|
Thomas Magnum, played by Tom Selleck, was a former naval
intelligence officer who retired his commission to become a private
investigator on the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. His residence is on the
estate of millionaire author of mystery novels, Robin Masters in an
exchange for Magnum to test the estate’s security. However, Magnum is
forced to work under the watchful eye of Jonathan Higgins, played by
John Hillerman, who is a former British army soldier who is Robin
Master’s estate manager.
Magnum is lucky enough to be able to make use of the ‘perks’ that come
with working on the estate of a millionaire author, including the use of
the master’s sporty red 308 GTS Ferrari, an Audi and an all-terrain
Jimmy. There is also the plethora of high tech equipment such as
telescopes and cameras. These ‘toys’ and their use are all under the
strict scrutiny of Higgins, and Magnum finds himself bargaining to
secure his use of them.
The show was accredited with being the first
television show to realize the difficulty that Vietnam-era soldiers had
in making the adjustment to civilian life. Many of the episodes of
Magnum PI focused and touched on the impact that serving in Vietnam had
on the key players of the show, including Magnum himself, and the way
the show echoed to some of the events of World War II.
The television show ran for eight seasons, from 1980 to 1988, and
launched Tom Selleck into super-stardom. The ‘hunky’ actor became the
name on the lips of ladies around the country, and over the eight
seasons of Magnum PI, left the ladies begging for more private
investigator Tom.
The first episode of Magnum PI was entitled, Don’t Eat the Snow in
Hawaii. Magnum’s childhood friend and naval comrade, Dan Cook, turns up
dead and Magnum is sure the cause of death that was listed was wrong-a
burst bag of smuggled cocaine. Magnum enlists the help of Dan’s sister,
Alice, to take on the Navy to uncover the top-secret assignment details
that Dan was working on prior to his death. The premiere episode, aired
on Dec. 11, 1980 was the catalyst in securing Thomas Magnum as a private
investigator with heart and history.
Through the series, it was mentioned that Thomas Magnum was working on a
book called “How to Be a World Class Private Investigator”, that he
wrote during the eight seasons of the show. Also, his ‘boss’ John
Higgins, was also constantly writing in a diary to recount his memories
of his days with military intelligence, called Crisis in Suez. Robin
Masters, the millionaire author of mystery novels’ first published story
was entitled The Last Days of Babylon.
Magnum PI became a staple of 80s television and an icon of television
shows featuring private investigators, much like the other shows of it’s
caliber and time, including Miami Vice.
private investigators pages |
Terms of use |
Home security
| Investigation
| Security ideas
Private investigator
infidelity |
Child custody private eye |
Online guide resource
|
