It was a great pleasure to renew with that long and successful series that Magnum PI was. The series began in 1980 and run up to 1988. Basically, the series turns around a "group" of former Vietnam War friends, TC and Rick, living in Hawaii. Tom Selleck is the main character, Thomas Magnum, a private eye sharing the Robin Masters estate with a retired Army Sergeant Major, Higgins played by John Hillerman (he was born in Texas actually). I suspect Higgins to be a former Intelligence Officer in the British army.
It is not only concentrating on Magnum. Some episodes concern Magnum's "accomplices" adventure too. Sometime in a serious way, but also have a humorous overtone.
Higgins main occupation is to write his memoirs. In 'Holmes is where the heart is', Higgins has just learned the sad news that his friend David Worth, played by Patrick Macnee (John Steed from 'The Avengers') has passed away. So Higgins decides to write about his adventures with Worth. Higgins was brought in by Worth, a former Intelligence Officer, who has a psychological problem, he thinks he is Sherlock Holmes. Worth, who escaped a mental institute, arrives at the end of the funeral of a friend and surprises Higgins by his presence. Rapidly, Worth goes for action, convinced that the man who died was actually murdered. At the end of the day, to give credibility to the story, he was right. However, an intelligence team is on his trail formed by a British Intelligence Officer, Vicar, played by Bruce Atkinson, and a KGB agent, Lever, played by Michael Billington.
Michael is great in the episode. Relaxed and professional as is usual, his presence is noticeable. The episode focuses on Higgins and Macnee, and Michael appears occasionally, unfortunately, to fans. However, I see in his performance the action man I have seen in previous action movies or series like KGB or UFO. He is still an athletic man, and ready for action. On the opposite of Vicar personage, who is too soft, to my point of view, Lever is more active. Actually, the Vicar looks more like the KGB agent than Lever. One should remember that around that time, 1984, he was still competing to get the James Bond role. And also, he was trying to get a name in America.
At a convention in September 2003 in Clacton-on-sea, Mike replied to a question by a fan. He was asked if he ever met Tom Selleck. Yes indeed, he recalled to have met Tom in Los Angeles. But never actually had any scenes, nor were they on set at the same time unfortunately.
Magnum PI is a very good series which I recommend you to watch. Actually, the four first series are available on DVD mostly around the world. The actual episode is on the fourth set.
