Magnum PI and the importance of the Magnum Quartet: How men can help other men become better men.
There have been plenty of shows that really explored the depth, nuance and strength of female bonds the last few decades, great series like The Golden Girls, Girlfriends, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Living Single, and then other shows like Sex and The City, Girls, Designing Women etc. Then there have always been plenty of shows that were specifically about the relationships between men and women ranging from battle of the sexes to marital life. But there was a specific show and in a specific time that really explored the depth, nuance and strong bond of men that went beyond typical male bonding or shallow view of guy friendships and one of the best examples was a classic and iconic television show called Magnum, PI.The 80’s private detective series starring Tom Selleck as cool as ice and lovable goofball Thomas Magnum who on a weekly basis solved mysteries in Hawaii with the help of his friends Johnathan Quayle Higgins, Theodore Calvin aka TC and Orville “Rick” Wright, played by John Hillerman, Roger E. Mosley and Larry Manetti.
The series was more than just your typical light hearted detective show. The core of the show was really about the tight bonds developed by four men who all share experiences in war (Magnum, Rick and TC in Vietnam, Higgins in World War 2 and many other British army escapades) and as a result of those experiences share senses of duty, honor and loyalty.
The quartet started off as the trio of Magnum, Rick and TC with Higgins as the annoying major domo of Robin Masters’ Estate that Magnum was living as a in house security expert who constantly squabbled with Magnum and occasionally with Rick and TC, but as the series progressed and Higgins got more involved in Magnum’s cases that TC and Rick were also assisting with, the relationship between Higgins and the trio deepened. The two part episode All For One from season 5 solidified the foursome’s bond as they once again get back out into the field on a rescue mission for an old comrade and find themselves in the middle of a major cue. After that episode fans could see a subtle but effective change in the dynamic between Higgins and the trio as after sharing such a life threatening ordeal the foursome become closer than ever and Higgins officially becomes the fourth member of this tight knit band of brothers.
Over the course of the series beyond fun male bonding rituals fans saw four men who helped each other become better men: Fun loving, light hearted Magnum and the uptight, pompous Higgins constantly battled over different philosophies but as the series progressed the two men started adopting certain positive aspects of the other one and helped develop both characters organically. Rick and TC have always been Magnum’s go to guys when he needed assistance but over time Magnum would also find himself becoming their go to guy. Having to help them out of a situation as a private detective and more importantly as a friend.
In season 8 there were episodes that culminated the ways these guys influenced each other: In Pleasure Principle, season 8 episode 2, Magnum goes to a therapist and is told that he needs to grow up, he does this by unconsciously imitating Higgins: He wears well pressed and button down suits, he has a pleasant and sophisticated cup of tea with Higgins’ assistant and unrequited lover Agatha, he eats healthier and tries to sell his hot Ferrari hoping to buy something more sensible. On the other hand Higgins also sees a therapist who tries to help him come out of his shell and he unconsciously starts behaving like Magnum: Wearing Hawaiian shirts, sleeping in late, going out dancing, being completely care free to where it affects his duties and this leads to a hilariously funny role reversal scene where the new mature Magnum chews out the newly carefree Higgins for ducking out on his responsibilities. Just a brilliant episode, coupled with the episode preceding it Infinity and Jelly Doughnuts that was a follow up to the season 7 finale where Magnum was shot and on the brink of death. At the end of the episode Magnum tracks down his would be killer and nearly kills him in rage until TC shows up and with simple words “Don’t do it, man.” Magnum stops and calms himself down allowing time for the police to get there and arrest the scumbag. This was the opposite result of the ending of season 3’s iconic two part episode “Did you see the sunrise?” where Magnum ends up killing the evil Russian Ivan who tortured him and TC in Vietnam. These two episodes from the show’s final season show just how much these characters have influenced each other and how much the characters have evolved from the earlier seasons because of each other.
TC and Higgins both may appear as different as night and day on the surface but share similar senses of responsibility, maturity and organization with TC running his own Helicopter service. They can appreciate these shared qualities in each other and develop their own bond outside the quartet on quite a few occasions. In season 4 episode Operation: Silent Night, when the four men get trapped on a military target practice Island on Christmas Eve, there’s a moment when TC and Higgins have a heart to heart and TC for the first and only time calls Higgins by his first name. A touching yet not cheesy moment that Magnum always provided for its viewers and it solidified the friendship between TC and Higgins.
These four guys have been through it all over eight seasons and have helped each other grow as human beings and as men. It’s a shame that this type of focus, this type of nuance in male relationships isn’t shown on television these days. Of course, the 1980’s was male dominated on television so it makes sense that you could have a show that had an all male ensemble leaving room to explore the dynamics between them, though in the 1980’s not many television series took the time to actually explore that depth like Magnum did.
I’m all for more equality in television or film and certainly in real life between the sexes, and I’m also all for women finally getting more leading roles and more focus on television and films…. But… I do feel like there’s a real lack in exploring the relationships of men with other men beyond the typical shallow viewpoint most tv shows and movies do these days in order to service the female audience. Personally, I think men and women equally loved Magnum, PI back in the day and even now and I think that television shows now need to not be afraid to have an ensemble series with male casts that go deep into the bond they have and explore that nuance and how men can help other men become better, become richer as human beings like Magnum did.
So basically I wrote all of this to say that Magnum is one of the best tv shows ever and we need more shows like it nowadays and maybe then Tv will be worth watching. Oh, and also can we get a reunion with the three remaining cast members: Tom Selleck, Roger E. Moseley and Larry Manetti? There should have been one before the loss of John Hillerman(R.I.P.) so let’s not make that mistake again.
I’m just gonna leave you with this and say “Good Night”.