Magnum Mania! Banner



Previous Episode Next Episode

No Need to Know

Episode Screen Caps Episode Number: 5
Season Number: 1.5
Air Date: 1/8/1981
Writer: Frank Lupo
Director: Lawrence Doheny
Producer: J. Rickley Dumm
Exec Producer: Donald P. Bellisario

Recurring Characters
Remi Abellira (Moki)
Guest Stars
Robin Dearden (Mandy), Richard Johnson (Brig. Allistair Ffolkes), Ed Grover (Agt. Hooker), Gene Hamilton (Agt. Dobey), Marika Van Kampen (Suzie), David O'Malley (Dirk), Richard McPherson (Jerry), John Allen (Bertie)
Episode Brief
Magnum returns from a case to find that Higgins' old Army commander is staying on the Masters estate, under tight security, until some I.R.A. members he helped capture are tried. Two secret intelligence agents hire Magnum to protect the brigadier and foil assassins out to kill him before the terrorists' trial, but the "need to know" basis the agents insist on operating by only serves to complicate matters for Magnum.
Rating
8.8(61 votes)Rate Episode
Notes
1 When Magnum arrives back from his case, finds the gates locked, goes over the wall, etc., the musical score in the background is a complete version of what will become the standard theme for the opening episode previews, starting with the next episode, "Skin Deep" (1.6). This theme will be re-recorded several times. This instance here is the only time that it is heard in full. (Noted by Jay-Firestorm)

2 The opening scene in this episode shows real stock footage from the Provisional IRA campaign in Belfast, N. Ireland. Two of the names mentioned in news clip, "Pac Farnsworth" and "Tim Barstol", are fictional.

3 Brig. Allistair Ffolkes (Richard Johnson) will appear again in Season Three's "Faith and Begorrah" (3.23).

4 The opening trailer opens with a shot of T.C.'s chopper flying along the coast. T.C.'s chopper is not seen in the actual episode at all.

5 The GMC Jimmy (Robin 3) is seen for the first time! And Magnum fires up the first of many cigars to come.

6 Magnum charges $200 a day, plus expenses, for his P.I. work.

7 The opening preview features a shot of T.C.'s chopper flying along the coast. The chopper is not used in the actual episode. (Noted by Jay-Firestorm)

8 We get to see a rare peek inside the boathouse (the "guesthouse" in the show) through the porch (or lanai) door. During a scene where Magnum and Mandy walk towards, and into, the "guesthouse", Magnum opens the porch door and for a brief second or two we see that behind the door there is a cinder block wall (close to the door) and a railing. It appears that this is a stairway, one that leads directly back down to the ground level of the boathouse. In similar scenes in other episodes, you don't get to see what is on the other side of the door, because the camera will cut away to the guesthouse set.

9 The fictional NIA (Naval Investigative Agency) is mentioned again.

10 Rick mentions that he had a dog once on the islands. It was run over by a pineapple truck.

11 Local thespian Richard McPherson (Jerry) makes his first of four appearances on the show. Richard has been involved in local Oahu theatre for many, many years.

12 Kengi, the Robin's Nest workman, is seen for the first time. He will later be seen in "Computer Date" (2.14), "Echoes of the Mind (2)" (5.2), "Blind Justice" (5.7), "Little Games" (5.12), "Professor Jonathan Higgins" (5.13), "All For One (2)" (5.16), & "Ms. Jones" (5.19).

13 In 1951, Higgins was stationed in Hong Kong, Sergeant Major to Brig. Allistair Ffolkes, British Army.
Quotes
1
Mandy: You must be the private eye Robin told us about.
Magnum: I prefer to be called private investigartor.
Higgins: You prefer to be called, period.

2
Magnum: I don't whip off my glasses and rush into a phone booth.
Higgins: Not if it's a pay phone anyway.

3
Rick: You gotta try this sauce, Thomas. Even Sinatra would love it!

4
Magnum: Decided to take in a little air Brigadier?
Brig. Ffolkes: No, I decided to have a few quiet words with you, if that's alright? Tell me Magnum, who is it you are working for now? Is it the NIA still, or some other outfit?
Magnum: Now, what makes you think I'm working for anybody?
Brig. Ffolkes: Well, if I was in their shoes, and an ex-NIA agent happened to be in the neighborhood, I would use you.
Magnum: Well, why would they want anybody like me? Arn't we all on the same side?
Brig. Ffolkes: Technically yes, but you know the score Magnum. The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. It's all a question of 'need to know' isn't it?
Magnum: Yes, that's right. Maybe that's what's wrong with our "Firms". Maybe if we communicated a little better there would be a little less killing.
Brig. Ffolkes: It's a nice idea, but I doubt it. It's practically impossible to eliminate inter-agency rivalries. It would be like taking the competition out of the Super Bowl or World Series.
Magnum: Well, that certainly makes it sound like a nice little game.
Brig. Ffolkes: Yes, I know what you mean Magnum. It's serious business. People lose their lives, of course. Ah, that's the way it is and if it's a game, it's a game I want to win - beat the other fellow. If you can change the world, I'd be happy to go along with you. In the meantime, I've got to do my job and you've got to do yours. Which brings me back to my original point - Who are you working for?
Magnum: Well Brigadier, I don't believe you have a "need to know". Good night, sir.

5
Brig. Ffolkes: I thought we disposed of our man last night, Magnum. I suppose we missed somebody.
Magnum: It was the girl, Brigidier, and your men didn't miss her.
Flubs
1 Allistair Ffolkes is credited as 'Brigadier General Allistair Ffolkes' and is referred to as 'Brigadier General' several times in the episode. This is a flub. The rank of Brigadier General was abolished in the British Army and Royal Marines in 1922. 'Brigadier' is the correct rank. It's interesting to note that while others refer to him as 'Brigadier General', Allistair Ffolkes calls himself 'Brigadier', as does Magnum.

2 When the guy on the Catamaran (Sampson) is taking pictures of the girls and Brigadier Folkes on the balcony, the Brigadier is wearing a white long sleeve shirt and khaki pants. However, when Magnum and Rick enter Sampson's apartment, they discover bomb making materials as well as several photos of the Brigadier. The photos of the Brigadier show the Brigadier in a white-dinner jacket with black bow tie. The problem with these photos is that the dinner party at Robin's Nest hasn't taken place at the time Sampson took the photos. The dinner party was later that night, so how could Sampson have taken pictures of the Brigadier in his dinner jacket and bow tie on the estates balcony? (Noted by IslandHopper)

3 When Magnum and Ffolkes are walking together on the lawn at Robin's Nest at night, shadows from the movie cameras can be seen on the grass.

4 When Magnum takes off in the Ferrari to catch Higgins and the Brigadier before the bomb goes off in the Audi, Magnum is wearing a navy blue golf shirt and khaki pants, and is wearing his "Team Ring" on his left hand. The camera cuts to a close up of the interior of the Ferrari as Magnum (or his stunt double) shifts. Suddenly, Magnum is wearing blue jeans and the "Team Ring" is on his right hand (with the Cross of Lorraine emblem upside down). (Noted by IslandHopper)

5 Mandy is seen holding a revolver with a silencer. With one exception only (the Nagant M1895), revolvers cannot be equipped with a silencer! Mandy's gun was not a Nagant M1895.

6 The sticker on the front license plate of the Audi shows a date of '1976'. I don't think Higgins or Robin would let the tags expire four years in a row! (Noted by IslandHopper)

7 After Mandy puts the bomb in the Audi gas tank and sets the timer, the timer takes almost a full minute more to go off than what it is actually set for. (Noted by Mark S.)


Shoot me an email if you'd like to have something added or corrected



Magnum P.I. on DVD

All 8 seasons are now available for purchase! External DVD Reviews

Rubber Chicken's Guide Magnum P.I. Locations

Magnum on the Web