So, a quickie conversation that JG and I had today: Back in the '80s, what was the ratio of private investigators to the general population? And of course we're using TV/movies as our barometer. He figures it was 1:1. I said it was more like 77:78.
On a related note, Magnum hated it when people called him a P.I., yet oddly his show was called Magnum, P.I.
Discuss.
All I know is that I'd rather watch Simon and Simon instead of anything remotely called reality TV.
Recently started watching Magnum PI (I'm 25) and it's awesome!! I think I like it better than Rockford Files so far. I think it may be slightly over 1:1 but I don't know any other 80s shows 
I do love some Rockford Files.
Were the guys from Riptide P.I.'s too? And Stingray?
Don't forget Hall & Oates:
Wasn't Jake & the Fat Man a PI show?
Appleseed wrote: Wasn't Jake & the Fat Man a PI show?
Everything was a PI show! Well, except Barney Miller.
jimbob_racing wrote: All I know is that I'd rather watch Simon and Simon instead of anything remotely called reality TV.
While growing up my brother had a dog named Marlowe. Yes, named after the dog on the show.
EastCoastMojo wrote: I do love some Rockford Files.
https://youtu.be/Pruex3pgX1g
Hell, even shows like the A-Team had quasi-PI episodes.
Damn . Forgot about the Equalizer, Spencer:for hire, Remington Steele, and Moonlighting.
I knew someone who was a P.I. in the 80's, he lived out in the DC area but made a trip here to visit his mother(our neighbor), and I distinctly remember he brought an Uzi, a crossbow and some other hardware with him on the trip. I was about 12 at the time, so it was sort of a major event to me then. He actually let me try out the crossbow...not the Uzi however.
Was Renegade in the 80's or 90's?
Nick_Comstock wrote: Was Renegade in the 80's or 90's?
90's, and lorenzo lamas is creepy.
I love Magnum, PI. Great show.
"Don't look at the dogs, work the lock. Don't look at the dogs, work the lock. You looked at the dogs!"
Who can forget:
Fun fact: Moonlighting is where Bruce Willis got his start, and Remmington Steele is where Pierce Brosnan got his start.
There were certainly a lot of shows where private citizens took the law into their own hands:
Roughly equal to the current "forensic investigator" (fictional mashup of several real jobs) to general population ratio 
Not technically private eyes and not based in the 80's but it was made in the 80's:
and it had some GREAT cars!
And Dennis Farina.
And a lot of the outdoor scenes for "Crime Story" were shot here in the Chicago area. One of the first TV series to do that. Being that Dennis Farina was a Chicago cop at one time didn't hurt either.
Some of the shows listed predate the '80's, but I do think the '80's were the high water mark for P.I. shows. Going back, the last season of Starsky & Hutch they quit the police and became P.I.'s
Mannix was from the late '60's/early '70's and had some cool cars. The Jim Rockford character was supposed to be the opposite of Mannix.
Route '66 was P.I.-ish, but the guys weren't P.I.'s.
The '80's Mike Hammer was a remake from the '50's, but I've never seen the original.
The oldest P.I. show I've watched is Peter Gunn, which also gave us the greatest TV theme ever.
And it seemed like in every P.I. show the main character gets clocked in the head and rendered unconscious on semi-regular basis. I guess the long term effects of multiple concussions weren't plot convenient.
In reply to pinchvalve:
You forgot the A-Team...and Murder She Wrote.
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