MovieChat Forums > Magnum, P.I. (1980) Discussion > When Did Magnum, P.I. Jump the Shark?

When Did Magnum, P.I. Jump the Shark?

posted 9 months ago by TMC-4 (19445)
1 reply | jump to latest

https://popculturereferences.com/when-did-magnum-p-i-jump-the-shark/

The original version of Magnum, p.i. (there is a reboot currently on the air on on NBC) was a long-running drama series about a former Naval Intelligence officer, Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck), who decides to leave the Navy and become a private investigator in Hawaii. He gets a job as the head of security for the Hawaii estate of a famous novelist, Robin Masters, although Magnum constantly clashes with Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman), the major domo of the estate (as Magnum often borrows Robin’s expensive Ferrari to use as his own personal car, and sneaks wine from Robin’s wine cellar). Magnum’s Vietnam War buddies, T.C. (Roger Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti), also settled in Hawaii, with T.C. (a chopper pilot during Vietnma) giving helicopter tours of the islands and Rick running a night club and than a country club.

So first…DID IT JUMP THE SHARK? I don’t think so.

WHEN DID IT JUMP THE SHARK The series definitely was a bit long in the tooth by the time that it seemingly ended after seven seasons, with a rather final-seeming finale, but then CBS unexpectedly worked out a deal to bring it back for an eighth season after its ratings had improved after moving to a new night in Season 7. Selleck, by this point a movie star, was always quite aware that his co-stars needed the show more than he did, agreed to come back for Season 8. That season was a weird one, with a lot of very clear “Okay, this is the last season, let’s do some weird stuff” energy, but in general, the show remained a solid show even when it sagged in Seasons 7-8, so I don’t think it ever jumped.

[–] PittPanthers47 (237) 9 months ago

Yeah, I don't think that it ever did really jump the shark to be honest. As noted, the final season or two were a bit different in places but one could argue that it actually added something to the series.

As a fan of the show I thought it may have been cool to end the series with Magnum dying at the end of season 7. But I was certainly happy to see it come back for another season. The series finale wasn't quite as good as I had personally hoped for and I wasn't a big fan of the ending. But I guess it did make sense enough to see Magnum return to his naval career.

One thing I wished they had done is to make an updated Magnum tv movie every four or five years or so. It would have been great to see the characters again and what they were up to.