The Best of Tom Selleck in Magnum, P.I – Top 10 Episodes

I thought that we had to start this top 10 Magnum, P.I. episodes list off with something from season 1 as this is where the tone for the show was set. I always liked it when a case would have the potential for a little bit of the supernatural to be sprinkled on top of it. I would always get a kick out of episodes like this.

Tom Selleck is his charming self here and I love how this episode really dives into the Hawaiian folklore as a curse is put on the King Kamehameha Club and strange accidents start to happen. It keeps you guessing throughout and I think that this is one of the best episodes from that first season.

It is so easy to think of Tom Selleck as that handsome guy from the 80s with an amazing mustache, but he is actually a fantastic actor and he gets to show some great emotional range in the episode “Going Home.”

This installment takes him away from Hawaii as he heads home to Virginia to bury his grandfather. He has a run-in with his stepdad, who he thinks has stolen a precious heirloom that was important to his family. While you do have your usual, Magnum trying to solve a mystery here, what I love about this episode is the way we see flashbacks to his past. This is a very emotional episode and it is one that I appreciate a lot more as an adult than I did as a kid watching it in the 80s.

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Next up we have the first episode on our top 10 Magnum, P.I. episodes list where we get to see the badass and dangerous side of Magnum! The man who tried to kill Magnum and Michelle is let out of prison on some kind of bogus technicality. Magnum is enraged when he gets a tip of Michelle and Lily being killed, so he vows to get revenge.

Seeing Magnum in his camo gear armed to the teeth is quite the sight. What starts as a story about looking for revenge and blood turns into something else as Magnum realizes that there is more than just his revenge and bloodlust at play here. Once again, Tom Selleck does an amazing job of showing what a diverse actor he is.

It was only in the last few years that I found out Season 7’s finale, “Limbo,” was supposed to be the end of the show! I have to say, while there are some episodes in Season 8 of Magnum, P.I. that I like, this would have been such a great way to bring the story and life of Magnum to a close.

Magnum is shot during a gunfight and we basically follow him as he walks through Limbo and comes to terms with being dead and being able to move on. This could have been such a hokey and cheesy episode, but they managed to pull it off. This would have been such a great and heartbreaking way to bring the story of this character to a close, but I guess the ratings for Magnum, P.I. were still high so there was more money to be made by having Magnum make a miraculous recovery!

What a great way to kick off a new season this epic episode was! This was one of the episodes that, when I started putting together this top 10 Magnum, P.I. episodes list together, I knew for sure would be on it.

Magnum has a thing where he likes to spend the 4^th of July alone on his boat while out at sea. While having some fun on his jet ski, there is an accident and he finds himself swept away at sea. Making it even worse, there are sharks closing in on him. This is a thrilling episode where we get to see Magnum fight to survive at sea, think back to his parents, and while this is all happening, Higgins and Rick are trying to find and save him. You know, I would make the argument that “Home From The Sea” is one of the best season premiers in this show’s entire run!

Out of all the episodes on this list, “Laura” from season 7 is the one that I have the strongest childhood memories about. The reason for this is that this episode features Ol’ Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, and my grandfather was a huge Sinatra fan and he read about this episode in the TV guide and talked about it all week!

Sinatra plays the role of an old cop from New York whose granddaughter was brutally killed by men that he was after. They are hiding out in Hawaii so he goes to Magnum to try and help bring these evil killers to justice. What we have here is a classic cop drama kind of episode and it is hard-hitting, but a lot of fun. This is one of those episodes that I am sure will appear on the majority of the top 10 Magnum, P.I. Episodes lists by fans of the show. 

It was so awesome back in the ’80s and ’90s when every major TV show would have a Christmas or a Halloween episode. In “Operation Silent Night,” Magnum and the gang are trying to get a family home for the holidays. Of course, this does not go to plan and they find themselves stuck on a secluded island that may be about to be used for target practice by the Navy.

What is there not to love about Tom Selleck dressed up as Santa Claus? Also, I like how we have some Christmas and Yuletide cheer in this episode, but in typical Magnum, P.I. fashion there is some real danger here too. But don’t worry, Magnum was a very good boy this year so Santa made sure that he was looked after.

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With all the action, the open Hawaiian shirts, the car chases, and the mustache, it is easy to forget that Magnum is a master detective. Tom Selleck gets to show his Batman-style detective skills in this episode!

He ends up being pulled into a game by a serial killer and it’s a race against time to figure out who the killer really is and put a stop to them. I love this and had to have it on my top 10 Magnum, P.I. episodes list as this is a classic detective whodunnit kind of story. Also, this episode deserves a ton of credit as it has a neat callback to something that happened in a previous episode. Plus, it kind of ends with a bit of a question mark over the whole case, which I liked.

Am I cheating by having a two-parter as one entry on this list? Perhaps, but it’ i’s my list and I make the rules. To be honest, the Season 3 premiere is some of the best stuff from the entire show! “Did You See The Sunrise” is such an epic story where Magnum’s Vietnam War past comes back to haunt him as we get an epic showdown with his big nemesis, Ivan, a sadistic KGB Officer.

The Soviets have managed to worm their way into things so that they can take out a Japanese official. Despite saving the day and uncovering the truth, Ivan is set free. Magnum then needs to step up and do the right thing! This is such an explosive episode and I envy anyone who is watching it for the first time as there are some mind-blowing twists and turns here. There is a very good reason why this is often ranked among the greatest TV episodes of all time!

If you looked at ten other Top 10 Magnum, P.I. episodes lists, I would wager not many will have “Novel Connection” as their number one, but I got such a kick out of this. What we have here is a crossover with Murder, She Wrote! That’s right, we have Angela Lansbury’s Jessica Fletcher in Hawaii trying to help Magnum after he is accused of taking out a mysterious hitman!

Tom Selleck and Angela Lansbury are just so much fun together, and they have amazing chemistry. This episode is actually followed up in Season 3, Episode 8’s, “Magnum on Ice” on Murder, She Wrote. Jessica is the main force in Magnum’s corner and she is certain that he has been framed! While this is not the only crossover that Magnum, P.I. would have, it is certainly my favorite and my favorite episode in general as I get such a kick out of it.