Continuity mistake: The opening of the show starts with Magnum driving off with the iconic Ferrari; however it has a license plate number, 56E-478, which is not the one seen in 99% of the show. It comes from the pilot episode, where the vanity plate ROBIN-1 had yet to be introduced.
Other mistake: Throughout the entire run of the series, the very first shot of the opening contains a mistake; the helicopter's tail rotor is on the right side (mirrored), going then to its actual position (left side) for the rest of the sequence.
Continuity mistake: For the first episodes (minus the plot), the opening of the series features the Ferrari with two different license plates. The opening shot shows the ROBIN-1 vanity plate that is in every episode but not in the most well known version of the opening (with the iconic Mike Post theme music used in all the other seasons), and the following shows the license plate from the pilot.
Revealing mistake: In the opening of the second third of the season (the one with the iconic Mike Post theme) there is a brief scene with a car propelled in the air by an explosion. It's an outtake from the pilot movie, since the banged up car is very recognizable, but it's also easy to see why it was an outtake; you can easily see cables used to make the car fly in the air. Also, that car was not in an explosion in that episode.
Other mistake: With episode 11, "Thicker Than Blood", the opening changes to the truly iconic version associated with the series, with a large overhaul of footage. There must have been some hiccup making it though, because the title of the series appears as "Magnum PI", no punctuation. There's a version of the opening that includes the correct "P.I." title card.
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: Magnum begins the episode coming out of the water. The hair on his forehead is frizzy as he stretches his shoulder with the old war wound. He begins his run, cut to a new shot with his hair now slicked back. When he reminisces about 'Nam later, his hair returns in a frizzy bang, and by the time he's calling Higgins a yo-yo, it is almost dry. (00:00:30)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Visible crew/equipment: After Magnum just barely gets into the Ferrari before Higgins' beauties get hold of him, when the alarm goes off Magnum punches in a code. In the next shot, at the left side of the screen, we can see a crew member (presumably the dog trainer) wearing a dark shirt standing beside the dogs, before Higgins or the two women are anywhere near the car. (00:05:30)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Other mistake: For the cool shot when Magnum smiles at the camera and then drives off (which will be used in the opening of the show for its whole run), Magnum unclips the detachable roof of Robin's 308 GTS and gives it a good push back. But it's not a retractable roof that folds in, but a Targa hard-top. So, basically Magnum just dumped a piece of Robin Master's fancy car in a random lawn somewhere near his estate, maybe even denting the rear of the car in the process as he carelessly shoved it back. That's inconsiderate even for Magnum's low standards. (00:06:10)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: The jazzy opening credits show Magnum driving to meet his friend. However, footage in the city part towards the end show Magnum wearing a flower shirt instead of his blue polo, and earlier (Rober Loggia's credits) the person that steps on the gas is wearing jeans, while the first thing Magnum has to do when he arrives at the base is putting some pants on. (00:07:00)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: When Magnum's friend is dying by the fence, he clings to it; in the first shot, his hand is holding clean chainlinks, in the extreme close-up of his hands, his fingers are going through multiple vines entangled with the fence. (00:11:15)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: Magnum is at the airport waiting for Dan's family to disembark. When the airplane is landing, it has a large red stripe where the passenger windows are. But Alice gets off a plane with no such stripe. (00:18:50)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: When the drunk Alice Cook hugs Magnum at the airport, behind her, slightly out of focus, there's a man in a grey suit with a yellow shirt passing by. She staggers back, and a couple is passing; he wears a brown suit with a light blue shirt. The couple passes by again, same direction and origin point, when she has a giggling fit at "Are you my boyfriend?", and the man with yellow shirt follows just a second after. (00:20:20)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: Magnum is trying to get information from Ensign Healy. Throughout their conversation (in continuity and without breaks), they are in different parts of the pier at the various cuts. They go from 50 to 37 at the first cut, for instance, or when Healy says to Magnum he's "reaching", they are back at the beginning of the walk as you can tell by the boats. (00:29:30)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Audio problem: Ensign Healy parts from Magnum saying "See you, Magnum", but his lips barely move, not long enough for all the words. (00:31:05)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: In this pilot, Robin Masters' Ferrari does not have the famous vanity plate ROBIN-1 characteristic of the series. The license plate of the car is 56E-478 when first shown, but does not stay the same throughout the episode; when the two yo-yos chase him, the Ferrari's plate is the first one in the city, but 561-068 when they get near to the tunnel, and is back to 56E-478 when the bad guys destroy their (already banged up) car. (00:33:55)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Revealing mistake: The bad guys open fire on Magnum during the car chase, and Magnum shifts gears. Is it Magnum though? The hand in close-up not only does not appear to be Selleck's (it appears to have virtually no hair as opposed to Selleck's that can be seen at the beginning setting the cassette player), but is also wearing the team ring upside down compared to how Magnum and everyone does. (00:34:40)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Revealing mistake: After his car is destroyed, one of the two people who were chasing Magnum emerges from the wreckage and hikes to the very same spot Magnum was in.The road though cleaned itself; no more tracks in the dirt nor the skidmarks from Magnum's abrupt maneuver. (00:36:50)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Factual error: Magnum phones Rick at his Casablanca-like establishment and tells him; "Two guys tried to run me off the Pali Highway. They deep-sixed about a mile past Lanai Lookout." Lanai Lookout is not on the Pali Hwy, it's 15 miles driving south off the east end of the highway, and Magnum was in the Nu'uanu part. (00:40:35)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Continuity mistake: When Magnum drops the ring out of the envelope, nothing is near it as it's shaking. In the close up shot, it's next to keys. (00:44:20)
Don't Eat the Snow in Hawaii - S1-E1
Other mistake: During the Vietnam flashback that Magnum gets when he looks at Lieutenant Dan Cook's ring, there is a shot of the helicopter in between the first two radio calls TC does. In that shot, the footage is obviously flipped, with the writing "MARINES" appearing as "ƧƎИIЯAM" (00:45:00)
