Barnes & Noble

In several of the 21 episodes of 1983-84 it's possible to detect the initial stirrings of a creative ennui that will eventually cripple this popular private-eye show, but for the most part Season 4 maintains Magnum's early high standards. Private detective Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) remains lightly employed as security monitor on the Hawaiian estate of mysterious millionaire Robin Masters, squaring off continually with estate manager Jonathan Higgins (John Hillerman) and palling around with his old Navy comrades, T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) and Rick (Larry Manetti). "Home from the Sea" gets the season off to an unusual start: While celebrating the Fourth of July alone, Magnum is swept off his surf ski and carried off by the powerful current of the Molokai Channel. As the day progresses, hopes for rescue dim, and it becomes increasingly difficult for him to tread water and fend off an approaching shark. Another offbeat episode is "Operation: Silent Night," which finds Magnum, Higgins, T.C., and Rick stranded on a remote island on Christmas Eve when T.C.'s chopper makes a forced landing. The Navy uses this island for target practice, and a zealous captain plans on doing a little holiday shelling. Perhaps the year's best episode is "Holmes Is Where the Heart Is," featuring Avengers star Patrick Macnee as an old classmate of Jonathan's who arrives on the island believing that he's Sherlock Holmes and Higgins is Doctor Watson. This superficially amusing gambit turns deadly serious when murder rears its ugly head and Higgins suspects that his old friend may be a homicidal maniac. Series fans will also enjoy "Luther Gillis: File #521," and "The Return of Luther Gillis," the first two of what would become several guest turns by TV veteran Eugene Roche in the title role. "Sense of Debt" features a guest turn by an 11-year-old actress, Shannen Doherty. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Tom Selleck returns as the title character in Magnum, P.I. as the Hawaii-based detective series enters its fourth season. The opening episode is the now-legendary "Home From the Sea," in which Magnum, stranded on the remnants of a surf ski in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, helplessly witnesses his whole life flashing before him. After surviving this ordeal, Magnum makes his first acquaintance with seedy, middle-aged "hard-boiled" private eye Luther H. Gillis (Eugene Roche), who in his typical take-charge fashion even provides voice-over narration for most of the story! On a more somber note, Magnum's friendship with his former Vietnam comrade in arms T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) takes a nosedive when T.C.'s footloose sister Wendy is murdered while on a date with our hero; this episode also introduces another recurring character, retired mob functionary Ice Pick Hofstetler, played by the great Elisha Cook Jr. Also making her first appearances this season is Kathleen Lloyd as assistant DA Carol Baldwin, a role played by Patricia McCormack during the previous season. Carol's function is similar to that of Higgins (John Hillerman), the snooty overseer of the estate where Thomas has been hired as security, to not-so-gently "persuade" Magnum to provide unofficial assistance in otherwise unsolvable cases. Among the guest stars appearing on Magnum P.I. during season four are Carol Channing, Leslie Uggams, Carol Burnett, Dick Shawn, and Patrick Macnee. The season closer, "I Witness," focuses on the King Kamehameha Club, co-owned by Magnum's never-seen boss, Robin Masters, and his war buddy Rick (Larry Manetti) -- and may be the only live-action TV episode in history to feature a talking pig as one of the villains! Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 025192930027
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Language: English
• Time: 16:59:00
• Sales Rank: 4,674

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• Magnum, P.I.: Home From the Sea
• Magnum, P.I.: Luther Gillis - File #521
• Magnum, P.I.: Smaller Than Life
• Magnum, P.I.: Distant Relative
• Magnum, P.I.: Limited Engagement
• Magnum, P.I.: Letter to a Duchess
• Magnum, P.I.: Squeeze Play
• Magnum, P.I.: A Sense of Debt
• Magnum, P.I.: The Look
• Magnum, P.I.: Operation - Silent Night
• Magnum, P.I.: Jororo Farewell
• Magnum, P.I.: The Case of the Red Faced Thespian
• Magnum, P.I.: No More Mr. Nice Guy
• Magnum, P.I.: Rembrandt's Girl
• Magnum, P.I.: Paradise Blues
• Magnum, P.I.: The Return of Luther Gillis
• Magnum, P.I.: Let the Punishment Fit the Crime
• Magnum, P.I.: Holmes is Where the Heart Is
• Magnum, P.I.: On Face Value
• Magnum, P.I.: Dream a Little Dream
• Magnum, P.I.: I Witness
• Magnum, P.I.: Mac's Back

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