How Magnum PI’s genre-mashing met a hairy end

The original series was a showcase for Tom Selleck’s rugged masculinity. It all started to decline during season seven’s experimental phase

No moustache! Higgins, but a woman! A running gag about priceless Ferraris getting trashed! The brains behind the recent reboot of beach-bum gumshoe classic Magnum, PI seem to be playing fast and loose with the source material, but maybe that’s not so bad. How could you ever hope to top such a cheesily cherished show?

The original series, which ran from 1980 to 1988, was designed from the ground up to reflect the qualities of its leading man, Tom Selleck: a tall, affable avatar of rugged masculinity desperate to show he could play funny as well as handsome. The result was Thomas Sullivan Magnum, a Vietnam vet-turned-private eye who could handle a gun if required but was happier just loafing around in too-tight shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

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from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2NrLi1y
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