Nice write-up, Dobie! You got it right - fairly routine episodes and season 11 and 12 is more of the same. In the case of season 12 it's even worse. So be warned. That said, I'd still rather watch those seasons (inferior as they are, compared to what came before) over what else was showing at the time. I don't hate CHARLIE'S ANGELS or the later seasons of STARSKY & HUTCH (there were some good episodes here and there) but nothing during that time frame gives me the good feels that FIVE-O does. Even the later seasons of ROCKFORD FILES (I like the earlier seasons more) while still pretty good don't quite give me the enjoyment that FIVE-O does during that same time frame. I guess FIVE-O is like pizza for me. Even when it's bad it's still good. I do agree that we get more rural settings in season 10 and maybe you're right that it was a cost saving measure because story-wise they don't do much for me. "The Descent of the Torches" with its kapu vibes is more of a snoozer than anything suspenseful, "The Big Aloha" (I think it was filmed on some ranch) was another dull slog to get through, and "Tread the King's Shadow" about 2 star-crossed lovers (one white, one Hawaiian) trying to run away together and trying to decide whether to keep a baby or have an abortion and something about running away to some forbidden island (sanctuary city?) is about the absolute nadir of the series! Major PU!!!Luther's nephew Dobie wrote: ↑Sat Mar 09, 2024 3:01 am Some random thoughts after getting to see all of season ten for the first time since it originally ran. No doubt it was covered earlier in this long thread but
still, it was new to me.
I am regret to say after finishing off the balance of season 10 that Ivan's summation of the season is pretty much spot on.
There are a couple of decent episodes like Chin's send off, but mostly one is just as forgettable as the next.
At first I welcomed seeing more scenes in suburban/small town/rural areas with native Hawaiians. Then I realized it was a cost saving move and not in service to the story or the viewers.
The non-urban settings were mostly banal, though some rose to nondescript.
I'm curious which "protagonist" you're referring to in this episode. The girl that falls for the nutty David Dukes or her father? I guess they would be the 2 protagonists in this tale, outside the Five-O crew. I don't recall much about either of those performances to comment on. I guess they were okay to me. It's David Dukes and Anne Francis that Mr. Mike over on his Five-O site has serious beef with. I'm not sure I see what the issue with Anne Francis was but I can see that Dukes was pretty ridiculous and laughable in his performance, especially at the end where it looks like he's about to take a dump. That said, despite the general hatred for this episode (especially from Mr. Mike who gives it a BOMB rating) I personally don't hate it. In fact at one point I actually liked it. Of course I've grown up a bit over the past 25+ years (LOL!) so my taste buds have changed. I realize it's not a good episode but I still don't see it as a stinker. There's some value there. A bomber targeting businesses of a businessman is preferable to watching 2 "lovebirds" run away while contemplating their future and McGarrett trying to track them down. Or any of those lackluster kapu episodes.Some scenes looked as if they were filmed behind somebody's rundown tractor shed, as at the end of the one starring Anne Francis, "How Does a War End?", an episode that should be rated PU.
The protagonist turns in the WORST acting performance in the history of the series. A palm tree has more range.
LOL! Lono sure wasn't listening to you, Dobe. But here's another episodes that Mr. Mike hates which I actually like. Seriously, I would place this one at #5 for the season. Better than "When Does a War End?" to be sure with no David Dukes-type bad performances here. I think Carol Lynley is just fine. It's a solid undercover episode which I enjoy and with a good Morton Stevens score to boot (even though it's reused from the season opener "Up the Rebels"). Yeah dropping the gun and not picking it up is stupid (we've seen that before on many shows and movies) but other than that I can't complain much about anything else here. Is Carol Lynley a bit too posh in her role here? Maybe. But it doesn't detract for me. She's easy on the eyes. Vic Tayback and Nephi Hanneman are solid baddies."Angel in Blue" featured a pet peeve of mine, as when undercover cop Carol Lynley and one Kimo overpower the hitman "Surfer" who was holding a pistol on them, the gun flying away as all 3 hit the floor.
Immediately I began praying to the Hawaiian God Lono, "Brah, please please don't let this once kine series do what I know they are going to do".
But Lono wasn't listening to this haolie's prayers.
Sure enough, Carol and Kimo blindly run off into the cane fields leaving the gun!!! for Surfer to pick up as he pursues them.
This incomprehensible move repeated untold times in Hollywood is the hallmark of shoddy 'action school' writing, but it got worse.
McGarret then chasing Surfer thru the cane fields while standing defenseless outside on a copters runners - a perfect target - before dropping on him as both the machine and Surfer are in full
flight has to be seen to be believed.
This is another one I like. Mildred Natwick is a joy to watch and she returns again the following season in the same role. Love it when she keeps calling the governor "sonny". The governor sure does take center stage this season as he seems to have a lot of friends and lots of favors to ask McG regarding those friends of his. Not crazy about the governor's friends but this episode is an exception. I like this one. This episode also seems to be inspired in part by an earlier FIVE-O episode from season 8 called "Retire in Sunny Hawaii... Forever" where Helen Hayes (who was Natwick's costar on the short-lived series THE SNOOP SISTERS) played Danno's aunt Clara visiting Hawaii and playing sleuth to a murder/scam that she stumbles upon. That was a superior episode to this one but this one is still pretty good (for season 10 anyway) and you can't help but notice the similarities between the two.Episode 20 "Frozen Assets" features Mildred Natwick as a writer of mystery books, a role clearly inspired by Agatha Christie.
You could make a pretty good argument that this episode inspired the creators of "Murder She Wrote".
In a wink to "The Fugitive”, McGarrett at one point reads off a list of employees, one being a cook named Phillip Gerald, same name as the cop who pursued Richard Kimble.
I recall in another episode Gerald's name was mentioned, perhaps part of an ongoing nod to "The Fugitive" over the series length.
In the credits it says "Kwan Hi Lim as himself." He of course later played Lt. Tanaka on Magnum PI.
Darned if I can figure out when and where he appeared in this episode, especially as 'himself', an actor.
Maybe a buddy added him to the credits to score some SAG money?
This is another one of those ho-hum generic episodes from the season. Not bad, not good. Just middling. Of note of course is Hillerman and his residence at Robin's Nest of all places.Episode 23 "A Stranger in His Grave".
Robins Nest features prominently in the episode.
Jonathan Hillerman plays a bad guy, at one point he gets a massage by a striking Hawaiian woman on the grounds by the water.
It's fun to see 'Higgins' in that situation. Not a bad episode, worth checking out for Hillerman and the lovely Lorraine Stevens.
A good strong finish to the season. Finally the show develops some teeth! Solid top 5 material for the season. Again, nothing spectacular but good stuff by season 10 standards. Probably my all-time favorite McGarrett line is to Reni Santoni in this episode: "Don't you ever call me 'COP'. The name is McGarrett and the title is MISTER." Brrr... goosebumps!Episode 24 "A Death in the Family"
Chin Ho Kelly is murdered by gangsters. I didn't enjoy seeing Kam Fong relegated to embarrassing 4 second sound bites so it's good he got what was, in actors parlance, a nice dramatic send off.
I guess I don't remember anything noirish about this one at all. This one is mostly a snoozer for me. Another favor for the governor, another rich white family scandal, something about some Hawaiian customs thrown into the mix. I'll pass...Episode 13's title "The Big Aloha" is a nod to Raymond Chandler's book - and movie with Bogie - "The Big Sleep".
Hawaii Five-O's and Magnum PI's writers would of course have grown up on such books and movies.
More dull episodes? A Short Walk on the Longshore, Deadly Doubles, The Silk Trap, Head to Head, The Ninth Step. Others are somewhat better but still pretty generic. When Does a War End would fall into that category.
My top 5:
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1. Tsunami (a childhood favorite)
2. Deep Cover (good espionage tale, plus Maud Adams)
3. A Death in the Family (for obvious reasons)
4. Up the Rebels (big Stephen Boyd fan, his last role before his death)
5. Angel in Blue (please don't hate me... but at least Lono is on my side )
P.S. Might actually put "Frozen Assets" at #5 on second thought. Close call on that one.