Magnum, P.I. (TV Series) Memories Are Forever (1981) User Reviews

Love lost

[Mr-Fusion · 8/10 · 18 April 2016]

The Vietnam war hangs heavy over all of 'Memories Are Forever' and you can tell from the outset that this isn't going to be sunshine and lollipops. Magnum's convinced he's spotted his dead wife in Hawaii, which has everyone (himself included) questioning his sanity. Spoiler alert: it is her, and she turns out to be a player in an intelligence operation. But she's not a spider-woman, she's a survivor, and all of this is bigger than just two forbidden lovers.

It's a story of both love and loss and very painful for our hero, but also well told. What really makes this episode is how the war is used to flesh out these characters and deepen their relationship; particularly a scene between Magnum and Higgins. When the chips are down, the static between them melts away and they're once again brothers in arms. And when we do come to an end, it really does feel like this pain will still be there when next week rolls around.

Great episode.

8/10

The beginning of a truly epic story arc for Thomas Sullivan Magnum

[DVD_Connoisseur · 10/10 · 30 October 2018]

This top drawer, double-length tale of "Magnum" has everything the viewer had come to expect from the series, and much more.

Revealing a previously unseen backstory to the character, "Memories Are Forever" introduces us to Magnum's wife, Michelle (played by the late Marta DuBois) and the "gung ho" Colonel Buck Greene (Lance LeGault , who will be familiar to many as Colonel Decker from "The A-Team").

Incidentally, the story contains a truly jaw-dropping visual transition from Vietnam to modern-day Hawaii. Brilliant stuff. It's little touches like this that makes the series so special.

10 out of 10. The seeds are sown for many seasons to come.

So Begins the Most Powerful and Provocative Story Arc of the Entire Series!

[spasek · 10/10 · 18 February 2024]

This is not only one of the best episodes, but one that is pivotal that would have a rippling effect all the way through the very last episode of the entire series. Michelle would be a character who would only be in a handful of episodes, but each one of them is pure gold!

Most TV shows back then had largely episodic storylines during this time period. In other words, whatever transpired in an episode was rarely ever brought up again or even used to continue a storyline later on. TV shows were like one-act plays, or perhaps two-acts if there was a two-parter. To see how a storyline in this series would run from Season 2 and be periodically brought back through the final season was something a bit revolutionary. And when it is done well, it really does so much for the characters as we'd find out when season-long story arcs would become more the norm throughout television series.

We find out that Magnum was married-albeit briefly-while in Vietnam. As already pointed out, the story has some uncanny resemblance to Casablanca. However, despite the similarities, there are also some very subtle differences too. Michelle ends up being a key intelligence source for Colonel Buck Greene-another Magnum character expertly portrayed by Lance LeGault.

What makes this storyline so powerful throughout the rest of the series is that Magnum and Michelle only ever share very brief moments together. In many ways, it's a tragic love story, but Tom Selleck and Marta Dubois had such chemistry that you marvel at how well they are able to utilize it to the hilt; to get as much out of it so that each time these two have to part, it hits the viewer right in the heart. That some talented acting right there to be able to pull this off. This scenario probably mirrors some relationships in the world, where two people are only able to be together briefly and then part ways. The irony is that most of these stories tend to magnify and demonstrate that those "brief moments" can be more powerful than long years. Whether it's Romeo and Juliet, Jack and Rose, or Rick and Ilsa, we tend to find that moments are more valuable and inspiring than any kind of longevity.

Soap Opera Magnum

[mm-39 · 6/10 · 3 August 2021]

Memories Are Forever is a Soap Opera Magnum. Tom Seleck the 80's sex symbol had a huge female following. Memories Are Forever for the shirtless Seleck was geared for the female audience of Magnum P I. There is spy games and a lost love from Magnum's service in Vietnam. Is Magnum's wife still alive? Magnum has some photos which puts Magnum on the case. Many plot twists, personal character insights. 6 stars.

Vietnam War lives on (and on and on)

[safenoe · 6/10 · 1 August 2023]

Memories are Forever, a two-part episode in the second season of Magnum, P. I., seems very quaint in the time capsule of history because of Magnum banging on (or the broadcast at the end at least) about the Vietnam War never ending for the Americans, with MIAs still in Vietnam. But there were I think many more MIAs in Korea, but no-one bangs on about that.

Anyway, Magnum's wife is played by Marta DuBois. Magnum's wife is Michelle Hut, but Marta isn't Vietnamese or any other Asian ethnicity, but maybe that would have been too much for the early 80s sensitivities of American audiences so soon after the Vietnam War goodness me.