Tom Selleck played a PI in two episodes of Rockford Files by the name of Lance White that was styled after James Bond. It was this role that got him cast as Magnum, when the show’s creators approached Tom Selleck about the part he turned it down. Citing that it would be a flop because the PI they were pitching was a suave sharply dressed James Bond type of character. He said if they would re-write the role as a blue collar type of guy it would be a hit with male audiences and that he would do it. The rest is history.
“Oh my GOD!”
I couldn’t agree more.
I always thought that John Hillerman was really British. He was that good, he also played his three half-brothers and his own father in the show. Very talented actor. Even though it was a comic relief mechanism Higgins stories were some of my favorite parts about the series. There is nothing he hadn’t done or seen such a great character.
Exactly. Without Higgins and the “lads” mixing it up with magnum, I don’t think the show would have held me as a youth. Just the look on Higgins face kept me watching. I also appreciated that when things went sideways, they had each other’s back, regardless of the shape the Ferrari was in.
Seeing as he is five and a half feet tall, and a defining feature and sometimes plot device involved Magnum’s well above average height, it is possible they miscast this.
I don’t see Magnum reruns, I don’t know if they can be found anymore.
It’s kind of a shame because that was a well thought out and scripted show for a weekly production.
The smarter way to have done this would have been to sell it to AMC and let them take it on with a bit more loyalty to the original and more money in its production.
If only it was the 80s again and I was rich.
The crews of Magnum P.I., Simon and Simon, the fall guy, Riptide, A Team, and TJ Hooker would have starred in a massive budget extra length film ala the Longest Day where they repel a Red Dawn like invasion led by Adolph Lundgren.
It may be a decent show. It won’t stack up to the original, but it may be worth watching to see if it’s mildly entertaining. I do like the reboot of Hawaii 5-0, and S.W.A.T. isn’t too bad. (although it has a lot of liberal crap in there at times)
Don’t like the casting of a pretty boy as Magnum, or the chick as (TC would say) “Higgy baby”. She’s just not the retired old world traveled bad ass that the original Higgins was. On it’s own, it may be a decent show (for the times), it’s just gonna suck because the original show had such a great cast. No comparison.
Side note: I wonder who the mandatory gay couple will be?
Taran Tactical posted a video on their Facebook of Jade Struck (female competitive shooter and instructor working with Taran) running an STI gun that’s apparently used in the series by the protagonist.
The video they posted included some shots of the protagonist using the pistol in the series and…
Yuck.
I never saw the original series, so I don’t know if the over-the-top action coated in liberal CGI is true to the original series or not. But… :bad:
Annnndddd this is what I was waiting for, if this was reversed we wouldn’t be hearing the end of “Cultural Appropriation” exclamations.
‘Magnum P.I.’ cast on why rebooted series features mustache-less Mexican-American lead
When Magnum P.I. returns to CBS in September, the show — and its hero — will look a little different. In place of Tom Selleck, Magnum will now be played by Mexican-American actor Jay Hernandez. And that’s not all; his frequent foil Higgins — originally played by John Hillerman — is now portrayed by Perdita Weeks. “We’re certainly not denying the fact that [Magnum] is Mexican-American,” executive producer Eric Guggenheim tells Yahoo Entertainment. “It is something that is acknowledged in the series. But I think we’re very proud of the fact that we have a cast that, frankly, looks like America does.”
