Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) Cocoon (1968) User Reviews

Outstanding Beginning

[bt698nhj · 9/10 · 5 July 2009]

Wow, I was floored by this episode. Just started watching this series (my father watched it when I was a kid, but I wasn't interested in adult shows), and it's terrific so far. My expectations were for shallow plots and acting, and I got just the opposite.

This episode is a tremendous stage-setter for the series. You get the enough background on McGarrett to draw you in, and you sense the deeper person within despite the tough and commanding exterior. This pilot two-part episode seemed more like a movie than a TV show. Very, very well done.

It was interesting to see that Jim Macarthur was not in this episode. Too bad for the guy he replaced, whose career fizzled. Macarthur had quite a run on 5-0 and was important to its success.

Superlative pilot

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 8/10 · 14 January 2023]

Having barely ever seen a Hawaii 5-0 episode, I decided to dive in when I got my Amazon Firestick and pirate TV service. Which I highly recommend to anyone sick of forking over hundreds each month to greedy cable companies.

The cold opening looks like something right out of a Bond film. Even the bad guy is Khigh Dhiegh from The Manchurian Candidate. After the thrilling setup we get to what is inarguably one of the greatest series theme songs and opening credits montages in TV history. My goodness, to have been wealthy enough in 1968 to own a color TV that must have been something to experience.

Then we see Jack Lord pretty much skipping into the building first thing in the morning wearing a lei. Just in case we didn't understand what was being implied, he dashes into his office, grabs his secretary, plants a big smooch on her, throws the lei over her shoulders, and basically says, ''get me some coffee, will ya doll?"

What unfolds is a pretty decent spy caper with just enough action and remarkably sparse exposition. Oh, and McGarrett even finds time to score with a co-ed. What a stud.

An Exotic Locale Where Mysteries Abound

[miketypeeach · 10/10 · 24 April 2024]

We know who one of the bad guys is right away: that seemingly jovial Asian man who'll run you through without a thought and then call ahead for a meal at his favorite restaurant. Then there is another man--a man who loves his tobacco pipe. Who is he? What's his game? Is he anyone with real juice? He's someone, all right: the actual bad guy who appears throughout the episode in full view, but at the beginning, only in the blink of an eye.

We see him 3 times before the opening credits roll. Had the writers, directors, and producers wanted his identity truly hidden, they could've easily substituted him with a stunt double, but no: there he is, speaking with Wo Fat, telling him only to "get on with it." Only his voice has been dubbed; the real actor playing the part of the real "inside man" is there--if you know how to find him. Watch ever so closely as Wo Fat and his henchmen prepare to interrogate their victim, and you'll see him: I promise.

When this was filmed, I was in kindergarten. What makes shows like these so special to me is the era--the one in which I grew up. Please allow me to say of the ending scene that if your dad resembled Jack Lord, your mom looked like Nancy Kwan, and they got on as well as those two did, you were the coolest kid in town.

Terrible, terrible

[tatz32000 · 3/10 · 27 August 2010]

Oh, no....this episode is to bad it's a miracle that CBS actually bought the series made from this Pilot. Leonard Freeman, writer and producer, has obviously seen too many James Bond films, with this silly storyline setting up McGarrett as a Super tough guy involved in international intrigue. Steve's job as head of the Hawaii State Police is almost ignored, as he plays Superspy.

One reason why people love this series is the authentic and beautiful filming in America's most beautiful state (Ok, I'm biased, I live in Hawaii). But, this pilot cost about $9--yes, nine dollars== to film, as much of it takes place on a dark set with Wo Fat and Andrew Duggan's character waiting for something to happen, rather than having Steve and the Cast running around actual locations in Hawaii on a police investigation.

Honest, the episodes get way better....ignore this one and watch the rest....