Favorite Fictional Character --- Thomas Magnum

Looking back on it, 1980 seems to be a critical year in U.S. and world history. Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, Iran and Iraq engage in a war that will last eight years, Yasser Arafat is elected to lead the Palestinians, Rhodesia becomes Zimbabwe and is once again under majority back rule, Indira Gandhi rises to power in India, Post-It Notes hit the market, millions tuned in to see who shot J.R., and John Lennon is gunned down in the street. It was a turbulent beginning to a decade that would see massive cultural and political change on a global level. It would also usher in a decade rich in music, movies, and television.

It was hard to choose a character from this year, simply because it was chock full of good choices. I ended up choosing Thomas Magnum from Magnum, P.I. not only because I wanted to be him, minus the women falling at his feet, but because he represents the first half of the decade so well.

Played by the rakish Tom Selleck, Magnum is a private eye that for whatever reason lives on the Hawaiian estate of Robin Masters, a bestselling sensationalist author. If I remember right Magnum did some work for him, and as a result is allowed to live on the estate while pursuing other clients, as long as he is avaliable when he's needed.  He drives the guy's Ferrari, drinks his alcohol, and gives Higgins, the caretaker, a hard time. I can't say that he's a typical P.I., at least not the ones I'm used to in books, but he was never boring and oozed charisma out of his pores. Looking back on it, I think he looks like a sleazy porn star, but that was hot back then.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the coolest thing he ever did was team up with Jessica Fletcher on one of her trips to the island. They were brilliant together.