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Why Rick Wright is the true hero of Magnum P.I.

While Magnum P.I. is primarily centered around the character of Thomas Magnum, many fans and critics have argued that Rick Wright, played by Larry Manetti, is actually the unsung hero of the series. Rick is a Vietnam veteran and the owner of the King Kamehameha Club, a popular nightclub in Hawaii that is frequented by Magnum and his friends. Despite not being a trained investigator like Magnum,…

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sparkle on! it’s Wednesday! don’t forget to be yourself!

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if I had a better attention span and knowledge of 1980s feminism I would love to write extensively about Grady Fletcher and his interesting journey finding romance in relation to the writers. I’ll just do my best to summarize my thoughts.

the way they had him match up with Donna Mayberry (whom I adore, by the way) was an interesting switch from the type of women he was shown pining for through the first half of the series. he was introduced to us as the boyfriend of a working woman, Kit Donovan. sweet, girlish, romantic, but not “overly” caught up in her career.

after Grady and Kit broke up off screen after the pilot, Grady was seen chasing arguably career-oriented women—strong-willed, after high-paying jobs, climbing the ladder, ambitious, stoic, or even deceitful in the name of money. while Grady was working as an accountant to simply work a job, these women were focused on building careers; the epitome of the 1980s working woman, or rather a symbol of what many women at the time wished to achieve. from what I can recall, Grady never explicitly said during this era that he was tired of pining for working women. it could be assumed from his character that he and his potential wife could work jobs at the same time, breaking out of what a nuclear, traditional American marriage looked like up to then.

then along came Donna. she was another accountant, like Grady, but came from a wealthy family and had worked under her father before. she, like Kit Donovan, was sweet, girlish, and romantic, but apparently not interested in building a career. she dreamed of starting a family and being a doting housewife. we suddenly saw a switch up with Grady, who lamented to his Aunt Jess that what he truly wants is a traditional marriage where his wife will stay home and cook for him. Jess was sort of like a confidant for them in this episode and realized they’re perfect for each other’s wants. I think at one point after Donna and Grady argue, Donna told Jess she thinks Grady might be upset she’s working. both Grady and Donna are the same brand of awkward and a little dim, and I wouldn’t say Grady is an alpha male type at all, but Donna likes to defer to him for decisions as a couple for the most part because that is what they both evidently want.

we hadn’t seen these views expressed previously, so I just thought it was intriguing that they nudged his character in a different direction. perhaps it was subtle commentary from the writers that these working women were too much for Grady, not focused enough on their relationships and settling down to start a family. maybe they felt Grady’s schtick of bad luck in romance was getting old and wanted him to settle down with a housewife as soon as possible to use his character less. it also should be noted that it is partly because of feminism that Donna can choose to happily be a housewife for Grady and that it is her ultimate goal in life, but also likely in part to her being rich and being able to afford to stay home so that she and Grady don’t need two incomes.

I’m also curious about where Grady would’ve gotten the idea of desiring a traditional American marriage. I think part of it, again, has to do with his streak of bad luck making relationships work with career women (maybe giving him a ‘women these days are too busy for love!’ mindset), but perhaps part of it started in the home. Jessica, while certainly feminist in nature, did not see herself as an explicit feminist. as far as I know, we have no idea what the marriage roles were like in her relationship with Frank Fletcher, but they did live in a conservative Maine town full of traditional older folks compared to young yuppies before she ventured into being a writer, and they raised Grady together. in the pilot she said that she did not purposefully try to weave a “feminist thrust” into her first book by making the killer a pregnant ballerina, but over time in the series Jess did end up growing into feminist habits as an older, widowed, female writer traveling the world by herself.

who knows, I’m not educated enough for an in-depth look at all this but I wanted to explore my thoughts about it. Donna is a huge sweetheart and pretty funny, even if she and Grady are alike as people I think she has him beat in the personality department and acts as a nice foil to his bumbling decisions. I enjoy both of their characters but Donna deferring to Grady for stuff when he’s just barely capable of caring for himself is hilarious. settling for a man that is, no offense but utterly mediocre as Grady? super funny. like don’t get me wrong, they definitely work for each other in the end, but… Donna… 💀

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I feel like a traditional Mainer such as Jessica would never let Grady get away with not knowing how to cook as an adult, but I like to think Grady just stocked up on a shit ton of tuna because it’s cheap after working with Captain Caleb especially if he might’ve gotten discounts for being an employee, and now he’s just used to cooking with canned tuna after all this time because it’s time consuming to cook good food

and then brought several cans of tuna WITH him from New York because he strikes me as the kind of person to do that, and is so used to a diet of canned tuna he doesn’t understand everyone else thinks he’s insane

a detail I love in my favorite Murder, She Wrote episode “Crossed Up” is the writing team referencing how Grady used to be an accountant at Captain Caleb’s canned tuna company in the show pilot

man is in his 20s living alone in a NYC apartment and only knows how to cook with canned tuna like two years after losing that job

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a detail I love in my favorite Murder, She Wrote episode “Crossed Up” is the writing team referencing how Grady used to be an accountant at Captain Caleb’s canned tuna company in the show pilot

man is in his 20s living alone in a NYC apartment and only knows how to cook with canned tuna like two years after losing that job

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sparkle on! it’s Wednesday! don’t forget to be yourself!

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something I love that seems random but is fantastic is how the writers of Magnum, P.I. decided to make Rick and Higgins co-workers at the same club and they argue with each other at work constantly just like any co-workers that hate each other

gives Higgins even more people to bully than Thomas and gives depth to the relationship between Higs and Rick where they slowly go from “I can’t stand you and everything you do you’re so annoying!” to respectful tolerance to Higgins saving Rick’s life and caring about how his unresolved PTSD makes him feel

of course Thomas and Higgins bickering like a married couple is a major highlight of the show but I appreciate developments in other dynamics. and the fact that Thomas can’t escape Higgins being annoying at home but he also can’t escape Higgins being annoying at his favorite club. Higgins is everywhere, always watching

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I know on the outside Magnum, P.I. looks like a typical ‘80s action crime show with a hot male lead who punches bad guys and gets hot girls but what if I told you it was also about three best friends being stupid and getting into hijinks

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Thomas Magnum + ADHD

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sparkle on! it’s Wednesday! don’t forget to be yourself!

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sparkle on! it’s Wednesday! don’t forget to be yourself!

[magnum-fletcher-columbo]

sparkle on! it’s Wednesday! don’t forget to be yourself!

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Season 6 is a trip

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This is WHOLESOME