Thomas Magnum | |
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Magnum, P.I. character | |
First appearance | "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii" (1980) |
Last appearance | "Resolutions" (1988) |
Created by | Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson |
Portrayed by | Tom Selleck (original) Jay Hernandez (reboot) |
In-universe information | |
Occupation |
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Family |
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Spouse | Michelle Hue (former) |
Children | Lily Catherine Hue (daughter) |
Relatives |
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Thomas Magnum is the main character on the American television series Magnum, P.I. created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson. The titular private investigator was originally portrayed by actor Tom Selleck from 1980 to 1988, and later by Jay Hernandez in a reboot developed by Peter M. Lenkov.
Magnum is a former naval officer, turned private investigator and "beach bum" in Hawaii.
Despite irregular employment, he manages to secure a cushy job and live a comfortable existence as a security expert on the estate of celebrity author Robin Masters. The job perks included use of the guest house on Masters' Hawaii estate "Robin's Nest" and his red Ferrari 308 GTS in exchange for quality control of the estate security. This often puts him in conflict with the estate's more responsible and serious majordomo, Higgins.
In the course of the series, Magnum and his friends (former Vietnam comrades, Rick Wright and T.C. Calvin) become involved, not only in typical private investigator cases, but also a wide variety of adventures involving espionage, covert operations, paramilitary escapades, and "lifestyles of the rich and famous".
Often appearing in khaki pleated shorts or blue jeans, an Aloha shirt, Sperry boat shoes or white Puma Easy Rider Sneakers, ankle socks, and a battered baseball cap, Magnum was originally envisioned as a James Bond type character but, at Selleck's request, [1] was made into more of an average "everyman" with numerous character flaws.
Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV [2] is around forty years old during the original series, although a variety of birthdates are given in at least 5 episodes, ranging from August 1943 to February 1946.
Magnum was born in Detroit but raised in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Both his father and grandfather were naval officers.
Magnum's father was a Naval Aviator killed in the Korean War when Magnum was only five. In the show, one of Magnum's most valued possessions is his father's Rolex GMT Master aviator's wristwatch. After Magnum's father's death, his mother Katherine married Frank Peterson. They had a son Joey, who died while serving in Vietnam.
Magnum also has an aunt, Phoebe Sullivan, a novelist, [3] and a cousin named Karen.
Magnum attended the United States Naval Academy, in the class of '67 [4] or '68, depending on the episode referenced. While at the Naval Academy, he dated Ginger Grant who became a professional tennis player and re-entered his life in the episode "Mixed Doubles". [5]
In the episode, "From Moscow to Maui", Magnum states that he was the captain of the Annapolis football team during at least one Army–Navy game with Army scoring a touchdown early in the first quarter from a play he called.
Magnum served in the Navy for ten or more years as an officer, rising to the rank of lieutenant before resigning in disillusionment in 1979. [6] Magnum was a Vietnam War veteran and a former POW. He served in both the SEALs and Naval Intelligence during his Navy years. In the episode "Solo Flight", he is seen wearing the rank insignia for a lieutenant commander. In the episode Memories are Forever part 1, Magnum is promoted to full Commander, as part of being reinstated by Buck Green. In the final episode of Magnum P.I. in 1988, Thomas decides to return to active duty in the Navy at the rank of commander (O-5).
On his Navy uniform, Magnum wears service ribbons for the Navy Cross, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and Frame, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Specifically, in the season 2 episodes 23/24, "Memories are Forever" parts 1 & 2, we see the uniform Magnum is to wear to Washington, D.C. The collar has the commander rank, with the Special Warfare insignia with the Navy Cross, Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal with 2 service star, Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm and Frame, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
United States Navy SEALs who served in the Vietnam War would also have been entitled to wear the U.S. Naval Parachutist Insignia, however, Magnum doesn't wear one in the show.
The theme of friendship run through many episodes of the show.
Magnums' most enduring friendships were with his former Vietnam comrades, Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright and Theodore "T.C." Calvin.
His also develops a love-hate relationship with Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, the majordomo of the estate where Magnum was a perennial guest or "moocher". Magnum persistently tries to foil Higgins' efforts to impose an orderly regimen on Magnum's disordered lifestyle, as they trade verbal jabs and one-upmanship games with each other.
Magnum lives in the guest house on Robin Masters' estate, Robin's Nest, as part of his being in-charge of security on the estate.
Magnum enjoys sneaking fine wines out of Robin Masters's wine cellar when he believes Higgins is not looking. He has free use of Masters' Ferrari 308 GTS, and he often barters with Higgins for the use of expensive cameras, the tennis courts, and other accoutrements of wealthy living.
Other friendships were woven throughout the series.
Magnum continuously took advantage of Lieutenant "Mac" MacReynolds, a Navy officer and intelligence source for many of his cases, but was devastated when Mac was killed in an assassination attempt on Magnum by "Ivan," a Soviet intelligence operative who had also overseen the torture of Magnum when he was a POW in Vietnam.
For almost every season in the series, Magnum's investigations paralleled and sometimes crossed over with those of Honolulu Police Lieutenant Tanaka.
Magnum also maintained friendships with Assistant District Attorney Carol Baldwin and Lieutenant Maggie Poole, MacReynolds' successor. Magnum was no less apt to exploit his friendship with Carol or Maggie as he was his male friends, and no less loyal.
Numerous episode plots featured "old friends" calling on Magnum for help, requests he always honored, even when helping conflicted with his best judgment.
While serving in South Vietnam, Magnum married a French-Eurasian nurse named Michelle Hue, the presumed widow of North Vietnamese General Nguyen Hue.
Magnum left Vietnam believing Michelle was killed during the 1975 evacuation of Saigon. However, her death was staged presumably because General Hue had resurfaced and Michelle knew Magnum wouldn't leave Vietnam without her.
In the episode "Memories Are Forever" (November 1981), Magnum was reunited with his wife and learned the truth behind her deception. Unbeknownst to Magnum, at the time, they had conceived a daughter, Lily Catherine. Lily Catherine appeared in five episodes of the show ("Little Girl Who", "Limbo", "Infinity and Jelly doughnuts", "Unfinished Business", and "Resolutions").
General Hue, Michelle, and Michelle's second husband, Edward Durant are killed by Hue's enemies who presume that Lily Catherine is also dead. Following her reunion with Magnum, he later returns to his career as a Naval Intelligence officer in a bid to protect her.
Thomas Magnum | |
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Magnum P.I. character | |
First appearance | "I Saw the Sun Rise" |
Last appearance | "The Big Squeeze" |
Created by | Donald P. Bellisario Glen A. Larson |
Portrayed by | Jay Hernandez |
Developed by | Peter M. Lenkov |
Other appearances | Hawaii Five-0 ("Ihea 'oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana?") |
In-universe information | |
Full name | Thomas Sullivan Magnum |
Occupation |
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Family |
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Relatives |
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Nationality | American |
Jay Hernandez portrays Thomas Magnum in the 2018 reboot of the series.
In the new series, Thomas Magnum is a decorated ex-Navy SEAL who returns home from Afghanistan, where he spent time as a prisoner of war, to become a private investigator. [7] He gets help on cases from his two old friends, former Marines Theodore "TC" Calvin and Orville "Rick" Wright, [8] and from former MI6 agent Juliet Higgins. [9]
In season two, Higgins becomes Magnum's partner. Later in the season, Magnum asks Higgins to marry him in order for her to stay in the country after her visa expires. She initially accepts his offer but later reverses her decision. [10]
Hernandez also played Magnum in a crossover episode with Hawaii Five-0 .
On his U.S. Navy uniform, Magnum wears the following medals and naval insignia in the 2018 reboot series:
Thomas William Selleck is an American actor. His breakout role was playing private investigator Thomas Magnum in the television series Magnum, P.I. (1980–1988), for which he received five Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, winning in 1985. Since 2010, Selleck has co-starred as NYC Police Commissioner Frank Reagan in the series Blue Bloods. From 2005–2015, he portrayed troubled small-town police chief Jesse Stone in nine television films based on the Robert B. Parker novels.
Magnum, P.I. is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on the American television network CBS. Magnum, P.I. consistently ranked in the top 20 U.S. television programs in the Nielsen ratings during the first five years of its original run, finishing as high as number three for the 1982–83 season. The series entered syndication in 1986 under the title Magnum in order to differentiate reruns from new episodes still airing under the original title on CBS.
The Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the principal law enforcement agency of the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, headquartered in the Alapa'i Police Headquarters in Honolulu CDP.
Javier Manuel "Jay" Hernandez is an American actor. After making his television debut in NBC's Hang Time, he made his film debut opposite Kirsten Dunst in the romantic drama Crazy/Beautiful (2001). He has since starred in numerous films, including Friday Night Lights (2004), Hostel (2005), Bad Moms (2016), and as Chato Santana / El Diablo in Suicide Squad (2016). From 2018 until 2024, he played Thomas Magnum in the reboot of Magnum P.I.
Hawaiian Eye is an American detective television series that ran from October 1959 to April 1963 on the ABC television network.
Roger Earl Mosley was an American actor, director, and writer best known for his role as the helicopter pilot Theodore "T.C." Calvin in the CBS television series Magnum, P.I., which originally aired from 1980 until 1988.
Lawrence Francis Manetti, known as Larry Manetti, is an American actor known for his role as Orville Wilbur Richard "Rick" Wright on the CBS television series Magnum, P.I. He co-starred in Baa Baa Black Sheep as First Lieutenant Robert A. "Bobby" Boyle, a pilot in the VMF-214 squadron headed by Greg "Pappy" Boyington.
Jonathan Quayle Higgins III, VC is a fictional character in the 1980–1988 crime drama television series, Magnum, P.I. portrayed by actor John Hillerman. Hillerman won an Emmy for the role in 1987.
Perdita Rose Weeks is a British actress who plays Juliet Higgins in the CBS/NBC reboot series Magnum P.I.
Marine Observation Squadron 2 (VMO-2) was an observation squadron of the United States Marine Corps which saw extensive action during World War II and the Vietnam War. They were based at Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Japan and Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, California and saw their final combat in support of Operation Desert Storm in 1991. The squadron was decommissioned on 23 May 1993.
Hawaii Five-0 is an American police procedural television series that centers around a fictional special police major crimes task force operating at the behest of the governor of Hawaii. It is a reboot of the 1968–1980 series Hawaii Five-O, which also aired on CBS. The series was produced by K/O Paper Products and 101st Street Television, initially in association with CBS Television Studios. The show received praise for its modern take on the original series.
Magnum P.I. is an American action drama television series developed by Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim. It stars Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, the titular private investigator and former Navy SEAL who solves crimes in Hawaii. It is a reboot of the original series of the same name created by Donald P. Bellisario and Glen A. Larson, which aired from 1980 to 1988. The series co-stars Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang.
The Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. crossover is a two-part crossover event between Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum P.I. that aired on CBS. The event aired on January 3, 2020, with the Hawaii Five-0 episode "Ihea 'oe i ka wa a ka ua e loku ana?" which is Hawaiian for "Where were you when the rain was pouring?", followed by the Magnum P.I. episode "Desperate Measures". Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Meaghan Rath, Katrina Law, and Beulah Koale appeared in both parts of the event as Thomas Magnum, Juliet Higgins, Orville "Rick" Wright, Theodore "TC" Calvin, Tani Rey, Quinn Liu, and Junior Reigns, respectively.
The Lenkov-verse is a media franchise that consists of a group of three interconnected television reboots that share a fictional universe, and their related media. All three of the television series, Hawaii Five-0, MacGyver, and Magnum P.I., were developed by Peter M. Lenkov who also served as the showrunner on the series. They are each American crime dramas that aired on CBS. Hawaii Five-0 revolves around a task force, led by Steve McGarrett, that investigates crimes in Hawaii. MacGyver centers around Angus MacGyver who uses nonviolent methods to keep the world safe, with the help of a team of undercover government agents. Magnum P.I. follows private investigator Thomas Magnum, who solves crimes in Hawaii with the help of his friends. The universe is also connected to the so-called Bellisario-verse, which consists of the entire NCIS franchise and JAG, via two direct crossovers between Hawaii Five-0 and NCIS: Los Angeles.
The first season of the crime and action drama Magnum P.I. premiered on September 24, 2018, on CBS, for the 2018–19 United States network television schedule. The series is a remake of the 1980 series of the same name and centers on Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL who works as a private investigator and solves mysteries with the help of his friends. The season stars Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, and Stephen Hill. Amy Hill and Tim Kang also appear in the series and joined in the series third episode. CBS first announced the series on October 20, 2017; it was initially given a thirteen episode order but an additional seven were ordered bringing the total to twenty. Multiple Hawaii Five-0 stars appeared as their Hawaii Five-0 characters in guest roles throughout the season in minor crossover events.
The second season of the crime and action drama Magnum P.I. premiered on September 27, 2019, on CBS, for the 2019–20 United States network television schedule. The series is a remake of the 1980 series of the same name and centers on Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL who works as a private investigator and solves mysteries with his business partner Juliet Higgins and other friends. It stars Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang. The season was ordered on January 25, 2019, for a twenty episode season. Multiple Hawaii Five-0 stars appeared as their Hawaii Five-0 characters in a two-part crossover event as well as in guest roles throughout the season in minor crossover events.
The third season of the crime and action drama Magnum P.I. premiered on December 4, 2020, on CBS, for the 2020–21 United States network television schedule. The series is a remake of the 1980 series of the same name and centers on Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL who works as a private investigator and solves mysteries with his business partner Juliet Higgins and other friends. It stars Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang. The season was ordered on May 8, 2020. It was later revealed that the season would only consist of 16 episodes as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Multiple Hawaii Five-0 stars appeared as their Hawaii Five-0 characters in minor crossover events throughout the season and a possible crossover between the series and MacGyver was discussed by the writers. Magnum P.I., Hawaii Five-0, and MacGyver are collectively referred to as the Lenkov-verse.
The fourth season of the American crime and action drama Magnum P.I. premiered on October 1, 2021, on CBS, for the 2021–22 television season. It concluded on May 6, 2022. The series is a remake of the 1980 series of the same name and centers on Thomas Magnum, a former Navy SEAL who works as a private investigator and solves mysteries with his business partner Juliet Higgins and other friends. It stars Jay Hernandez, Perdita Weeks, Zachary Knighton, Stephen Hill, Amy Hill, and Tim Kang. The season was ordered on April 15, 2021, and consisted of twenty episodes. On May 12, 2022, it was announced that CBS had canceled the series after four seasons, however, on June 30, 2022, the series was picked up by NBC for a fifth and sixth seasons, consisting of twenty episodes. Dennis Chun appeared in the sixteenth episode of the season as his Hawaii Five-0 character in a minor crossover event. The season premiere, "Island Vibes", was watched by 5.23 million viewers.
The fifth and final season of the American crime and action drama Magnum P.I. premiered on February 19, 2023 and ended on January 3, 2024, on NBC. It is the only season of the series to air on NBC after it was canceled by CBS following the conclusion of the previous season.