by todd » Tue Oct 04, 2016 1:28 am
As I've mentioned before, I was too young to watch Hawaii Five-O first run.
I was 3 1/2 years from being born when the 1968 pilot aired, and was just 8 years old when the final Season 12 episode "Woe to Wo Fat" completed the series.
I caught the show in reruns as a young adult, starting around 1994, and instantly fell in love with it.
I was fortunate to have first caught the reruns of Season 6, as that probably was a factor in getting me hooked. I feel that Season 6 was the original Five-O's best season.
It started off great with "Hookman", "Draw Me a Killer", and "One Big Happy Family" as three of its four first episodes. These are all iconic episodes of the series, and fondly remembered by almost all fans of the series.
While the middle episodes of Season 6 were mostly unmemorable (though few were bad), it finished off with a bang. "One Born Every Minute", "Nightmare in Blue", and "Mother's Deadly Helper" were three more iconic episodes, especially 'Nightmare'.
I also liked Season 7 a lot, featuring "I'll Kill 'Em Again", "Steal Now--Pay Later", "Computer Killer" (WAY ahead of its time), and "The Young Assassins". But I still prefer Season 6 overall.
What do you guys think?
What is your favorite season of original Five-O?
by ringfire211 » Wed Oct 05, 2016 12:04 pmWell I really dig the whole hippie/late 60s counterculture vibe of the 1st season PLUS just how fresh and raw that inaugural season was. Plus Jack Lord was never better - he was an absolute firecracker that season! So I'd probably go with season 1 as my favorite, if pressed to pick one. But really I love the first 6 seasons equally. They represented the show at the very top of its game! You're absolutely right that season 6 had the best start of any season - "Hookman", "Draw Me a Killer", and "One Big Happy Family" are pretty much on everyone's list of the very best Five-O episodes.
My 3 favorite episodes from the show are "Rest in Peace, Somebody", "Hookman", and the "Vashon" trilogy. As you can see they're scattered throughout seasons 4, 5, and 6 so it's hard for me to pick a favorite season. Some claim those are the 3 best seasons but I absolutely love seasons 1-3 too, so I just have to call it a draw between the first 6 seasons.
by North » Fri Oct 07, 2016 11:03 amI literally agree with every word Ringfire said; 1 to 3 have the best energy and 60's vibe and 4 to 6 have the pinnacle of quality in the stories and character development. The second half of the run (7-12) was a slow decline but with lots of good episodes mixed in along the way.
by Johnny 6 » Wed Oct 26, 2016 7:47 pmTodd
That's a great question and discussed in Mr. Mike's forum over the years. I placed Season 3 as my Favorite as there are many of my FAVS in that Season. Trouble In Mind, Beautiful Screamer, And A Time To Die...So many classics. I had Season 6 right behind Season 3. Agree Todd that Hookman and Draw Me A Killer are Classic Season 6 Episodes and are in my Top 10 of the Classic HFO series. One Big Happy Family although not my FAV was brilliant and chilling. It could have easily happened the way the episode portrayed it. Especially the good-looking son and his attractive wife. They could have charmed the pants off plenty of people. I love the Season 6 episodes. Nightmare In Blue was another brilliant episode. I thought it was intelligent writing to make the criminal Walter Stark a handsome cop wash out. He would be familiar with police procedure and his looks and manner would not be suspicious to most young women. McG & HFO finally narrowed the suspect to Stark through strong detective work.In my rankings, I have Season 3, Season 6, Season 1 as the Gold, Silver, and Bronze of Classic HFO although you can make a case for 5 or 6 different seasons at the top. I have a strange affinity for Season 11. The McG, Danno, and Duke smaller force made for strong detective work. The Meighan Conspiracy, Stringer, Number One With A Bullet I and II, The Pagoda Factor, Death Mask were worth watching.
by Steven from Miami » Fri Nov 25, 2016 8:28 amI always believed that the one thing preventing season six from being my personal favorite was the absence of a Wo Fat episode. Otherwise, it's pretty darn fantastic, but not my favorite.
by ringfire211 » Fri Nov 25, 2016 11:47 pmI don't think the inclusion of a Wo Fat episode is all that important. It's not like all of them were uniformly excellent. Season 4 had the 2-parter "Ninety Second War" which ended up being a mixed bag - solid first part with a meandering second part. In season 7 Wo Fat goes to the circus - hardly the highlight of the season. Season 8 kicks off with a feature length episode which, while interesting in some aspects, gets too draggy for its own good. Would have been a more effective hour-long episode. I have the same problem with season 3's "FOB Honolulu" - drags too much.
I really only love the pilot and "Nine Dragons". I find most of them a bit overrated.
by H50 1.0 FOREVER* » Sat Nov 26, 2016 4:55 pmAfter watching Season 12, I'm now watching Season 6. Talk about a jolt! It becomes crystal clear what everyone has said about Season 12 being a non-season. I still like it, because it has qualities of its own, but it's not Five-0. Season 6, on the other hand, is tough! The topics are tough. The acting is tough. You wouldn't want your young children staying up to watch it. It also touches on some tough topics; e.g., pimps and prostitution in "Tricks Are Not Treats." It really shows why Jack was chosen to portray McGarrett. Some of the characters are as tough as Coaley Tobin (Man of the West), Clay Renton (Bonanza), and others. The older McGarrett of Seasons 10-12 had his appeal, but he wasn't the tough cookie that dealt with Kurt Stoner in "Hookman" and Lolo in "Tricks..." Interesting study.
by Steven from Miami » Mon Nov 28, 2016 7:06 amringfire211 wrote:I don't think the inclusion of a Wo Fat episode is all that important. It's not like all of them were uniformly excellent. Season 4 had the 2-parter "Ninety Second War" which ended up being a mixed bag - solid first part with a meandering second part. In season 7 Wo Fat goes to the circus - hardly the highlight of the season. Season 8 kicks off with a feature length episode which, while interesting in some aspects, gets too draggy for its own good. Would have been a more effective hour-long episode. I have the same problem with season 3's "FOB Honolulu" - drags too much.
I really only love the pilot and "Nine Dragons". I find most of them a bit overrated.
I'm not even sure overrated means anything anymore, or if it ever did, given the Millennial generation's murder of the word, which only means disliking something without any thought or offering any reasons, not that you are that type of person.
You mean the inclusion of a Wo Fat episode is not all that important to you. Some of us actually like the guy!
I love the Ninety-Second War and season four in general. Same goes for S5, though I know we strongly disagree on the merits of "The Jinn Who Clears the Way." Both seasons could easily be declared best seasons. That is, my best...
No one(?) would ever think of S7 as the best (or favorite or whatever). In fact, though I think I was just burned out on too much Five-0 from when the dvds were being released, what, every four months, but S7 sent me screaming from the series for about six months! I have since come to enjoy S7, but the quality did drop from previous years. I do like S8 a whole heckuva lot, though. It was a fine rebound from the sent-me-screaming factor of S7.
by ringfire211 » Mon Nov 28, 2016 10:56 amSteven, your post is overrated.
But yes you make a good point. Wo Fat for *ME PERSONALLY* is not necessary to make for a great season. As for season 7 I think it's still a very strong season and I maybe even prefer it to season 8 (although they're very close), if only for "I'll Kill 'Em Again" and "The Young Assassins". It also helps that Ben is still on the scene, if only for half a season.
by Johnny 6 » Sun Dec 04, 2016 2:23 amGreat discussion by the Classic Hawaii Five O diehards. I've been watching Season 9 in my DVDs and finding plenty of quality episodes. Let Death To Us Part and Ready Aim... I've enjoyed more with multiple watches. Probably would jump Season 9 to 3rd behind Season 3, Season 6, Season 9 then Season 1. The first few episodes of Season 9 are all fantastic: Nine Dragons Top 10, Assault On The Palace, Oldest Profession...I think Oldest Profession is skillfully done. They made the prostitutes dynamic and not one dimensional. I think Char is sexy and all the women are pretty attractive. The meeting was great to watch as they aired their concerns. One small nit pick is if they were certain Pendleton was involved...Why didn't they place him under total surveillance?! They would have seen the psycho killer at Pendleton's place. RIP to Classic HFO Alumni Fritz Weaver & Ron Glass.
by H50 1.0 FOREVER* » Mon Dec 19, 2016 10:44 amAlthough I stand by what I said about Season 6 being outstanding, I think Season 5 is even better : "Death is a Company Policy," the Vashon trilogy, and "Will the Real Mr. Winkler Please Die?" to name just a few.
by Fred » Fri Mar 10, 2017 3:49 pmA late entry on this topic, but I agree with Todd, Season 6 is my favorite with Season 3 not too far behind. My favorite of all episodes is "One Born Every Minute". Other favorites include "Hookman", "Draw Me a Killer", "The Sunday Torch", "Murder is a Taxing Affair", "The Finishing Touch", "The $100,000 Nickel", "The Flip Side is Death", "Banzai Pipeline", "Secret Witness" & "Nightmare in Blue". There are only a couple of clunkers while I would rate 5 of about every 6 episodes 3 stars or above.