Magnum P.I. is my
favorite show of all time. It ran for 8 seasons.
Great news with the release of season 5! Starting with season 5, the
DVDs are single sided!
This is a very good season of the show. But it's not for newbies,
because in order to understand some of the better episodes here, you
need to be familiar with episodes from previous seasons. So if
you're new to the show, I recommend starting either with season 1
(which is a great introduction to the series) or with season 2
(which is my favorite season, and doesn't require any familiarity
with previous episodes.)
Here are the episodes from season 5:
Echoes Of The Mind Part 1 - This one hour episode was originally
broadcast on September 27, 1984. The music in the opening scene is
from the movie "Blade Runner." This is one of my favorite episodes
of the series. Guest actress Sharon Stone plays twins. One of the
twins is nice and kind and sweet. The other twin is the character
that Sharon Stone usually plays.
Echoes Of The Mind Part 2 - This one hour episode was originally
broadcast on October 4, 1984. This continues where the previous
episode left off. This is just as good as that episode. I won't
spoil the plot of either episode for you by telling you what they're
about. These two episodes were made before Sharon Stone became
famous. Both of these two episodes are excellent, even by the high
standards that the series has set for itself.
Mac's Back - This is one of my favorite episodes of the series.
While stopped at a red light, Magnum sees his friend Mac crossing
the street. There's just one problem: Mac died two years ago. Magnum
tries to convince his friends of what he saw, and they think he's
crazy. Doc Ibold even talks about possibly putting Magnum into a
psychiatric hospital. The final scene of this episode is a redoing
of the final scene from the season 2 episode "The Woman On The
Beach."
The Legacy Of Garwood Huddle - Magnum helps an old bank robber (who
is an old acquaintance of Higgins) rescue his grandson from
kidnappers.
Under World - While flying his helicopter, T.C. crashes into the
ocean. T.C. spends much of the episode in a coma. Will T.C. survive?
Or will he be missing from the last 4 seasons of the series? If you
want to know the answer, you'll have to watch this episode.
Fragments - Magnum tries to help a psychic try to stop a murder from
happening. This reminds me of the season 1 episode "Missing In
Action," except that this episode is a little bit better.
Blind Justice - This script seems like a very good episode of "Law
And Order." I love what happens at the end with the tape recorder.
Murder 101 - Magnum teaches a college course on how to be a private
investigator. I consider this to be one of worst and lamest episodes
of the series.
Tran Quoc Jones - A young illegal immigrant asks Magnum to help him
find his father.
Luther Gillis: File #001 - This is another one of those Luther
Gillis episodes.
Kiss Of The Sabre - This is partially a fantasy episode where all
the lead characters play other characters.
Little Games - Magnum makes a big mistake when he assumes that the
new Mac is as good a computer programmer as the old Mac. While I
loved the earlier episode "Mac's Back," I don't at all like how the
new Mac continues to reappear in later episodes such as this one.
Professor Jonathan Higgins - Pygmalion done Magnum style. The
actress in question, Jillie Mack, married Tom Selleck in real life
two years later.
Compulsion - A crazy psycho becomes obsessed with Magnum's friend
Carol and kidnaps her.
All Four One Part 1 - In an attempt by the show's writers to
recreate the Vietnam experience, Magnum, T.C., Rick, and Higgins go
to Cambodia to rescue someone. By a weird coincidence, the plant
life and mountain ranges in Cambodia look exactly like the plant
life and mountain ranges in Hawaii.
All Four One Part 2 - This continues where the previous episode left
off.
The Love For Sale Boat - Another episode with the fake Mac. The fake
Mac is a con artist, and this causes a lot of trouble for various
innocent bystanders.
Let me Hear The Music - I really like this episode. In homage to the
plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, a fictional country singer from
a long time ago died in a plane crash. Magnum tries to find 5
missing songs of his that are supposedly worth millions of dollars.
There's a really great scene that takes place in a country bar with
a female singer whose real life name is Amanda McBroom. She sings 2
songs. The first is a cover of Tanya Tucker's "Texas (When I Die)"
from Tucker's 1978 album "T.N.T." That song is pretty good. But it's
the second song that really intrigued me. That second song is a
cover of Linda Ronstadt's version of the Everly Brothers' song "When
Will I Be Loved." I liked it so much that I bought Ronstadt's 1974
album "Heart Like A Wheel," which has since become my favorite album
of all time.
Ms. Jones - Every time Magnum goes to the hall of records to get
information, he always gets the same clerk behind the counter. A
running joke in past episodes was that she always had the same phone
conversation where she got dumped by her boyfriend. By this point in
time, she's been married to him for a while. He's been kidnapped,
and she needs Magnum's help to find him.
The Man From Marseilles - Magnumn helps a famous French detective.
Part of solving the case requires Magnum to sing at a karaoke bar.
Torah Torah Torah - This is one of my favorite episodes of this
season. Magnum helps a rabbi to find a stolen Torah. Magnum's
respect for the rabbi's observance of the Sabbath prevents Magnum
from being killed in a car bomb. The rabbi's description to Magnum
of the first time that he saw Higgins is quite moving. This is an
excellent episode.
A Pretty Good Dancing Chicken - Magnum tries to find a teenage
runaway. In order to obtain information to solve the case, Magnum
disguises himself as a prisoner inside a jail.
