great relationship with your Dad. To quote Mr Selleck in his most recent role..."Dads are important."