Some HFO S01 comments:
-It was interesting that the pilot featured a theme song that was slightly different than the final one. Also, the actor that played Danny in the pilot was not James MacArthur - but another actor (didn't recognize him). Glad they picked MacArthur to permanently play the role, since I thought the other actor - while OK - was somewhat bland.
-I am extremely amused that Gavin MacLeod played "Big Chicken" on the show - a seedy, smug drug dealer/scam artist. This role is so different from his portrayal of the easy going Captain Stubing on The Love Boat (1977-1986) - LOL.
-One of the best S01 episodes starts out with Danno chasing a perp (who has been breaking into cars) through the night-time streets. The perp pulls a weapon on him, and a short battle ensues. Shortly after, Danno chases him down to a seedy hotel room, and unintentionally kills the young criminal after firing through the lock on the door. Danno is very guilt stricken by this, but is still able to keep it together. The rest of the episode involves Danno and Five-0 having to track down the criminal's girlfriend, who left with the perp's weapon (which is the only thing that proves what Danno says about before fired upon).
IMHO the best part of the episode was when McGarret gave a guilty Danno a serious talk about what happened. I.e., McGarret told him that he should feel terrible every time he pulled his weapon, even if he didn't need to fire it. And, that it was very important he pulled it only when he felt he had to, etc. Very powerful monologue here, and I suspect it'll end up being one of the best of the series.
With so many unjustified and/or questionable homicides taking place these days, this type of episode is even more relevant today than when it came out 50+ years ago.
-Another very gripping episode is "King of the Hill". This involved a young soldier (Yaphet Kotto) on leave from Vietnam getting unintentionally hit in the head while playing a baseball game that Danno was overseeing. Danno takes him to the local hospital, and the soldier wakes up very disoriented & thinks he's back in the war. He wounds Danno & an LE officer, then barricades himself in a hospital room - all the while thinking he's back in battle. McGarett & co. have to rescue Danno with the minimum of damage to the soldier, so have to recreate the war to some extent by using helicopters, etc.
-A disturbing episode involved some young students getting involved with illegal drugs & in some cases dying as a result. H50 investigates, and tracks down the supplier of the drugs - a hippie college professor. Though the late '60's was before my time, I know that this era was when a lot of these dangerous/hallucinogenic drugs started becoming more popular - which obviously led to these types of deaths/brain damage/etc.
Last edited by AnamorphicWidescreen; 10-23-2020 at 02:33 AM.
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