Paniolo question

OK, I just rewatched this as part of the latest project :)

Anyway, I was wondering about the end. If McGarrett had allowed Danno to take the shot from the helicopter, would Frank still be alive? I ask because Danno is pretty much a sharpshooter/marksman, had the position to fire and could have probably wounded Frank rather than all the gunfire at the end. I know that's not nearly as dramatic and it's doesn't allow McGarrett to spew off a bunch of crap to Frank (I agree with Mr. Mike in his review on this point, McGarrett comes across as preachy in my opinion).

Any thoughts? Am I completely off-base? :)

This post inspired me to watch Paniolo again tonight.

I didn't quite understand how McGarrett got shot in the arm at the end. Did Frank intend to shoot him to wound only, thus committing suicide by cop? Why not just shoot himself then? Or was he trying to kill McGarrett?

Shooting at McGarrett seemed very unlike Frank, who was portrayed as a good albeit stubborn and somewhat reckless guy.

The scenes with his grandson were heartbreaking. I kept wishing that Frank's daughter lived in a bigger place, so that kid wouldn't overhear everything from his bedroom!

(On a side note, the kid was way too dark skinned to be the son of the Frank's somewhat light skinned Hawaiian daughter and "haole" father!)

Anyway, to answer your question, yes, if Danno could have just disabled Frank, he would have probably lived. However, I knew that the story was going to have Frank die, as it was clear that he was going to be miserable without his ranch, which was going to clearly be unable to continue functioning once he went to jail (and even if he beat the rap, he was out of money to maintain it).

Mike asked in his review how Frank's daughter only dialed 7 digits when calling him from Honolulu. Hawaii's area code was (and still is) 808 for the entire state, so dialing 7 digits made complete sense.

I agree with Mike's statement that Five-O wasted their time questioning Frank's daughter regarding his silly alibi of having been with her on Oahu, since his plane ticket would have made it very clear when he arrived on the island. How did Frank think that such an alibi would fly?

Frank Silvera, the actor who played the character Frank, died only 6 months after the episode aired due to a freak electrocution accident when repairing his garbage disposal. He was almost 56, so he had many years left to live. He did a good job in this episode, and was believable as a native Hawaiian, despite being of Jamaican descent.

It feels strange that I was a year away from being born when this episode aired, but now I'm just 8 years younger than the actor playing the "old man" in this episode!

As Mike pointed out, the episode was indeed "slow moving", but it held my interest. It was a unique episode, and we got to see a lot of the Maui backcountry (which there is likely a lot less of nowadays).

I felt this one was a better episode than "Strangers in Our Own Land", which I felt was too preachy and too over-the-top with its message. Both episodes bemoaned the encroachment of civilization upon native Hawaiians, but this one was done much better. I agree with Mike's 3-star rating.

Chin and Kono had almost no role in this one, other than a brief scene at the beginning where they were working on a completely unrelated (and never spoken of again) case.

This episode was unusual in that there was no real villain, and no real victim. The real estate developer at the beginning was accidentally killed by Frank, and shortly thereafter revealed to have been wanted for "fraud and bribery", which is why Five-O initially took interest in his whereabouts (before realizing he was dead). Definitely the viewer wasn't supposed to feel sorry for him. Frank spent the rest of the episode on the run, but was a sympathetic character, at least until the final seconds when he inexplicably shot at McGarrett.

McGarrett's white outfit and scarf was ridiculous, even by 1970 standards, and especially to wear when horseback riding and camping in the hills in attempt to find a fleeing suspect. Jack Lord was known to wear that outfit a lot off-camera, so presumably this was his idea.

Ektually, Silvera died >before< the show was seen.

Paniolo was broadcast December 30, 1970. Silvera died June 11, 1970 .

Another actor who died before his show was broadcast: Stephen Boyd (S10E01, Up The Rebels).

Show was broadcast September 15, 1977. Boyd died June 2, 1977.

Were there any others?

He didn't die before his last appearance on Five-O but it wasn't long after:

Douglas Kennedy was last seen as the jury foreman in S05E24 Jury Of One which aired on March 13, 1973. According to IMDb, Kennedy passed on August 10, 1973. So while not before, it was close to his last appearance. :)

Bobbi and Todd

Great Paniolo reviews! I had to go back to see some of these posts. I agree with Mr. Mike in his Paniolo review that Frank's push of Cronin didn't seem to be that strong. I guess Cronin could just have been off balance or wasn't ready for it. That was a great scene when McG talks to Frank and says the IOU wasn't there in Cronin's wallet or on his person. After McG leaves, Frank crumbles up the IOU in his hand. I think the scene that resonated with me...Frank talking to his grown-up daughter about the ranch at her house. It's a powerful scene when Frank's voice rises "My father was born there...I was born there...You were born there..." I love this scene as we learn the ranch had been in the family a couple of generations. Frank was not going to lose the ranch on his watch. HFO make a big deal she was working but it's also plausible if you know a family member is arriving and you are still at work...Maybe she could have left a key for Frank to enter or the son could have let Frank inside. He could grab a drink or a bite to eat and watch TV until she arrived home. Mr. Mike made a good point about the airline ticket which would have when Frank arrived. Agree with Bobbi on the daughter calling home to Frank about the police arriving. It was legitimate she would tell her Father she loved about this. Agree with Todd on Frank dying at the end! Frank was a proud and stubborn man. His life was that ranch. I didn't see Frank going to jail on something that was an accident. Don't understand why he would wound McGarrett. I wish there was a way to bring in Frank peaceably but it didn't happen. Solid episode. JC