Five-0 vs Magnum P.I.

[RobertScorpio]

What show did you like better?
Hawaii Five-0 vs Magnum P.I.

I liked both of these shows, Hawaii Five-0 and Magnum PI. Magnum’s show was a bit more ‘hip’ I guess you could say. But Five-0, for me at least, had better ‘tricky’ episodes; and Five-0 had Steve Mcgarrett. Yes, I know, Tom Selleck was a superstud dude, and had that fly-by-the-seat of his pants thing going on…

But McGarrett was so powerful of a character. Once that brain of his got going on the weekly caper, McGarrett just kicked ass. Maybe it was because of all the international espionage going on during episodes of Five-0, and McGarrett coming off as some island bound 007…

But I go with Steve McGarrett here as the better character, which is the chief reason I go with HAWAII FIVE-0.

 

[sojourner]

Steve McGarrett was just an alias of Felix Lighter.

 

[Alpha_Geek]

I have to go with Magnum on this one.

Did You See the Sun Rise, both the episode as well as the question when Magnum posed it to Ivan, was some of the finest drama I've seen.

Don't look here if you haven't seen the episode!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7vW1oEKP1k

I did really enjoy the 50 finale though!

 

[Kirkman1987]

Magnum, but both are pretty fun.

 

[gh4chiefs]

5-0 was a great classic show, but Magnum was one of those TV shows that was just something special. Not great drama mind you, but great, fun entertainment. No contest really.

 

[auntiehill]

*whooooosh*

Did someone mention Magnum PI?

Please. No contest. Hawaii Five-0 was a good cop show, but Magnum was a good show PERIOD. Magnum had great characters that really clicked, and a lead that was perfect as the laid-back hero. The way they all grew and changed, the way the humor could go side by side with drama, the fact that the good guy did not always win----that's what made Magnum special.

I could go on for ages, but I'll spare you all.

 

[RobertScorpio]

5-0 was a great classic show, but Magnum was one of those TV shows that was just something special. Not great drama mind you, but great, fun entertainment. No contest really.

Actually..it is. FIVE-0 DVD sales have old sold Magnum..and FIVE-0 continues to be part of our culture. I think, as time passes, MAGNUM becomes 'just another 80s' show.

Five-0 endures beyond that space time continuum.

Rob

 

[gh4chiefs]

. FIVE-0 DVD sales have old sold Magnum.

Not sure I'd read too much into that. Magnum is still on TV in reruns and I can't remember the last time I saw 5-0 on TV.

 

[auntiehill]

I assume you mean OUT sold. But, according to Amazon, the first season of Hawaii 5-0 ranks at #8,748, while the first season of Magnum ranks #1,880. So, it seems Thomas Magnum sells more DVDs these days.

 

[Kirby]

I love em' both, but Magnum was on during my formative years in Junior High and High School, and was the driving force behind my Hawiian shirt phase in 1985/86 (it was cool back then) so I gotta go with that.

Good follow up question is which show had the better theme song?
I'd vote for 5-0, but you gotta love Mike Post's 80's stuff.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Yeah I'll give you the 5-0 theme as the best theme but it's close.

 

[J.T.B.]

I love "Five-O," I grew up with it and remember watching it mostly in the later plainclothes Duke period, then I used to catch it in the summer on the old CBS Late Movie. (Anybody remember that? It wasn't really a movie, it was reruns.) It has some great mystery plots and the occasional bizarre espionage episode. But I mostly like it now for nostalgia and humor value, I can't take it too seriously. McGarrett is always cool and unflappable, but as a character he doesn't really interest me. He has barely any sense of humor and his personal life makes only rare appearances to suit the plot. The whole Five-O team is dominated by the McGarrett character; I can't remember Danno or Chin having an original idea, they always just carry out McGarrett's plans.

Thomas Magnum, on the other hand, was a well rounded character who had problems and made mistakes and who grew over the years. He was laid back and sometimes irresponsible, but he knew when to buckle down and take things seriously. His living arrangements and relationships with his friends were complex and sometimes rocky, but they always rang true because they all had underlying bonds of brothers-in-arms.

The recurring cast on Magnum was one of the best I can remember. So many great characters: Mac MacReynolds, Agatha, Lt. Tanaka, Carol, Luther Gillis, Buck Greene...

I think of "Five-O" as a fine example of an old-school episodic crime-and-guest-star-of-the-week cop/detective show, but by the '80s there were shows that went beyond that to explore something more about their characters' lives. I think Magnum P.I. took the detective show off in the direction pioneered by The Rockford Files, and combined that more free-spirited type of detective with a more serious undercurrent of duty, sacrifice and wartime comradeship.

So, to me, Hawaii Five-O = good, Magnum P.I. = great.

I'm a big Mike Post fan, but I've got to give the "Five-O" theme the edge. Thank God Magnum P.I. ditched that crappy original theme after the first half-season or so.

--Justin

 

[Star Wolf]

5-0 was a cop and spy show based outside of New York or Los Angeles. Besides McGarrett and Hawaii it was pretty basic. Magnum besides the characters, leads and minor had the secondary theme of the nation getting over its Vietnam shame.

 

[Caliburn24]

Magnum over 5-0 by a lot.

Magnum had charm and fun and was just more entertaining.

 

[TGTheodore]

Could have been a helluva crossover ...

--Ted

 

[auntiehill]

II'm a big Mike Post fan, but I've got to give the "Five-O" theme the edge. Thank God Magnum P.I. ditched that crappy original theme after the first half-season or so.

--Justin

Me, too. I'd almost forgotten that horrible first theme until I got the first season dvds from Netflix. YEESH. The second one, the one they settled on, is excellent--one of my all-time favorites.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Never really watched Magnum.

Book'em Danno!

 

[Star Wolf]

. FIVE-0 DVD sales have old sold Magnum.

Not sure I'd read too much into that. Magnum is still on TV in reruns and I can't remember the last time I saw 5-0 on TV.

On TV, atleast broadcast TV seems to go in cycles. Right now it seems almost everything made in the 80s has disappeared meanwhile Perry Mason, Matlock and Hawaii 5-0 stays in the rotation of my local oldies station, KDOC. Most basic cable seems to be replaying stuff from the early years of this century and Law & Order.

 

[gh4chiefs]

Could have been a helluva crossover ...

--Ted

In an early episode, probably the first season, there's a scene with Magnum and TC in TC's chopper and Magnum is talking to someone on the radio trying to get info and he says something to the effect of "So and So, this is McGarrret of 5-0 . . ."

I guess that's as close as we'll ever get.

 

[Yojimbo28]

Oh man, I couldn't believe it when I saw this question. If there's any show I love and am fanatical about more than Star Trek, it's Magnum, P.I. I think that show is one of the best combinations of drama, action, mystery and comedy that we've ever seen on TV. In fact, my usual forum avatar is a shot of T.C.'s Island Hoppers chopper flying over the ocean. Once I hit 50 posts, I'll be using it here, I'm sure. Now, I don't have anything against Hawaii 5-0, but I don't think it's really in the same league as Magnum. The actors on that show were a perfect ensemble and the relationships between Magnum and Higgins, and Magnum and Rick and T.C. were multi-layered and just beautiful. Tom Selleck and John Hillerman were both fantastic and won Emmys for their work. I love the "I know what you're thinking..." style of narration Magnum provided for each episode, along with the 4th-wall breaking looks to the audience. A quote I pulled off the Net, "When Magnum looked at you, you felt as if you were one of his buddies, and that's a good feeling." If none of these reasons interested you in the show, you at least had the beautiful Hawaiian scenery and usually some beautiful female guest stars. Come on, who didn't want to live at Robin's Nest?

I could say more, but just read J.T.B.'s post earlier. He says it all perfectly.