SelleckLover wrote:I think it may have worked in California (kind of like Simon & Simon based in San Diego worked for a while). We have an island just 26 miles off the shore of southern California that is very Hawaii-like. In fact every time I go there it reminds me of it. (Oh yeah, the name of the island is Catalina!) You can go over there by boat, (The Catalina Flyer, a hydrofoil), seaplane, or helicopter. It's a nice day trip or you can make reservations at a hotel and stay the weekend. There are no cars on the island, so you either have to hoof it around, or bicycle or rent a golf cart. The island used to be owned by the Wrigley Family (yes, the chewing gum!) and the Chicago Cubs used to have their spring training there. You can still tour the Wrigley Mansion, I believe, and the baseball diamond is still there. They also have a botanical garden. It's very quaint and it's safe but I've heard they've had problems with gangs lately, believe it or not! There's also a golf course and an airstrip that you can land small aircraft on. Click on link below:
http://www.catalina.com/main.html
That is wild, because the Final Jeopardy question the other day asked which Major League team had Spring Training on Catalina Island!
But, in response to whether or not Magnum would have worked anywhere else but Hawaii, I have to respectfully decline (to a point). Hawaii was a microcosm where it was foreign enough to make it exotic, yet small enough where you could have the same haunts to make it familiar.
Most of the other 80's detective shows (in LA or otherwise) had a decent following, but are hardly iconic. Simon and Simon being a decent example. Outside of the crossover episode from Magnum, I really can't remember much about the show. Hawaii itself is the backdrop for what makes the show work.
The fact that everyone was so far away from the mainland lended itself to the notion that everything was happening in this far off place. Granted you had familiar characters, but the fact that they were in this exotic setting is what made it work. You had everything... Helicopters (to get across islands), boats, surfskis, flashy cars, beachfront bars.... things you can't get in a show based out of New York or L.A.
My take about the appeal of Hawaii is that it's so exotic (in that not too many people have BEEN there), that you can believe that the plots could actually occur there. Magnum, to me, seemlessly blended the exotic notion of the locale with the mundane rituals of ordinary life. We EXPECT Magnum to watch a Tigers game several hours behind, or have him worry about gas money he owes TC, or bar bills for Rick.
A good reference for this would be the original pilot episode ("Cutter") where Magnum lived in Beverly Hills and provided security for a wealthy person, drove his car, etc etc.
Would that have gone over well? Probably not. Its far more believable that someone could live in a guest house on Hawaii and get into adventures than having them live in Beverly Hills and do the same thing. People have an expectation of Beverly Hills/California that is different from Hawaii.
I don't think that people would believe that Magnum could get away with that in Cali, but in Hawaii, it might be the case....
Anywho, my take is that if you were going to rate Magnum in terms of its accomplishments it would go like this:
1) STELLAR (likeable) ensemble cast
2) Hawaii
3) Cool car
4) Action
As SelleckLover said, it was the perfect Storm.
Onto "Dream A Little Dream"!
