"Ladies and gentlemen, this is not your captain. There will be no departure time, and your trip will average fifteen to twenty years...Aloha. Aloha, suckers." - Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett, to a plane filled with criminals in “3,000 Crooked Miles to Honolulu”
Hawaii Five-O: The Fourth Season DVD Review
By Jude Clement
Gas prices are at an all-time high. Airlines are practically charging extra if you want to sit during flights. Many people are choosing to vacation close to home this year. But you, my lucky friend, don’t need to travel. Instead, you can get a glimpse of sunny shores in Hawaii Five-O: The Fourth Season. Sure, you’ll see lots of murders, kidnappings, and other crimes, but you’ll be ensconced in the cool comfort of your living room couch. Pass the Mai Tais!
As you probably already know, steely Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord) is the leader of the Five-O, a division of the Hawaii State Police. He won’t rest until justice is served. (Luckily, justice is usually on the menu, right next to the pu-pu platter.) His devoted team includes young second-in-command Danny "Danno" Williams (James MacArthur), and natives Chin Ho Kelly (Kam Fong) and Kono Kalakaua (Zulu).
Hawaii Five-O shows no sign of slowing down in its fourth season. The writing and acting are still sharp and stylish. These episodes are thirty-seven years old, yet they have such vitality they could easily have been produced last year.
In season four, Hume Cronyn reprises his season three role as a chameleon-like thief who dresses in outlandish disguises while trying to outwit McGarrett ("Odd Man In"). McGarrett and the team race to solve a case involving a serial killer who dresses his female victims in blonde wigs and trashy makeup (“Wednesdays, Ladies Free”). A college professor (Buddy Ebsen, Barnaby Jones) helps organize a travelers check scheme by setting up a fake Hawaiian tour for scam artists posing as teachers (“3,000 Crooked Miles to Honolulu”). An achingly young John Ritter (Three’s Company) guests as a charming vagabond whose peace-loving ways are challenged when he discovers a briefcase filled with cash (“Two Doves and Mr. Heron”). Wo Fat (Khigh Dhiegh) returns with a plan to simultaneously discredit McGarrett and shut down a missile tracking station so that China can test a nuclear device (“The 90-Second War” Parts 1 & 2). Army wives meeting their husbands for R & R are being killed by someone with a bayonet (“R & R & R”).
You won’t be the only person visiting Hawaii this summer. Season four guest stars include Herbert Lom (The Pink Panther), France Nuyen (St. Elsewhere), Marie Windsor, Monte Markham (Baywatch), Vic Morrow (Combat!), Annette O’Toole (Smallville), Jeanne Cooper (The Young and the Restless), Sam Melville (The Rookies), Jackie Cooper (The Little Rascals), Moses Gunn (Father Murphy), Loretta Swit (M*A*S*H), Donald Pleasence (Halloween), Ed Flanders (St. Elsewhere), Simon Oakland (Kolchak), David Birney (Serpico), and David Doyle (Charlie’s Angels).
The twenty-four episodes that make up Hawaii Five-O: The Fourth Season are divided onto six discs. The discs are housed in three slim, clear plastic keepcases, each of which holds two discs. The fronts of the cases include photos of the series' stars. The backs of the cases include titles, brief synopses, and original airdates for each episode. The interiors of the cases include a photo of a Hawaii sunset. The discs no longer feature members of the cast. Instead, they are in line with CBS DVDs standard silver design. The keepcases slide into a cardboard outer sleeve.
The DVD menus are simple and easy to navigate. The episodes are divided into chapters, but there are no scene selection menus.
