Hawaii Five-O: Any Fans?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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...

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:
----------
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.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

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.

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!!!

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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 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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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...

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:
----------
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.

Ivan,
I confess I have often speculated/hoped that you and the honchos here that run Magnum Mania might one day make a sister site, "Hawaii Five-O Mania", recycling exactly the same pleasing set up here,
which frankly is the best I have ever run across. JJ Walters really knew his stuff! I know, what I suggest must be a lot of work but a boy can dream.

For my post above I should have been clearer, as while I was condemning the season generally, some of the episodes I listed I didn't mean to run down rather I was just making a note
of some interesting aspect of them.

Like"Frozen Assets" with Mildred Natwick, like you I enjoyed it as well, plus throw in "Richard Kimble" and the credit "Kwan Hi Lim as himself" that struck me as interesting.
In "Angel in Blue" I do confess to liking undercover cop Carol Lynley, if the producers had had her replace the bland Duke it might have reinvigorated the story lines, plus none of the other cast members
could pull off wearing a bikini.

You asked which protagonist in "When Does a War End?" I loathed - again I could have been clearer - it was indeed David Dukes. At one point he is frozen in place with the rifle, maniacally staring, like in
that Twilight Zone episode where a guy has a watch that stops time. Causing me to laugh out loud, leaving one to wonder why someone didn't wake up the director to put a stop to his BS.

As for "The Big Aloha" being a nod to Raymond Chandler's book "The Big Sleep", I agree with you, nothing noirish in the episode, rather the writer just seized the chance to do a clever Title take off on Chandler.

I never realized that was THE Stephen Boyd in "Up The Rebels" when I viewed it recently. The guy in Ben Hur. Holy crap. I never knew he was Irish either.

Ivan: "5. Angel in Blue (please don't hate me... but at least Lono is on my side ) "
Yeah yeah, you sacrifice a few virgins and Lono will say anything you want. Just where did you find any in Magnum Mania Land?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Ivan,
I confess I have often speculated/hoped that you and the honchos here that run Magnum Mania might one day make a sister site, "Hawaii Five-O Mania", recycling exactly the same pleasing set up here,
which frankly is the best I have ever run across. JJ Walters really knew his stuff! I know, what I suggest must be a lot of work but a boy can dream.

Yeah, I wouldn't really know where to begin there. It surely has to be a labor of love. Certainly would be a daunting task to undertake. On the other hand Mr. Mike already has the most comprehensive and exhaustive Five-O site imaginable (plus discussion forum). Would be impossible to top that.

In "Angel in Blue" I do confess to liking undercover cop Carol Lynley, if the producers had had her replace the bland Duke it might have reinvigorated the story lines, plus none of the other cast members
could pull off wearing a bikini.

Duke bland? You make Lono angry! I always liked Duke Lukela (maybe more so than Ben Kokua) but I'll admit that he couldn't match the original 4-man team of McG, Danno, Chin, and Kono. Kono was the man! A lotta man! Anyway I thought they actually gave Duke more to do and that's probably why Chin got sidelined as a result during season 10. McG even shows some compassion towards Duke when some chemical is thrown into his eyes in "My Friend, the Enemy" (with the ultimate Bond babe femme fatale from Thunderball Luciana Paluzzi playing the Eye-talian reporter). But ultimately there was only one Duke-centric episode and that was when he was first introduced back in the season 5 opener "Death is a Company Policy" where he was a member of the HPD and is accused of being an inside leak to the mob. I thought Herman Wedemeyer did a really good job in that one as Duke. You really felt for him. Unfortunately he never got another episode like that. But hey, Ben was a full-fledged Five-O member and he never got an episode that centered on him. So Duke actually got lucky to even get one such episode. Danno had a few. Kono had one or two. So did Chin.

You asked which protagonist in "When Does a War End?" I loathed - again I could have been clearer - it was indeed David Dukes. At one point he is frozen in place with the rifle, maniacally staring, like in
that Twilight Zone episode where a guy has a watch that stops time. Causing me to laugh out loud, leaving one to wonder why someone didn't wake up the director to put a stop to his BS.

Ah, so then you meant "antagonist". Because with protagonist I kept thinking of the good guys/gals.

As for "The Big Aloha" being a nod to Raymond Chandler's book "The Big Sleep", I agree with you, nothing noirish in the episode, rather the writer just seized the chance to do a clever Title take off on Chandler.

See, I would have never picked up on that. I'm still not sure how the title can refer to "The Big Sleep" when there's nothing there that hearkens to that film. This is why the title has always been a head-scratcher for me. What does The Big Aloha mean? The Big Goodbye maybe? The Big Hello? A nod to The Big Sleep just feels so random.

[Pahonu]

Ivan,
I confess I have often speculated/hoped that you and the honchos here that run Magnum Mania might one day make a sister site, "Hawaii Five-O Mania", recycling exactly the same pleasing set up here,
which frankly is the best I have ever run across. JJ Walters really knew his stuff! I know, what I suggest must be a lot of work but a boy can dream.

Yeah, I wouldn't really know where to begin there. It surely has to be a labor of love. Certainly would be a daunting task to undertake. On the other hand Mr. Mike already has the most comprehensive and exhaustive Five-O site imaginable (plus discussion forum). Would be impossible to top that.

In "Angel in Blue" I do confess to liking undercover cop Carol Lynley, if the producers had had her replace the bland Duke it might have reinvigorated the story lines, plus none of the other cast members
could pull off wearing a bikini.

Duke bland? You make Lono angry! I always liked Duke Lukela (maybe more so than Ben Kokua) but I'll admit that he couldn't match the original 4-man team of McG, Danno, Chin, and Kono. Kono was the man! A lotta man! Anyway I thought they actually gave Duke more to do and that's probably why Chin got sidelined as a result during season 10. McG even shows some compassion towards Duke when some chemical is thrown into his eyes in "My Friend, the Enemy" (with the ultimate Bond babe femme fatale from Thunderball Luciana Paluzzi playing the Eye-talian reporter). But ultimately there was only one Duke-centric episode and that was when he was first introduced back in the season 5 opener "Death is a Company Policy" where he was a member of the HPD and is accused of being an inside leak to the mob. I thought Herman Wedemeyer did a really good job in that one as Duke. You really felt for him. Unfortunately he never got another episode like that. But hey, Ben was a full-fledged Five-O member and he never got an episode that centered on him. So Duke actually got lucky to even get one such episode. Danno had a few. Kono had one or two. So did Chin.

You asked which protagonist in "When Does a War End?" I loathed - again I could have been clearer - it was indeed David Dukes. At one point he is frozen in place with the rifle, maniacally staring, like in
that Twilight Zone episode where a guy has a watch that stops time. Causing me to laugh out loud, leaving one to wonder why someone didn't wake up the director to put a stop to his BS.

Ah, so then you meant "antagonist". Because with protagonist I kept thinking of the good guys/gals.

As for "The Big Aloha" being a nod to Raymond Chandler's book "The Big Sleep", I agree with you, nothing noirish in the episode, rather the writer just seized the chance to do a clever Title take off on Chandler.

See, I would have never picked up on that. I'm still not sure how the title can refer to "The Big Sleep" when there's nothing there that hearkens to that film. This is why the title has always been a head-scratcher for me. What does The Big Aloha mean? The Big Goodbye maybe? The Big Hello? A nod to The Big Sleep just feels so random.

Not The Big Goodbye, The Long Goodbye by Chandler… or maybe just The Long Aloha would be the best mashup! Maybe Goodbye Aloha or The Aloha Sleep.

[Mr. Mike]

With regard to the business about where does Kwan Hi Lim appear in Frozen Assets:

A childhood pal of the Governor's (she calls him "Sonny"), she [Millicent] has come to Hawaii to investigate a fishy outfit called The Cryogenics Foundation run by Kenneth Kirk (Peter Lawford) where one of her friends, Elizabeth Hubbard, died in January 1978 under mysterious circumstances as she was thinking of leaving the place.

[...]

McGarrett goes to see Kirk, telling him that Elizabeth's lawyer contacted Five-O with a letter, saying that she wanted to leave the place. But McGarrett then mentions a letter written by Elizabeth herself on the day she died in which she said that she "never felt better." Kirk doesn't know anything about this. Instead, he suggests to McGarrett that Elizabeth was mentally imbalanced preceding her death, a condition that was "symptomatic with her illness" and that she was "always hallucinating [and] fantasizing." You have to wonder how Elizabeth could have mailed a letter to her lawyer – wouldn't her mail have been screened by the foundation? It's not like she could just walk down to the corner mailbox.

Following this, McGarrett talks to Kwan (Kwan Hi Lim), someone connected with the Attorney-General's office (or is he supposed to be the Attorney General himself?) and is told that an autopsy on Elizabeth's body is out of the question, because it would interfere with the cryogenics process, and the case might eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

With regard to the business about where does Kwan Hi Lim appear in Frozen Assets:

A childhood pal of the Governor's (she calls him "Sonny"), she [Millicent] has come to Hawaii to investigate a fishy outfit called The Cryogenics Foundation run by Kenneth Kirk (Peter Lawford) where one of her friends, Elizabeth Hubbard, died in January 1978 under mysterious circumstances as she was thinking of leaving the place.

[...]

McGarrett goes to see Kirk, telling him that Elizabeth's lawyer contacted Five-O with a letter, saying that she wanted to leave the place. But McGarrett then mentions a letter written by Elizabeth herself on the day she died in which she said that she "never felt better." Kirk doesn't know anything about this. Instead, he suggests to McGarrett that Elizabeth was mentally imbalanced preceding her death, a condition that was "symptomatic with her illness" and that she was "always hallucinating [and] fantasizing." You have to wonder how Elizabeth could have mailed a letter to her lawyer – wouldn't her mail have been screened by the foundation? It's not like she could just walk down to the corner mailbox.

Following this, McGarrett talks to Kwan (Kwan Hi Lim), someone connected with the Attorney-General's office (or is he supposed to be the Attorney General himself?) and is told that an autopsy on Elizabeth's body is out of the question, because it would interfere with the cryogenics process, and the case might eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

Hi Mr. Mike,
Thank you for straightening out the Kwan Hi Lim question. Still it seems odd in the credits he is stated as playing himself, his full name displayed.
First let me say that after Ivan's lauding of your site I have been reading it after each episode I view as I go thru season 11, which I haven't seen since it was first run in 1978.
I got a kick out of each episodes "Casualty List", with the little gravestone icons, fan sites are so much more fun when they employ humor/criticism as opposed to a fanatic's worshipful genuflecting.
Today I watched "The Case Against Phillip Christie". In the courtroom scene the judge(again actor Kwan Hi Lim) has a nameplate on his desk, "Kwan Hi Lim".
So again the character that Kwan Hi Lim plays is Kwan Hi Lim, though the end credits just say "Kwan Hi Lim - Judge".
I am going to keep an eye out as I go thru the last seasons for any more shenanigans with Kwan Hi Lim's name, perhaps a character he plays actually gets another monicker or is this some sort of running gag.
Anyway, congratulations on your site, teeming with Hawaii Five-O goodies for we fans to enjoy, and I am onboard with Ivan in urging people to check it out.
Thank you for sharing all the work you put into it.

[Pahonu]

With regard to the business about where does Kwan Hi Lim appear in Frozen Assets:

A childhood pal of the Governor's (she calls him "Sonny"), she [Millicent] has come to Hawaii to investigate a fishy outfit called The Cryogenics Foundation run by Kenneth Kirk (Peter Lawford) where one of her friends, Elizabeth Hubbard, died in January 1978 under mysterious circumstances as she was thinking of leaving the place.

[...]

McGarrett goes to see Kirk, telling him that Elizabeth's lawyer contacted Five-O with a letter, saying that she wanted to leave the place. But McGarrett then mentions a letter written by Elizabeth herself on the day she died in which she said that she "never felt better." Kirk doesn't know anything about this. Instead, he suggests to McGarrett that Elizabeth was mentally imbalanced preceding her death, a condition that was "symptomatic with her illness" and that she was "always hallucinating [and] fantasizing." You have to wonder how Elizabeth could have mailed a letter to her lawyer – wouldn't her mail have been screened by the foundation? It's not like she could just walk down to the corner mailbox.

Following this, McGarrett talks to Kwan (Kwan Hi Lim), someone connected with the Attorney-General's office (or is he supposed to be the Attorney General himself?) and is told that an autopsy on Elizabeth's body is out of the question, because it would interfere with the cryogenics process, and the case might eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

Hi Mr. Mike,
Thank you for straightening out the Kwan Hi Lim question. Still it seems odd in the credits he is stated as playing himself, his full name displayed.
First let me say that after Ivan's lauding of your site I have been reading it after each episode I view as I go thru season 11, which I haven't seen since it was first run in 1978.
I got a kick out of each episodes "Casualty List", with the little gravestone icons, fan sites are so much more fun when they employ humor/criticism as opposed to a fanatic's worshipful genuflecting.
Today I watched "The Case Against Phillip Christie". In the courtroom scene the judge(again actor Kwan Hi Lim) has a nameplate on his desk, "Kwan Hi Lim".
So again the character that Kwan Hi Lim plays is Kwan Hi Lim, though the end credits just say "Kwan Hi Lim - Judge".
I am going to keep an eye out as I go thru the last seasons for any more shenanigans with Kwan Hi Lim's name, perhaps a character he plays actually gets another monicker or is this some sort of running gag.
Anyway, congratulations on your site, teeming with Hawaii Five-O goodies for we fans to enjoy, and I am onboard with Ivan in urging people to check it out.
Thank you for sharing all the work you put into it.

If I recall correctly, The Case Against Phillip Christie has a brief shot of the Pahonu estate.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Dobie wrote -
As for "The Big Aloha" being a nod to Raymond Chandler's book "The Big Sleep", I agree with you, nothing noirish in the episode, rather the writer just seized the chance to do a clever Title take off on Chandler.

Ivan wrote -
See, I would have never picked up on that. I'm still not sure how the title can refer to "The Big Sleep" when there's nothing there that hearkens to that film.
This is why the title has always been a head-scratcher for me. What does The Big Aloha mean? The Big Goodbye maybe? The Big Hello? A nod to The Big Sleep just feels so random.

Pahonu wrote - Not The Big Goodbye, The Long Goodbye by Chandler… or maybe just The Long Aloha would be the best mashup! Maybe Goodbye Aloha or The Aloha Sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi guys,
As regards the above,I don't think it matters that the plot of The Big Sleep has nothing to do with The Big Aloha's plot. The writers just saw a chance to riff off a title that everyone in their
community of ink stained wretches would know immediately, even if the public didn't connect it up. Aloha being goodbye in this case, so it's The Big Goodbye or Big Death, as in Big Sleep.
The writers on Magnum used plenty of allusions to, or characters based on, or satirizing - Luther Gillis - the 40's PI.s all through the series, Chandler/Hammett were mothers milk to the
Hawaii Five-O/Magnum generation of writers. Pahonu, I got a good laugh out of "The Long Aloha".

One other thing regarding writers not necessarily writing for the public but for themselves and their fellow travelers. Stirling Silliphant of Naked City and Route 66 fame, plus an Oscar
for the movie "In The Heat of the Night", could be infuriating (at times) with his episode titles, multi layered stories and allusions that only the most highly educated people could ever
fully understand. One Route 66 title referred to a law of King Canute's(he carved a Norse kingdom out of a chunk of Saxon Britain) "Shall Forfeit His Dog and Ten Shillings to the King"
for hunting in the King's royal preserve.
Only the understanding of which enabled the viewer to fully grasp that the hunter character named Saxon was in his own modern fight against a large land owner/King Canute.
For years in our old Route 66 Yahoo group we tried to track down that title, when by merest chance I was reading about Canute and that forfeiting your doggy/10 shillings fine
law was mentioned. We were ticked off not pleased that Silliphant would use something so obscure.
Okay, I'm starting to prattle, my point being that the writer probably didn't care if the public caught the Big Aloha/Big Sleep allusion, it was for him.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

With regard to the business about where does Kwan Hi Lim appear in Frozen Assets:

A childhood pal of the Governor's (she calls him "Sonny"), she [Millicent] has come to Hawaii to investigate a fishy outfit called The Cryogenics Foundation run by Kenneth Kirk (Peter Lawford) where one of her friends, Elizabeth Hubbard, died in January 1978 under mysterious circumstances as she was thinking of leaving the place.

[...]

McGarrett goes to see Kirk, telling him that Elizabeth's lawyer contacted Five-O with a letter, saying that she wanted to leave the place. But McGarrett then mentions a letter written by Elizabeth herself on the day she died in which she said that she "never felt better." Kirk doesn't know anything about this. Instead, he suggests to McGarrett that Elizabeth was mentally imbalanced preceding her death, a condition that was "symptomatic with her illness" and that she was "always hallucinating [and] fantasizing." You have to wonder how Elizabeth could have mailed a letter to her lawyer – wouldn't her mail have been screened by the foundation? It's not like she could just walk down to the corner mailbox.

Following this, McGarrett talks to Kwan (Kwan Hi Lim), someone connected with the Attorney-General's office (or is he supposed to be the Attorney General himself?) and is told that an autopsy on Elizabeth's body is out of the question, because it would interfere with the cryogenics process, and the case might eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

Hi Mr. Mike,
Thank you for straightening out the Kwan Hi Lim question. Still it seems odd in the credits he is stated as playing himself, his full name displayed.
First let me say that after Ivan's lauding of your site I have been reading it after each episode I view as I go thru season 11, which I haven't seen since it was first run in 1978.
I got a kick out of each episodes "Casualty List", with the little gravestone icons, fan sites are so much more fun when they employ humor/criticism as opposed to a fanatic's worshipful genuflecting.
Today I watched "The Case Against Phillip Christie". In the courtroom scene the judge(again actor Kwan Hi Lim) has a nameplate on his desk, "Kwan Hi Lim".
So again the character that Kwan Hi Lim plays is Kwan Hi Lim, though the end credits just say "Kwan Hi Lim - Judge".
I am going to keep an eye out as I go thru the last seasons for any more shenanigans with Kwan Hi Lim's name, perhaps a character he plays actually gets another monicker or is this some sort of running gag.
Anyway, congratulations on your site, teeming with Hawaii Five-O goodies for we fans to enjoy, and I am onboard with Ivan in urging people to check it out.
Thank you for sharing all the work you put into it.

If I recall correctly, The Case Against Phillip Christie has a brief shot of the Pahonu estate.

Pahonu,
You are right, and it has been popping up frequently during my viewings of season 10 and 11. In one recent one with Hillerman getting a massage seaside at his Pahonu home, in the same episode
a different part of the estate is said to be another character's home. I wonder if someone knows how many episodes of Hawaii Five-O Pahonu appeared on? Any movies? Other TV series?

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

With regard to the business about where does Kwan Hi Lim appear in Frozen Assets:

A childhood pal of the Governor's (she calls him "Sonny"), she [Millicent] has come to Hawaii to investigate a fishy outfit called The Cryogenics Foundation run by Kenneth Kirk (Peter Lawford) where one of her friends, Elizabeth Hubbard, died in January 1978 under mysterious circumstances as she was thinking of leaving the place.

[...]

McGarrett goes to see Kirk, telling him that Elizabeth's lawyer contacted Five-O with a letter, saying that she wanted to leave the place. But McGarrett then mentions a letter written by Elizabeth herself on the day she died in which she said that she "never felt better." Kirk doesn't know anything about this. Instead, he suggests to McGarrett that Elizabeth was mentally imbalanced preceding her death, a condition that was "symptomatic with her illness" and that she was "always hallucinating [and] fantasizing." You have to wonder how Elizabeth could have mailed a letter to her lawyer – wouldn't her mail have been screened by the foundation? It's not like she could just walk down to the corner mailbox.

Following this, McGarrett talks to Kwan (Kwan Hi Lim), someone connected with the Attorney-General's office (or is he supposed to be the Attorney General himself?) and is told that an autopsy on Elizabeth's body is out of the question, because it would interfere with the cryogenics process, and the case might eventually end up in the US Supreme Court.

Hi Mr. Mike,
Thank you for straightening out the Kwan Hi Lim question. Still it seems odd in the credits he is stated as playing himself, his full name displayed.
First let me say that after Ivan's lauding of your site I have been reading it after each episode I view as I go thru season 11, which I haven't seen since it was first run in 1978.
I got a kick out of each episodes "Casualty List", with the little gravestone icons, fan sites are so much more fun when they employ humor/criticism as opposed to a fanatic's worshipful genuflecting.
Today I watched "The Case Against Phillip Christie". In the courtroom scene the judge(again actor Kwan Hi Lim) has a nameplate on his desk, "Kwan Hi Lim".
So again the character that Kwan Hi Lim plays is Kwan Hi Lim, though the end credits just say "Kwan Hi Lim - Judge".
I am going to keep an eye out as I go thru the last seasons for any more shenanigans with Kwan Hi Lim's name, perhaps a character he plays actually gets another monicker or is this some sort of running gag.
Anyway, congratulations on your site, teeming with Hawaii Five-O goodies for we fans to enjoy, and I am onboard with Ivan in urging people to check it out.
Thank you for sharing all the work you put into it.

Probably my favorite latter-day Kwan Hi Lim performance was him playing a ruthless fence named Hank Yomura in the season 12 episode "The Flight of the Jewels" (one of the best episodes from the final season, with future film star Jeff Daniels as the main guest star). Kwan Hi Lim is very oily and evil in that one. He also has some good zingers to the young punks (Jeff Daniels and his crew). I'm trying to remember if he played someone as villainous as this in any of his previous roles. I know he played a slimy lawyer in season 4's "Skinhead" and the Vashon's houseboy/henchman in the Vashon trilogy. But he didn't come across as sinister there as he did in his final Five-O appearance. Anyway, something to look forward to.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Dobie wrote -
As for "The Big Aloha" being a nod to Raymond Chandler's book "The Big Sleep", I agree with you, nothing noirish in the episode, rather the writer just seized the chance to do a clever Title take off on Chandler.

Ivan wrote -
See, I would have never picked up on that. I'm still not sure how the title can refer to "The Big Sleep" when there's nothing there that hearkens to that film.
This is why the title has always been a head-scratcher for me. What does The Big Aloha mean? The Big Goodbye maybe? The Big Hello? A nod to The Big Sleep just feels so random.

Pahonu wrote - Not The Big Goodbye, The Long Goodbye by Chandler… or maybe just The Long Aloha would be the best mashup! Maybe Goodbye Aloha or The Aloha Sleep.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi guys,
As regards the above,I don't think it matters that the plot of The Big Sleep has nothing to do with The Big Aloha's plot. The writers just saw a chance to riff off a title that everyone in their
community of ink stained wretches would know immediately, even if the public didn't connect it up. Aloha being goodbye in this case, so it's The Big Goodbye or Big Death, as in Big Sleep.
The writers on Magnum used plenty of allusions to, or characters based on, or satirizing - Luther Gillis - the 40's PI.s all through the series, Chandler/Hammett were mothers milk to the
Hawaii Five-O/Magnum generation of writers. Pahonu, I got a good laugh out of "The Long Aloha".

One other thing regarding writers not necessarily writing for the public but for themselves and their fellow travelers. Stirling Silliphant of Naked City and Route 66 fame, plus an Oscar
for the movie "In The Heat of the Night", could be infuriating (at times) with his episode titles, multi layered stories and allusions that only the most highly educated people could ever
fully understand. One Route 66 title referred to a law of King Canute's(he carved a Norse kingdom out of a chunk of Saxon Britain) "Shall Forfeit His Dog and Ten Shillings to the King"
for hunting in the King's royal preserve.
Only the understanding of which enabled the viewer to fully grasp that the hunter character named Saxon was in his own modern fight against a large land owner/King Canute.
For years in our old Route 66 Yahoo group we tried to track down that title, when by merest chance I was reading about Canute and that forfeiting your doggy/10 shillings fine
law was mentioned. We were ticked off not pleased that Silliphant would use something so obscure.
Okay, I'm starting to prattle, my point being that the writer probably didn't care if the public caught the Big Aloha/Big Sleep allusion, it was for him.

Dobie, there's a ROCKFORD FILES episode called "The Big Cheese". FIVE-O also had a season 1 episode called "The Big Kahuna". We know what it means when someone is called the Big Cheese or the Big Kahuna or the Big Honcho, right? And every DRAGNET episode was titled "The Big (fill in the blank)". That's why I'm wondering if we can automatically assume the writer had THE BIG SLEEP in mind when he titled it "The Big Aloha". Maybe, as you say, all it means is The Big Death (which sounds like a DRAGNET episode LOL). I guess what I'm saying is the writer could have just as easily had DRAGNET in mind when he came up with that title. But at the end of the day I guess we'll never know. Was he a fan of film noir or Dragnet? Or both? Or neither and maybe he just had a phrase like The Big Kahuna in mind instead. And that's where the title came from?

Mr. Mike has a section under every episode (or at least almost every) where he talks about What Does the Title Mean. Curiously he doesn't have anything for this particular episode. Maybe he's just as perplexed as we are.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Pahonu,
In one recent one with Hillerman getting a massage seaside at his Pahonu home, in the same episode a different part of the estate is said to be another character's home.

You know, you're absolutely right. I just remembered that when they show Hillerman getting his back walked on by the chick (LOL!) he's laying next to the sea wall (or on the sea wall maybe?) closest to the main house. But at the end you see the baddie Andrew Prine leaving his residence and it's actually the entrance to that same main house, from the driveway side. So you don't see the lawn of the main house or the sea wall. Those who don't know the estate like we do would just think this is a difference place. Pretty clever.

[Pahonu]

Pahonu,
In one recent one with Hillerman getting a massage seaside at his Pahonu home, in the same episode a different part of the estate is said to be another character's home.

You know, you're absolutely right. I just remembered that when they show Hillerman getting his back walked on by the chick (LOL!) he's laying next to the sea wall (or on the sea wall maybe?) closest to the main house. But at the end you see the baddie Andrew Prine leaving his residence and it's actually the entrance to that same main house, from the driveway side. So you don't see the lawn of the main house or the sea wall. Those who don't know the estate like we do would just think this is a difference place. Pretty clever.

Is this the episode where they put up a bunch of wood rail fencing along the driveway and treat the garage wing as if it were a stable? We’re lead to believe it’s a big ranch, if I recall.

[Luther's nephew Dobie]

Pahonu,
In one recent one with Hillerman getting a massage seaside at his Pahonu home, in the same episode a different part of the estate is said to be another character's home.

You know, you're absolutely right. I just remembered that when they show Hillerman getting his back walked on by the chick (LOL!) he's laying next to the sea wall (or on the sea wall maybe?) closest to the main house. But at the end you see the baddie Andrew Prine leaving his residence and it's actually the entrance to that same main house, from the driveway side. So you don't see the lawn of the main house or the sea wall. Those who don't know the estate like we do would just think this is a difference place. Pretty clever.

Is this the episode where they put up a bunch of wood rail fencing along the driveway and treat the garage wing as if it were a stable? We’re lead to believe it’s a big ranch, if I recall.

The episode is "A Stranger in His Grave". Season 10, episode 23. The only reason I remember is, as I go thru the last 3 seasons of the series I jot down the titles and anything of interest in that episode.
As noted above the last seasons aren't that great, a few days after viewing a episode they are forgotten, so I keep a scratch tablet. As I keep looking for any in jokes, mistakes, reflections of camera
crews etc. It would be fun if they ever included a shot of the actual Wo Fats restaurant.
Speaking of which, if anyone here ate there or took a pic of it or has a souvenir, perhaps you might share the details? It did appear in a couple of Hawaiian Eyes.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Pahonu,
In one recent one with Hillerman getting a massage seaside at his Pahonu home, in the same episode a different part of the estate is said to be another character's home.

You know, you're absolutely right. I just remembered that when they show Hillerman getting his back walked on by the chick (LOL!) he's laying next to the sea wall (or on the sea wall maybe?) closest to the main house. But at the end you see the baddie Andrew Prine leaving his residence and it's actually the entrance to that same main house, from the driveway side. So you don't see the lawn of the main house or the sea wall. Those who don't know the estate like we do would just think this is a difference place. Pretty clever.

Is this the episode where they put up a bunch of wood rail fencing along the driveway and treat the garage wing as if it were a stable? We’re lead to believe it’s a big ranch, if I recall.

Yep I believe it was supposed to be a ranch. And the garage wing was probably meant to be the horse stables. I don't recall a wood railing fence. It's been a while since I've seen it. It's the only season I don't own since it was the only season that wasn't remastered. As I understand it they went back and remastered it when they released the entire box set. But when these DVD sets were released separately (and that's how I purchased them) they didn't bother remastering season 10. Probably to save money. Maybe they didn't think too many would buy that season since that's when the decline started. Maybe the season 9 sales fell below expectations. Not sure. But there were enough complaints that they went ahead and remastered seasons 11 and 12 when they released those.

EDIT: I just remembered that the entire series is free on FreeVee on Amazon and I just checked out the ending at the estate and I didn't see any wood railing fence. You can see them walking through the portico (is that what it is?) or the hallway-looking thing (which is outside) towards the main door that leads to the driveway.