Hawaii Five-O: Any Fans?

[Pahonu]

Yep! It took you almost 2 years! The same time it took me to watch about 11 MPI episodes from season 4.

You should be banned from Magnum Mania! IMHO.

LMAO!!!

[T.Q.]

Woe to Wo Fat

It was good but somewhat disappointing.

Someone on IMDb gave it a "brilliant" 10/10. Another a 2/10.

I fell in between.

I was literally "what the heck" when I saw the professor being played by Jack Lord. Thought it was cheesy.

Super far-fetched Wo Fat not recognizing McGarrett too.

Basically the first half infiltration into Wo Fat's scheme was borderline lame IMHO.

Picked up quite nicely when McGarrett was discovered.

The hanging silhouette was very cool and Steve going crazy on the lab was fun.

The final confrontation in the jungle was a bit of a letdown but I'm used to 40 years of fight scenes in movies and TV since then.

Scenes of Pahonu were cool. You can really see how impractical the home is in today's standards.

All-in-all I give the episode a 7/10.

Last 20 minutes saved it.

Very last scene with Wo Fat in the cell was good. Leaving that “To Be Continued” vibe…

Still I remain a little bit disappointed.

MPI: Terence Knapp, Wayne Ward, Reginold F.H. Ho, Lloyd Kino, James Roach, Robert Gleason

It's been a great run.

I loved the series.

Was fun doing the write-ups.

Mahalo and Aloha Jack Lord.

[Little Garwood]

youtu.be/e5CcfNBZB2Y

[T.Q.]

youtu.be/e5CcfNBZB2Y

I don't get it.

Did it offend you in some way that I watched the series and discussed with Z-Ivan for two years?

Always an option to not click.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Little Garwood]

I don't get it.

Did it offend you in some way that I watched the series and discussed with Z-Ivan for two years?

Watergate break in: June 17, 1972
US President Richard Nixon resigns: August 8, 1974

Also (Just about) two years.

No offense taken, and no offense given. Magnum-Mania is a small sandbox. I try to get along with everyone here.

Always an option to not click.

I'm this thread's original poster, so I tend to click on topics I've started.

[Pahonu]

Woe to Wo Fat

It was good but somewhat disappointing.

Someone on IMDb gave it a "brilliant" 10/10. Another a 2/10.

I fell in between.

I was literally "what the heck" when I saw the professor being played by Jack Lord. Thought it was cheesy.

Super far-fetched Wo Fat not recognizing McGarrett too.

Basically the first half infiltration into Wo Fat's scheme was borderline lame IMHO.

Picked up quite nicely when McGarrett was discovered.

The hanging silhouette was very cool and Steve going crazy on the lab was fun.

The final confrontation in the jungle was a bit of a letdown but I'm used to 40 years of fight scenes in movies and TV since then.

Scenes of Pahonu were cool. You can really see how impractical the home is in today's standards.

All-in-all I give the episode a 7/10.

Last 20 minutes saved it.

Very last scene with Wo Fat in the cell was good. Leaving that “To Be Continued” vibe…

Still I remain a little bit disappointed.

MPI: Terence Knapp, Wayne Ward, Reginold F.H. Ho, Lloyd Kino, James Roach, Robert Gleason

It's been a great run.

I loved the series.

Was fun doing the write-ups.

Mahalo and Aloha Jack Lord.

You do pretty much have to suspend all disbelief that Wo Fat wouldn’t recognize McGarrett for this episode to work, also the “compliance ration” whatever that is??? I just enjoy seeing the actual living room of Pahonu as well as the upstairs exterior balcony/hall and bedroom. I also liked the ending scene in the cell.

You are very absolutely correct that the layout would not work well as a home today. It wasn’t really an everyday home even when it was designed and built, rather a getaway for entertaining family and friends outside the city.

The place still had no AC when it was razed. Though it was well designed to capture the breezes and cool the home, people today don’t want to be opening and closing windows, doors, and shutters to regulate temperature. They want a thermostat to set and forget.

Did you catch my Happy Canada Day greeting for you in the Independence Day thread?

[T.Q.]

You do pretty much have to suspend all disbelief that Wo Fat wouldn’t recognize McGarrett for this episode to work, also the “compliance ration” whatever that is??? I just enjoy seeing the actual living room of Pahonu as well as the upstairs exterior balcony/hall and bedroom. I also liked the ending scene in the cell.

You are very absolutely correct that the layout would not work well as a home today. It wasn’t really an everyday home even when it was designed and built, rather a getaway for entertaining family and friends outside the city.

The place still had no AC when it was razed. Though it was well designed to capture the breezes and cool the home, people today don’t want to be opening and closing windows, doors, and shutters to regulate temperature. They want a thermostat to set and forget.

Did you catch my Happy Canada Day greeting for you in the Independence Day thread?

No I did not see. Thanks for the Canada Day shout-out.

Seems silly but it was just bad Wo Fat didn’t recognize McGarrett. A little too much suspension of disbelief required on that one. It really detracted from the story.

Yes, Pahonu was just an all around impractical setup. Good for a jungle escape in the Costa Rican mountains in 2022. Not so good for a modern Oahu.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

Woe to Wo Fat

It was good but somewhat disappointing.

Someone on IMDb gave it a "brilliant" 10/10. Another a 2/10.

I fell in between.

I was literally "what the heck" when I saw the professor being played by Jack Lord. Thought it was cheesy.

Super far-fetched Wo Fat not recognizing McGarrett too.

Basically the first half infiltration into Wo Fat's scheme was borderline lame IMHO.

Picked up quite nicely when McGarrett was discovered.

The hanging silhouette was very cool and Steve going crazy on the lab was fun.

The final confrontation in the jungle was a bit of a letdown but I'm used to 40 years of fight scenes in movies and TV since then.

Scenes of Pahonu were cool. You can really see how impractical the home is in today's standards.

All-in-all I give the episode a 7/10.

Last 20 minutes saved it.

Very last scene with Wo Fat in the cell was good. Leaving that “To Be Continued” vibe…

Still I remain a little bit disappointed.

MPI: Terence Knapp, Wayne Ward, Reginold F.H. Ho, Lloyd Kino, James Roach, Robert Gleason

It's been a great run.

I loved the series.

Was fun doing the write-ups.

Mahalo and Aloha Jack Lord.

It's great that we're in complete agreement with your final review. I can put away the bamboo cage making tools for good now. It was somewhat of a disappointment. As far as Wo Fat episodes go (of which I was never a huge fan of anyway) this one is pretty much bottom of the barrel. But what do you expect? It's season 12. The last time we saw Mr. Fat was the season 9 opener "Nine Dragons" and that kind of quality is long gone. This one plays out like some kind of comic book adventure. Super cheesy and ridiculous. The "professor" wig and beard that Lord had to wear was totally ludicrous, again something out of a comic book! It's like Clark Kent with and without glasses. Wo Fat can't recognize him. Also the name "Professor Raintree" sounds fake and made-up. Like you said, the second half was a bit better with McG trying to escape the island compound (Robin's Nest) and the hanging silhouette was actually REALLY clever! All this accompanied by a very good Morton Stevens score. It's fitting that Mort kicked off the series with his scoring duties with "Cocoon" and ended the series with his score as well. Both Wo Fat episodes. McG going into Rambo mode at the lab was silly, as well as the cheesy jungle confrontation but kinda fun too in a comic-book way. The final freeze frame was cool too. Not a terrible episode but by no means great either. I'm vacillating whether this one makes it at least at #5 for the season. Maybe not.

Love the transition from Lord's hair-wave to the ocean wave.

Time to rank the episodes this season....

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

youtu.be/e5CcfNBZB2Y

I rather enjoyed this 2-year national nightmare.

I look forward to another nightmare! Is it a Rockford nightmare next? It'll probably be a 1-year nightmare instead.

EDIT: I think the real nightmare here is me stuck in neutral with season 4 of MPI.

[Little Garwood]

I enjoyed it, too. I just don't "get" why T.Q. has such hostility for me; it's like I'm John Lennon and he's Mark David Chapman.

S4 of MPI showed some "cracks in its armor." Little did they know that the show would decline precipitously--ratings and quality-wise--beginning in S5, when The Cosby Show would curb stomp them in the ratings. Magnum has since come off a whole lot better than Cosby (and Cosby).

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

S4 of MPI showed some "cracks in the armor," Little did they know that the show would decline precipitously--ratings and quality-wise--beginning in S5, when The Cosby Show would curb stomp them in the ratings. Magnum has since come off a whole lot better than Cosby (and Cosby).

Oh trust me it's not because of any "cracks in the armor" that I'm stuck on S4. Actually I found the season quite enjoyable, no real discernible drop in quality from S3. I'm up to "No More Mr. Nice Guy" and the only one that was on the crappy side was "Smaller Than Life". But even that one had some cheesy fun in it, like Ronald Reagan (good voice impersonation - Rich Little?) on the phone with Waldo. It's just that lately I haven't been watching much of anything. Too busy with work stuff and life. Though oddly enough I always seem to find time to post here. Maybe it's just good therapy while I'm at work - a way to unwind for a few minutes. Something you can't do with an episode of MPI or any other show during work hours.

[Little Garwood]

S4 imo suffers from occasional bouts of "The Cutes." Smaller Than Life is a definite low point, but there are "cutesy" moments scattered about the entire season. Bringing things back to Five-O, I am thankful that series rarely had a so-called "comedy" episode...I can think of 4 over the course of its 12 seasons.

[ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)]

S4 imo suffers from occasional bouts of "The Cutes." Smaller Than Life is a definite low point, but there are "cutesy" moments scattered about the entire season. Bringing things back to Five-O, I am thankful that series rarely had a so-called "comedy" episode...I can think of 4 over the course of its 12 seasons.

Come to think of it I didn't really care for the "Red-Faced Thespian" episode or "Mr. Nice Guy" but I thought all the others were solid. And I especially enjoyed some of those with a case of "the cutes" like "Squeeze Play" and "Limited Engagement" and "A Sense of Debt" and "Operation: Silent Night". But I always gravitate towards the more serious ones like "Home from the Sea" (hey, today is the 4th of July!! ) and "Distant Relative" and "The Look". I liked the Luther Gillis one too - that one was half silly, half serious. I like Luther as a character!

But you're right that FIVE-O luckily was spared from "comedy" episodes (with those very few exceptions) or too many cases of "the cutes". Whenever they tried to go for the cutes it rarely worked. Just look at the final few seasons. It just wasn't that kind of show. Comedy episodes work in certain dramatic shows (BONANZA probably being the best example) but not in others. Can you imagine the super-serious formula-rigid MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE doing a comedy episode?

[Little Garwood]

Red Faced Thespian made a huge impact on me as a child, and not just because of June Chadwick's rockin' bikini scene! Magnum's feeble attempt at dressing like Dashiell Hammett eventually led me to that author's work, not to mention the Thin Man films. That episode also directed me toward the 1920s, an era which fascinates me in part due to the "Lost Generation" writers. Magnum has had quite an impact on me.

[Little Garwood]

Just thought I'd "mention" it.