Tonight 50 years ago, CBS aired S06E21, "Nightmare in Blue".

This is one of the standout episodes of the series, even if not everyone agrees.

Walter Stark (John Beck) was washed out of the HPD Academy, but he kept his uniform. He's using that to his advantage to rape and murder several victims. Some occurred before we see any action on the screen.

Five-O is determined to find the guy and even go as far as setting a trap for him. Laura (Elissa Dulce) is an HPD officer pretending her car is broken down. She encounters Stark but because he's in uniform, it doesn't click that he's the guy they're looking for. However, I really like the debrief she has with McGarrett. She tells him what she can remember and her mindset at the time. It's an excellent scene.

Stark does make a mistake in attacking Andrea Burdick (Katherine Justice). For whatever reason, Burdick survives her attack. Again, the scenes in the hospital are amazing. Her husband Joe (Alan Fudge) is having a tough time coping with what happened to her. Also, Andrea is pretty beat up and the show doesn't shy from that aspect.

Once Duke (Herman Wedemeyer) recognizes that it's Stark who is the monster that needs to be stopped, McGarrett and Danno zero in on him. He's in the process of trying to rape his new neighbor. A shootout ensues and Danno shoots Stark who falls over a balcony.

Mr. Mike has an excellent review here: https://www.fiveohomepage.com/5-0log6.htm#141

Also in this review is mention of Caryl Rivers opinion piece from October 6, 1974. She targets Five-O specifically with this episode. As a woman, I completely disagree with her assessment. Now, that could be for several reasons. 1. Rivers' reaction was in 1974, mine in 2017 when I first watched the episode. The 1970s had the ERA Amendment that wasn't ratified in time before it died out. Also, by 2017, a lot of women were in the workplace and breaking glass ceilings all over the place. This isn't to say that more needs to be done for equality but that's for another discussion. 2. The way she talks about the camera angles and such. I have to ask – "What are you watching!?" I got none of what she was talking about. If anything, Stark comes across as he should: creepy and a predator.

Not one of my favorite episodes but it's extremely well done. McGarrett is racing the clock and public opinion in trying to find the guy. Especially when they realize he could part of the rank and file. McGarrett is also sympathetic toward Andrea but she won't budge on telling them who attacked her. He becomes frustrated pretty fast.

One of the things that gets me when the show broaches the subject of rape – where are your female officers? Did it occur to any of the writers that a female officer might get the information they need more easily rather than a bunch a men huddled around a rape victim? That's got to be scary for the victim – it would for me. But again, this is the difference between the 1970s and today, there are a lot more female cops serving now than then. They were still there, just smaller numbers. The same goes for the military.

One last note, this episode is more timely and relevant than ever. With police shootings happening (it seems with more frequency, but again, that's another discussion), we see some bad apples in the mix. Stark is an example of this. While he isn't a cop per se, with the uniform, public opinion could be easily swayed to be anti-police. This is one of the reasons McGarrett wants to take him down right now. Again, a discussion for another thread/time.

Happy 50th, "Nightmare in Blue"!!