Hawaii Five-O: Any Fans?

[T.Q.]

He was really good. A little sweaty but really good.

A LOT Sweaty, as I recall!
[/quote]

Just looked him up.

For a Jewish American born in Massachusetts he did an amazing job playing a blue collar Hawaiian.

He sure did his homework. Excellent acting.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

He was really good. A little sweaty but really good.

A LOT Sweaty, as I recall!


Just looked him up.

For a Jewish American born in Massachusetts he did an amazing job playing a blue collar Hawaiian.

He sure did his homework. Excellent acting.

Paul L. Smith was in such classic cinema as POPEYE, MIDNIGHT EXPRESS, and RED SONJA!

[Little Garwood]

Harry Guardino and Barbara Luna both appear in my top two Five-O episodes: A Lion in the Streets and season two’s A Thousand Pardons, You’re Dead!

“He died for trash like you…because of trash like you!”

Paul Smith’s Andy Kamoku character managed to land Barbara Luna…THAT’S how great he was. The guy should have been McGarrett’s second in charge…the ‘70s Boomer crime rate would have dropped a 1000%…

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Season 11? Did someone say “season 11?”

10. The Sleeper
09. Deadly Courier
08. The Bark and the Bite
07. Death Mask
06. A Distant Thunder
05. The Skyline Killer
04. Number One with a Bullet
03. A Very Personal Matter
02. Stringer
01. The Year of the Horse

Number One with a Bullet is an episode I enjoy for its 1979-ness (or perhaps 1978-ness) in that it is a cultural time capsule in a more direct way than any other Five-O episode. It's the only episode that takes me out of that Five-O TV world and has me remembering my childhood during that personally pivotal year (won't bore you with the details).

This era holds a great deal of nostalgia for me--I turned eight in 1979--but it is also fascinating to see the fading days of the Disco culture, which already was on its last (dancing) legs when Number One with a Bullet aired.

Oh, and while I am the most likely the only one who holds this belief, but I've always found Yvonne Elliman to be unconventionally beautiful (recent arrest record aside).

The Execution File would have made my top ten were it not for the music replacement. I'm no Rod Stewart fan, but I'll take his stuff over the generic funk that replaced it on the dvd.

If James MacArthur really was sick and tired of Jack Lord’s Stalinist tactics behind the scenes of the show—as any sensible person would have been— and “phoned in” his performances accordingly, then Jimmy’s departure was not such a bad thing after all. I’m glad he got out…for his own sanity if anything.

Speaking of Jack, if the guy really was a jerk, then why were so many of the Five-O regulars in tears in that Emmy’s Five-O Memories show? Maybe they loved Jack in spite of his rotten behavior.

Oy vey, Garwood! I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see "The Year of the Horse" (which T.Q. and I both hated) as your #1 for season 11. You just love to pick the lousy episodes. After all, you had "The Two-Faced Corpse" as your favorite from season 7. Yikes!

I didn't think you enjoyed the late 70s period at all. The whole disco era. I thought your sweet spot ended somewhere in the mid-70s and ROCKFORD was the only show that you still enjoyed during that late 70s period.

I do recall one of the regulars (I think it was Moe Keale) in that video teary-eyed saying "Jack, why couldn't you be nicer?" or something like that. To me it's a combination of hurt and regret. They can't say all the nice things they would have loved to say about a guy who was unpleasant to work with but who also at the same time helped them in their careers and also did so much for the islands. They regret that things weren't better between him and them. I read somewhere that a handful of directors never came back to the show as a result of Jack's behavior. We know that the likes of Michael O'Herlihy, Charles Dubin, Paul Stanley, Allen Reisner, etc. came back again and again and directed many, many episodes. But others like Alvin Ganzer (only 2 in season 1), Seymour Robbie (4 in season 1), Herschel Daugherty (5 in season 1) never came back after that first season. Richard Benedict came back. So did Paul Stanley. Michael O'Herlihy came on board during season 2. But the others never came back. I think it's due to Lord. Then even during season 2 you had these 1-time directors like Barry Shear ("King Kamehameha Blues"), Robert Gist ("Singapore File"), John Newland ("Nightmare Road") and then they were gone.

[Little Garwood]

What was that infamous Jerk Lord line? “Nobody shoots me through a fountain!” The man was a sausage grinder for TV directors!

You remember correctly that my cultural cutoff point is 1975; I tend to do a LOT more cherry picking after that. Any interest in late ‘70s and afterwards is a mix of “car accident” mentality and personal, grim nostalgia. I am by nature fascinated with culture and the events associated with certain eras, but as far as The Year of the Horse goes, I just love those Far East episodes. They really must have been sweating in their polyester in The Year of the Horse, and that was just when Victoria Principal was in the room! I still laugh at loud at Danno “reacting” to McGarrett’s peril on the mountain car. I love the episode, but I don’t pretend it’s a flawless work of art, either.

All this Five-O talk makes me want to buy the Stoney Burke DVDs… Lord is just “McGarrett in denim” in that show.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

A Lion in the Streets

Why this was a double-episode is a mystery.

Too long for the story and a bit dragged out but in the end I didn't mind the episode. Thought it was fine.

Lots of Hawaiian vs Haole stuff and I thought putting the kapu on McGarrett was interesting.

I liked the Andy Kamoku character and Alika was good (how he was out on bail was a stretch though).

Liked Truck too.

First impression of Kimo not great. He was okay. Nothing special. They should have mentioned Danno when McGarrett had the convo with him offering him a position in Five-0.

This is an episode that can be easily ripped a part for a lot of things but if you can ignore them it was okay.

6.5/10

MPI: Moe Keale, Ed Fernandez, Jack Hisatake, Peter Kalua (famous pilot episode goon),

Gonna go against the grain on this one. I never liked it and while maybe I've warmed to it a bit over the years (mostly because of Ross Martin as Tony Alika, he's always a plus) I still don't care for it. I disagree that this was the best episode of the final season. It wouldn't make my top 5 for the season. I never cared about the kapu being placed on McG (I agree with McG that it was ridiculous, something out of the "dark ages") and I guess I'm in the minority in that I didn't care for the Andy Kamoku character. All that bluster and ranting and raving and slamming things got old real fast for me. Paul L. Smith did alright passing off as a Hawaiian (appearance-wise) but his speech was very "haole". I expected more Hawaiian pidgin from him. For some Hawaiian blue collar guy he sounded too "white bread" and "educated". If it's true that he's Jewish then I guess that's it... he sounded too Jewish (to borrow from a certain Mel Brooks movie).

The introduction of the new regulars? Moe Keale as Moe "Truck" Kealoha was alright. Didn't mind him. I rather like his name "Truck". But William Smith was miscast as the second fiddle to McG. You couldn't find someone more different than the baby-faced and blue-eyed JMac. Smith will always be the perennial baddie, biker, brawler, etc. Not a "yes, Steve" kind of guy. I could see him as a guy looking for revenge (though he's usually a vengeful baddie, not a good guy) for maybe an episode or two and then disappear. But as a second-banana on the Five-O team? No way. Also his acting was particularly bad in the scene where he pleads with Barbara Luna to tell him where Andy Kamoku went. He tells her that "Andy is this big beautiful dude with a big heart and blah blah blah..." It was just so laughably bad. Somebody like William Smith doesn't do sentimentality or talk about "big beautiful dudes with big hearts". He's better off doing stuff like knocking out Billy Swan and then pushing Alika into the surf. That's the William Smith I know. The intimidating silent type.

So yeah, no dice on this one. Sorry...

[Little Garwood]

So yeah, no dice on this one. Sorry...

Those of us who like the episode (and the 12th season…meaning just me) will just have to muddle on without your blessing.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

The other is a sort of take on the short story The Most Dangerous Game, if you’re familiar, but with criminals as the prey. I don’t recall the title. That’s about it for me as far as memorable episodes.

"Though the Heavens Fall" is the title. And it happens to be my favorite of the final season. I know there are many that don't like it. But I do.

[Little Garwood]

The other is a sort of take on the short story The Most Dangerous Game, if you’re familiar, but with criminals as the prey. I don’t recall the title. That’s about it for me as far as memorable episodes.

"Though the Heavens Fall" is the title. And it happens to be my favorite of the final season. I know there are many that don't like it. But I do.

Aka, a guy with a hideous perm and cheesy mustache exacts revenge on criminal scum! Welcome to 1979-80! I remember the fathers of friends having the same hairdo as Robert Reed did in that episode!

As bad as this episode is, it pales in comparison to the season’s worst episode…more on that as we approach that “milestone.”

[T.Q.]

Who Says Cops Don't Cry?

Decent episode.

Being bombarded with 'the final seasons are all crap' (mostly on IMDb) I'm trying to just enjoy them for what they are and not be influenced too much.

Kimo grew on me a bit here.

I like what Wilson did throughout. Going out on her own for some justice culminating in a decision at the end.

I didn't find Sharon Farrell's acting very good though. Then wham she joins the show?

I liked the Vietnam brother's dilemma with his brother.

MPI: Alan Fudge, Jorie Remus, Carole Kai, Reginold F.H. Ho, Leeannah Roberts, Mariko Van Kampen

[Pahonu]

I’m laughing so hard at “Jerk” Lord that I can’t think of any comments!!!

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Who Says Cops Don't Cry?

Decent episode.

Being bombarded with 'the final seasons are all crap' (mostly on IMDb) I'm trying to just enjoy them for what they are and not be influenced too much.

Kimo grew on me a bit here.

I like what Wilson did throughout. Going out on her own for some justice culminating in a decision at the end.

I didn't find Sharon Farrell's acting very good though. Then wham she joins the show?

I liked the Vietnam brother's dilemma with his brother.

MPI: Alan Fudge, Jorie Remus, Carole Kai, Reginold F.H. Ho, Leeannah Roberts, Mariko Van Kampen

This one was definitely an improvement over "A Lion in the Streets". It's pretty good actually, for a season 12 episode. It's also the last episode directed by Jack "of all trades" Lord! I read somewhere that Jack had a thing for Sharon Farrell (acting-wise or looks-wise, not sure which), which might explain why he directed this one (which introduces her as a Five-O regular) as well as season 11's "Why Won't Linda Die?" where she played the schizo chick. She can be really good and volatile on screen, as she was in season 9's "A Capitol Crime" as the unhinged girlfriend of Dick Davalos (Jack didn't direct that one). But her Lori Wilson character is just a bland and unnecessary addition to the team. She's the token female here because this being the late 70s and feminism being on everyone's mind, so Five-O had to have a female member. CHARLIE'S ANGELS was still on, so we needed more crime-fighting females. Actually Sharon is not bad here and this is probably the only episode where she's any kind of "good" because this one actually focuses on her character. All the remaining episodes she's just there to say "Yes, Steve" and she's in about only half of those episodes anyway. She already had over a decade's worth of films under her belt by this point, so her agent probably told her that she can do better than this.

Morton Stevens is back with his scoring duties (he also scored the previous episode) after being absent for season 11 and he's his usual effective self. Though not exactly where he once was. This is no "Hookman" that's for sure.

[Little Garwood]

Who Says Cops Don’t Cry

There was some character development potential when Kimo counsels the newly-widowed Lori, whose husband was killed the very day he was to join Five-O; we'll have to mourn "what could have been" since we were denied hearing what would've been the immortal "Book 'em, Kevin."

Anyway, I appreciated the attempt at making the 12th season Five-O team somewhat closer in an overt way. Too bad the dynamic between the new team was only touched on fleetingly. I was disappointed that Duke was omitted from the final scene, when Kimo and Lori officially begin their time with Five-O, even though Duke was involved in the final shootout! However, that's probably a good thing since it's obvious to me that in his brief, awkward scenes with William Smith, Herman Wedemeyer has to bite his tongue to keep from exploding at his "No Respect" status and having to report to Kimo, who was already giving him orders despite not even being a full-fledged Five-O member!

McGarrett spends the middle of this episode "in San Francisco", which further allows our new haole team members to get to know one another.

I'll even go so far as to say that Kimo and Truck (Moe Keale) had some good on screen chemistry, as seen in "Good Help is Hard to Find."

McGarrett spends the middle of this episode "in San Francisco", which further allows are new haole team members to get to know one another. McGarrett is super mellow here. Perhaps Jack Lord was already thinking of time to be spent in his impenetrable condominium with his beloved Marie.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

McGarrett spends the middle of this episode "in San Francisco", which further allows are new haole team members to get to know one another. McGarrett is super mellow here. Perhaps Jack Lord was already thinking of time to be spent in his impenetrable condominium with his beloved Marie.

That's probably because Jack was directing the episode, so he decided that McGarrett should be "away" in San Fran for a bit.

[T.Q.]

Though the Heavens Fall

Good concept à la “Star Chamber”.

I enjoyed the first half but didn’t love where it went with the safari hunt for some reason.

Was good though.

You know I like the vigilante stuff.

Still didn’t like Sharon Farrell‘s acting much.

And Mr. Brady was good again. Out goes the idea of ‘did the producers and casting director think all Asians look alike’ when the same actors are cast in different roles continually. Robert Reed was like 8 episodes apart in different roles too.

MPI: John Allen