Saturday, October 28, 2017

Yep

Spare us a ‘Magnum PI’ Remake

Those of us who were around when the original first came on TV may have forgotten, and those who were not yet around don't know, that Magnum P.I. was the first network show to portray Vietnam veterans as anything other than mental cases and shell-shock victims waiting to explode in psychotic violence.

The three main characters, all vets, had responsible jobs and were active in their community.  When aspects of war would float into their consciousness and/or reality, they dealt with it in a manner familiar to those who had been in the real war: Through humor, duty, and a devotion to shared honor.

The episode "Did You Seen the Sunrise?" served as a riveting reminder of the tenacity of human conflict, mixed with Cold War realities and a nice homage to The Manchurian Candidate.  In the end, Magnum makes a choice that was consistent with post-modern Existentialism and the darkness that was always present under his deliberate beach boy persona.

That final scene is still my favorite of 1980's television.