Magnum transports me... does this make any sense?

[eagle]

Two quotes from another thread -- http://magnum-mania.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3356&start=40

A lot of non fans and occasional watches would no doubt miss the underlining message of the series. I have tried to explain to people that the show has a lot more depth to it than the obvious flashy car, beach babes and gun fights.

I could live with a reboot, and I could look forward to one if it honored the previous characters and cast. To me, a new Magnum could do this by focussing not on the "sparkle" of the old show, but instead on the depth. Magnum PI remains so relevant to me because I keep seeing the show filled with medicine and healing for a country that often feels so divided. There was such a powerful strand through the show about how we treat our soldiers when they return after so bravely serving our country, and I know that's something we need to remember these days as well. I'm amazed by how Magnum PI works to pull people together instead of apart.

I think I mentioned this before, but I can't find the post and I don't remember any discussion about it, so maybe I only thought of posting this... It's really hard for me to explain, but I'll try...

Like no other TV show or movie I have ever watched, Magnum, p.i. transports me, and I wonder if it's because the underlying message resonates with me at a deep level. For me I think it has to do with the camaraderie between Thomas, Rick, and TC, and the relationship that Thomas and Higgins develop through the series.

Also, while I have enjoyed other TV shows (Castle, Psych, Monk, Simon & Simon, Seinfeld, the list goes on), the only one with true "staying power" for me -- that is, the only one I'm interested in watching over and over and over -- seems to be MPI, and I'm not quite sure why that is. Sure I love the estate and the Ferrari, but it isn't that. It's something more. It's the essence, and I can't fully describe that essence.

---

I love 1960s movies. Some because they were awesome (007), but some (Breakfast at Tiffany's) because they offer a clear window into 1960s America (I have a Princess phone like Holly Golightly did, and I love the interior of her apartment).

I wonder if I love Magnum so much for similar reasons: As others have said (though I can't find the reference), it is a clear window to what was a simpler time, and with a core cast of characters who truly, deeply care about one another.

---
Does any of this make any sense? Does anyone else have a similar experience? Can anyone put better words to this than I can?

[308GUY]

Bravo!

Could not have stated it any better.

For me, it seems to be in that category of "To one who knows..no explanation is necessary..to one who doesn't..none is possible."

Transports is exactly the right word.

Does it mean that we are "escapists"...seeking refuge from our personal "reality"...I don't think so, as life surely goes on...the electric bill gets paid, we still come and go about our "routines"..everything else is as it always was, and ever marching forward.

But being able to go to the "Magnaverse" on a regular basis, is one of the things (for me) that keeps all the rest of it "inline".

What did I do before?.......I waited....for life to bring me to it.

Ok, maybe a little extreme for some/most of you/us, but being from the "hippy" generation, maybe it's a left-over of "whatever floats your boat"...or "whatever pulls your trigger"..or..."if it feels good, do it"...or any number of other aphorisms that describe "to each his own".

Does any of this make sense, you ask.

It makes perfect sense to me.

One day we'll have to converge on the beach...by the tidal pool...and compare notes.

[KingKC]

I am unable to figure out exactly what it is about MPI that plants itself deep into my memories. Some of it may be the years it was on. The Eighties was the most significant decade for me personally and in my career. I lived in four different cities during the MPI run and it seemed like the characters were my friends that went with me. It was amazing to me how many episodes stuck in my mind when all I read was the title of the show after first joining this site a year ago. I can still visualize scenes and guest stars with almost no prompting. There is no other show I can do that with even after seeing reruns. I am watching the second or third set of Simon and Simon reruns right now and have no memory whatsoever of most of the episodes yet the two series played at almost the same time. To borrow a phrase from Bob Hope...thanks for the memories MPI!

[ConchRepublican]

Two quotes from another thread -- http://magnum-mania.com/Forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=3356&start=40

A lot of non fans and occasional watches would no doubt miss the underlining message of the series. I have tried to explain to people that the show has a lot more depth to it than the obvious flashy car, beach babes and gun fights.

I could live with a reboot, and I could look forward to one if it honored the previous characters and cast. To me, a new Magnum could do this by focussing not on the "sparkle" of the old show, but instead on the depth. Magnum PI remains so relevant to me because I keep seeing the show filled with medicine and healing for a country that often feels so divided. There was such a powerful strand through the show about how we treat our soldiers when they return after so bravely serving our country, and I know that's something we need to remember these days as well. I'm amazed by how Magnum PI works to pull people together instead of apart.

I think I mentioned this before, but I can't find the post and I don't remember any discussion about it, so maybe I only thought of posting this... It's really hard for me to explain, but I'll try...

Like no other TV show or movie I have ever watched, Magnum, p.i. transports me, and I wonder if it's because the underlying message resonates with me at a deep level. For me I think it has to do with the camaraderie between Thomas, Rick, and TC, and the relationship that Thomas and Higgins develop through the series.

Also, while I have enjoyed other TV shows (Castle, Psych, Monk, Simon & Simon, Seinfeld, the list goes on), the only one with true "staying power" for me -- that is, the only one I'm interested in watching over and over and over -- seems to be MPI, and I'm not quite sure why that is. Sure I love the estate and the Ferrari, but it isn't that. It's something more. It's the essence, and I can't fully describe that essence.

---

I love 1960s movies. Some because they were awesome (007), but some (Breakfast at Tiffany's) because they offer a clear window into 1960s America (I have a Princess phone like Holly Golightly did, and I love the interior of her apartment).

I wonder if I love Magnum so much for similar reasons: As others have said (though I can't find the reference), it is a clear window to what was a simpler time, and with a core cast of characters who truly, deeply care about one another.

---
Does any of this make any sense? Does anyone else have a similar experience? Can anyone put better words to this than I can?

I know exactly what you mean. I think it's a combination of two things for me:
- it came around at the perfect time . . . I was 13 when it premiered and I remember clearly the TV Guide cover (remember those?!?) and my dad saying it looked like an interesting show. Me at that weird age of wanting to be like and not like dad said "ah, that guy looks like a loser!" pointing at Higgins. Well, then I saw the show and it perfectly captured what, to me, a hero then would be like. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I was, and still am a hero guy. I like the idea of characters that we aspire to. I had read Lord of the Rings and to me Aragorn was "the guy" but sure, that's realistic. But as for adults, well, they seemed so adult. My dad was cool and fun, but everyone seemed so "grown up". Yet here was Thomas, a guy who was a MAN. He went to war, achieved great, and did horrible I'm sure, things yet he was still kind of a kid. He was relateable to me because he did goofy stuff yet still got the job done. (we'll leave his real life bills and such aside for now). And that brings me the second, and more important part . . .

- the characters were well written. All the above could last for maybe only a season or two without getting stale and stupid if the characters didn't feel real. Their reactions to each other, while in some cases push the envelope, are mostly real taking into account what they experienced together. Their bond and support, which we see grow through the acceptance of Higgins from adversary to at least a respected ally, added a depth and realism missing in the usual "buddy/banter" shows. We can see the arc of Thomas himself from pretty much a beach bum wearing Hawaiian shirts all the time to a man, in the later seasons, who is wearing more appropriate (I hate that term but it's best I could think of) casual attire. He was changing, becoming more serious, but in a realistic way. And that was part of where the accessability of the character helped me as well, from 13 to 20 Thomas was there, although sometimes I wasn't .... but his growth was there as I was trying to figure out who I was going to be. It was really only after watching the show much later that I realized the true story of the series was basically watching a soldier returning home from war working through his experiences and finding his way back into where he fit in life. It went over my head then, I was too young to get it but that's what is great, this show can be watched on levels.

I guess the short version of what I was rambling about is that it's like visiting old friends when I watch the show. There's a comfort hearing the voices and the music and the sounds. It takes me back to place I both remember then and see with a different perspective now.

And, I gotta tell ya, it ticks me off when people just pick on the superficial things like shorts, car chases and bimbos. All they'd have to do is watch the pilot movie with an open mind and they'd get the show, but . . .

[Cagliostro]

Fantastic post, Eagle! Magnum sticks with me for two reasons, first because it absolutely captures the feel of the eighties, both the early very tense part of the decade and the later much more laid back feel the decade took on and became remembered for after Gorbachev became the Soviet General Secretary. As someone who was a very young child when MPI (first episode I was alive for was Skin Deep) the show really helped me understand feelings and impressions I had as a child that I couldn't articulate.

Second because it reminds me of my dad he loved MPI and I clearly remember watching the series finale with him the day after it aired on VHS, and then in my early twenties staying up late with him watching Magnum when it aired on the Hallmark Channel when he was sick a few years before he passed away, to his day I Witness is my favorite episode because it makes me think of him.

[Mrs. Higgins]

Yes, it makes sense!

I guess I'm an old fart now because there's nothing on current tv that I will watch. Of course I'm not in front of the tv much, but when I am its usually tuned to Turner Classic Movies, or a rerun of a classic tv show.

One of the things I enjoy the most about watching the MPI DVDs is the CLARITY. For the first couple of seasons we had rabbit ears. Didn't get cable until 1985. I have to admit, I get a little bummed out because I miss the 80s. Every time I watch an episode I'm checking out the fashions, hairstyles, cars, and even little things like....coffee makers I've never been to Hawaii, but always wanted to go. I'm afraid that if I do I'll be disappointed because I'll be expecting Hawaii circa 1980 and not Hawaii as it is now. Those pics of the estate in its current run-down condition just crush me every time.

[Sperry]

Second because it reminds me of my dad he loved MPI and I clearly remember watching the series finale with him the day after it aired on VHS, and then in my early twenties staying up late with him watching Magnum when it aired on the Hallmark Channel when he was sick a few years before he passed away, to his day I Witness is my favorite episode because it makes me think of him.

great post, actually made me quite emotional.
I hope my son one day enjoys magnum as i do, he is too young to 'get' at the moment but he is fully aware its my favourite show and even bought me a 'keep calm and watch magnum PI mug'
The father/son motifs throughout the series are very powerful and one of the reasons I love MPI so much on a personal level

[TSMIV]

What a fantastic thread - great job Eagle for getting us all talking about Magnum PI’s eternal ‘transporting’ capabilities. Firstly, let me answer the three questions at the bottom of your post:

* ‘Does any of this make sense?’ - absolutely!
* ‘Does anyone else have a similar experience? - all the time!
* ‘Can anyone put better words to this than I can?’ - no, I thought that you articulated your thoughts most eloquently.

Your post (and the subsequent great posts that followed) really resonated with me and thus I felt compelled to put pen to paper. The ‘transporting’ theme that you raise is an intriguing one and I’m frankly dumbfounded that it has not garnered more interest in hallowed halls of academia around the world! Where is the Emeritus Chair of Magnumology at Oxford? Surely Harvard should have a Hillman School of Magnum Studies? Forget minor and trivial academic foci such as macroeconomics, chaos theory or climate change - academics around the world should focus on the stuff that matters!

Here’s my (albeit rudimentary and simplistic) attempt at articulating your excellent ‘transporting’ theory - watching or even thinking about Magnum PI makes me feel good. It’s literally as simple as that for me - to expand on this a little further:

* I’ll readily admit that my love of TM is underpinned by a healthy dose of sentiment and nostalgia. My parents have since passed away but I nurture fond and treasured memories of watching MPI at 7.30pm on a Saturday night on Channel 10 down here in Sydney. Can you imagine my excitement when my parents took me on my first trip to Hawaii in 1987 and our tour guide (whose name was Garfield) stopped our tour van outside Pahonu and mentioned that Tom Selleck was known to wander out to the front gates and have a chat to tourists! I think that I started praying furiously to God at the time and made all sorts of outrageous promises along the lines of ‘if you make Tom come the front gates, I’ll go to Mass every day for the rest of my life etc….’(he didn’t come out).

* This wonderful family tradition has now been transported (pardon the pun) to my modern day family - take last night for example. My beautiful wife and daughters and I scored ourselves some pizza and then sat down to watch ‘Missing Melody’. I had put my Detroit Tigers baseball cap on as I do before we watch on any MPI episode (traditions must be maintained after all). We all then loudly sang along to the opening theme before rooting for Higgy baby through the whole episode! (He really was ‘the man’ last night). Immediately after the episode finished I (as I always do) logged on to the fantastic Magnum Mania episode guide and regaled my family with tasty morsels of episode trivia.

* Magnum PI is an outstanding stress reliever. I have a job that can be a little stressful at times and I often find myself travelling home on the bus feeling a little stressed (I’m not one of those lucky souls who can leave their work in the office). However, that’s where Dr. Magnum MD enters the equation! As the bus weaves its way home and I’m still feeling a little stressed, I log onto the Magnum-mania website. I kid you not, I can feel the stress departing me as I’m typing in my password. Fast forward 20 minutes and by the time I hop off the bus I’ve undergone my dose of Magnum therapy and life is good (thank you JJ Walters)

Like yourself Eagle, I can’t fully describe the ‘essence’ of Magnum, but I know that it’s a bloody wonderful thing (to channel Higgins from last night’s ‘Missing Melody’ episode).

Cheers

[ConchRepublican]

Second because it reminds me of my dad he loved MPI and I clearly remember watching the series finale with him the day after it aired on VHS, and then in my early twenties staying up late with him watching Magnum when it aired on the Hallmark Channel when he was sick a few years before he passed away, to his day I Witness is my favorite episode because it makes me think of him.

Thanks for sharing Cagliostro. I agree about the show providing a sense of comfort that way.

I'm sorry for your loss ....

[Danno]

This is a great topic.

I've been to Hawaii many times and visited the Estate often- but I always feel slightly melancholic when I'm at the tidal pool.
It's beautiful but there's this overwhelming ghost of the past. It makes you realise the show was filmed and finished a long time ago.

Besides the nostalgia for the 1980s, I think what makes Magnum so resonant can be reduced down to a simple truth of life- we're all alone in the universe, but friendship and family make it amazing.

[Styles Bitchley]

This is a great topic.

I've been to Hawaii many times and visited the Estate often- but I always feel slightly melancholic when I'm at the tidal pool.
It's beautiful but there's this overwhelming ghost of the past. It makes you realise the show was filmed and finished a long time ago.

Besides the nostalgia for the 1980s, I think what makes Magnum so resonant can be reduced down to a simple truth of life- we're all alone in the universe, but friendship and family make it amazing.

Very poignant Danno. Thanks.

[308GUY]

This is a great topic.

I've been to Hawaii many times and visited the Estate often- but I always feel slightly melancholic when I'm at the tidal pool.
It's beautiful but there's this overwhelming ghost of the past. It makes you realise the show was filmed and finished a long time ago.

Besides the nostalgia for the 1980s, I think what makes Magnum so resonant can be reduced down to a simple truth of life- we're all alone in the universe, but friendship and family make it amazing.

Very poignant Danno. Thanks.

Quite.....

I've not made it there....yet.....but the feeling you describe seems to permeate my mind even when observing pictures that others have taken when they were there.

Not quite the same, but have had kind of the same feeling when visiting a known battlefield where many laid down their lives...just standing on that same ground seems to somewhat transport the psyche, and invade the body with vibrations from the past.

Well said Danno AND Styles.

[eagle]

This is a great topic.

I've been to Hawaii many times and visited the Estate often- but I always feel slightly melancholic when I'm at the tidal pool.
It's beautiful but there's this overwhelming ghost of the past. It makes you realise the show was filmed and finished a long time ago.

Besides the nostalgia for the 1980s, I think what makes Magnum so resonant can be reduced down to a simple truth of life- we're all alone in the universe, but friendship and family make it amazing.

Very poignant Danno. Thanks.

Quite.....

"Quite" - I see what you did there.

And, I agree with all of you here -- this is certainly one of the reasons the show resonates so well. Maybe it is precisely the reason.

[steveadl]

Definitely know where you're coming from.

Magnum transports me both to Hawaii and the 1980's. Both an awesome escape in an of themselves, and together - perfect!

[MagnumILWU]

https://scontent-lax3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/ ... e=59E42493 It always takes me right back to the 80's! Good times! Late 20's early 30's! Grew my mustache, and the girls loved it! It was fun to live a Magnum like lifestyle, even if you didn't have all the cool things he had!