The Big Kahuna

The Big Kahuna. Episode 23, Season One. Originally aired March 19 1969.

The guy who played the big movie producer in The Godfather plays one of the last descendants of the Hawaiian royal family--which would naturally mean he's also related to Kono. Nevermind his New York accent, nevermind the fact you're waiting for him to say to the frightening apparations of Pele which force him to fire off guns in the middle of the night "Now you get the hell outta here!" The appearances of Pele are due to a scheme straight out of Scooby-Doo: the old man's nephew and his wife (played by Sally Kellerman) are shooting film images into the night to scare the old guy so they can sell his property. A good appearance of a detestable hippie filmmaker who is grilled by Dan-o. McGarrett throughout defends the Americanization of the Islands and skeptically sneers at the influence of Pele or the old island ways as mere superstition which stands in the way of the future. A logical position, considering the 5-0 offices are located in the Iolani Palace, the royal house (and ultimately prison) of Queen Lilliuokalani, the last Hawaiian monarch.

Highlight: When Dan-o accuses Kono of being 9/10th's cop-1/10th Hawaiian, Kono just replies "For sure."

The Box

The Box. Episode #16, Season One. Originally aired: January 29, 1969.

It's great to be seeing the first episodes again. McGarrett is punching, Kono is wisecracking--even Chin Ho is active. This prison hostage playlet is really good, esp. for the return performance of Gavin McLeod as "The Big Chicken"--a pusher that McGarrett busted in the first part of the season. One of the convicts is played by Al Harrington, who would replaced Zulu in season 5 as "Ben." A prisoner's demands for prison reform bring McGarrett into harm's way, as Big Chicken cheerleads the hostage taker to kill his arch enemey. McGarrett gets the newspaper to print up the the hostage-takers suggestions for reform (printed faster than a fake paper on Times Square would be printed). One assumes the hostage taker is talking about the Big Chicken when he complains of "the homosexuals, these old smart ones, they don't do anything to keep them away from these young kids that just have come in for their first stretch."

Highlight: All of Chicken's gross performance but, after giving Chicken a thorough beating, when he comes to, McGarrett smiles and says "How you feeling, Chicken?"