Paying cases vs. Non paying cases

[SignGuyHPW]

It often occured to me watching the series just how often Magnum was doing a case where nobody was paying him. A lot of times he'd end up doing cases where he was not getting paid and only reference having just completed minor paying cases. What percentage of the shows featured paying cases vs. non paying ones in the central plot?

[Little Garwood]

I don't think TV P.I.s got paid regularly since the days of Peter Gunn. This is a recurring motif in detective shows. Joe Mannix, Jim Rockford, and the Simon brothers-- just to name a few--often got stiffed or took cases pro bono because they felt sympathetic for the client or they were helping out a friend or family member. It's probably used to get us to warm to the detective but also to show that their chosen career path isn't the most stable.

This doesn't answer your question but it has long been a part of the detective genre.

[No need to know!]

Well we don´t know do we? It´s not like they are showing us the payment. But considering how small his entire life savings seems to be he probably don´t get paid that often.

But one episode i recall is "Lest we forget" from the first season where Judge Crane seems to write him a check of $10000? when they are sitting in the limo driven by Rick.