I'm glad they did this episode when they did...as it's the first one after "Thank Heaven For Little Girls...and Big Ones Too." That one was really bad, so this ("Need To Know") was a good "save"! It got the show back on track.
This is so typical and realistic for all law enforcement and/or millitary agencies--no one will tell anyone anything...therefore nothing ever really gets accomplished or others are subsequently put in danger. It's ridiculous and stupid! But, they worked it into this episode perfectly!
I also liked this one because Magnum and Higgins actually sort of get along and stand up for each other! Again, nice plot twist at the end....even if I did sort of guess it right before it happened. Nicely done and I thought "excellent"!
"It was more ironic than a Robin Masters novel--she thought he was dead, he thought she was dead...and only the chauffeur knew the truth! He should have been the butler!" "Lest We Forget"
Being irish, I was obviously interested in this episode, and it was a nice surprise to have an IRA/ British army story arc.
The discussion at dinner when the girls asked 'why are you involved in ireland etc'? made me think they were up too something, but it was good drama near the end when she and magnum had the stand off before the soldier shot her. As others said, where did the other lady go?
Love all the breaking the 4th wall craic in magnum, especially in this one. 'Bodysearch?'
brilliant!
I like this episode a lot too, but I reckon another "flub" is when they show the car bomb in the audi ticking down , it takes a lot longer than 5 seconds to blow the audi to kingdom come . If you count from the time it shows "5 " on the car bomb , till the time TM reaches it , its more like 20-25 seconds ! I guess thats what they mean about "suspended in time" LOL
This is one of my favorite episodes in this entire series. I watched it for about the third time and it stood out from the other episodes. Some of the things I really liked:
1. Picture quality is sharper than almost any other episode.
2. It captures Hawaii, from the roads, the water and the beach.
3. It has a real twist that completely caught me off guard. I did not know the villain was the girl until she screwed the explosive device into the gas tank at the very end.
4. It has a very simple plot without injecting too many characters.
5. You get to really see the characters personality in this episode even though there is almost no humor until the final scene when Magnum returns the jacket that TC lent to him.
6. The acting is top notch with good balance without focusing too much on any single person. I liked how the secret service complained that an orange juice costing $3 a glass at Rick's club was outrageous and Rick corrects the guy, "a large is $3 but a small is only $2".
7. This could easily have been presented as the first episode ever because you really get to see each role they play and how they interact with each other.
New to this site, and what a site it is! Anyhow, thought i'd comment on my favourite episode of all-this was great, excellent suprise twist, some great lines between Magnum and Higgins and some lovely magnum babes! One thing I have to say though, when Magnum is on the beach "Higgins you developed my film!" the weather looks overcast and very cold! In fact in many episodes of Magnum it sometimes looks freezing-sunny yes, but blowing a gale sometimes! Anyway, great episode
New to this site, and what a site it is! Anyhow, thought i'd comment on my favourite episode of all-this was great, excellent suprise twist, some great lines between Magnum and Higgins and some lovely magnum babes! One thing I have to say though, when Magnum is on the beach "Higgins you developed my film!" the weather looks overcast and very cold! In fact in many episodes of Magnum it sometimes looks freezing-sunny yes, but blowing a gale sometimes! Anyway, great episode
Glad to have you aboard, and another fan of this episode. It is my all-time favorite too. It has the perfect balance of suspense, action, comeraderie, and humor, not to mention beautiful women, the estate, and the lads. If I had to recommend one episode to a new viewer, this would be it.
I understand your point about the weather. The producers so infrequently show the adverse weather of the islands. A friend of mine who grew up in the Hawaii-Kai neighborhood used to joke with me that you would never know it fell below 80 degrees in Hawaii from the show. I guess that's all part of the image of "paradise".
It may look "very cold" to you maybe because where you are from when it is overcast, the weather is very cold
Here in the islands, the wind is warm. The cloudy days are balmy and warm. The rain is warm and no one bothers with an umbrella. (most don't) You are dry in a half hour.
It is never freezing or "very cold" here in Hawai'i.
One time some fella got the chills and people came for miles around to watch him shiver.
Locals who grew up here, many don't like hearing things such as: "This thing starts in the autumn". Wot da hell is an autumn?! Stop telling us dumb things like summer, spring, autumn, fall, winter. It is irrelevant, nonsensical and meaningless!
We also believe commercials we see here for antifreeze liquid for a car is equally ridiculous.
Braddah Kimo wrote:It may look "very cold" to you maybe because where you are from when it is overcast, the weather is very cold
Here in the islands, the wind is warm. The cloudy days are balmy and warm. The rain is warm and no one bothers with an umbrella. (most don't) You are dry in a half hour.
It is never freezing or "very cold" here in Hawai'i.
One time some fella got the chills and people came for miles around to watch him shiver.
Locals who grew up here, many don't like hearing things such as: "This thing starts in the autumn". Wot da hell is an autumn?! Stop telling us dumb things like summer, spring, autumn, fall, winter. It is irrelevant, nonsensical and meaningless!
We also believe commercials we see here for antifreeze liquid for a car is equally ridiculous.
How much rain do you get around Honolulu? I live at a marina in Long Beach, California and we average about 12 inches a year, almost all of it in December through March. I've lived here for 17 years and the temperature almost never goes above 85 or below 60 by the water so I can't complain. Most vistors, though, are surprised by the cool water temperature.
Even still, some days are stormy and cloudy and dark, but you won't see those days on TV. They actually film CSI Miami here and it looks like the tropics on TV at least! The sun always shines on TV.
How thick is Magnum? He's trying to protect a guess of Robin Master's, he finds a handbook for Robin Master's car in the apartment of the terrorist and he thinks nothing of it?
I viewed this episode again last night, and enjoyed it as much as the first time I saw it. 26 year old Robin Dearden made this episode special. Unlike so many Magnum episodes where the women are unappealing and show a lackluster performance....Angela Lansbury, Carol Burnett, Erin Gray, and Kathleen Lloyd come to mind, a bikini girl with some energy is a refreshing change.
As much as I loved Magnum P.I. it could have been improved by choosing a better selection of young, female talent. Even a young Sharon Stone who was very attractive had an annoying side to her in Echoes of the Mind. Robin Dearden appeared twice in this series, No Need to Know as Mandy the flight attendant and in the Elmo Ziller Story as Lexi Ziller which was one of the more stupid episodes. No wonder they did not bring her back after that flop.
Here are some pics from No Need to Know which was filmed in 1980. I think Tom Selleck liked her bikini, can't say I blame him.
[quote="Sisophous"]I viewed this episode again last night, and enjoyed it as much as the first time I saw it. 26 year old Robin Dearden made this episode special. Unlike so many Magnum episodes where the women are unappealing and show a lackluster performance....Angela Lansbury, Carol Burnett, Erin Gray, and Kathleen Lloyd come to mind, a bikini girl with some energy is a refreshing change.
As much as I loved Magnum P.I. it could have been improved by choosing a better selection of young, female talent. Even a young Sharon Stone who was very attractive had an annoying side to her in Echoes of the Mind. Robin Dearden appeared twice in this series, No Need to Know as Mandy the flight attendant and in the Elmo Ziller Story as Lexi Ziller which was one of the more stupid episodes. No wonder they did not bring her back after that flop.[/quote]
I totally agree with you about Robin Dearden in "No Need To Know"... thought she was great....
But, I must respectfully disagree with you about some other things you wrote. I loved the Elmo Ziller story... lots of fun and much enjoyment. Also, I have to disagree about the gals they had in the shows; very rarely did I find any of them less than good... but opinions and tastes differ.
It got the show back on track.
