I've been meaning to pose this question for awhile but things have overtaken my intentions.

Which episode of the Classic Five-O series do you consider the epitome of the series? As in, what one episode encapsulates everything about the show: the good, the bad, the indifferent, the meh? All 278 are up for grabs and there's more than one I can think of. As well, what ingredients do you believe need to be included to be considered the epitome of the series? Is it the teamwork? The crime of the week? The villain getting the upper hand on the team then getting their just desserts?

There's three I can think of: Hookman, Nine Dragons and The Bells Toll At Noon.

If I had to boil it down to one: The Bells Toll At Noon had a solid story with an elusive (and sympathetic to a point) villain in Johnny Kling. The team had to work together to figure out what was going on and the pattern Johnny was following. He went after everyone in the supply chain he considered responsible for the overdose death of a young woman (I believe she was 20) who Johnny was in love with. The way he did this was creative in re-creating endings to three classic James Cagney movies. The finale also didn't end in a shoot-out but rather a talk down. After re-watching this episode a few weeks ago, I have to agree with Karen Rhodes' assessment in her book and Mr. Mike on his web page: this is perhaps the series' most perfect episode. It even had a funny moment (to me, I'm an odd duck) when McGarrett slams on the brakes recognizing the sketch from the motel of Johnny. He nearly threw Danno through the windshield!

Any other thoughts? What other episodes qualify and why?