‘Magnum, P.I.’S’ local ties
Tom Selleck’s TV career is most identifiable with Hawaii. But he’s spent some time in Las Vegas.
Well, in “Las Vegas.”
When James Caan checked out of the fictional Montecito resort in 2007, Selleck signed on to the NBC drama as the casino’s new owner, billionaire oilman A.J. Cooper. He was only there for the show’s fifth and final season, but “Las Vegas” marked just his second stint as a series regular, following his short-lived 1998 comedy “The Closer,” since “Magnum, P.I.”
His “Magnum” co-star Larry Manetti, meanwhile, was a regular at the Plaza in downtown Las Vegas when it was owned by Barrick Gaming. In 2004, Manetti opened an eponymous restaurant inside the casino, where he hosted weekly celebrity brunches. that big of a stickler surely would insist on the proper comma.
The biggest problem, though, aside from the fact that the series exists in the first place, is that Hernandez’s Magnum is nearly as charisma-free as he is mustache-free — the character’s iconic lip sweater has been replaced by a scruffy, stubbly little goatee.
To steal what surely was a joke used by Mad Magazine, Cracked or both, this “Magnum P.I.” is closer to “Magnum P.U.”
Selleck is 73 years old and already on the CBS payroll, thanks to “Blue Bloods.”
Get him on a plane, throw a Detroit Tigers cap and some short shorts on him, and I guarantee the result would be better than this. It couldn’t be much worse. Contact Christopher Lawrence at clawrence @reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4567. Follow @life_onthecouch on Twitter.