‘Magnum’ vs. ‘Five-O’

The other day, fellow Nonstopper, Catherine Toth, posed the question on her blog, “which Hawaii-based detective show is better ‘Hawaii Five-0’ or the classic ‘Magnum, P.I.’”?

This got my mind going, and I ran through a mental checklist trying to figure out which show was better. The first conclusion that I came to was that it would be unfair to compare the new “Hawaii Five-0” with “Magnum, P.I.” The new show is a pumped-up reboot of the original with a younger, sexier cast, faster cars, bigger guns, explosions, special effects, computer graphics… the list can go on and on. As such, I’ve decided to throw out the new “Hawaii Five-0” from consideration. So here we go, the original “Hawaii Five-O” in a head-to-head comparison.

Theme song

Both shows are known for great theme songs. The Season One theme of “Magnum, P.I.” was quite frankly a dud, which is probably why CBS changed it to the high-paced song that most people are familiar with in Season Two.

As much as I love the 80s guitar riffs in the “Magnum, P.I.” theme, I can’t deny that the “Hawaii Five-O” theme by far is the more iconic song. Marching bands all over the country play “Hawaii Five-O” at football games, not the “Magnum” theme. So, in this category, “Hawaii Five-O” wins hands down.

+1 point “Five-O”

Cast & characters

Jack Lord and James MacArthur are forever linked with their “Hawaii Five-O” alter-egos, as are Tom Selleck and John Hillerman with “Magnum, P.I.” No one can argue that all the actors did such a phenomenal job portraying their characters that they became ingrained into the minds of viewers. “Magnum” has a slight advantage over “Five-O”, because Selleck and Hillerman both won Emmys for their roles, while Lord and MacArthur were never nominated.

This brings us to the supporting cast. Although “Five-O” had a more diverse supporting cast that rotated as the series progressed, in the end, they were basically stand-ins that took orders from McGarrett. The supporting cast had very little character development and almost no back story. They were like assembly line car parts, interchangeable. This was made most evident by the way writers would replace them with a character that happened to have a similar sounding name.

On the other hand, in “Magnum, P.I.,” Rick (Larry Manetti) and T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) both had histories, character flaws and played key roles in Magnum’s adventures, often times even saving his life.

+1 point “Magnum”

Local Correctness

It’s a local joke that has not been lost on the new “Hawaii Five-0.” The original show is famous for its often comical misdirection. Andy Bumatai famously joked in his stand-up routine about Steve McGarrett, saying he was driving Mauka on the Ala Wai, which locals all know would mean that he was in the middle of the canal. Even more off kilter was when Five-O would get into their cars at their headquarters and drive around the island only to arrive at a location that is across the street.

Although, “Magnum, P.I.” was often no better, at least the writers were smart enough to not have characters say that they were driving down one street when they were really on another. For learning from “Hawaii Five-O’s” mistakes, “Magnum” wins this category.

+1 point “Magnum”

Longevity

Although both shows have had healthy lives in syndication, it comes down to numbers. “Hawaii Five-O” aired for 12 seasons from 1967 to 1980, while “Magnum, P.I.” aired for eight season from 1980 to 1988. Although an argument could be made that “Magnum” faced stiffer competition in the 80s against other action dramas like “The A-Team,” “Rip Tide,” “Knight Rider,” “Miami Vice” and “Airwolf,” the fact remains that “Five-O” spanned the entire 70s, and aired four seasons longer than “Magnum.”

+1 point “Five-O”

Cars

McGarrett’s 1968 Mercury Park Lane Brougham (later replaced by a 1974 Mercury Marquis Brougham) versus Magnum’s Ferrari 308 GTS series is a pretty one-sided fight. Although the American muscle of the Mercury packed almost 100 more horsepower than even the 1984 308 GTS Quattrovalvole, you can’t deny the style of the Ferrari. Personally though, I always thought that the coolest car on “Magnum, P.I.” was T.C.’s Island Hoppers Volkswagen Type 2 van.

+1 point “Magnum”

Use of Hawaii Scenery

To me, the new “Hawaii Five-0” does a really good job of showcasing the beauty of Hawaii. Every episode is filled with some really gorgeous shots of the island. The original “Hawaii Five-O” did not do a very good job of this. One of our regular readers, Harrycovair, said it best in a comment on Cat’s blog.

“Magnum P.I. improved somewhat over the original HI5-0 by actually filming on location and using the local flora/fauna as backdrops every now and then. I don’t remember too many scenes where the original HI5-0 were filmed in a forest or in the back country (Jack Lord and a criminal lost in the woods after a plane gets tossed in turbulent weather comes to mind). Most of the filming was in the city or on a set.”

+1 point “Magnum”

Awards

Both shows have two Emmy wins a piece.

Morton Stevens won two Emmys for “Five-O.”
1970 – Outstanding Musical Composition: “A Thousand Pardons, You’re Dead!”
1974 – Best Music Composition – Series: “Hookman”

“Magnum,” however won the more prestigious Emmys. Selleck won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1984, while Hillerman won for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 1987. “Magnum, P.I.” also won several Golden Globes, an American Cinema Editors award, an Edgar Allen Poe award and the title of Favorite New TV Dramatic Program at the 1981 People’s Choice Awards.

+1 point “Magnum”

Pop culture

You can’t compare shows like “Hawaii Five-O”and “Magnum, P.I.” without taking into consideration their impact on popular culture. “Hawaii Five-O” has definitely had an impact. As I said earlier, the “Hawaii Five-O” theme song has become popular with marching bands. The phrase, “book ’em Danno” is known the world over, and “Five-O” has become slang for the police.

On the other hand, “Magnum, P.I.” introduced an entire generation to the Ferrari. At its peak of popularity, “Magnum, P.I.” was the crossover king with crossover episodes with other popular 80s shows “Simon & Simon,” “Murder She Wrote,” “The Rockford Files,” “The A-Team” and “Knight Rider.” Then in 2007, Larry Manetti and Roger E. Mosley reunited with Tom Selleck for an episode of “Las Vegas,” in which Selleck had a recurring roll. In the episode, “When Life Gives You Lemon Bars,” Larry Manetti’s character, a wealthy night club owner, and Roger E. Mosley’s charcter, who owned a fleet of helicopters, say that they have to meet a “British guy,” a reference to John Hillerman.

As close as these two shows are, “Hawaii Five-O” gets the edge in this category. Early in the series, “Magnum, P.I.” often made references to Steve McGarrett, establishing that both shows exist in the same fictional universe. Producers often courted Jack Lord to reprise his role as McGarrett on “Magnum, P.I.,” to which Lord always refused.

+1 point “Five-O”

Legacy factor

It’s obvious that both shows have a certain legacy factor, since people are still talking about them several decades after both shows have gone off the air. Although the “Magnum, P.I.” formula was repackaged in the 90s as the short lived “Raven,” it’s blatantly obvious which show leads in this category. “Hawaii Five-O” proved to television producers that Hawaii could be a viable filming location. In fact, “Magnum, P.I.” was the first to benefit from the success of “Hawaii Five-O.” The studios built for “Five-O” were used by “Magnum,” and a lot of “Magnum’s” local film crew got their start on the “Five-O” set. Had it not been for “Hawaii Five-O,” other shows like “Jake & the Fatman,” “Lost” and the “Hawaii Five-0” reboot might not have been made. It could even be said that Hawaii’s entire film industry owes it’s existence to “Hawaii Five-O.”

+1 point “Five-O”

Results

In case you weren’t paying attention, the results are as follows:

• Theme song – “Hawaii Five-O”
• Cast & characters – “Magnum, P.I.”
• Local correctness – “Magnum, P.I.”
• Longevity – “Hawaii Five-O”
• Cars – “Magnum, P.I.”
• Use of Hawaii Scenery – “Magnum, P.I.”
• Awards – “Magnum, P.I.”
• Pop culture – “Hawaii Five-O”
• Legacy factor – “Hawaii Five-O”

There you have it, based on my completely unscientific method, “Magnum P.I.” edges out “Hawaii Five-O” 5 to 4 as the better Hawaii-based detective show.

Disagree with my method or logic? Tell me so in the comments, and maybe you’ll convince me to think otherwise.