Roger E. Mosley

Playing T.C. in Magnum, P.I., Roger E. Mosley and the writers pulled off something difficult and risky, especially for a black man: creating a character who's strong but with a tendency towards slightly buffoonish self-deprecation – "good humor" being the character's way of getting by while being taken advantage of but also potentially turning into the character's crutch. This fit the show's conception: each of the four leads has weaknesses he retreats into and which grate on the others; then the case and whatever predicament Magnum's gotten into call them to action, and through the action they rise into themselves. Although the tone is very different from Buster Keaton – much more life-sized and relaxed – it's as if in each episode the ensemble goes through a Keaton-like transformation, finding purpose, achieving grace in motion.



There was a moment – don't remember its context, the particular story, but T.C. does something noble for someone, maybe volunteers to help some little kid with a paper route, and he does it well, and then when no one's looking you can see him being a bit smugly proud of himself.

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This was such an assured moment (Magnum, P.I.)

I remember exactly when it hit me, that I understood the show's low-key greatness: a police detective and several cops approach Magnum and tell him he has to come downtown, and they pull out handcuffs, and Magnum in his lightweight Hawaiian gear says, "Guys, cuffs? Isn't this a bit much?" and this was such an assured moment, like Howard Hawks with Bogart, or Hitchcock with Cary Grant; it felt lived-in, director and actor being firm in where they are, knowing the world they're creating.

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