Search - Magnum, P.I. - The Complete Second Season on DVD

Bette B. from BRYAN, TX
Reviewed on 3/30/2011...

I remembered Magnum PI from my younger years but had honestly never paid any attention to it. I also remembered Tom Selleck as a person, being politically active in the same direction as myself. So I ordered a few seasons to entertain my teenage boys.

It's a little hard to get past the wardrobe. Magnum is forever running around in extremely short, tight shorts, or tight, tight jeans. We all laugh, especially my teenage boys....

It's a fun, LIGHT, show for easy entertainment. The plots are thin and often almost ridiculous. Yet we find ourselves watching them and enjoying them.

Order this for lightweight low-key entertainment. Don't order this if details missed and silly situations bother you...

My favorite season of my favorite show.

grundle2600 | Pittsburgh, PA | 02/02/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Magnum P.I. is my favorite TV show of all time, and season 2 is my favorite season. Here are the episodes:

Billy Joe Bob - A cowboy from Texas, who is searching for his younger sister, runs around the island and punches everyone in the jaw.

Dead Man's Channel - In a tribute to "Raiders Of The Lost Ark," the archaeologist's daughter in this episode is named Marion. Tom Selleck had been the original choice to play Indiana Jones in the movie. Selleck would eventually play a satire of the character in the season 8 episode "Legend Of The Lost Art."

The Woman On The Beach - This is my favorite season 2 episode. It's full of action, adventure, mystery, and romance. Guest actress Judith Chapman gives an absolutely brilliant performance. The final scene of this episode would be redone as the final scene in the season 5 episode "Mac's Back."

From Moscow To Maui - A Soviet military pilot defects and lands his airplane in the U.S.

Memories Are Forever - This two part episode is extremely important to the history of the series. We learn a lot about Magnum's activities in Vietnam. This episode introduced the Michelle character. This episode will be referenced through flashbacks in quite a few future episodes.

Tropical Madness - Magnum and Higgins get involved in a love triangle with a young British lady who is visiting the estate. Higgins punches Magnum in the jaw. No one believes Magnum when he says he was attacked by a Sumo wrestler and a dwarf.

Wave Goodbye - A Vietnam veteran, who's suffering terrible psychological pain from the war, is the lead suspect in the murder of a young female surf champion.

Mad Buck Gibson - Mad Buck Gibson is an eccentric writer who is visiting the estate. His character is very interesting, and makes this a great episode. There is no villain in this episode.

The Taking Of Dick McWilliams - Relatively boring episode about a man who gets kidnapped.

The Sixth Position - Magnum and a ballet dancer get into some arguments, which leads to romantic attraction.

Ghost Writer - This episode is a satire that makes fun of big corporations. The villain here is a big corporation. I love capitalism, and I found this episode to be very entertaining and funny. Guest actor Elisha Cook Jr. plays a character that is different than the "Icepick" character that he would play in future episodes.

The Jororo Kill - This episode is elevated to greatness because it has one of the most interesting villains of any episode. The villain is a professional assassin who dresses up as a woman, and he is very skilled at both of these things.

Computer Date - Magnum tries to find out which employee is stealing secrets from a corporation.

Try To Remember - Magnum gets in a terrible car accident, but he can't remember what happened.

Italian Ice - Magnum rescues a young lady who is being held prisoner in an Italian castle. The young lady turns out to be a crazy psycho who becomes obsessed with Magnum.

One More Summer - Magnum joins a football team so he can protect one of the players.

Texas Lightning - Magnum gets hired by a rich woman from Texas. Her character is quite interesting. I love this episode.

Double Jeopardy - A movie is being filmed at the estate.

The Last Page - Magnum is hired by a Vietnam Veteran who can't get over what happened during the war.

The Elmo Ziller Story - This episode introduces a running joke that will continue throughout the rest of the series: during World War I, Higgins's father was in the British military and traveled all over the world. As a result, Higgins has many illegitimate half brothers and illegitimate half sisters who are scattered all over the world.

Three Minus Two - Magnum gets involved in the fashion industry."

5 stars for the show not the production

Christopher B. Prentiss | Portland, OR | 03/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have enjoyed it for years and admit to having about 40 VHS tapes commercials and all. So, needless to say, I was thrilled when I heard that the show was going to be produced on DVD. I bought Season One and there were a number of eps that I had never seen - cool. But I have had to ration my watching while waiting to see if Universal would indeed release Season Two.

My basic review is that for the fan and semi-fan, having the EP's on DVD is indispensible. This show is one of the best series of the 80's - it is hysterical to see people hustling to find a pay phone to use and to see the 80's Hawaiin clothing. Season Two contains some of the better episodes of the show and this set will be a great addition.

However, as a caveat, UNIVERSAL has done a TERRIBLE job producing both the Magnum and Miami Vice series. Here are a few of the problems primarily for Magnum but which relate to Vice too.

1) There are simply NO SPECIAL FEATURES. Except for five very short documentaries on the Vice set, there is nothing about the particular show beyond the eps themselves. How difficult would it be to track down the actors and interview them?! There are minimal notes attached to each ep which gives information that any fan, or anyone with an internet connection already has.
2) There are multiple times on both series where the audio is out of sync with the video...and not just barely. Magnum's or Crockett's lips will move and the words will come about a half a second later.
3) Universal must have some serious manufacturing problems. I bought Magnum Season One and have had to return it three times - I am on my FOURTH brand new copy of Magnum and am close to taking my Vice set back too. The first two times I returned the DVD's because the first disc had issues (scratches, etc.) the second time bc the audio and video was so out of sync on the second disc it was unbearable. (Maybe Universal will get the picture when all these defective returns start showing up on their doorstep!)
4) Universal gets the theme song in Magnum wrong. In the broadcast version the theme song changed to the well-known version used for 7.5 seasons in the ep entitled "The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii." However, on the DVD, the new theme song pops up strangely in ep 13! What?! And no explanation is offered - this may have been an interesting note to put in special features or in the intro materials. On Vice, the theme song kind of evolved rather than changed drastically. But no mention of this is made and the intro to the first ep will seem rather strange to the casual fan or newcomer.
5) Magnum Season Two - significant improvements with the packaging. Each disc gets its own plastic sleeve which is significantly better than the hard-to-balance packaging of Season One. However, there is nothing to hold the plastic sleeves in the case, they just slide in and out of the cardboard box. Concerning extras, again, there is nothing except for an ep from season two of the A-team and Knightrider. These are not so much bonus features as they are advertisment for other Universal dvds. The A-team ep is pretty cool but Knightrider is too cheesy to finish."

Magnum, P.I. Season 2 is BETTER THAN EVER!

Carrie G. Koens | Elizabethton, TN United States | 07/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Magnum, P.I. is a classic TV show that never ages. Although the clothing can be humorous, the acting is timeless and the scenary is breathtaking as it ever was...both the actual coastline AND the Ferrari! :-)

Season One was great, and Season Two doesn't disapoint either. Tom, T.C., Rick, and Higgins are at their best after a season of getting into the groove of working with each other, and I think it shows in the comradery and chemistry that they have in the second season of the show. It is not a stretch to believe that the Tom, T.C., and Rick served in Vietnam together, or that Higgins and Magnum really DO have a love/hate relationship. Which can only mean that they did their acting job really, really well.

After watching the first two seasons, the only thing that I was left to ask was, "WHEN ARE THEY COMING OUT WITH SEASON THREE?!" It can't be soon enough for me.

Recommendation for purchase (as opposed to renting it) of this series: ***** (5 Stars)!"