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The Best Episodes of Magnum, P.I. Season 1

Every episode of Magnum, P.I. Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Magnum, P.I. Season 1!

The Best Episodes of Magnum, P.I. Season 1

A private investigator who works when he wants, lives in a beachfront estate in Hawaii, drives a posh Ferrari, runs up an unlimited tab at...
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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 1 - Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (1)
    7.8/10(1499 votes)

    #1 - Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (1)

    S1:E1

    When Thomas's childhood friend and Naval comrade Dan Cook turns up dead, Thomas is adamant that the official cause of death, a burst bag of smuggled cocaine, is bogus, and enlists the aid of Dan's sister Alice in taking on the Navy to uncover the true nature of the top-secret assignment Dan was working on before his death.

    Director:Roger Young
    Writer:Glen A. Larson

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  2. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 2 - Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2)
    7.8/10(751 votes)

    #2 - Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2)

    S1:E2

    Magnum and Alice continue in their quest to find out the truth behind Lt. Dan Cook's death, and find themselves uncovering a case of gold smuggling, and a criminal mastermind whom Magnum and Dan once knew in Vietnam. But in trying to find out what really did happen to his deceased friend, Magnum puts his own life on the line as someone tries to stop him from investigating, using any means necessary...

    Director:Roger Young
    Writer:Glen A. Larson

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  3. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 3 - China Doll
    7.4/10(736 votes)

    #3 - China Doll

    S1:E3

    Magnum is hired by a beautiful Chinese antiques dealer that he's making a play for to protect a precious ancient vase—The Soul of Sung—until its buyer arrives in Hawaii to collect it. But unbeknownst to him, the priceless ornament is wanted by a Tong gang from the girl's home country, and a deadly martial arts assassin who can kill in the blink of an eye is hot on the trail.

    Director:Donald P. Bellisario
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  4. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 4 - Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too
    7.1/10(678 votes)

    #4 - Thank Heaven for Little Girls and Big Ones Too

    S1:E4

    It's the Christmas season, and against his better judgment, Magnum agrees to being hired by five young schoolgirls to find their teacher, who has seemingly gone missing after falling in love. While he's working on the case, Magnum manages to convince Higgins to let the young girls stay on the Masters estate, but he's unaware that he's being deceived in a scam over a valuable painting recently purchased by Robin Masters.

    Director:Bruce Seth Green
    Writer:Babs Greyhosky

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  5. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 5 - No Need to Know
    7.6/10(633 votes)

    #5 - No Need to Know

    S1:E5

    Magnum returns from a case to find that Higgins' old Army commander is staying on the Masters estate, under tight security, until some I.R.A. members he helped capture are tried. Two secret intelligence agents hire Magnum to protect the brigadier and foil assassins out to kill him before the terrorists' trial, but the “need to know” basis the agents insist on operating by only serves to complicate matters for Magnum.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Frank Lupo

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  6. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 6 - Skin Deep
    7.4/10(636 votes)

    #6 - Skin Deep

    S1:E6

    When a beautiful model-actress is killed by a shotgun blast in a scenario closely resembling a scene from the script of an upcoming film, it is seemingly suicide. Magnum is hired by her former producer and lover to investigate any other men that she may have been seeing before her death.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  7. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 7 - Never Again... Never Again
    7.5/10(616 votes)

    #7 - Never Again... Never Again

    S1:E7

    When Saul and Lena, an aging couple who run a local shop, abruptly make plans to leave town, suspicious Magnum and Rick, who are friends with the couple, investigate.

    Director:Robert Loggia
    Writer:Babs Greyhosky

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  8. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 8 - The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii
    6.6/10(660 votes)

    #8 - The Ugliest Dog in Hawaii

    S1:E8

    Higgins volunteers Magnum's services to guard a wealthy socialite's quarantined dog after the attempted dognapping of the canine. Sir Algernon Farnsworth soon finds himself to be the most wanted dog in Hawaii when his former owner, aging gangster Victor DiGiorgio, needs to get him back.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writers:Allan Cole, Frank Lupo, Chris Bunch

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  9. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 9 - Missing in Action
    7.2/10(578 votes)

    #9 - Missing in Action

    S1:E9

    Although Eric Tobin was reported missing in action over eight years ago, his fiancee, Laura Fraser, endowed with ESP, doesn't believe it. Magnum befriends her and, in finding out the truth about Tobin, discovers that he was a highly trained and effective government agent working under the control of a man known only as Delta One.

    Director:Robert Loggia
    Writer:Craig Buck

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  10. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 10 - Lest We Forget
    8.2/10(649 votes)

    #10 - Lest We Forget

    S1:E10

    Magnum is hired by a Supreme Court nominee to find the woman he married on the eve of the raid on Pearl Harbor.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  11. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 11 - The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club
    7.5/10(541 votes)

    #11 - The Curse of the King Kamehameha Club

    S1:E11

    Rick is organizing a surf-ski competition to be held at the King Kamehameha Club (much to the disapproval of co-committee member Higgins) when a Kahuna appears and places a "curse" on the club and all who use it.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writer:Babs Greyhosky

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  12. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 12 - Thicker than Blood
    7.7/10(539 votes)

    #12 - Thicker than Blood

    S1:E12

    T.C. makes a late-night flight to land on a tanker, but on the journey back he is cornered and arrested by the Coast Guard for transporting drugs. Magnum and Rick are certain of their friend's innocence, but are shocked when he intends to accept the charges and refuses their help.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  13. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 13 - All Roads Lead to Floyd
    7.3/10(532 votes)

    #13 - All Roads Lead to Floyd

    S1:E13

    A bubbly young woman hires Magnum to find her father who, after being missing for over ten years, had sent her a postcard from Hawaii. But her father is involved in some rather shady business, and Magnum isn't the only one looking for him.

    Director:Ron Satlof
    Writers:Babs Greyhosky, Rogers Turrentine

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  14. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 14 - Adelaide
    7.1/10(543 votes)

    #14 - Adelaide

    S1:E14

    A woman hires Magnum to protect Norman, who is facing kidnap unless she pays a ransom; but the case has some unexpected twists.

    Director:Lawrence Doheny
    Writer:Robert Hamilton

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  15. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 15 - Don't Say Goodbye
    7.5/10(568 votes)

    #15 - Don't Say Goodbye

    S1:E15

    Having once been hired by wealthy, blind Agatha Kimball to find her missing granddaughter, Amy, Magnum's services are once again called upon by his elderly friend after she has been contacted by a blackmailer claiming to have some important information about Amy.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writers:Babs Greyhosky, T.J. Miles

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  16. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 16 - The Black Orchid
    7.2/10(539 votes)

    #16 - The Black Orchid

    S1:E16

    Magnum has been hired by a woman to act out some of her rich, bored sister's fantasy dramas, concocted from 1930s Dashiell Hammett films. Although growing to enjoy the world of fantasy, Magnum has a hard time keeping up with the eccentric woman, and when he finds out that her husband is a wealthy, infamously jealous and bad-tempered business man, he decides to cut his losses and end the arrangement.

    Director:Ray Austin
    Writer:Robert Hamilton

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  17. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 17 - J. "Digger" Doyle
    8.3/10(582 votes)

    #17 - J. "Digger" Doyle

    S1:E17

    Magnum tries to impress a beautiful 'fan' of Robin's by showing her the Robin Masters estate, only to learn that she is actually a top security expert hired by Robin to test the estate's security.

    Director:Winrich Kolbe
    Writer:Donald P. Bellisario

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  18. Magnum, P.I. Season 1 Episode 18 - Beauty Knows No Pain
    7.6/10(501 votes)

    #18 - Beauty Knows No Pain

    S1:E18

    Magnum is hired by Barbara Terranova, a financially broke woman who can only afford his services for one day, to find her missing fiancé Roger. But the case has several tangles in store when Magnum finds there are others searching for Roger, too.

    Director:Ray Austin
    Writer:Robert Hamilton

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (1)" is the best rated episode of "Magnum, P.I." season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 1499 votes. Directed by Roger Young and written by Glen A. Larson, it aired on 12/11/1980. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii (2)".