Customer Reviews

Magnum P.I. - The Complete Fifth Season

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

Magnum is a show that follows the "star + ensemble" formula that has always been a mainstay of the action movie and TV industries. Nowhere does the formula been more successfully used, especially in the later seasons of Magnum. Stories are often set up through the backgrounds of the supporting characters. But it's still up to the star, in this case Tom Sellick, to carry the bulk of the load. Luckily Sellick is up to the challenge, and I think this season relies on Sellick more than any previous season to keep the show interesting and entertaining. Whenever the plot gets a little silly - and that happens in every season of Magnum - Sellick's down-to-earth and lovable portrayal of Magnum makes the show a joy to watch.

So what happens in this season? The most important plot points are the return of "Mac" (reincarnated as a charming con man), the development of Carol, the district attorny, and the increasing use of Icepick, Rick's godfather-like underworld connection. Few, if any, of the episodes are among the best of the series, but there are lots of good shows here to make the purchase price worthwhile. "Mac's Back" is the most obvious must-have episode of the season. Unlike others, I find the 2-part premier of the season to be overly melodramatic and possibly the worst shows of the season. The other 2-parter, featuring a rescue mission to a Cambodian jungle village, makes good use of its time and even brings Higgins back into his military acoutrements.

Many fans feel the show decreased in quality over the last few seasons. I am of the opinion that the show continued to get better - mostly due to the richness of the back stories and the quality of the supporting cast. Season 5 may not be the best season, but it's still a lot of fun to watch. Although there are no extras on this DVD edition, at least this season finally puts to rest the technical problems that plagued the releases of earlier seasons: for the first time, there was not a single show marred by segments unreadable by my DVD player.

After watching Magnum's Fifth Season, and owning the first four, I'm looking forward to having the complete series. With the backdrop of beautiful Hawaii, the storylines have humor, tenderness and, above all - which is what so many of today's TV programs lack - the deep and abiding friendship and comraderie of Magnum, Higgins, Rick and TC. The stories hold up because there is nothing mean spirited or vicious about these people, and makes you realize that if you are fortunate enough to have good friends, life can be pretty good. Of course if I were directing, the last episode would have Thomas and me walking hand in hand off in the sunset!

So I'am going to try to write a review on Magnum P.I. It's going to be difficult for to stay independent because I simply love this TZv show. I've seen all episodes on TV and now I appreciate to buy this DVD so I can see it again and again. And finally I can see it in original language which is much better. Well, dr. Watson, let's start. I mean Higgy Baby...I have just seen last episode of fifth series. And what can I say. As good as all previous series. Maybe I can feel some difference but it could be only feeling. It becomes more serious. In beginning it was all more optimistic, higher spirited. But I understand it's slowly facing to the end. And the end is as all we know not really happy end. But maybe somebody don't know, so that's all to this. I like this smart intelligent humor, unforgetable atmosphere of 80's in Hawai, Magnum's sense of humor, his red Ferrari. But most astonishing is without question his highness, amazing, terribly worn, small and not so slim Jonathan Quayle Higgins III and all his "half-brothers" and amazing friends... I like also Robin Masters...Mixed humorous, serious, funny and sometimes sad and melancholic episodes with very good detective stories an unique charakters made I think this the best series in all the universe. I can only recommend this series to people, who like these old TV shows, nice, humorous, kind...not like today's production without glamour and without even mark of clever dialogue and smart plot of action.

As before. I am a huge Magnum fan and loved season 5. Hurrah for Universal! Thank you for putting this series on single sided disks. The quality is far superior!

I wish a lot more people would dive into Magnum P.I. because it's one of those shows that just keep getting better and better...and what an incredible cast...

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I was star struck the minute Tom Selleck came on television as Magnum and I was only 12 at the time, these shows bring back such good memories.
Season 5 is great worth purchasing, he and Higgins do some great acting in this season, and of course don't forget TC and Rick. always there to bail out good ole Magnum.

This show was a one of a kind in a era that was one of a kind. The storylines had depth and meaning, which is something you don't find today. Visions of Hawaii, a hot Ferrari and fast packed action make this a masterpiece.

The Man From Man Marseilles atleast 4 minutes of the episode is missing the part with Lt. Tanaka speaking in french, everything else otherwise is ok with the fifth season.

The fifth season of Magnum generally sustains the high level established from season 2 on. Highlights include two well done two part episodes. The first, leading season 5 off, features future star, but here barely known, Sharon Stone. The second finds our foursome back in southeast Asia.

We also get the return of Jeff Mackay, who played Lt. McReynolds in seasons 1-3. Now he plays likable con man Jim Bonnick. In a clever reversal of roles now Magnum and buddies are the ones being continually conned. Mackay appears in a number of episodes this season. Kathleen Lloyd also appears in several episodes as Assistant DA Carol Baldwin. There's also a third Luther Gilles episode.

Unfortunately, this season has more than a few weak episodes. The problems mostly stem from incoherent plotting. Episodes like "Under World" and "Blind Justice" just don't make a great deal of sense. "Fragments" takes psychics seriously.

The packaging is an improvement on the first 3 seasons. Gone are the double sided disks. Unfortunately, five hours of programming are squeezed onto most of the five disks. This leads to some distracting artifacting at times. One episode ("The Man From Marseilles") has a few minutes of French dialogue cut from it. There doesn't appear to have been anything in the way of restoration done but fortunately the material is new enough not to require much. There is little in the way of extras, just one season 6 episode ("The Treasure of Kalaniopu'u").

It helps but is not strictly necessary to have seen the previous seasons.

All said, this fine '80s series is well worth picking up.