Posted on December 11, 2019
TV!
Many people get a lot of entertainment and education from television, and shows vary from news, sports, documentaries, opinions (and even arguments) on issues of the day to cartoons and fictional storytelling. Because of streaming services, many of us can access SO MUCH variety of TV shows of the past as well as the present.
Today's special day is sort of a past-and-present TV show kind of day.
Magnum, P.I. first appeared in the universe as an American crime/drama series on this date in 1980. It ran for eight seasons and enjoyed very high ratings for the first five seasons (and had a devoted fan base all through its run.
Now there's a new Magnum, P.I.: It was first released in September 2018, and it's still going...for now!
"P.I.," of course, stands for Private Investigator. According to the fictional Veronica Mars, ordinarily P.I. work involves a lot of safe-but-sordid stuff like following somebody's husband or wife in the hopes of gaining photographic evidence of an extra-marital affair. But Magnum isn't any ordinary P.I. First, he has a super-glam lifestyle that he (and most Private Investigators) could never afford, because he lives on a beachside estate in Hawaii, in the guest house of a famous and wealthy author, and he drives the author's luxurious (and very fast!) Ferrari. Second, because of the free housing and car, Magnum doesn't have to take sordid cases. And it being a TV show, of course there is a lot more danger and excitement in the cases he does take (even that time when his case was to find a little girl's missing cat!).
Here are a few contrasts between the two versions of Magnum:
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| The (current) reboot series (below) has more diversity in its main cast. In the original show (above), all the main characters are men; the character of Higgins (the leftmost man, wearing a tie) is the strict, proper caretaker of the estate and a former British Army Major. In the reboot show, Higgins is still the estate caretaker, but she is a woman and a former M16 agent); she helps Magnum with his cases and even becomes a partner in his P.I. business. And Magnum is played by a Mexican American actor! |
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(Above) Police Lieutenant Yoshi Tanaka, original series. (Below) HPD Detective Gordon Katsumoto, reboot series. Both recurring police characters are played by Korean American actors. |
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| Magnum is able to use very expensive sports cars that he doesn't own. The Ferrari 308 GTS, above, was a constant in the original series and briefly appeared in the reboot's first episode, but the updated Ferrari 488 Spider is reboot-Magnum's usual ride. By the way, when I say that a Ferrari 308 GTS appeared briefly, in the first episode of the reboot show, Magnum destroys not one, but two Ferraris! Yikes! |
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