Magnum, podcast
Hosted by Jason Snell, Philip Michaels, and David J. Loehr
Three yo-yos from the 2020s watch selected episodes of one of the greatest TV shows of the 1980s, “Magnum, p.i.” There are a lot of segments. E-mail magnum@theincomparable.com to suggest episodes or insult other listeners.
107 “Straight and Narrow” (S7E4)
Candy Clark returns as an ex-hooker who is a deeply unreliable partner. We get caught in the Island Breeze, which services a lot of local men who need their carpets cleaned on a regular basis, sometimes by an unlikely pair of janitors?
Previous Episodes
-
August 7, 2025106 “The Hotel Dick” (S6E5)
Presented by Famous Big Hi-Rise Hotel on Waikiki, it’s “The Hotel Dick!” Magnum quits his job (?) to become a hotel detective (??) and foil a thief called the Cat Man of Kauai (???) with the help of a hooker with a heart of gold (???!) and no help from his boss, a mean man who might be up to no good. This is a “Magnum” like no other.
-
July 31, 2025
105 “Dream a Little Dream” (S4E20)
Sun, surf, and fake Beach Boys muzak can only mean one thing: It’s time for flashbacks! In this episode, we see Magnum, T.C., and Rick as they were before the pilot episode. Magnum’s a struggling P.I. on his first case. T.C.’s flying someone else’s helicopter. Rick is still doing that weird not-Bogart impression. Unfortunately there’s also a plot in the present day, and they’re connected, and neither of them makes a lot of sense, and it’s kind of a disaster all around. But: One of the all-time great Higgins speeches! Also, Jason almost forgets the blockbuster segment he introduced to the show last time!
-
July 23, 2025
104 “Solo Flight” (S7E16)
Norman Fell menaces in hallucinatory flashbacks, a centipede bite causes mayhem, a spider steals Herman the Shark’s valor, and there’s some guy named Michaels. Unfortunately, this episode wants to be “Home from the Sea”, and even re-uses footage from that episode, which just reminds us that we’d rather be watching that episode.
-
July 17, 2025
103 “China Doll” (S1E3)
This earliest non-pilot episode of Magnum features weird music, dogs, shots from the opening credits, an unfortunate Chinese food joke, fast dialogue, and a kung-fu assassin with one fatal flaw: blinking.
-
July 10, 2025
102 “Lest We Forget” (S1E10)
Back to the early days of “Magnum” with this episode featuring dual Ferrers and dual Lockharts along with a single Scatman. This episode really sets the stage for what this show will be able to do, even with the unnecessarily complicated plot. But don’t hold it against the screenwriter—after all, he is a novelist.
-
July 3, 2025
101 “This Island Isn’t Big Enough…” (S6E16)
Now lissen up, Pilgrim, there’s a fake Christopher Cross version of the Magnum Theme and a dead body in a trunk in this episode. We play a game of Bad Cop/No Cop with guest star Clyde Kusatsu! But… does it have the island vibes?
-
June 26, 2025
100 “All For One, Part 2” (S5E16)
It’s our 100th episode spectacular! Major General Eyepatch threatens our friends with death! Rick faces death by remembering some guys on the 1969 Cubs, but can Phil remember those guys? Is Robert Forster chewing the scenery… for the CIA? Which episode template of “Magnum, p.i.” is this, anyway? And Clyde Kusatsu is the George freakin’ Washington of Cambodia.
-
June 19, 2025
99 “All For One, Part 1” (S5E15)
Academy award nominee Robert Forster chews all available scenery in part one of this two-part episode featuring a rogue mission to Cambodia. The gang travels upriver to the heart of darkness to the strains of a very bad Creedence Clearwater Revival cover. Death to the papists!
-
June 12, 2025
98 Season 6 is approaching!
It’s time for another Summer of Magnum, unless you’re one of our many Australian listeners, in which case you’ll just warm yourself with shots of 1980s Hawaii. In this episode, we spend a surprising amount of time doing nothing other than announcing our return and telling you what episode we’re watching next. Consider this a shakedown cruise.
-
March 23, 2025
97 2025 Member Special
We preview our 2025 Member Special, which is about S3E1 of “Vega$”, “Aloha You’re Dead,” starring Robert Urich. It aired a month before the first episode of “Magnum” and features a lot of familiar locations, including Robin’s Nest itself. You can listen to that episode if you become an Incomparable member. In this teaser episode we also read a letter, discuss swearing, Jason brings up some recent news, and it’s basically our usual nonsense. We’ll be back later this year with a full season!