Hawaii Five-O: Season 7

Season Seven of the long-running series features the same great storytelling, locations, acting, writing, and music as its predecessors. The 24 episodes presented in this set have been restored to crisp color and sound, only adding to the enjoyment of the dramas presented...and what dramas they are. "Hawaii 5-0" was always a series that dealt with more than just the cops and crooks theme; it dealt with the social and political issues of the day and was sometimes on the edge of issues that were just emerging. Examples of the latter would be "Diary of a Gun," a tale about the path of murder and death followed by a too-easy-to-get "Saturday Night Special," and "Computer Killer," a story of a computer "hacker" with murderous intentions. Other outstanding installments include "I'll Kill 'Em Again," "Right Grave-Wrong Body," "The Two-Faced Corpse," "Ring of Life," the "Thelma and Louise"-like "A Woman's Work is With a Gun," "Bones of Contention," "Presenting ...in the Center Ring...Murder (featuring the return of frequent villain Wo Fat), "How to Steal a Masterpiece," "Hari-Kari: Murder" with a rare television appearance by Ossie Davis, and "Welcome to Our Branch Office," a lighter-than-usual episode with guest stars Cameron Mitchell and Frank Gorshin. Two of the best and most tense-filled episodes are "We Hang Our Own" and "The Hostage." The former features Leslie Nielsen as a wealthy patriarch who seeks revenge after the murder of his youngest son, played by Bruce Boxleitner. Perry King also appears as the older son. "Hostage" deals with a traumatized World War II veteran, well-played by veteran Dane Clark, who holds a young girl (Linda Purl) hostage in an Hawaiian high-rise. Both episodes are well-acted and series star Jack Lord gets to show his acting mettle as well. Even the two "weak" episodes of the season have something going for them. Boxleitner returns, as another character, in "And the Horse Jumped Over the Moon," a not-so-engaging episode that is salvaged by some stunning scenes of parachuting and the Hawaiian landscape. It's too bad the story isn't as captivating. "Small Witness, Large Crime" benefits from an early scene of a jet taking off as an assassin makes ready to hit his "target." Whether or not the plane shot was planned or just a coincidence is not important; it's still an impressive sight. Like other season sets, the only "extras" are the episodic promos. It would've been nice if there had been some commentary from the last surviving member and longest, sans Lord, of the original cast: the late James MacArthur.

I grew up on Hawaii Five-0. I was 5 years old when it debuted in 1968. I have to admit that I didn't watch much of Hawaii Five-0 during it's initial run. I didn't watch much of it when I became older either, though my family watched it regularly. The story lines were too complicated for a young kid to understand. However, I watched the show during re-runs in the 80's and became a fan of the show. From the stories I have read, I understand Jack Lord wanted to be the boss on the set and for everyone to do things the way he wanted them done. I think Jack Lord was an excellent actor and helped make the show what it was along with James MacArthur, Zulu and Kam Fong. I always liked Zulu and can't for the life of me figure out why they got rid of him. I also liked Al Harrington. From the gossip, I understand that Lord played a part in both of their firings. To me, those were two big mistakes. I only plan on buying through Season 8. The show went downhill fast after that. I think it was due to the death of Leonard Freeman in 1974 which proves Freeman was the force behind the show, not Jack Lord. It was a shame that Jack Lord made the co-stars play musical chairs the way they did. Most of the story lines for Season 7 were pretty good. My favorite is "Bomb, Bomb, Who's Got The Bomb?". I haven't seen this episode in such a long time but I remember not believing McGarret's theory until the last minute. I couldn't believe he was right. The theory was too far fetched. (I don't want to spoil it for you). The worst? It has to be "Welcome To Our Branch Office". What a ridiculous story line. Five-0 look-alikes posing as Five-0. What!? Who came up with that story? The "Bones Of Contention" episode is pretty good but "Computer Killer" is another stinker. "I'll Kill 'Em Again" was also pretty bad with a Bill Gates look alike going around killing women who resemble woman from past Five-0 investigations. It was clear to me that Hawaii Five-0 was beginning to struggle for storylines during this season. But, in this 7th Season, there were still some awfully good episodes.

Five-0 had several winning combinations, which made it the 12-year success it was and the 41-year classic it has become. First of all, Leonard Freeman and Jack Lord teamed together to insist on quality. Perhaps, Jack was more outspoken than Len, or perhaps, Jack was more visible and thus quoted more often than Len, but the result was an adherence to quality performances, quality cinematography, and, of course, the quality music of Morton Stevens and Don B. Ray. Second, Hawaiian scenery is unsurpassable. One viewing it for the first time comes away with the feeling that s/he did not see what s/he was looking at. Why? It is simply so overwhelming that neither the mind nor the eye can take it all in. In the visual medium of television, we find ourselves wishing for wider-angle camera lenses. Five-0 gave us many of those wide-angle views to enjoy. Third, Five-0 offered a good balance among genres of crime: International espionage, crime families, and the little fish stealing in hopes of gaining a spot in the big pond. In addition, it occasionally allowed us glimpse a bit of the characters' personal lives - or, at least, their characters' make-ups. For example, in Season 3's "The Ransom," we learned a lot about Kono's make-up when he allowed himself to be held and beaten by ruthless kidnappers in order to help the young boy being held to escape. It takes a brave man to do that, yet Kono did it without question or self-doubt. Fourth, Five-0 gave us a glimpse into the history and culture of our 50th state. When Five-0 began, Hawaii had been a state for only nine years. This year, Hawaii is celebrating its 50th year of statehood. We learned about the Kings Kamehameha and Kalakaua. We learned about the role of kahunas in Hawaiian life. We learned about the haole (non-Hawaiian) business interests pushing the kama`ainas (locals) out of Waikiki, where they and their families had lived for centuries, in order to erect skyscrapers and mega-hotels. Five-0 showed us the good side and the bad side of life in Hawaii and, in so doing, taught us about the state we've all come to love as if it were our own. Thank you, Leonard Freeman, Jack Lord, and everyone else who worked so hard for 12 long years to give us more than a media classic. Five-0 is, indeed, the best of the best.

Background to review.... We have found that if you can't be in Hawaii, 50 is the next best thing. We have been to Hawaii 4 times in the last 9 years. We love it and can't get enough of it. Last Christmas my sister-in-law gave me a gift card. I had purchased all the Magnum PI seasons that I could so I decided to give H50 a try as my late mother was a faithful 50 fan. I was pleasantly surprised by H50 Season 1. Now besides Magnum PI I can get my Hawaiian fix between trips with H50. Well we developed a craving for H50 so that I have purchased and viewed all 7 seasons and 3/4 the way through season 8. I have found that all the H50 seasons are great 1 through 8. They seem to get better and better with scripts and settings. The only thing that could have been better is if they had more local actors to mix the blend of them from episode to episode. What I mean by that is in this week's episode you will have one actor playing a really bad guy and next week he or she is back as a good guy. This is a similar pattern that started with The 60's in "Wild Wild West" where that used the same group of bit actors over and over again. Robert Conrad commented that this made them a winning team because of the relationships formed. However this process in any series can be a little monotonous as in "West" or in Hawaii 50. The other question came to me: Why wasn't a movie made of H50? If it was good enough for older TV series like the Lone Ranger why not a movie of Hawaii 50? Finally, since I am running out of H50 episodes, I hope that fellow fans like all of you will look at a predecessor of H50 namely "Hawaiian Eye" DVDs which are currently Out of Stock by Amazon. If enough of you put yourselves on the "Wait List" it would make it available with large requests. In conclusion I recommend all Hawaii 50 seasons 1-8. I haven't gotten to "9" yet. Mahalo. Aloha Phil

excellent.

I was really looking forward to the seventh season of Hawaii Five-0. I'am having to return it because some of the discs were not connected to the case. The part which holds the dvd in place were broken, and pieces were rolling around in the case. Stop using cheap cases to hold the dvds. A couple of the discs were scratched as well. Before receiving the series, I was hoping this would not be a problem. This has happened before, with the same problem with other movies or tv series from other sellers. I intend to order this show again from another seller. Hopefully, this won't be a problem again. The five stars are for the show, which I like alot. This was one of the greatest series on television and still is.

These shows from the 1970's are quite fun to watch!There are so many character actors guest starring,you may not know there name but remember the face from Columbo,Barnaby Jones,Rockford Files and so on.These shows where much more REAL than the so called reality shows that sadly have taken the place of REAL entertainment.You sit back,relax and forget about everything else and enjoy a actor like Jack Lord and his crew as they created one of the great shows that had a 12 year run.I say thank you to these great REAL actors and entertainers.Don't hesitate to buy these awesome 70's shows,there fun to watch,put away and pull back out and watch again and again,Jay - Colorado.

If you like Hawaii, especially Waikiki, you'll love the scenery in this. Lots of outdoor shots before the public made it nearly impossible to do realistically. Fun stuff and a nice visit to 70's paradise! Acting and direction could be considered "camp".