I know I'm not the only one who would tune in religiously to watch Magnum P. I. once a week during the eighties. In fact, even after the show was done I still used to catch the repeats in syndication after school on weekday afternoons – they still pop up on TV from time to time even now. For whatever reason, during my pre-pubescent years, the thrilling adventures of a former Vietnam veteran turned private investigator in the exotic locales of Hawaii really peaked my interest. Having not really spent much time with Mr. Thomas Sullivan Magnum III in the last decade, however, I wasn't sure how it would all hold up over the years. While the second season proved to be an enjoyable endeavor, the third season, sadly, doesn't hold up nearly as well. But before we go there, what's Magnum P.I. all about?

For those of you who have been living in a cave or weren't around in the eighties, the series followed Thomas Magnum (Tom Selleck) who happened to work as the guy in charge of security for a rich cat named Mr. Robin Masters. When he wasn't keeping things safe on the fancy schmancy estate, he was running his own business as a private investigator and out there solving crimes for a myriad of different clients, many of whom happened to be hot chicks.

Magnum doesn't really fly solo though – Jonathon Higgins (played with exemplary smugness by John Hillerman) is in charge of making sure that Magnum does his job properly and seeing as his former service in the British army has made him a bit of a 'rules fanatic' he tends to be a thorn in Magnum's side from time to time. Oddly enough, a few of Magnum's former war pals have also made Hawaii their home. When he gets in too thick, he's not afraid to call in a favor or two and his buddies T. C. (Roger Mosely who was in The Mack oddly enough) and Rick (Larry Manetti who appeared opposite Pamela Anderson in Snapdragon!) will come running to help him out whenever they can.

That's more or less the setup for the show. Between his job keeping the lovely estate where he resides safe and sound from unwanted intruders and the work he does for his various clients, Magnum keeps pretty busy even when he just wants to kick it and relax a little bit. The various clients provided all sorts of different reasons for Magnum to get into trouble and it was because of this that the series usually stayed pretty fresh and interesting – but in the third season, we start to see that aspect of the show crumbling a little bit.

What really made Magnum P. I. work initially was the cast. Sure, the Hawaiian locations gave the series a much prettier set than most private detective shows had (and it also allowed the producers to throw in some stock footage here and there to pad things out a little bit and give us a better idea of how Hawaii looks, I suppose) which does set the series apart from other similar TV series. However, even those gorgeous shots of the jungle fauna and the ocean beaches get old, fast. It's the cast that makes this series work, and Tom Selleck has to get a lot of credit for that. While his career hasn't exactly sky rocketed since the show went off the air (though neither has it crashed and burned like a lot of eighties TV stars) he really was perfect for the lead role. The ladies loved him for his look and his coolness and the guys liked him for his smoothness with the women who came into his life and for his skills behind the wheel of his Ferarri. The interplay between Magnum and Higgins always allowed the series to explore some fun and effective comedic ground and the friendship between Magnum and his friends was always infectious and entertaining. At the same time, the performers were good enough that when the storylines called for more dramatic turns, they were able to deliver the goods and everything stayed reasonably believable. Unfortunately, the storylines aren't that interesting in this selection of episodes and things start to get repetitive. The writing isn't as strong, the character development isn't as interesting and the scenarios in which Magnum finds himself are not all that unique when you consider what happened to him in the first two seasons – it's starting to get old at this point and no matter how charismatic Selleck is in the lead or how charming my mom might think he is, if we stop caring about what happens to him we're not going to be tuning in anymore and that is exactly what happened with this set. Something that made the earlier episodes work was missing and that something, in hindsight, was creativity. It seems throughout this set that a lot of material is being recycled and a lot of the cases that Magnum finds himself in are too similar to ones he's solved before.

The episodes contained in the third season, which ran from September 30, 1982 through April 28, 1983. are laid out on the three DVDs in this set as follows:

Did You See the Sunrise? (Parts One And Two): The season opens with a two part episode in which a man from Magnum and T.C.'s past in Viet Name shows up in Hawaii looking to settle and old score with them.

Ki-i's Don't Lie: A.J. and Rick have to track down a Hawaiian religious artifact that may or may not put a curse on anyone who possesses it, while Magnum gets a gig working security at a posh charity auction.

The Eighth Part Of The Village: Magnum heads out to pick up a shipment of books that has arrived at a nearby port but when he finds out that crate actually houses not just books but a Japanese citizen trying to illegally get out of the country, he has to figure out what to do with his new friend.

Past Tense: T.C. picks up some newspaper reporters who are actually crooks and they force him to fly to a prison where they plan to use his whirligig to spring a couple of their pals who are locked up in the big house.

Black On White: Higgins and Magnum are exposed to a deadly virus and because of this they have to be locked away together so that they don't contaminate everyone. But are they really sick or is there an ulterior motive behind it all?

Flashback: Set in the 1930s, Magnum is hired to help out a union leader who ahs been accused of a crime that he isn't responsible for committing in the first place.

Foiled Again: Higgins becomes accused of a pretty dastardly crime and it's going to be up to Magnum to clear his name and make sure that the real culprits are brought to justice.

Mr. White Death: A man who used to be a heavy weight boxing champion has lost contact with his son and he's like Magnum to help him find him so that they can be re-united, but there's more to his story than meets the eye and Magnum might find himself a patsy if he isn't careful.

Mixed Doubles: Magnum is assigned to work as a bodyguard to a tennis pro and is surprised to see that an ex-girlfriend of his just might be the ones making threats on the kids life.

Almost Home: A woman who loses her father wants to throw his ashes into the Pacific Ocean at Pearl Harbor to honor who dad who was a vet. The local officials won't allow her to do this so Magnum takes up her cause and tries to set things right for her.

Heal Thyself: Magnum hooks up with a woman who served in 'Nam as a nurse and who now works in Hawaii as a doctor. This reunion isn't as happy as he'd hoped it would be when she finds herself accused of cold blooded murder!

Of Sound Mind: A guy Magnum used to be fairly friendly with and who was notorious for his pranks winds up dead in an airplane crash and Magnum finds himself inheriting everything according to his last will and testimony but this brings some very negative attention down on him and it might not be such a good thing after all.

The Arrow That Is Not Aimed: The best episode in the season features a ninja who runs around the island and finally steals an ancient artifact from the resident samurai (seriously). Magnum has to track the ninja down and get the artifact back.

Basket Case: T.C. and Magnum decide to give a little bit back to the community by coaching a boys basketball team but Magnum finds out that it's time for action when he realizes one of the kids on his team has been adopted by crooks! Magnum hates crooks.

Birdman Of Budapest: Robin Masters' boss has shown up on the island and Robin believes it is for the express purpose of hanging out with a bird expert, but when Magnum starts nosing around, he finds that there are other, stranger motives here.

I Do?: Magnum is hired to catch a thief working inside a big corporation and in order to make his way into their fold he pretends to be married to the head honcho's daughter who starts to take her pretend vows a little more seriously than Mr. Moustache would like.

Forty Years from Sand Island: Higgins is driving around doing whatever it is that Higgins does when suddenly his breaks give out! Magnum does some sleuthing to find out who would want to hurt his pal and why.

Legacy From A Friend: Magnum teams up with a hot chick to find out who killed a local lifeguard and why that lifeguard, who didn't have any money, was recently seen driving around town in a fancy sports car.

Two Birds Of A Feather: This episode, comprised of 'Nam flashbacks and modern day footage, finds Magnum having to stop some drug dealers while coming to terms with his own past.

...By Its Cover: A crooked cop is blackmailing a salesman who was recently let out of the big house and Magnum aims to put a stop to his evil ways even if it means going up against the police.

The Big Blow: Robin is getting all ready for his big spring party but things get wacky when the weather forecast calls for crap and some former criminals show up. Magnum has to set things right.

Faith and Begorrah: Magnum gets pulled into the world of the I.R.A. thanks to Higgins and his ordained brother while trying to find out whether or not his client's wife is having an affair.

Video:

The episodes are all presented in their original fullframe aspect ratio as they should be. Quality is decent, but hardly spectacular. There's plenty of mild print damage noticeable throughout the episodes and the stock footage inserts are fairly heavy in the grain department. There are a few times where some of the colors look just a little bit washed out as well. Overall though, the episodes look pretty clean and they're perfectly watchable, they're just not perfect.