Magnum, P.I. - The Complete Second Season
Return to the Big Island for more adventure with Tom Selleck’s  charmingly roguish detective hero, Thomas Magnum, courtesy of this  three-disc set, which compiles the entire second season (1981-1982) ofMagnum, P.I..  The 22 episodes included here (among them the  two-part "Memories Are Forever") crystallize the key to the series’  success: an appealing blend of action, drama, mystery, and comedy,  cemented by Selleck and his likable castmates, especially John  Hillerman, who would earn a Golden Globe for his work onMagnumin ’82.  Highlights of the season include Magnum’s attempt to stop an  international assassin ("The Jororo Kill," with Tyne Daly), the arrival  of Hemingway-esque author Mad Buck Gibson (Darren McGavin) in the  episode of the same name, and the aforementioned two-parter, which  reunites Magnum with a woman he thought to have died after marrying her  while serving in Vietnam. The usual array of classy guest stars are  also on hand for this season; in addition to the aforementioned actors,  there are turns by Mimi Rogers, Vic Morrow, Vera Miles, Jill St. John,  and Elisha Cook Jr. (who plays a much different character than his  recurring role as "Ice Pick" in future seasons). AndMagnumobsessives should note early appearances by Gillian Dobb, who played  Agatha Chumley in numerous subsequent episodes, as well as one of  Higgins’s colorful, estranged half-brothers in "The Elmo Ziller Story." It’s unfortunate that the set itself doesn’t match the quality of the  Episodes--extras are limited to second-season episodes fromKnight  RiderandThe A-Team--butMagnumfans should be  pleased to have all the episodes in a single set, and best of all,  commercial-free.--Paul Gaita