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.

In the third season, things started to get repetitive but the fourth season is a return to form for the show. Magnum finds himself involved in a few different types of crimes this time an the character development gets stronger. We learn of some interesting escapades not only from Magnum's past but from Higgins' and TC's as well, and the humor is a little more effective here than it was in the last season. While it's not going to convince anyone who doesn't already enjoy the show that it's worthwhile, those who did enjoy the earlier episodes while likely get a kick out of this batch of episodes as well.

The episodes contained in the third season, which ran from September 29, 1983 through May 3, 1984. are laid out on the three DVDs in this set as follows:

Home From the Sea: The season opener takes place on Independence Day and the gang have kind of gone their separate ways this year, with Magnum enjoying a day at the ocean with his jet ski. While out playing in the surf, a speed boat drives by going way to fast and knocks him over into the waves where he's pulled out the ocean away from the mainland. As he drifts farther and farther away, he has some flashbacks to his childhood where his father taught him the importance of treading water. He seems to be doing okay until the shark shows up. Rick and TC figure Magnum has been out a little too long and so they head out to find him but will they get there in time? It'd be a pretty short season if they didn't.

Luther Gillis: File #521: Magnum is out investigating a runaway from St. Louis named Nancy Perkins and his search takes him to a seedy hotel room occupied by a dead dope dealer and a different private investigator name Luther Gillis. They're surprised to find each other there but soon they team up to find Nancy, figuring they'll work better together than separately. What Magnum doesn't realize is that Luther is actually Nancy's father and he'll take all the help that he can get in finding his little girl again.

Smaller Than Life: Magnum is trying to impress a local hottie so he takes up hang-gliding but all it gets him is a broken shoulder and a stay in the hospital. Meanwhile, an old friend of Rick's named Waldo who claims to be an insurance investigator gets busted for breaking and entering and Rick has to get him out of the clink. There's more to Waldo than meets the eye, however, and soon Rick figures out he's actually a CIA operative out on a big case – except really he's not, he's lying about that too. When the dust settles, it turns out that Waldo is actually a friend of the president's and that he's trying to stop a group from overthrowing him. Or is he?

Distant Relative: Rick's twenty-two year old sister shows up to visit and Rick has Magnum escort her around the island. She manages to sneak off when he's not looking and winds up murdered in a back alleyway and Rick blames it all on Magnum. Rick goes out and buys an Uzi from a guy named Ice Pick in order to track down and make the murderers pay, but Magnum is on the case too, determined to find out who did it in hopes of restoring his friendship with Rick. It turns out Rick's sister wasn't as innocent as Rick thought, but hey, Carol Channing shows up, so it's all good.

Limited Engagement: Magnum is called in to help when a bunch of convenience stores start getting robbed. He talks to two older sisters who found themselves in a car wreck outside one of the stores and finds out that their crappy landlord is going to kick them out. Magnum figures he can help them and the other seniors who live in the building and so he and Higgins decide to run a charity bingo operation but it turns out that these old ladies know more about the robberies than they're letting on…

Letter to a Duchess: While Magnum is getting prepped for the annual Surf And Ski Race, Higgins meets up with Lady Wilkerson, a Duchess who he has had a crush on for years despite the fact that she doesn't remember him. When Higgins ends up saving her from some would be muggers, he finds out she's here to sell off some jewels as she's broke. He offers her a job, and writes her a letter professing his love for her but she misinterprets things and assumes the letter to be from Magnum who she obviously lusts after despite Higgins' feelings for her. Higgins and Magnum will have to work together and put their differences aside when she gets kidnapped by thugs!

Squeeze Play: Robin Masters loses a poker bet with a pornographer named Buzz Benoit and ends up having to gamble the use of the Hawaiian estate for a year in a baseball game between his own team and Buzz's team. Higgins is pretty riffed at the potential of having to work for Buzz but Magnum sees the silver lining in the form, or forms, of all the gorgeous girls who hang off of him. Magnum finds out that one of the women on Robin's team has found out her husband is missing, so he sets out to find him because he's a former professional baseball player and they'll need his help against the ringers that Buzz has put in place for the upcoming game.

A Sense of Debt: Magnum finds out that TC is owed ten grand by a man in Detroit and he figures he can get him to fund a trip for him to go back to his old stomping grounds and collect for him, and take in a bunch of Tigers games while he's there. Magnum, in return, lets TC drive the Ferarri and no sooner than he hands him the keys does TC run over a Vietnam vet named Leon, who was on his way to compete in a boxing match. TC feels bad because he broke his ribs and took him out of the match so he stands in for him, but things get complicated when the fight promoter turns out to be a crook. Meanwhile, things aren't going so well for Magnum in Detroit, though he does get a lead just in time for Higgins to cut his trip short. A young Shannen Doherty shows up in this one as Leon's daughter.

The Look: Magnum, Rick and TC are planning a surprise for Higgins' birthday and end up getting into a bet about whether or not the lady DJ on the local radio station is the same girl who did radio duties while they were in the 'Nam together. Magnum heads down to the station to lay the bet to rest and after meeting her finds out that she's been receiving death threats from an unknown party and that her boyfriend has been missing for twelve years. Magnum, being Magnum, decides to help her find out what happened to him.

Operation: Silent Night: In this Christmas episode, TC has to fly Rick across the island where he's going to be judging a beauty contest, then he has to fly Magnum to a charity where he's going to play Santa Claus, and then he has to fly Higgins across the island so he can take care of payroll for some employees before he splits for the holidays. Unfortunately while everyone is up in the air the chopper starts to act wonky and they need to make an emergency landing on a small island. Unfortunately, this is the same island that the U.S. Navy uses to practice on with their battleships, and there is a practice session coming up very soon.

Jororo Farewell: The Prince of Jororo, a young boy, shows up on the island with his baseball team only to start receiving death threats. He decides to hide out at the estate with Higgins and soon becomes friends with Magnum. Soon though some nefarious evil doers try to kill the poor kid and Magnum has to burst into action to save his life and figure out who these guys are and what they would want to kill a child for in the first place. John Saxon guest stars in this episode.

The Case of the Red Faced Thespian: Higgins is stoked to be hosting a big charity to-do at the estate but gets bonked on the head shortly before the guests start arriving and finds himself with a bad concussion which leads him to believe that he is a famous Shakespearian actor. Magnum figures he's the only one who can help out and keep the event going but he'll need Rick and TC to cover security for him while he's dealing with Higgins. They don't do a very good job though, as someone dressed in a Chaplin costume makes off with a whole lot of jewels and money which proves to be a very big thorn in Magnum's side.

No More Mr. Nice Guy: Magnum is all excited about the upcoming Army versus Navy game that he's got to look forward to, especially because it means that he'll be getting together with his old war buddies. Unfortunately for him, Higgins starts laying a heavy guilt trip on him because Carol needs his help stopping a drug smuggling ring that's operating on the island.

Rembrandt's Girl: A female bank teller hires Magnum to look into what her father is up to – it seems he used to be big into counterfeiting and now that he's out of jail he might be back to his old ways. Unfortunately before they can move on that, she looks them in the bank vault by accident and they just might run out of air before the vault unlocks the next morning. Unfortunately for Magnum, he told Rick and TC he'd take them away for the weekend and when he doesn't show up, they get annoyed and decide to hold a party at his place, much to Higgins' dismay.

Paradise Blues: TC's ex-girlfriend has just opened up a jazz club on the island and so he makes Magnum tag along when he decides to swing by the joint and see how she is doing. Magnum figures she's trouble, he just has a feeling about her, and wouldn't you know it? He's right. She's got ties to some drug smugglers from Detroit and is involved in some strange dealing's with other people's money, but that doesn't stop TC from digging up old feelings for her and once again falling head over heels in love with the girl. The one and only Chuck Mangione guest stars in this episode.

Return of Luther Gillis: Luther shows up in Hawaii again, this time with his personal secretary, Blanche. They're in town for a private investigators convention and Luther has been told that should he attend he'll receive an award for his efforts in the field. Magnum figures he'll tag along and go with Luther, leaving Blanche and Higgins at the estate and they end up being kidnapped by some unknown culprits. Magnum and Luther team up one more time to solve the crime and save their friends.

Let the Punishment Fit the Crime: Higgins is getting ready to direct a musical that he's having put on at the estate while Magnum is hired by a hot chick to find out what happened to her brother who has recently gone missing. She thinks he's run off and joined a flakey cult, but it turns out that it's not a cult after all but a strange political group bent on assassinating some prominent political figures. On the brighter side of things, the hot chick turns out to be musically apt and so Higgins uses her in his stage show.

Holmes Is Where the Heart Is: Higgins is busy typing away writing his autobiography when he remembers a day back in the seventies when his friend David showed up on the island for a funeral. David somehow became convinced that he was Sherlock Holmes and that Higgins was Watson and that Moriarty killed their mutual friend. Higgins humors the poor crazy man and while he is inevitably found to be quite insane, it does turn out that his suspicions were at least somewhat correct.

On Face Value: Magnum's pal Carol convinces him to help her out with some surveillance work on one of her cases. Magnum winds up in a high speed chase and then later a shoot out which almost kills an innocent woman behind the wheel of another car. Magnum makes friends with the woman he injured and tries his best to make it up to her but ends up putting her in even more danger when the crooks he was after in the first place won't leave him well enough alone and soon they come gunning for him and whoever else gets in the way.

Dream a Little Dream: Magnum reminisces about the first detective job that he ever took way back in the seventies, where a surfing superstar hired him to find out who was making strange death threats against her (Magnum has to deal with death threats a lot for some reason). She call him up out of the blue in the modern day and old feelings he once had for her come swelling back up to the surface and once again, she starts receiving death threats.

I Witness: In the season finale, a local social club is robbed by men wearing animal masks. The local police ask Rick, TC and Higgins what happened as they were all there that night but they can't agree on how the events went down so they call Magnum in to investigate things a little more. Each of the three witnesses considers himself the hero of the evening and as such, the stories vary pretty wildly, but Magnum, being a P.I. and all, eventually starts to put the clues together in hopes of helping the cops catch the crooks.

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.