Magnum P.I. (2018)

Watchseries; This was a major disappointment the way they butchered this show is almost criminal. I grew up on the original and this is not even close.

This was a major disappointment the way they butchered this show is almost criminal. I grew up on the original and this is not even close.

Magnum P.I. watchseries. Can't get good acting anymore? The main character no comparison to The original Magnum. A female Higgins! What's up with that? I'll watch reruns of the original over and over again. Why also they keep bringing back all of these old tv shows? They never stand up to the original.

I know the title is outlandish but let's review:

--Disney, remaking animated movies with live actors. --Classics being remade by mediocre actors and crew trying to re-capture the natural magic of the talent that made the originals such groundbreaking classics. --Cinematic phenomenons adding sequel upon sequel in a never ending effort to milk an original until the cash cow becomes the goose that laid the golden egg. and now... --Classic television shows being remade or rebooted.

...all because Hollywood is devoid of talent - writers, actors, producers, you name it - and completely lacking in original ideas.

Now it has come to this. Making a new "version" of Magnum P.I. (in which Higgins is now a woman no less - no political correctness there!), as if anything can improve on the true originality of the 1980s series.

Sometimes I marvel at how the original came up with the whole concept and structure -- film noir style narration, set in Hawaii, ex-Navy Intelligence, down on his luck aspiring P.I. (no, I prefer Private Investigator), living on the estate of a perpetually absent novelist, under the supervision of an English major-domo with two dobermans, with two fellow Vietnam vets, one with a chopper to enable our hero to move among the islands (something Hawaii 5-0 was lacking) and the other with mafia ties that help our hero in his investigations, and driving a Ferrari, that was not his to begin with, to give him a flare and machisimo that nothing holds a candle to today. Truly original! and still a classic.

Now there is this -- for the simple reason that such originality and creativity is TOTALLY lacking in Hollywood today.

I am not even going to bother with this series! Instead I am breaking out my DVDs of the original series and will enjoy every minute of them, while this series dies and early, and deservedly undignified death, and their creators vanish into obscurity, hopefully never to enter the realm of television entertainment without taking a few classes on creativity, imagination and originality.

I can't! NOOOOOOOOOO! This show is a Potpourri of Hawaii 5 0, NCIS and SWAT combined. No no no no no no. ARE YOU KIDDING ME????!!!!!!!! Rick listening to the SpiceGirls. SOOO MUCH BLOOD AND VIOLENCE. I wonder how the original characters FEEL? CAUSE I AM PISSED. I have a creepy feeling with this show that Magnum PI might just fall in Love with the FEMALE VERSION OF HIGGINS. AGAIN PISSED AND IRRITATED.

Let's start there. Before any viewers had given the original show a chance, they all tuned in to see HOT Tom Selleck. Once they experienced the "flair" of the show and its title character, people fell IN LOVE.

Move on to the 2018 reboot: sorry - the new actor portraying Magnum is likable, "cute" and - in this age of mandatory television diversity - suitably "ethnic". (hey - I'm Latino as well, like Hernandez - but I also remember the original show all-too-well). Unless you have someone who just commands every scene (even when he's not doing anything just because he's sooooo HOT), the show is no different than any other crime dram-edy. My guess is that someone close to Les Moonves (perhaps Julie Chen herself?) pushed to have this actor and this reboot greenlighted. Now that the "Old Order" is out and the "New Order" has yet to be named, I can't imagine this lame imitation is going to be around for long. My prediction: it's the first CBS new show to be cancelled this season.

...but it's trying to be, which means it IS that bad!

I swore I wasn't going to watch the remake, but ended up doing so purely out of curiosity. How can I honestly say it's good or bad if I don't even watch it?

This show should never have attempted to replicate one of the greatest TV series ever. I am a huge Magnum fan since it was originally aired, and used to pay respects at "Robin's Nest" ("Pahonu") every time I was on O'ahu until it was torn down earlier this year (a large emotional hit already for all Magnum fans!). Now this show comes out...

Obviously it has to be "updated" with even bigger fake action scenes (courtesy CGI) which distracts as the original never needed such "tricks" to make it interesting. The cast isn't bad but they don't come anywhere near the chemistry the original Magnum crew had. And changing Higgins into a woman, that just shows how desperate it is to cater to its audience. Why? John Hillerman was the quintessential actor for the role, and played it beautifully. Changing the character's gender is only pathetic attempt to draw interest to her. Swing and a miss!

Unfortunately, Jay Hernandez, Zachary Knighton and Stephen Hill are equally unsuccessful in their roles. Hernandez simply doesn't have the charm and charisma of Tom Selleck (who does?). Knighton isn't bad as Rick but it's not a very deep role in the first place. Hill simply doesn't bring to the screen what Roger E. Mosley did.

Lastly, the desperate crossover appearances from the current 'Hawaii Five-0' (another poorly made remake) simply fails. The original 'Magnum P.I.' didn't need Steve McGarrett to bolster its ratings.

Overall, the show may have had some chance of success if it simply was another O'ahu-based cop/detective show; but as far as I am concerned this is yet one more in a long list of remakes that shouldn't have been made (i.e. the rebooted Ghostbusters, Oceans 8, what else am I forgetting?!?). Has Hollywood really run out of premises on which to base new TV series? Has there been one reboot that actually was worth watching? The new Magnum simply proves that writers cannot depend on nostalgia to bring viewers to the screen. Go back to the drawing board, guys, and come up with something original! These remakes are destined to fail...