The Flip Side Is Death 3.5 Stars ⭐⭐⭐ 1/2 Out Of 4 Stars. Season 6.
Another excellent Season 6 Episode. Record Producer Art Walker is the mastermind behind a daring and incredible bank robbery netting $250,000. In some business debt, Art Walker enlists the assistance of friend Tally Green and 2 Hawaiians, Joe Keao and Louis Pahia to commit the robbery and steal the money. It is a brilliant plan. Wearing military uniforms and gas masks, the 4 fake soldiers overturn a military vehicle in front of the bank. It is not deadly VX gas but smoke bombs that effectively unleash a blanket of smoke. The 4 men quickly go about their business as the people evacuate from the supposedly deadly VX gas. Using a special rope like ortho saw, they quickly cut away the metal bars and collect the money. McGarrett later arrives on the scene and has to admire the brilliant and creative plan. There are no fingerprints and the gas masks obscure their faces. It's the perfect crime. The first 10-15 minutes...I think The Flip Side Is Death a Classic Episode. One of the best. Remember watching this in the late 1980's. The 4 soldiers hide the military vehicles in camouflage type netting and load up the money in golf bags. They utilize another vehicle to transport the money and head to a Resort Hotel. Stuffing the golf bags full of money, a golf ball is forced out and lands in the bushy grass. The HFO team and HPD work quickly setting up the roadblocks and checkpoints. The criminals are now blocked from leaving the North Shore and stay in their hotel room. HFO team catches a break during an aerial search when the stolen military vehicles used in the bank robbery are discovered. Danno's hawk eyes discovers a golf ball in the grass. It is an important point in the episode. The golf ball is traced to the hotel where the criminals are staying. They have no luck on who purchased the golf balls. It becomes a cat and mouse game...A waiting game to see who blinks first.
The group begins to hide the money inside 8 track tapes provided by Art Walker. It appears plenty of strain on the arms and hands to fold up the money inside the small tapes. I think the large music albums or instruments might have worked better to hide the money. It works smoothly like clockwork as Louis Pahia the hotel worker brings the new cassettes into the hotel room. He has them hidden inside a food cart. Art Walker & Tally Green remove the tape inside loading in the stolen money. Pahia then takes the finished money tapes to Keao at the pineapple place where he works. Pahia picks up the new batch of cassettes while Keao transports the money filled tapes to the abandoned mill. The HFO investigation finally pays dividends doing a Venn Diagram of people who are in the military and work at the hotel. Louis Pahia is both a Reservist and works at the Hotel Resort. Chin and Danno talk to Pahia at the hotel and he appears a little nervous. They sense they are on the right track. Pahia still has held strong. While the episode is heading to be a 4 Star Classic ⭐⭐⭐⭐, Tally Green friend of Art Walker and an ex-con starts to become unglued. He becomes anxious and filled with paranoia. Green murders Pahia inside the hotel and quickly eliminates Keao in a battle at the abandoned mill. It's like Tally Green ingested stupid pills causing The Flip Side Is Death to drop a little in my ratings. Keao had been transporting the tapes in the pineapple truck and had a close shave. The police at the checkpoint looked at the pineapple boxes and noticed the 8 track tape box in his truck. Art Walker decides to turn the tables on Tally Green and murder Tally Green when they arrive at the abandoned mill and take possession of the money-filled tapes. Instead, HFO �� arrives and Tally is killed falling out of a high window ��. Art Walker is apprehended. A brilliant and well-executed plan still cannot defeat HFO. I think 3.5 stars ⭐⭐⭐ is an accurate rating for The Flip Side Is Death. The Flip could mean the flipping of the military vehicle releasing the fake VX gas. JC
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