10 FAV HAWAII FIVE-Os (1968-1980) Episodes

I've been thinking and writing for several years changing my Top 10 FAV Classic HFO episodes. Here are my Quick 10.
1. Engaged To Be Buried
2. Hookman
3. The V for Vachon Trilogy
4. Draw Me A Killer
5. King Of The Hill
6. Didn't We Meet At A Murder?
7. Cry, Lie
8. Highest Castle, Deepest Grave
9. Beautiful Screamer
10. Honor Is An Unmarked Grave

Some that just missed Top 10. Nine Dragons, The Defector, Yes, My Deadly Daughter, Yesterday Died... What would be your Top 10 episodes? An incredible task as it might be. JC

Hmm, I have an easy top five, then I got to thinking, I do have a top ten:

1. Double Exposure
2. Retire To Sunny Hawaii ... Forever
3. Beautiful Screamer
4. The Bomber And Mrs. Moroney
5. Pig In A Blanket
6. ...And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin
7. Draw Me A Killer
8. Engaged To Be Buried
9. Yesterday Died ... And Tomorrow Won't Be Born
10. Hara-Kiri: Murder

Yes, I'm biased. :)

Wow. Really odd choices. Double Exposure? Hara-Kiri? Unmarked Grave?

Good episodes (or just fair) but hardly classics.

No “Rest in Peace” or “I’ll Kill ‘Em Again” on either of your lists?

Double Exposure is my favorite hands down.

I would put I'll Kill 'Em Again at 11. I take or leave Rest in Peace. But this is proof - to each their own. I'll give you a perfect example ringfire - Though The Heavens Fall which I know you like a lot. I ... hate ... it.

Besides, what would your Top Ten be?

Ringfire
Just saw your post. Engaged To Be Buried has numerous Classic scenes. 1. Rono flying to meet Father Jack 2. Rono shooting and killing Father Jack 3. The rolling car bomb blowing up the young blonde's car 4. The 5-0 roust 5. Chin Ho showing his daughter all the damage Rono and the Videlgos have caused 6. Rono dying at the end. 7. Chin Ho's daughter emerging from the hospital. Her friend dead. Plenty of other scenes.

My reasons for Rest In Peace Somebody outside the Top 10 mainly two.
1. The issue with the paint can and the paint. I dont believe that much paint could travel that far. Remember he sloshes some on the desk too. It's important to the story.
2. Cameron paints the line to the Governor's door. I thi k it would be more suspenseful or thrilling if McG and HFO team dont know who the target will be. As we see in other HFO episodes, it gives McG time to set up the proper protection and security necessary to catch his criminal. I could add 3. Cameron dies for nothing. He didn't achieve his goal of killing the Governor or discrediting HFO.

As far as I'll Kill Em Again, I just don't like Eddie as I think he's a little over the top. Also, I favored Mr. Beechum and he was nice to Eddie. He kills him anyway. I do like the part when he's stopped by the cop and shoots him. That surprised me when I first saw it.

I think V for Vashon and Hookman would be in most Top 5 or Top 10 lists. Will probably move Cry, Lie out. It's a fluid situation the Top 10. I'm a big fan of Honor Is An Unmarked Grave.

I noticed on your list Chergi that you have the Vashon trilogy, which would kick Beautiful Screamer and Honor Is An Unmarked Grave out of your top ten - trilogy = 3 episodes so you have two too many. :)

I'll Kill 'Em Again is a good episode but not necessarily one of my faves. The same with Hookman - it's an excellent episode but not a favorite of mine. I wasn't rating the best, I was listing the ones I like the most. Thus "Ten FAV" in the thread title! :)

There is no way I can cut a list down to 10, this one is 11, and I could have added "The Payoff":

Honor Is An Unmarked Grave
Hookman
I'll Kill 'Em Again
I'm A Family Crook
Most Likely To Murder
Nine Dragons
One Big Happy Family
Singapore File
The Late John Louisiana
To Kill Or Be Killed
Yesterday Died...

For some fun, here are my least favorite:

A Bird In Hand...
Angel In Blue
Babe Ruth
Deadly Courier
Here Today ... Gone Tonight
School For Assassins
The Golden Noose
The Kahuna
Though The Heavens Fall
When Does A War End?

Eight of those are bombs, the remaining two are 1 star...

Bobbi
Good list of HFO 10 FAVS. I placed the Vashon Trilogy as 1 Unit. Glad you brought up Double Exposure. That's 1 of the better late Series episodes. Very creative and interesting episode. That makes me jump everytime when Danno is calling and receives the blow. He quickly takes the piece of paper out of Danny's pocket. Good romantic story for Danno. I have to find a place for Double Exposure.

Hara-Kiri: Murder is a very intelligent episode. Probably more intelligent than the average police drama. It's episodes like this that put Classic HFO #1 for me.

We have some Top 10 similarities...Beautiful Screamer, Draw Me A Killer, and Engaged To Be Buried. Can't wait to see your future posts.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Chergi

I placed the Vashon Trilogy as 1 Unit.

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Yes, I noticed. It should be three. It's a three episode arc.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by John Chergi

Can't wait to see your future posts.

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Glad to hear it. Although you're not main motivation to post. :)

I see what you all did here, you all got together and agreed to pretend you didn't see Filer.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bobbi

Double Exposure is my favorite hands down.

I would put I'll Kill 'Em Again at 11. I take or leave Rest in Peace. But this is proof - to each their own. I'll give you a perfect example ringfire - Though The Heavens Fall which I know you like a lot. I ... hate ... it.

Besides, what would your Top Ten be?

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Bobbi, I would not say that I like Though the Heavens Fall “a lot”. It would never make it anywhere near my favorites list. The last great episode on the show was The Skyline Killer. There isn’t anything in season 12 that I would call great. I just happen to think Heavens was the best of what we got that season. By no means is it great though. If I never saw it again it would be no loss for me whatsoever.

As for my top 10 that’s really difficult.

I could probably give you my top 4. See, I can’t even come up with a top 5 lol.

1. Rest In Peace, Somebody
2. Hookman
3. V for Vashon: The Father
4. I’ll Kill ‘Em Again

I’m leaning towards Nightmare in Blue for #5 which is definitely the most disturbing episode! Can’t rank them after that. It’s a crapshoot at that point. So many great ones!

With June arriving soon, I thought it was time to reconfigure my Top 10 Classic HFO episodes. Bobbi brought up some good points on The Vashon Trilogy as 3 separate episodes. I always put the 3 together but will untie them this time around. See how it looks and what the intelligent HFO forum thinks.
Top 10 FAV Classic HFO Episodes
1. Engaged To Be Buried
2. Hookman
3. Draw Me A Killer
4. Highest Castle, Deepest Grave
5. V For Vashon: The Patriarch
6. Didn't We Meet At A Murder?
7. King Of The Hill
8. To Kill Or Be Killed
9. V For Vashon: The Son
10. Double Exposure

Mr. Mike has some ones The Late John Louisiana and Yesterday Died... I highly considered. Some like All The King's Horses and Honor Is An Unmarked Grave were squeezed out. It's difficult the Top 10 Classic HFO. Easily could go 20 or 25 deep. Maybe, June or later in the Summer, some of the Classic HFO fans can post their Top 10 FAVS to see where there is agreement and a few outliers. Happy Remembrance Birthday May 27 to Chin and hope you and your families have a healthy and safe Memorial Day Weekend. JC

Of the 4 Vashon episodes, I rank them as follows:
1. The Son - (4 out of 4 stars) my favorite chapter, largely because of the excellent interplay between the 3 Vashon male actors, and the brilliant setup they established with the crime family and McGarrett’s pursuit. Plus that ending is so perfect: “McGarrett DIES!”
2. The Father - (4 out of 4) Don Knight almost stole this one away from Harold Gould, excellent follow-up to the first chapter, extremely tense! The scenes between Lord and Gould really crackled.
3. The Patriarch - (3.5 out of 4) The frame up gimmick was a great idea, but didn’t pack the same punch as the first 2 chapters. Luther Adler was great once again, but didn’t have the son and grandson to play off of as he did previously. Very dramatic ending though!
4. The Case Against McGarrett (3 out of 4) - very talky, more routine, but still enjoyable follow-up punctuated with great moments between Gould and Lord. The “verdict” at the end is rather absurd, though. I’m going to call bullshit on this notion of “honor among thieves”....just didn’t seem authentic given that Vashon was powerful and running things inside the prison (he just had an inmate executed earlier in the episode), and that McGarrett put many of them in there.

Would have loved a 5th chapter in season 12, wherein we learn Honore had died in prison, and the oldest daughter in the family (maybe age 21 by now) marries a top lieutenant in the Kumu mob, a power move that unites the mafia with the Vashon family. She helps her husband rise to power with an attempt to take out Alika from within their own ranks and seize control of the leadership. I envision this as a Lady Macbeth type of story wherein she would then ultimately have her new husband killed at the very end in a shocking plot twist as she herself seizes control (her ultimate plan all along), with McGarrett unable to get a shred of evidence against her, and the Vashon family now in control of the Kumu. The final scene would also reveal that she’s pregnant...and it’s a boy...a potential heir to the throne some day. Obviously this episode would have to be titled “V for Vashon: The Daughter”. Could have made a great episode coming near the end of the series’ run.

"V for Vashon: The Daughter" - I like that!!

This is very difficult and I will take the easy way out and say they are in no particular order:
Nightmare in Blue
Hookman
V for Vashon: The Son (If I must break up the three)
Over 50? Steal
Man in a Steel Frame
Beautiful Screamer
Pig in a Blanket
The Bells Toll at Noon
Nine Dragons
Yesterday Died and Tomorrow Won't Be Born

My honorable mention is the 90 Second War. I will admit I don't like this episode as much as I used to but growing up it was always one of my favorite episodes in syndication. The car accident, Wo Fat, the submarine, the secret mountain government base, the doppleganger McGarrett, etc.