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ThomasSullivanMagnumIV · Tue Feb 05, 2008 2:38 am

1. Did anyone liked the episode called Solo Flight (Season 7 Episode 16)? I thought it was very well done. The story was well written.

2. Seeing that Season 8 will be the final Season of this wondeful series, what Special Features will we get with it? Can someone confirm for me the American Release Date of March 4th?

Danno · #2 Post by **Danno** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 5:14 am

You can find more about the upcoming release of Season 8 here:

http://www.nbcuniversalstore.com/detail.php?p=55336
http://www.amazon.com/Magnum-P-I-Comple ... B00113ALL8

Yep - March 4th is the date.

ThomasSullivanMagnumIV · Tue Feb 05, 2008 6:07 am

Accord to NBC, the 8th anf final Season will only be 3 discs instead of 5? Can someoone explain please?

#4 Post by **Doc Ibold** » Tue Feb 05, 2008 3:07 pm

ThomasSullivanMagnumIV wrote:Accord to NBC, the 8th anf final Season will only be 3 discs instead of 5? Can someoone explain please?

There's only 13 eps in season 8, plus 4 or so bonus episodes.

3 DOES seem to be a bit short, but anything over than 4 is a bit much

sophia · #5 Post by **sophia** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 9:30 pm

I think the reason there are fewer episodes are due to a writer's strike that year.

SelleckLover · #6 Post by **SelleckLover** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:40 am

There was no writer's strike that year. Season 8 wasn't even supposed to happen. Mr. Selleck's original contract was for 7 years. Universal talked TS into renewing his contract for another year of Magnum, by giving him a $350,000 bonus. I'm sure his agent tried to get TS the best deal with Universal, i.e. the most money for the least amount of episodes. That is probably why there are less episodes in season 8!

sophia · #7 Post by **sophia** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 5:51 am

It seems I remember reading there was a strike.
If you look at when the episodes appeared on tv
there is a gap between January and May, I beleive.

SelleckLover · #8 Post by **SelleckLover** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:41 pm

There was a writer's strike in 1980 when Magnum was supposed to begin shooting. In his A&E Biography, TS states he flew to Hawaii and rented an apartment there and while waiting for the strike to be over, had to work as a handy man for his landlady to support himself. He even states that she paid him $7.00 a hour. That is when he learned that Steven Spielberg wanted him for the role of Indiana Jones, because he auditioned for it before he went over to Hawaii. Of course, we all know now that he had to turn it down because Universal wouldn't let him do it.

It appears that you are right Sophia. I looked this up on Wikipedia and it states the WGA was indeed on strike in 1988, but it does not specify how long the strike was or at what point into the year it occurred. I stand corrected!

sophia · #9 Post by **sophia** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 8:49 pm

Sellecklover
I also went back and found the article.
It seems that the strike in 1988 was the longest lasting.
It began in March 7 and ended August 7.
I think this is why we have so few episodes of Magnum for that year.
The strike in 1980 was the SAG strike, it lasted for four months.
Maybe that is why Magnum PI first aired in December instead of September.
Also read today that the SAG might strike this summer.
One reason has to do with not getting compensation for dvd sales or internet viewing. Here we go again.
The strike going on now, I read, is partly due to the
bad deal the writer's got back in 1988.
Hopefully they can get just compensation.
great talking to ya

Vanity · #10 Post by **Vanity** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 9:09 am

I still cannot beleive that y'all in Region 1 will be getting Season 8 before us, in Region 2 even get Season 7, still scheduled for March 31st.

Tralfaz · #11 Post by **Tralfaz** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 1:51 pm

The 1988 strike didn't start until March of 1988, by this time all of the Magnum episodes would have been 'in the can' and in editing, so it couldn't have been the cause.

My guess is that Selleck only agreed to do an abbreviated final season as he was trying to expand his film career at the time, yet felt an obligation to his coworkers and friends on the show.

sophia · #12 Post by **sophia** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 2:47 pm

Tralfaz
I thought maybe the strike had something to do with it.
Why would there be a gap between February and May.
Anyway, I wish there had been more episodes.

sophia

Sam · #13 Post by **Sam** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:40 pm

Hi Tralfaz,

Do you know the date that the strike began?

I was there the third week of March to the first week of April 1988.
At some point during the trip,an ex-girlfriend and I took a shuttle to Hanauma Bay and the shuttle driver told us a friend of his was filming that day and playing the part of a nun.

I haven't seen the last episode in years and can't remember.Was there a nun in the final episode?

When I looked on IMDB it shows that the next to last episode was shown on Feb 17th. It seems like quite a lag that the last episode would be filming in late March.

edit to change Feb 11th to 17th.

Tralfaz · #14 Post by **Tralfaz** » Wed Feb 13, 2008 3:55 pm

Wiki says March 7th.

IIRC, yes there is a nun in the final episode, when Thomas is reunited with Lily in the church.

I suspect that production could continue for a time if a strike occured if the script was completed.

T

grapeshot · #15 Post by **grapeshot** » Thu Feb 14, 2008 5:15 am

I've read that the 1988 strike occurred at an unfortunate time from the perspective of the Writers Guild, as most television shows were finishing shooting their final episodes. By then, all episodes would have been written. (And remember, back then there were no new shows made for summertime; it was all repeats.) Thus no one on the management side of the industry felt any pain for many months. That's why that particular strike lasted so long.

When I looked on IMDB it shows that the next to last episode was shown on Feb 17th. It seems like quite a lag that the last episode would be filming in late March.

February is sweeps month, a time when networks make a point of showing new episodes, and also making time on their schedules for showing titillating specials with stunt casting, to try to increase viewership. The next sweeps month in the cycle is May, so it wouldn't be a stretch to think that they might have saved the final Magnum episode until then. Or Selleck might have had a filming commitment that the producers and the network was trying to accommodate.

Also read today that the SAG might strike this summer.
One reason has to do with not getting compensation for dvd sales or internet viewing. Here we go again.

SAG's contract is also up this year. However, industry observers believe that the recent settlement with the writers (recent as in 92% voted on Monday night to stop striking) has set a pattern for the SAG contract, and that the actors may not have to strike to get what they believe is their fair share. While everybody concerned hopes that this will be the case, you know what they say: never say never, Mr. Bond. Anything can happen. I remember when the writers' strike began, most prognosticators said that they'd never get their demands met, and that they'd cave in.