Magnum P.I. (S2, Ep 9 - Mad Buck Gibson) (1981)

S2, Ep 9: Mad Buck Gibson. Magnum is asked by Joan (Vera Miles), the ex-wife of the adventure-seeking author Mad Buck Gibson (Darren McGavin) to keep him out of harm's way until she collects the alimony he owes her. But this task proves to be difficult as Magnum learns that Mad Buck is harboring a secret that could be the reason for his self-destructive behavior... Starring Tom Selleck, John Hillerman, Larry Manetti, Roger E Mosley, Darren McGavin, Vera Miles, Wallace W Landford, Jo Pruden, Peter Kalua and Gillian Dobb, here playing Nona Barnes but would later appear as Agatha Chumley in a long running role in the show. There are two things I discovered when re-watching Magnum since I first saw it in the 1980's as a kid. One is that occasionally there would be a duff or strange episode that would enter the mix. The second is that the show had a bad habit of featuring characters that were just plain irritating and geared to irritate Magnum and this is one such episode in the shape of Mad Buck Gibson (Darren McGavin). Magnum is hired to "babysit" the former action man, but Buck loves a ruck and being a "character." Sadly he just irritated me and the episode itself is an odd one with a conclusion that will annoy some. Don't say you weren't warned. Oh, on the plus side it features Vera Miles, former star of Psycho and The Wrong Man who remarkably is still going strong at the grand age of 96!