Magnum P.I. delivered some game-changers while still leaving some unanswered questions, after Stephen Hill talked the show's "long form" approach.
Magnum P.I. initially seemed like it could end on a slightly somber note in “Dead Ringer” when it came to the career of Katsumoto, on top of the question of how Magnum and especially Higgins would react to Rick and T.C. figuring out their secret in the previous episode. There were a lot of developments in “Dead Ringer,” and fortunately, the episode definitely didn’t end on that somber note. Actor Stephen Hill has opened up to CinemaBlend about the “long form” storytelling in Season 5 with the move to NBC.
But first things first! “Dead Ringer” gave the ohana some wins, with Katsumoto’s speech to the HPD brass working to get his job back, Magnum too happy in his new relationship to keep lying to Rick and T.C., and Higgins ready for the secret to come out anyway. Some of the biggest questions of Season 5 – some of which were leftover from Season 4 when the series was still on CBS – have been answered… while others have not.For example, does the show have more in store with what happened to the late Captain Greene in the foreseeable future? Will Detective Childs stick around now that Katsumoto will be back? What does the future hold for Magnum and Higgins (and roommate Rick) now that their secret is out? Is Rick’s dream of a future with Suzy going to pay off, now that his hope is restored? And what will Kumu say to Magnum and Higgins about their relationship, if anything, since she didn’t catch them in the act? Kumu is a voice of reason, after all!
Only time and the remaining episodes of Season 5 can hold the answer to those questions, but they’re proof enough that Magnum P.I. didn’t turn into a complete procedural in the network switch. The cases are rarely the same (even though Mittens the cat still gets a mention from time to time), but stories don’t all begin and end in the span of one episode. The show uses what star Stephen Hill calls “long form storytelling,” as he described what it has been like to continue playing T.C. for five seasons and counting.
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