Magnum Mania!

Hi all,

As I said in my post in the "least favorite episodes" thread, I'm not a big fan of Jim Bonnick.

Whenever he enters the life of the four main characters, something almost ALWAYS goes wrong, and he ends up benefitting from it.

However, looking at Bonnick and the way he's written, there are actually some interesting corollaries if you read into the character and compare him to the original Mac, and to some extent, Magnum.

Case in point, Bonnick vs. original Mac.

Original Mac was always being conned by Magnum, wanted to play directly by the rules, but was always coerced into helping out and pretty much got nothing out of it except for donuts.

Bonnick is always conning Magnum and company for his own benefit, plays by no rules except his own and seems to come out the winner in the end, with Magnum and Co. getting nothing but lemons (See "The Love-For-Sale Boat").

Pretty much what you have is two characters that are mirror images of each other, but completely different personalities. Almost like the evil twin syndrome, or even "Bizzaro Mac" for those Seinfeld and Superman afficianados out there.

Plus you factor in the mustache vs. clean shaven, and you can get a South park reference out of that as well (i.e. Cleanshaven Cartman is evil, but goateed Cartman is good)

In tying in Magnum himself to all this, Magnum is always conning his friends for goods and services, so isn't it odd that the friend that he always conned the most (Mac) would have a doppelganger that would end up conning Magnum more than Magnum ever conned Mac.

I think the last episode of "Mac's Back" reflects that irony when the original Mac is laughing with Magnum, knowing that Magnum is going to get conned out of his mind.

Oh well, thats my 43 cents.

Anyone agree/disagree?

I always thought it was a clever way to bring the character back. And I bet Jeff MacKay really enjoyed the twist, since it meant a much more interesting character to play.

How often did Magnum get the last word with Jim? Offhand, I can think of "Little Games", where he forced Jim to pay his own way out of the police station.

Interesting observations, Doc! This is another case where suspension of disbelief is essential!

Not that it really matters, but according to IMDB, his last name is spelled "Bonig", not "Bonnick". Does anyone know for sure which is the correct spelling?

Excellent character observations Doc! I never really looked at it like that before, but you're right, Jim is mirror-image of MacReynolds, but with an exact opposite personality! Jim cons Magnum, MacReynolds was "conned" by Magnum.

eegorr wrote:Not that it really matters, but according to IMDB, his last name is spelled "Bonig", not "Bonnick". Does anyone know for sure which is the correct spelling?

The spelling of Jim's last name was never shown on screen. I believe "Bonig" is incorrect for two reasons: 1) In Little Games, I clearly hear Magnum say "Bonnick", not "Bonig". 2) In the Quantum Leap pilot movie (also called Genesis), Sam's sister is married to a Navy Lt. named "Jim Bonnick" (never seen) who is stationed in Hawaii. This appears to be an inside reference to Magnum P.I.. QL is, of course, a Bellisario show.

Mac or Jim Bonnick, Jeff MacKay was wonderful in the dual roles. Personally I really like him as either and along with Tanaka they were 2 very watchable secondary characters.

Wonder what Jeff MacKay is up to these days.

James, as a side note it would be a really great thrill to get hold of any of these actors or actresses's as guests on this site. I'll bet Tom Selleck would be happy to participate as he comes across as such a regular nice guy.

308GTS wrote:James, as a side note it would be a really great thrill to get hold of any of these actors or actresses's as guests on this site. I'll bet Tom Selleck would be happy to participate as he comes across as such a regular nice guy.

That's a great idea! I'll give Tom a buzz on the speed dial. While I'm at it, I'll see if I can get my people to get a hold of Donald's people to schedule an online video conference.

Sorry Arun, I couldn't resist my friend.

But seriously, I'm not connected with anybody involved in the show. I don't even know a single soul in Hollywood! I also seriously doubt that anybody from the show even knows about my (our) humble little tribute to the show. But hey, you never know I guess.

James J. Walters wrote:That's a great idea! I'll give Tom a buzz on the speed dial.

Please ask him if he ever received my script for "Lassiter 2".

But actually, it's not that uncommon for a fansite and celebrity to interact. It's usually nothing more than a few interview questions being exchanged via email. Of course, it primarily works best when the celebrity maintains a web presence himself- which Tom doesn't appear to do.

I like the new Mac much better than the old Mac. The new Mac isn't such a patsy, and keeps Magnum on his toes. I think he's a far more interesting character, who leaves you wondering just who's side is he really on.

What about Larry Manetti?

From posts I've read, he sounds like a pretty accesible guy.

(Just throwing it out there)

Exactly Doc, I'm pretty sure that there's been a post mentioning the fact that Larry responds to emails.

Sorry James, I wasn't trying to be a smartass, just genuinely thought that there might be a way to contact someone associated with the show.

No worries Arun. I was just joking (as indicated by the winking smiley).

I actually sent Larry a nice email a couple of months ago. I never got a reply. I could try sending another one.

James J. Walters wrote:No worries Arun. I was just joking (as indicated by the winking smiley).

I actually sent Larry a nice email a couple of months ago. I never got a reply. I could try sending another one.

Maybe it wasn't as nice as you thought it was