Elements of the Classic Mystery in Magnum P.I.'s "I Witness": A Case Study
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| Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash |
What Are the Key Elements of a Mystery?
At its core, a juicy mystery has to have these elements:
- The Sleuth
- Setting
- The Crime/Mystery
- A Satisfactory Solution
The sleuth is the main character who tries to solve the mystery. The mystery can also involve the sleuth. Their background usually connects them to the mystery or even to the killer/culprit. The sleuth has to have a motive that explains why they feel the need to solve the mystery.
Sometimes, the sleuth's motivation is rooted in the fact that they provide a service to clients and they don't have an emotional stake in the crime or mystery.
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| Photo by Eleanor Styles on Unsplash |
Setting
Readers are drawn into well-described and atmospheric settings. Think of Sherlock Holmes walking along the foggy streets of London, Nancy Drew driving around River Heights in blue roadster/convertible, or Thomas Magnum driving around Hawai'i in his red Ferrari. Details specific to each location help readers feel transported to these areas. The five senses should be employed. Things like local cuisine, flowers and snatches of conversation from the locals contribute to building a strong scene.
Setting can affect the other elements of a mystery. People react differently to weather, such as being afraid during a thunderstorm or panicked when they're snowed in and there's a power outage. The plot could also be determined by the temperature of the weather or the time of year.
Mysteries can have spooky or ominous settings that evoke a nervousness and unease in the characters and possibly the reader. But not all good classic mysteries are spooky or take place during a thunderstorm. Some murder mysteries take place in broad daylight and in quiet villages, such as St. Mary Mead.
To get readers to feel even more in the story, placing it in a familiar location can do the trick. Isolated old mansions are a favorite setting for mysteries because the stakes are high when the suspects cannot leave because it's on an island or get immediate help when there is a murderer on the loose. Old mansions are large and have the potential to include secret passageways, making it all the more intriguing. And if it's haunted or said to be haunted, readers are guaranteed to be hooked!
From Agatha Christie novels to Magnum P.I. to Scooby-Doo cartoons, setting plays a big factor in mysteries.
The Crime/Mystery
The crime is what springboards the entire mystery or plot. Some examples are kidnappings, murders and supernatural events. It often occurs in the first chapter or at the beginning of a show. The Colombo series, for instance, always shows the crime and culprit right at the beginning.
The crime or mystery sparks the investigation and propels the sleuth to learn more about the other characters, thus developing the narrative arc.
The crime or mystery will have a series of clues (and sometimes red herrings) along with fast-paced scenes where the culprit attempts to scare off or bump off the sleuth.
A Satisfactory Solution
The ending to the crime or mystery has the sleuth catch the culprit, lay out everyone's alibi and tie up any loose ends. A classic way to do this is to have the sleuth call everyone together with the police present and walk through the crime or mystery. Sometimes, there are surprise endings (like someone pulling a gun) and information the sleuth held back that surprises readers/viewers (which is unfair, in my opinion, and takes away part of the satisfaction of the ending).
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| Still from "I Witness" (I do not own the photo) |
The Case Study
Like Quantum Leap, Magnum P.I. is a unique TV show created by Donald P. Bellisario that had a perfect cast and fun adventures. "I Witness" is one of my favorites because it does an excellent job in portraying many classic mystery elements. While Magnum is a private investigator, his love for mysteries, such as Agatha Christie's movies and Dashiell Hammett books, appears throughout the series.
In "I Witness," Magnum's friends, Higgins, Rick and T.C. are among the victims of a robbery at the King Kamehameha Club. The police are investigating, but they're not having any luck since the trio can't agree on anything that happened. Magnum shows up after seeing the incident on the news and starts asking questions.
But Higgins knows Magnum too well and exclaims, "Very clever, Magnum, but it's not going to work. We're not going to allow you to drag us in one of your parlor room detective dramas."
After a few pieces of dialogue, Magnum replies, "One of you saw or heard something that's going to be the key to this thing, trust me!"
And so, Magnum interviews them and viewers are thrust into what feels like an armchair mystery, hearing and seeing all three sides of the story.
--SPOILERS AHEAD--
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| Most of the suspects from "I Witness" (I do not own the photo) |
Characters
"I Witness" has an extra element of entertainment for fans who are already familiar with the recurring cast of the show. For myself, one of the best parts is seeing the contrasting elements of each friend's perspective and how they play themselves up to be the hero of their story. Fans recognize when Rick, T.C. and Higgins are acting out of character and it's very funny.
But for the sake of the mystery, I'll add them to the list of suspects/characters:
Orville "Rick" Wright: Magnum has known Rick since the Vietnam War. He is the manager of the King Kamehameha Club.
Theodore "T.C." Calvin: Magnum has known T.C. since the Vietnam War. He is the owner of an air transport service called "Island Hoppers."
Jonathan Quayle Higgins III: He is the caretaker of Robin Master's estate, a famous and wealthy novelist. Higgins served as a British Army Regimental Sergeant Major and did some work for MI6. He is on the King Kamehameha Club's board of directors.
Joy Kelly: She is the entertainment at the Club that night. Joy plays the piano and sings. According to Higgins, she has three children.
George Wong: He is a CPA hired by Higgins to handle the deposits for the Club. According to Higgins, he's an expectant father.
Spence Nelson and Glenda: An older couple from Kansas who are celebrating their anniversary at the Club. Spence is on the board of directors of the Club.
*T.C.'s Date: She has several PHDs, including one in economics, and she met T.C. at a poetry meeting. (*I tried to find her character name, but the ending credits of the episode and the internet do not list it. During T.C.'s account of the events, he seems to say her name when speaking to her, something like "Anne Tasaki.")
Keoki: He is an employee of the King Kamehameha Club and has had minor scenes in previous episodes when Magnum is at the Club. He worked his way up from janitor and now holds the position of head bartender.
Rosine: She is a waitress at the King Kamehameha Club.
Rusty: He is an old man who apparently passes out every night at the Club. He's passed out for the entirety of the show. Rosine attempts to wake Rusty at the beginning of Rick's story and tells Keoki that it's his turn to take Rusty home.
In the retellings, Rick, T.C. and Higgins add in details about being suave, cool under pressure and capable of self-defence. Meanwhile, whoever is telling the story shows the other two as being scared, stupid or rude. Rick and Higgins both mention having to fire Joy, but both of them play it off as the other's decision, so they don't look like the bad guy.
Each retelling also shows Joy in different variations of the same black dress, either more daring or more conservative. Her hair styles change from an updo to completely down.
The Sleuth
Thomas Sullivan Magnum IV is a former U.S. Navy SEAL and currently works as a private investigator in Hawai'i. He lives in the guest house of the Robin Master's estate where he assists Higgins with security work and other chores.
Aside from the fact that the show focuses on Magnum (so, of course, he's the sleuth), he is the sleuth for this case because he sees his friends on the news and goes down to the Club to see how everyone is doing.
The police can't figure out who the inside man is from the confusing witness statements. Magnum is adept with classic mystery solving, so he is determined to find the culprit.
Magnum also has a connection to the culprit because he has spent so much time at the Club and gotten to know many of the employees.
Setting
The robbery takes place at the King Kamehameha Club, a place that avid fans are very familiar with. It's reduced to two rooms of the Club: a cozy bar area and Rick's office. As he shares his version of the events, Rick explains that the bar area is new, called the "Anuanua Nui Terrasse that had opened that week.
The bar contains various white tables and chairs, a small bar with several stools and a piano all with decorate white trellis, flowers and green carpeting. Part of the robbery extends to Rick's office, which is full of wood paneling and contains a safe for the Club's money and important documents.
After being supposedly punched by one of the robbers, the bar itself is a valuable tool since Keoki uses it to hide behind while putting on make-up. By the time T.C. goes over to administer first aid, Keoki already looks like he has a black eye.
The Crime and Mystery
The crime is the robbery of the King Kamehameha Club by three armed and masked people. In each retelling of the events, the three masked people all have the same general attributes, but the details change.
The leader of the group wears a pig's mask. Higgins recalls the man having an eyepatch on the mask with fangs and thick eyebrows while both Rick and T.C.'s versions are more similar. However, the leader stutters in Rick's recounting of the robbery (a tribute to Porky Pig?)
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| Rick, T.C. and Higgins' memories of the Pig Robber (I do not own the photos) |
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| Rick, T.C. and Higgins' memories of the Gorilla Robber (I do not own the photos) |
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| Rick, T.C. and Higgins' memories of the Rabbit Robber (I do not own the photos) |
- All three of their stories state that Joy was singing "Feelings" on the piano, but Magnum says he knows Joy always finishes her set with "One for My Baby." AS far as I know, new viewers and fans of the show would never have known that because Joy doesn't appear in any other episode at the piano (as far as I know). Rick, T.C. and Higgins insist she was singing feelings, so Magnum checks her papers in the piano's chair and finds a note that a customer requested the song. Magnum says the name of the customer and Higgins confirms that the couple sitting near Joy were on their honeymoon and the man is on the board of directors (confirm!)
- In Rick's story, he was the one in the office with George and Rick saw him hastily hide a note among his papers when Rick entered. Rick finds George's papers at a nearby table and gives them to Magnum. It appears that George was writing down the names of the robbers, but one of the names is "George Junior" and Higgins confirms that George is an expectant father and those are like names for the child.
- T.C. overhears a couple at their table. The man says "Won't be long, little lady" to his wife and she says "Spence, someone might hear you." This is not directly explained, but Higgins confirms that the couple are celebrating their anniversary, so he may have been referring to their activities in their room later on, which would explain his wife's remark about being overheard.
- Magnum starts to question the phone call Keoki received from one of the Club's patrons. He suggest that maybe it wasn't really the patron, but someone who pretended to be to get the security guard to leave the Club.
- Rosine had asked Keoki to take some drinks to one of the tables for her because she had "something important to do." We never get an explanation for what the thing was, however.
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