Yeah, so we’re gonna be revisiting the whole Magnum, P.I. run!
Tom Selleck as MAGNUM.
Last couple of years or so, we have indeed watched a lot of Tom Selleck material. Including, ultimately, the whole run of Blue Bloods. In which he was great, BTW. Obviously we also saw the two episodes of The Rockford Files he did—which cemented a lasting friendship with star James Garner.
This one will bring back a lot of early ’80s memories, for sure…
Promo of Magnum with Higgins, played by John Hillerman.
As a replacement for Hawaii Five-O, essentially (ie. a weekly show set in Hawaii), this was the commitment that prevented Selleck from playing Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark. He was replaced by some other guy who I believe faded into obscurity.
Initially, Magnum was a more serious affair, about which Selleck had reservations. It was Jimbo Garner who urged him to negotiate the terms. Tom favoured a more Rockford-esque, light-hearted approach—and got his way.
Jim and Tom are pictured in the 1978 ROCKFORD episode “White on White and Nearly Perfect”.
A viewing of Magnum was inevitable, sooner or later. I am, of course, looking forward to hearing Orson Welles as the voice of Robin Masters in the earlier seasons…
Strange that this guy never really made it as a Movie star.
How Raiders of the Lost Ark would have fared with Tom in the lead is one of the great “What If?”s of genre cinema, but he’s proven a reliable western hero and I recall being impressed by his performance in 1989’s An Innocent Man.
A winning, warm character actor and surely one of TV’s greatest, bushiest trademark moustaches!
Tom Selleck is brilliant, IMO, as is James Garner. By the way, trivia here: the Troy Tempest marionette’s face from Gerry Anderson’s ‘Stingray’ was based on James Garner! But you no doubt know that!
It’s strange when I think about it. I like James Garner, and I like Tom Selleck. Yet, somehow, I’ve never seen a single episode of THE ROCKFORD FILES, and I’ve only seen one or two episodes of MAGNUM, P.I.
I did see both HIGH ROAD TO CHINA and LASSITER when they came out. I loved the 1st one; but thought the 2nd one was too NASTY (the bad guys AND the cops were both bastards).
I still mostly associate John Hillerman with the conceited radio guy on ELLERY QUEEN. And I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve watched BLAZING SADDLES.
Sometimes, there’s only so much time, and I was watching and videotaping way too many shows already in the 80s. It gets that way sometimes.
Not that long ago, I caught an episode of MATT HOUSTON on Youtube… and mostly wanted to check it out because Pamela Hensley was a regular. Star Lee Horsley, of course, had been in THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, which was like 10 times better than CONAN THE BARBARIAN. (Go figure!)
If you ask me, Tom Selleck has far more charisma than Harrison Ford ever did. Ditto for Peter Strauss, was in SPACEHUNTER: ADVENTURES IN THE FORBIDDEN ZONE.
I recently got AMERICAN GRAFFITI on Blu-Ray. My God, Harrison Ford’s acting in that is horrible! (And, he’s not much better in STAR WARS… or even THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.)
Great comment. I’d be more positive about Ford but agree he’s no match for Garner or Selleck. You really should check out ROCKFORD and MAGNUM — esp the former. It’s a bonafide classic.
My first comic dealer / friend was a big fan of Magnum and Tom Selleck generally – he really enjoyed Selleck’s westerns. I enjoyed the show, but couldn’t get that excited about it. On the other hand, I’ve really enjoyed the Jesse Stone series recently.
Selleck has indeed appeared in some great westerns, and I’m also a big fan of the Jesse Stone series.