Thomas Magnum had several sidekicks, one of them being T.C. who runs a helicopter service named “Island Hoppers.” Apparently, he was a former Marine during the Vietnam War.
He would also be the guy that Magnum would constantly persuade to fly him around on his missions, as well as get bribed to do some dirty work.
Magnum Navy Seal Of Approval
Apparently, Thomas Magnum was a man of great honor. Aside from the variety of military decorations and awards he had, he also wore a uniform that had the Navy Cross and the Naval Special Warfare insignia, exhibiting that he was most probably a SEAL and was given the second highest honor for a naval officer.
He would also be seen in episodes wearing service ribbons for the Purple Heart, a Vietnam Service Medal, a National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Gallantry Cross, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Impressive!
Go Tigers!
If you ever caught them, there were actually numerous references to the Detroit Tigers in the show. Apparently, Tom Selleck was a huge fan of the team! In fact, his character was seen a number of times sporting a Tigers baseball cap.
This started after one of the show’s episodes entitled “Tigers Fan.” In this episode, Magnum is given a Tigers cap by a policeman’s nephew after he solves the murder of his uncle.
Tee Total T.C.
There was some apparent misdirection in terms of character progression since the producers suddenly made T.C. a drinker. He technically drank a beer in every episode of season 1, and suddenly just didn’t drink anymore with the following seasons.
This sudden habit change was pretty overlooked in the show but it didn’t get in the way of its success, obviously.
Higgins’ Full Name
Higgins, Thomas Magnum’s foil, was actually named Jonathan Quayle Higgins III. He was pretty well known to constantly ramble and have arguments between the other three main characters. Ultimately though, they were still a very close unit.
John Hillerman, the actor behind Higgins, commented on his character stating that, “Higgins in any situation thinks he’s the only sane person around while everyone else is raving mad.”