Reboots have become popular for television the past few years, and Peter Lenkov is one of the best known for taking old shows and giving them a fresh coat of paint. He started in 2010, with a reboot of the Jack Lord classic, Hawaii Five-O (changed slightly to Hawaii Five-0). The series as been a consistent performer for CBS, and will start its ninth season this fall.
On the heels of his Five-0 success, Lenkov rebooted another classic favorite, MacGyver, two years ago. While it hasn't been as successful as Five-0, CBS seems to have enough confidence in Lenkov to give him a third shot, this time with the 1980s powerhouse, Magnum PI.
As with any modern reboot, things need to be updated, so instead of being a retired Navy intelligence officer who served in Vietnam, Magnum (Jay Hernandez) is a retired Navy SEAL returning to Hawai'i after serving his country in Afghanistan. Rick and TC are coming back as well, both as former Marines. Rick (Zachary Knighton) runs a nightclub (which is what Larry Manetti's Rick Wright did in the pilot for the original show) and TC (Stephen Hill) is still a helicopter tours pilot. And, of course, Oahu is always a star of anything that films there.
The biggest change, however, will be Higgins. Played in the original series by Jon Hillerman, the character has actually been split into two different roles, ex-MI6 agent Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks) will take on the namesake of the character and part of the estate duties, while a new character, Kumu, played by Amy Hill, will be a recurring character charged with preserving the Hawaiian artefacts and heritage of the Robin Masters estate. Presumably, she will also give native Hawaiian insights to Magnum on his cases.
Needless to say, this is the most worrying change from the original to the reboot. A big part of what made the original show so much fun to watch was the give-and-take between Magnum and Higgins. They each served their country, albeit in different wars, but there was a connection there, an acknowledgment of similar experience. Sadly, there's little hope the reboot won't go down the route of will-they-won't-they nonsense, with this version of Magnum and Higgins, which is too bad. The production has a chance to create yet another strong, gender flipped character, ala, Grace Park's Kono Kalakaua in the rebooted Five-0, but from the previews, it doesn't look like the show is willing to be that daring.
The other big difference will be Robin's Nest. The Anderson Estate, used in the original series, was torn down earlier this year. Not much of the estate has been seen in previews to know what it will look like now.
So, is this reboot worth the time? Maybe. I'm hoping for a strong show the likes of Five-0, but from the previews, it looks like it's going to be closer to the weaker MacGyver. Lenkov has already dropped a few hints of a Magnum/Five-0 crossover. Hopefully such an event will wait until Magnum's second season, assuming of course both Magnum and Five-0 get renewed, so the show and characters have time to find their feet.
What do you think? Is the new Magnum PI going on your list of new shows to check out (even if there isn't a moustache) or are you giving it a pass as you go watch the original show on DVD? The season premieres, Monday, September 24 on CBS.
Written by LadyShelley on Sep 19, 2018
Just didn't feel the need to give this show a chance. So tired of the reboots and politics in today's shows.
@LadyShelley Thanks for the note, did not know that or, if I did, forgot all about the plan. Daughter of Magnum works just as well as Son of ... it's too bad they didn't follow through with that plan instead of the reboot.
@mpflipper Why make Higgins female: Lenkov stated in an interview that he saw the original series as a boys club and wanted a female voice to be present in the new version. However. He also wanted to keep the close military ties and bond Magnum, Rick, and TC share(d) so that left Higgins. I hope I'm wrong, I really, really, do but the fact Perdita Weeks' Higgins and Jay Hernandez's Magnum are so close in age *and* practically living together already, kinda has the writing on the wall of a whole romantic subplot. (please, oh TV gods, let me be wrong).
@Silver Surfer: The original idea (from a couple of years ago) was to continue the series with Lily as the main character. It all kind of fell apart however (not sure why) and a complete reboot was commissioned instead.
I always loved the original show.. the chemistry between Magnum, Rick and TC was so great.. and Magnums interactions with Higgins and the 2 dogs Zeus and Apollo were always so funny.. To my surprise they made Higgins a female part in this new show... !? Why !! Well we just have to wait and see.. I will check it out... and like Aidan said.. there is sure to be some nice scenery in it..
No need for a new Magnum, the old one was fine ... now if they wanted to do a show called Son of Magnum, great, have at it ... that not only allows for new characters, new stories but also some great guest appearances from the surviving original cast in their original roles if they wish to participate.
Sad to hear... I LOVED the original... as a kid growing up in suburban NJ... it gave a glimpse of what life could be like elsewhere. Influenced my decision to go to college on the West Coast. I think, I'll wait a bit... perhaps read some more reviews before I give it a try.
Worst case there's still plenty of nice scenery to distract you ;)
I will give this a try, the old Show was Kind of a guilty pleasure for me.