Just watched this one now. I had only seen it once previously -- close to 30 years ago.
It was an okay episode. The entire setup of Reversions was FAR too complex, FAR too costly, and involved FAR too many people to potentially screw up the operation. Amazing that they even had a newspaper man working with Five-O, somehow foreseeing that Reversions would come down and check for back issues of the paper! How many other people/businesses did they set up just in case they were checked?
There was also little mystery or suspense. We knew early on who actually committed the murders, we knew who hired them, and we knew (most of) the motive. The only thing we were waiting for was to see the bad guys get caught in the trap!
Five-O had too many episodes where the serial conmen (who also sometimes commit murder) want to get in "just one more job" before leaving the island, and they inexplicably continue with the operation despite a strong suspicion that they're falling into a trap.
Once again with that theme, Reversions CEO Zachary Taylor increasingly suspected that this was "entrapment", yet he arranged the two murders regardless. It also didn't make sense how his "attorneys" could collect the inheritance despite the intense suspicion of both Uncle Kevin and his nephew dying on the same day (the day after signing the contract), and with the entire board running off to Zurich. Since collecting is so unlikely, why engage in this last scheme at all?
How strong were those doors in "Uncle Kevin's" house? Once Foster got trapped in there, he was unable to push down or kick down the doors. Were these fortified in advance?
Foster's admission of murder under duress (the belief the police had trapped him in the house with his own ticking bomb) would never hold up in court, nor would his agreement to cooperate. It may have been a satisfying scene to watch the cruel Foster panicking like that, but in reality it could have jeopardized the entire case!
There were simply too many "accidents" within months of these policies being purchased. This would obviously result in arrests, even without the trap McGarrett set. Simply arresting the mole at Ala Moana Bank (identified early in the episode) could have allowed these dominoes to fall. Speaking of which, we never got to see that woman arrested!
And speaking of that woman, the uncredited character of "Natalie Harper", I saw that Mike wrote that some attributed the role to Gretchen Corbett, best known for "The Rockford Files".
Here's Natalie Harper:
She does look somewhat like Gretchen Corbett, which I noticed before even reading Mike's review. But is it her? I don't think so. Corbett actually DID appear on Five-O in 1975, in "Study in Rage". :
Above she looked just like she did on Rockford. The Natalie Harper character, while similar in look, is played by a different actress, likely a Hawaiian local. Note that this was a bit part, and Corbett did NOT live in Hawaii.
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