So rumor, which doth run before us like a mangy dog, says they’re finally getting started on a Magnum p.i. movie. I’m a little worried. The director of Dodgeball? Scary. That wasn’t a horrible movie, but it was your typical lightweight feel-good comedy; nothing like the depth Magnum developed over the years. I can see McConaughey pulling off the goofy side of Magnum, but I don’t know about the serious side.

From the sound of it, they may be abandoning much of the original story from the last few years of the series anyway. Making Magnum and his friends veterans of Iraq instead of Vietnam is a pretty huge change. Will he still have lost his wife overseas (he thought) and have a daughter he didn’t know about, or will they rewind to the beginning of the series and make it a light-hearted detective romp with bikinis and Ferraris? (Although the series was never really as light as people remember; the pilot started with Magnum’s friend being killed and accused of drug-smuggling.) That could make a good movie, but it wouldn’t be the continuation of the series I’d like to see.

I’d still like to see the original crew (the ones that are still alive) brought back for a mini-series or something. Just acknowledge their ages and go from there. It’s not like a whodunit show has to star buff young folks; Murder She Wrote, Father Dowling’s Mysteries, and Matlock somehow all did well without putting their stars in swimsuits. Selleck has made those Jesse Stone cop shows recently (based on the Robert Parker books, which are pretty good, by the way), so we know he can still play the investigator and tough guy parts.

Oh well, the movie may not be what I was hoping for, but I’ll probably see it anyway — if they follow through and make it. In the meantime, I think I’ll see if YouTube has any episodes up that I could watch while I’m working….