MAGNUM, P.I.: NOVEL CONNECTION {PART 1 OF 2-PART CROSSOVER EPISODE WITH "MURDER, SHE WROTE"} (TV)
Summary
One in this detective series set in Hawaii, starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a former naval officer turned private investigator. This two-part episode is a crossover with “Murder, She Wrote,” the murder mystery series about an unassuming Maine mystery writer turned sleuth named Jessica B. Fletcher who uses her professional insight to help solve real-life homicide cases. In the first part, Higgins drives several female guests who are in town to meet the famous novelist Robin Masters, although he is, of course, away on business. On the way, they are nearly run off the road by a truck. On the beach, Magnum argues with Rick, who, allow with TC, wants him to chip in on the purchase of some land in Maui that he swears will turn a profit, saying that time is of the essence. At Robin’s Nest, Magnum meets the women, Pamela, Joan and her secretary Amy, and Pamela swears that someone just tried to kill them, although Higgins is doubtful and tells Magnum not to get involved in the case. Magnum suspects that he is employing reverse psychology, however, and is surprised when Joan accidentally reveals that Pamela has already called another private investigator. Insulted, Magnum prepares to head off to Maui with Rick and TC, but insists that Higgins call him if Pamela’s P.I. is unsuccessful. He then orders the helicopter to follow Amy as she goes shopping in town, suspecting that something is amiss, and when he observes her on foot, he sees a mysterious man chasing her. When he returns to Robin’s Nest, he learns that Pamela’s P.I. has not yet arrived and that Amy’s car was found abandoned with her missing, and the others admonish Magnum for not intervening when he saw her in danger.
Magnum meets with the cops, but Captain Browning is uninterested in his help. He sneaks into the policeman’s office and looks at Amy’s report, observing that some asthma medication was recovered from her car. Pamela then tells him that Joan is missing as well and explains that she has been managing her late husband’s business by herself. When Magnum asks, Pamela refuses to divulge details about her own investigator, and he is frustrated to be “replaced,” despite never actually having been hired. He then meets with a Mr. Houston from the office building at which Magnum saw Amy being chased, but he offers no helpful advice. Magnum receives a phone call from a doctor about Amy’s prescription, which she called to have delivered to a motel. Magnum goes to deliver it himself, but when he sees the same man who pursued Amy watching him, he leads him into a trap and tries to capture him, but the man escapes, shooting at him. He locates Amy, who tells him that she is being pursued by a detective hired by an angry ex, but Magnum does not believe her. He returns to Robin’s Nest and is stunned to meet Pamela’s P.I., the famous “J.B.” Fletcher—Jessica Fletcher. Higgins is delighted to meet her, but Magnum is annoyed, as Jessica is a writer, not a real investigator. At lunch, Joan returns and claims she was merely at the beach with a gentleman friend, and the women challenge Magnum to solve the case after all, at which point his frustration boils over. They are interrupted, however, by several more gunshots from outside.
Magnum reveals that a man named Mayfield rented the car that pursued Amy, and he speculates that he may be a professional assassin. He talks with Rick and TC over the phone about the case, but they are distracted by the Maui property, which is nothing more than a rundown lot. Jessica comes to Magnum with several clever observations that she made about the women, but Magnum is dismissive, saying that he will handle it. She then analyzes the bullets’ trajectory and guesses that the gunman was after Higgins. To everyone’s surprise, Joan and Amy leave for a party, and Magnum decides that Joan is the one in danger, as Mayfield was seen looking for her the previous day and possibly followed Amy to find her. Pamela, Higgins and Jessica arrive at the party as well, looking to recover Joan to safety, and Jessica confronts Pamela, saying she has not told her the full truth. Pamela explains that she thinks her publisher is embezzling from her and is possibly involved, and Jessica urges her to return to New York and go to the police. Elsewhere, Magnum tells Higgins that he thinks Houston hired Mayfield to kill Joan so he could take over the company left by her husband, but Higgins concedes that it is merely “plausible.” He keeps an eye on Mayfield as Jessica prepares to leave with Pamela, and she tells Magnum that she thinks that Amy is the real target, but he remains convinced of his theory. Magnum soon catches Mayfield, who again flees and shoots at him, and this time Magnum manages to kill him. Later, as Jessica and Pamela head for the airport, Magnum learns that he was correct and that Houston confessed, and he receives a letter of praise from Jessica. Higgins also informs him that the land purchased by his friends was a scam, but he resolves to pay his third anyway out of solidarity, pondering ways that they could still make a profit. He then settles down with one of Jessica’s novels. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: November 19, 1986 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:48:00
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:11192
- GENRE: Drama, police/private detective
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, police/private detective
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV series, 1980-1988
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Donald P. Bellisario … Executive Producer, Created by
- Chas. Floyd Johnson … Co-Executive Producer
- Chris Abbott-Fish … Supervising Producer
- Rick Weaver … Producer
- Jay Huguely … Producer, Writer
- David Bellisario … Associate Producer
- Glen A. Larson … Created by
- Harry Harris … Director
- Mike Post … Music by
- Pete Carpenter … Music by
- Tom Selleck … Cast, Magnum
- John Hillerman … Cast, Higgins
- Roger E. Mosley … Cast, TC
- Larry Manetti … Cast, Rick
- Ramon Bieri … Cast, Police Captain Frank Browning
- Stephanie Faracy … Cast, Amy Sayler
- Dorothy Loudon … Cast, Pamela Bates
- Jared Martin … Cast, Arthur Houston
- John McMartin … Cast, Jason Bryan
- Jessica Walter … Cast, Joan Fulton
- Angela Lansbury … Cast, Jessica Fletcher
- Don Matheson … Cast, Paul Mayfield
- Stephanie Reynolds … Cast, Secretary
- Frank Atienza … Cast, Sergeant Puna
- David Palmer … Cast, Elderly Man
- Roland Naauao … Cast, Police Officer