Hypothesis

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    I've been having second thoughts about the suitability of Tom Selleck to carry on the tradition of great Western movies.

    Several weeks ago I bought all eight seasons of the TV show "Magnum p.i.", which I used to watch fairly regularly back in the early Eighties when it first came out. I don't know why but in watching these episodes of a show I used to enjoy, I've become disenchanted with Selleck. In most of the "Magnum" episodes, he's always giving a silly little giggle and making goofy-looking faces and after awhile, it gets really irritating. I also get upset with the constant bickering between Selleck and the other characters in the show.

    Since beginning the viewing of this old TV show, I've more and more come to regard Selleck as what the Governator terms a "girlie-man". In other words, he doesn't project the masculinity of a John Wayne.

    This reversal of regard for Tom kinda surprises me because I thought he was great, and all man, as the cowboy in "Quigley Down Under".

    De gustibus non est disputandum

    Our family, too, has gone through all eight seasons of Magnum, and I have become increasingly annoyed with the argumentative nature that you describe. I think we may not have noticed it years ago because there was a whole week of real life between episodes. Watching episodes so closely together, the bickering becomes cumulative rather quickly. Another thing to keep in mind is that we are both 20+ years older . . . and I suspect that what they say is true, about getting older and grumpier - I know I sure am :glare:!


    That being said, we are still enjoying watching the show. I remember thinking then, and still, that the writers of the show had a way of weaving a story line (friendships and relationships with the recurring characters) throughout the whole series, yet most episodes were stand-alone, in that you didn't have to have watched the whole season for that one episode to make sense (note that I said MOST). Some episodes strongly relied on having seen the series almost from the beginning.


    However, Tom Selleck as a cowboy still seems like a strong choice, based on his portrayal in that particular role. Certainly, there are not many others who measure up, IMO.


    Chester :newyear:

    Quote from chester7777

    Another thing to keep in mind is that we are both 20+ years older . . . and I suspect that what they say is true, about getting older and grumpier - I know I sure am :glare:!



    You sure hit the nail on the head with that observation, Jim. :wink: I'm also a lot grumpier than I used to be. Guess it's all this arthritic pain I have.

    In watching the "Magnum" episodes, another thing that really bothers me is the contradiction in demeanor and/or behavior shown by Tom's character throughout the show.

    As you know, he was supposed to have been a SEAL in 'Nam. SEALS are about as tough and masculine as they come. Yet throughout the TV episodes, he's constantly giving us a silly little girlish giggle, along with what I suppose he thinks are "funny" faces (I think they're just equally silly and goofy). In my eyes, SEALS aren't supposed to act so sissified. :ohmy:

    De gustibus non est disputandum

    I think You are both right, Tom Selleck does act Silly in Magnum, But I think He was Great in "Crossfire Trail" By Louis L'Amour a few Years back, and one of the Best Western sense Duke Past Away !
    :teeth_smile:
    I think I will pull it out and Watch it Today.

    Bill
    :cowboy:



    I really liked Selleck in the Westerns "The Sacketts", "Daybreakers" and one or two others in which he played with Sam Elliot. He wasn't so sissified in them as he was in "Magnum". But I think my all-time favorite Selleck role was in "Quigley Down Under".

    De gustibus non est disputandum

    Just got though watching Tom Selleck in "Crossfire Trail" again, and I will say it again, He can be Very Good in a Western !
    :wink:
    And Tom had a Moustache and Goattee Just Like Duke in The Shootist !!!
    :stunned:
    Chilibill
    :cowboy:

    Quote from William T Brooks

    He can be Very Good in a Western !



    Shoot, Bill, he can be very good in just about any role where he plays it straight. I've seen some of those "Magnum" episodes that I really liked but invariably, there's not a lot of silly giggling and face-making in them. The problem is that the serious episodes are few and far between.

    He can also be pretty bad in a Western. I didn't like him at all in the "Monte Walsh" remake. The original was muuuuucccch better, I thought. Wish they'd release the original on disc. That's one of my favorite Westerns. Very humorous and also very sad, as it conveys the passing of the old West.

    De gustibus non est disputandum