‘Magnum P.I.’: High Quality Remake or Pinned in the Past?

In the era of film and television dominated by grayscale dramas, sappy romance, 15 seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy,” and old-school remakes, it is not surprising to hear that the show made famous by a lush mustache and a red Ferrari 308 GTSi QV has emerged once again on CBS. In its heyday in the ’80s, Tom Selleck played the lead man, Thomas Magnum, in the hit show “Magnum, P.I,” which follows a private eye scouring the Hawaiian island of Oahu, exemplifying the best of TV in its runtime. Throughout this time in American television history, networks were booming and the United States had reached the pinnacle of prime time TV. Alongside “Magnum P.I.,” there were greats such as “Cheers,” “Alf,” “SMASH,” and the “A-Team.” However, much of NBC, CBS, and ABC today is markedly less memorable and less entertaining, the “Magnum P.I.” remake included.

The episode, which premiered on Sept. 24 opens with Magnum (Jay Hernandez), Rick (Zachary Knighton), CT (Stephen Hill), and Nuzo (Reznor Allen) sitting around the lavish Robin Masters estate and reading one of the stories the New York Times bestselling author had based on the four friends. In the story, Magnum’s character parachutes into enemy territory to help a doctor and his family escape the oppressive tyranny of a malevolent dictator while the other three help in a helicopter. This exciting, action-packed hook seems to be an intriguing building block to take the rest of the episode in a new direction. However, very quickly the episode begins to mirror that of its ’80s counterpart. The same characters, old red Ferrari, beautiful Hawaiian location, and duplicate plotline quickly overshadow the burst of excitement and originality that emerged in the first four minutes. The feigned imaginative ideas were not indicative of the show. Thomas Magnum, just as he did in the ’80s, would quarrel with the police, bargain with the Navy, and go on the same journey. The only difference is that it’s taped on digital HD instead of film.

As is the case in many of today’s remakes — like “Hawaii Five-O,” “Macgyver,” “Miami Vice,” and many more — the shows are revived for obvious reasons: loyal and excited fan bases, rich character arcs, and the relation to a current day idyllic life. In the past, Tom Selleck played a man people wished to be. He lived on a beautiful island, drove a foreign sports car, spent time with lovely women, and fought crime in the best way he could. Much of this same flair and bravado was translated into the show we see today. However, 1980 and 2018 are very different times. No longer are there shows made specifically for men — “Magnum P.I.,” “The Dukes of Hazzard,” “Knight Rider” — and specifically for women — “I Love Lucy,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “The Golden Girls.” There were obviously stereotypically “male” moments of the show throughout the whole 42 minute runtime, much of it action sequences of the type enjoyed by the first iteration’s audience. Sadly, the focus of the remake is on special effects and copying past themes, rather than the personalities and sweeping character arcs that marked the original show. The explosions look better today but the conversations are dry, plain and simple.

Following the conclusion of the pilot, with its nods to the past and attempts to modernize the joy that used to be felt watching the reruns of Higgins, TC, Rick, and Magnum roving the islands of the Pacific in attempts to help friends and strangers alike was mostly lost. With the next episode airing on Oct. 1, there is hope for improvement. In many critically and publicly acclaimed shows, “The Office,” “Parks and Recreation,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “How I Met Your Mother,” the first episodes were tense and lacked the personality and finesse that eventually evolved and caught the audience’s attention. Looking to the future, there is a hopeful possibility that this “Magnum, P.I.” remake can shake the typical pitfalls of shows of its type and earn a spot in the hearts of many in new, exciting ways just like Tom Selleck and his crew did back in the good old days.