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COURTESY CBS
A behind-the-scenes shot from “Payback for Beginners,” the season two premiere of “Magnum P.I.,” which airs Friday. Returning this season is, from left, Tim Kang as Det. Gordon Katsumoto, Jay Hernandez as Thomas Magnum, Stephen Hill as Theodore “TC” Calvin, Zachary Knighton as Orville “Rick” Wright, Amy Hill as Teuila “Kumu” Tuileta and Perdita Weeks as Juliet Higgins.
On Thursday at the “Sunset on the Beach” event in Waikiki, the cast and crew of “Magnum P.I.” joined the cast of “Hawaii Five-0” to celebrate the start of their new seasons. Both shows return to CBS Friday with “Magnum P.I” starting at 8 p.m., directly after “Hawaii Five-0.” It is the second season for the fledgling series, and while reaction has been mixed, the fact the series was renewed halfway through its first season gave it some strong credibility.
Fans of the show have grown this last year and everyone seems to love the new cast and the updated storylines. Many are drawn to the fact that executive producers Peter M. Lenkov and Eric Guggenheim worked hard to keep the show connected in some way to the original series from the 1980s. Yet, it does seem that in the second season the reboot is starting to make its own way in this modern world.
NEW PARTNERSHIPS
This year, the cast and crew have stayed the same, but there may be other changes coming in their horizons. Magnum (Jay Hernandez) still lives at Robin’s Nest, yet he may become partners — at least in business — with Juliet Higgins (Perdita Weeks). Last season, Higgins seems to have fallen into being Magnum’s partner during several of his investigations, backing him up when Rick and TC were otherwise occupied with their own lives. When Magnum needed help hacking into a database or digging up information about a new client, “Higgy” came to his rescue. By the end of season one, Magnum just wanted to make it a more consistent partnership.
But Higgins is on the fence about joining forces with Magnum, and in the season one DVD collection, there was an interesting deleted scene from the season finale, where Higgins and Magnum banter back and forth about Higgins becoming his partner. They are riding in the Ferrari and Higgins asks Magnum to make a quick stop. After he watches her enter a nondescript building, she ends up in a gunfight with some random automatic-weapon-toting gents.
As she and Magnum try and get out of harm’s way, Magnum accuses her of “being back with MI6.” She doesn’t deny it, just saying they “asked her to do something,” as Magnum guns the Ferrari out of the parking lot, tires screeching, dodging bullets as they race away. While this may suggest that Higgins and Magnum are going to join forces, their partnership may need a few episodes in season two to really become official.
BIG BUSINESS
Magnum’s entrepreneurial best friends TC (Stephen Hill) and Rick (Zachary Knighton) will return to help Magnum with his cases, but TC may have more work at his business, Island Hoppers, for fellow Veteran Kenny “Shammy” Shamberg (Christopher Thornton). A fan favorite, Thornton was at the “Sunset on the Beach” event and many hope his part will expand in this new season.
Knighton’s character, Rick, is headed in a new direction as he will start a new adventure opening a tiki bar with the help of Nicky “The Kid” DeMarco. Nicky is a crossover character from “Hawaii Five-0” and is played by Larry Manetti, who played Rick in the original version of “Magnum P.I.” Rick’s new club seems to be fashioned after La Mariana Sailing Club on Oahu, a tiki bar and restaurant that has been featured in “Hawaii Five-0” in several episodes.
Fans love seeing characters and actors from the original “Magnum P.I.” and after Roger E. Mosley was in “A Kiss Before Dying” as John Booky, TC’s barber and confidant, fans are ready for more visits from the original cast. There’s also hope that Magnum’s fellow private investigator pal, Luther H. Gillis, played by Ken Jeong, will return. Luther H. Gillis was a popular recurring character in the original series. While Jeong’s version of the character is much funnier but vastly different, it is again another connection to the original.
SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Det. Gordon Katsumoto (Tim Kang) will also return to keep Magnum honest, even if he is back to not trusting Magnum after Magnum’s antics in the season one finale “The Day It All Came Together.” And Kumu (Amy Hill) will continue to be available to help Magnum and Higgins figure out all that is true about Hawaii and how to live in paradise. Both will continue to add a new dimension to the series.
Many fans wonder if Magnum will have a love interest in the new season. Brooke Lyons will return as Abby Miller, a woman Magnum dated in the first season, so this hope may come to fruition. Since his former love Hannah (Jordana Brewster) died in the season one finale, it seems as if Magnum needs to find some happiness. Some fans would prefer that his love life would include Higgins, but if they are going to be business partners, that may not be such a good idea.
Still, more romance in “Magnum P.I.” could help deliver some strong storylines for our hero — and if nothing else, help to establish more of a unique story for Magnum. Season one was a little light on love and romance and introducing this element to the series could be another way to propel them into a third season.
Wendie Burbridge writes the “Five-0 Redux” and “Magnum Reloaded” blogs for staradvertiser.com. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.
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