Magnum P.I. is a confusing title for anyone who isn’t familiar with the world of crime and investigations. But the current CBS show, which is actually a reboot of an ’80s smash-hit show with a similar name, is quite straightforward.
The investigative drama follows Thomas Magnum, a Ferrari driving former navy seal turned private investigator (yes, that’s what P.I.) means) as he solves cases in Hawaii. Because he tackles most of the major cases, Magnum always leaves us wondering if Hawaii needs a police department at all. But don’t we also wonder why Gotham has a police department yet Mr. Wayne makes billions by day and deals with all the bad guys at night?
Interestingly, Magnum P.I. is set in the same universe as Hawaii Five-0. The two shows are set to have crossover episodes early next year. It’s would be interesting for the Five-0 guys to confront Magnum and asks him why he’s taking all the cool gigs. As a private investigator, Magnum has solved plenty of cases and here are some of the craziest.
Murderous Author
What if you were told that your favorite New York Times bestselling author didn’t actually write their own books? What if you were told that they didn’t even hire a ghostwriter either? They did something far worse.
If you are a writer by profession, episode six of the second season might make you very angry with the antagonist. In it, Magnum’s attorney girlfriend Abby asks for his help in solving an off-the-books case as she suspects that her client, a lecturer, is actually a serial killer.
It turns out that a couple of his missing female students were all aspiring writers who were seeking guidance from him. Magnum discovers that the lecturer murdered the students and went on to publish their manuscripts as his own books.
The Stolen Fish
Why would anyone still fish from a fisherman? How hungry would they have to be? Well, the fish in question here is a 300-pound tuna. If properly refrigerated, that would last a while. Should we give the thief a pass?
In the second episode of season one, Magnum makes it his mission to find the guy who stole from a hard-working Hawaii fisherman. Surprisingly, the thief if also being hunted by a bunch of militants who want the tuna. But why? Magnum discovers that the tuna contains a memory card with classified information that the militants are after.
Ahaa! There was always something fishy about that giant fish. Magnum eventually deals with the militants and the fisherman gets his tuna back.
Magnum’s Evil Ex
Magnum is never lucky with love. But every time a woman breaks his heart, it’s hard to sympathize with him. This is because his partner Higgins likes him so much yet he never seems to realize it. Open your eyes Magnum! Open your private eyes, you private investigator!
In the final episode of the first season, Magnum’s ex-fiancee reappears on his life. She has a gunshot wound and she wants Magnum’s help to find her missing CIA father. She says his life is in danger. Magnum later discovers that his ex only wanted information from the man. She couldn’t find him hence she had to use Magnum. Poor Magnum!
The Psychotic Mum
In the ninth episode of season two, a mother kills her daughter then convinces herself that the little girl was killed by someone else. To make up for her dead daughter, she kidnaps another girl to take her place. Since the girl won’t cooperate, the psycho mum has to keep her in captivity.
Magnum takes up the case, connects the dots and eventually gets the woman to confess and surrender. Magnum is so good at making people surrender. It’s a surprise that the FBI has never considered getting him to talk to the peeps in their most wanted list. Things would be a whole lot easier for everyone.
The Art Thief
A millionaire by the name of Jack Candler hires Magnum to check if his art collection is well protected. Unfortunately, Mr. Candler gets killed by art robbers who use Magnum’s access route to get the art. This makes Magnum look like the main suspect and as a result, his buddy detective Katsumoto is forced to arrest him.
Magnum is later released after his friend Higgins discovers another suspect. This suspect also ends up dead. However, the main criminal is careless. Magnum discovers a rare pigment in the study which leads him to the thief. It turns out that the thief was Candler’s jealous business partner. All this happens in the fourth episode of season one. Never trust who you do business with folks!
The Facial Reconstruction Mystery
Magnum’s rival Luther Gillis is a man who is humble enough to admit when he doesn’t know how to do a job. He is also humble enough to hand over the job to his rival. If only there were more people like Luther.
In the third episode of season one, Luther hands over a case about a woman who has had facial reconstruction surgery. All clues to her as the main suspect in a robbery but it turns she is innocent and was just going to extreme lengths to protect her daughter. The people who set her up are eventually captured, thanks to the genius of Magnum. Hail Magnum!
Katsumoto’s Misplaced Hatred
In the fourth episode of season two, detective Katsumoto comes to Magnum and asks him to look into a cop that he suspects of being dirty. Katsumoto hates the cop so much that he’s convinced he’s involved in evidence tampering. He just needs proof.
Since he has done so many favors for Magnum, he gives him the task of finding the proof. Magnum discovers that it’s actually another cop that’s tampering with evidence, not the one Katsumoto suspects. The guilty cop was being blackmailed by gangsters. What do you have to say now Katsumoto? Apologize!
Russian Business
Seems like the Russians are involved in everything these days. They must be very bored. In the eleventh episode of season one, Magnum is given another missing persons case. He really enjoys finding missing people.
However, his suspicions lead him to discover that he’s actually being tricked to do some work for Russian Intelligence. How did they get to Hawaii? This episode really threatened to turn into Burn Notice. Note to Magnum showrunners: Just keep it simple in the future.
A Drug Dealing Doctor
A promising junior league soccer player misses training for a number of days and Magnum is asked to help find out what’s going on. Magnum never fails to find out the reason behind anything so this should be pretty straightforward right? No!
The boy’s father happens to be the main suspect for the disappearance and the murder of a medical doctor. He claims he is innocent but Magnum feels like he’s hiding something. The father confesses that he’s been using illegal steroids from the doctor. Magnum later discovers that the doctor was murdered because of the steroids, not by the boy’s dad.
The Missing Wife
A desperate client comes to Magnum. He is very worried because she also witnessed the murder of her boss in a bank robbery. Did the robbers kill her to cover up their tracks? That would be the logical conclusion but things are seldom what they seem.
Magnum discovers that the wife was involved in the robbery. The plan was to steal the husband’s money. And her boss wasn’t supposed to be murdered. It was all a mistake.
