Pilot to Ep2 Ratings and Beyond

[Kevster]

I don't know how to find out the production costs, but I imagine that the P&L for TV shows is the same as any other business: more in than what goes out.

Outside of JH, the new MPI has a modest budget for the other actors. With The Conners, all the actors had a long history with the show and had noteworthy salaries when they walked away. Now, I'm sure they are paid LESS now than they were, but a decent sized and established ensemble still eats up cash.

I would bet that the cost sharing in Hawaii between H5O and MPI probably help the margins on MPI. I agree that the 5.0+/- doesn't seem sustainable for TOO LONG.

Maybe Selleck and Rosanne should be seen eating lunch together somewhere. They both have standing to make a statement.

[ConchRepublican]

CBS put toooooo much money into this show. Anyone remember "Joey"? that steaming pile stayed around for 2.5yrs. I would imagine this will be the same thing. CBS wont give up on it til they absolutely have to.

*silently says to myself, I would love for Selleck to come out with a very public "I told you so"...but he has way to much class for that*

Wait, Joey was on for 2 1/2 years?!? Jeez . . . Holmes and Yo-Yo only lasted 13 episodes . . .

[bjs]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but in the few segments of the reboot that I've observed, the tone of the two shows is very different. The original had a light touch, with most of the detective work being done by Rick &
TC, and sometimes Higgins, magnum having promised them favours or money which will never materialize.

Doesn't every episode of the original contain at least one instance of Magnum saying "C'mon TC, it's not that big a deal...", "I'll pay you back when my client pays me" or the like? Magnum's irresponsibility was a running gag. The new show seems very serious, and almost dour by comparison. I wonder if this is because the producers think the contemporary audience won't tolerate a character like the Selleck Magnum? Or perhaps they think the new actor isn't likeable enough to get away with the things Selleck did?

[KingKC]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but in the few segments of the reboot that I've observed, the tone of the two shows is very different. The original had a light touch, with most of the detective work being done by Rick &
TC, and sometimes Higgins, magnum having promised them favours or money which will never materialize.

Doesn't every episode of the original contain at least one instance of Magnum saying "C'mon TC, it's not that big a deal...", "I'll pay you back when my client pays me" or the like? Magnum's irresponsibility was a running gag. The new show seems very serious, and almost dour by comparison. I wonder if this is because the producers think the contemporary audience won't tolerate a character like the Selleck Magnum? Or perhaps they think the new actor isn't likeable enough to get away with the things Selleck did?

I agree somewhat as we have not seen much of Magnum's financial irresponsibility as we did in the original. We have also not seen the juvenile sense of humor evidence by a rubber chicken or a gorilla mask. I don't think Hernandez can pull off that type of acting. The original show also used to have a double plot with Higgins always catering to high society in Honolulu while TM was investigating or getting in the way of Higgins' event. This Higgins doesn't seem to do much of anything but ride shotgun for Magnum. It is just a different show...and we can malign it all we want but it will probably stick around with the same format we have seen so far.

[T.Q.]

Ep. 9:

5.38M

Second lowest total viewers of the year.

No change in key demo.

Looks like it’s settled in around that number.

[bjs]

I'm not sure if it's just me, but in the few segments of the reboot that I've observed, the tone of the two shows is very different. The original had a light touch, with most of the detective work being done by Rick &
TC, and sometimes Higgins, magnum having promised them favours or money which will never materialize.

Doesn't every episode of the original contain at least one instance of Magnum saying "C'mon TC, it's not that big a deal...", "I'll pay you back when my client pays me" or the like? Magnum's irresponsibility was a running gag. The new show seems very serious, and almost dour by comparison. I wonder if this is because the producers think the contemporary audience won't tolerate a character like the Selleck Magnum? Or perhaps they think the new actor isn't likeable enough to get away with the things Selleck did?

I agree somewhat as we have not seen much of Magnum's financial irresponsibility as we did in the original. We have also not seen the juvenile sense of humor evidence by a rubber chicken or a gorilla mask. I don't think Hernandez can pull off that type of acting. The original show also used to have a double plot with Higgins always catering to high society in Honolulu while TM was investigating or getting in the way of Higgins' event. This Higgins doesn't seem to do much of anything but ride shotgun for Magnum. It is just a different show...and we can malign it all we want but it will probably stick around with the same format we have seen so far.

It sounds like there's a single-minded focus on the plot's mechanics rather than character development. I would consider that boring.

[marlboro]

Typically, I hate shows and movies that mix humor and drama the way Magnum does. It's a hard act to pull off. The original show could pull it off like no other, imo, but there were times when even it had sudden shifts in tone that I found jarring.

I think you need to have an outlier episode like Thank Heaven for Little Girls early on so that the audience knows that the show isn't going to be just one flavor. You also need a main character who can fit into multiple types of stories, and more importantly, you need an actor who can play wildly different sides of the same character.


Looking back on the original show there are a lot of weak elements that should have lead to the show being terrible. But somehow, they caught lightning in a bottle, and the show's weaknesses turned into strengths. Ill give an example of what Im talking about: I don't think Larry Manetti and Roger Mosely are very good actors. But it works perfectly on this show because they come across as just a couple of dudes, which is exactly what the roles call for. Is the character of TM a mass of contradictions? Absolutely. He's a tough Vietnam vet played by a male model. He's simultaneously a ladies man and a guy who regularly blows it with the chicks. He's a 40 year old PI killing Russians and a 10 year old whining to Higgins about cleaning his room. Why does it work? Because TS is likeable. He isn't a great actor. But you can't help but like him. Either an actor has that or they don't. James Garner had the same sort of thing going on. He always played the same character, but he was always great. I think this is why both actors had more tv success than movie success.


So, to sum up, I think you have to mix things up early on so your audience doesn't get complacent and you need an actor with a ton of charm to make Magnum work. Even if you manage that, I think making a MPI that is not set in the 80s is pointless.


They should have just made a show about a Hawaiian detective and his hot British sidekick and carved their own path. You would have a better show and a more forgiving audience.

[K Hale]

So, to sum up, I think you have to mix things up early on so your audience doesn't get complacent and you need an actor with a ton of charm to make Magnum work.

Pretty much but your post leaves out the most vital aspect for continued group success: You need a talented supporting actor who can serve as a.....

[marlboro]

Excellent...point.

[Kevster]

So, to sum up, I think you have to mix things up early on so your audience doesn't get complacent and you need an actor with a ton of charm to make Magnum work.

Pretty much but your post leaves out the most vital aspect for continued group success: You need a talented supporting actor who can serve as a.....

Or a talented lead actor that can provide a foundation for the supporting actor to build off of...

[K Hale]

So, to sum up, I think you have to mix things up early on so your audience doesn't get complacent and you need an actor with a ton of charm to make Magnum work.

Pretty much but your post leaves out the most vital aspect for continued group success: You need a talented supporting actor who can serve as a.....

Or a talented lead actor that can provide a foundation for the supporting actor to build off of...

He was mentioned already. I was filling in the gap.

[T.Q.]

They aired an episode on Friday.

Only 3M watched.

Usually bad ratings after Turkey day though.

[KingKC]

They aired an episode on Friday.

Only 3M watched.

Usually bad ratings after Turkey day though.

It was a rerun of Episode 4 - Six Paintings, One Frame. When I saw the episode information I opted not to watch.

[T.Q.]

Wednesday 10pm rerun:

3M viewers.

Good for 3rd place for CBS.

[T.Q.]

Ep. 10

Same.

0.8 key demo.

5.47M viewers.

https://tvseriesfinale.com/tv-show/magn ... e-ratings/