Tom Selleck remembers a pivotal moment in Season 1 of Magnum P.I. during the episode “Don’t Say Goodbye“, which was the fifteenth episode of the first season of Magnum, P.I. which originally aired on March 26, 1981.
“Magnum always avoided fights, ran away or did interesting things. There was a very formative moment in the first season. My pal Ted Danson was guesting, and we had a [staged] fight at the dock; I was getting the best of him, so he grabbed a great big grappling hook. I looked at the positions we were in–the girl I was trying to protect was behind me–and I said to the director, “Why don’t I just push her in the water, jump in, and then we run away?” To me it’s always about trying to flip the conventions. The director freaked out. He said, “We’ve got to call L.A. [for approval].” And I said, “That’s what I think I want to do.” It was a real pivotal show. I’m not even sure it was a good ending for that show, but it sure informed me about what my appetites were.” Ted Danson on his memories of that episode:
“I remember that scene led to the wonderfully self-deprecating humor that Tom imbued Magnum with. It was pivotal for me too, but for a completely different reason: I had never really seen the back of my head on camera before, and I discovered that I was balding. Not my finest moment.”
