"Hawaii Five-O" Death's Name Is Sam (TV Episode 1975) Poster

(TV Series)

(1975)

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6/10
Not a bad plot but some really, really shoddy production values mar this one.
planktonrules29 November 2011
Warning: Spoilers
The show begins with an older Asian man being struck by a car outside the airport. It is an accident and the man is not seriously injured, though he is knocked out and taken to the hospital. When he awakens, he quickly rifles through his luggage and when he doesn't find what he's looking for, he takes a poison capsule and dies!!! This does NOT happen every day--even on "Hawaii Five-O". Well, it turns out that he was a courier and what was in his luggage was part of a shoulder-launched surface to air missile. So what is Five-O to do? Well, find a cop who just happens to look a lot like the courier and who also knows the Malaysian language. Sounds far fetched? You betcha! While the plot certainly is difficult to believe, it is entertaining. So why do I only give it a 6? Well, it's an incredibly sloppy episode--very, very sloppy. Here are a few examples--a TWA 707 airliner (it could have been a DC-8) became, in some scenes, a United 747--a plan that looks VERY different. Also, a few times really crappy explosions were used--old grainy stock ones in one case and another that by 1970s standards looks like crap! Putting it bluntly, the special effects budget for this one was probably LESS than they spent on Jack Lord's hair. Not terrible--but not good.
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9/10
Tense and exciting
VetteRanger18 May 2023
This was a very different 5-0 episode, even though it IS another, essentially, spy versus spy plot ... and the show just aired just previously was a Chinese spy plot with no Wo Fat! LOL

In this one, George Takai makes a post Star Trek appearance when he's asked to double for a spy uncovered through sheer accident. McGarrett makes one of his unerring leaps of logic to figure out that a piece of SAM missile casing means a missile, and possible more than one, are being brought onto Oahu a piece at a time for assembly.

Takai's time dominates the episode although he really doesn't get to do much other than stay quiet so he doesn't give himself away as a plant.

However, the episode is interesting and keeps up the tension from start to finish, as you see both a terrorist group in action with a very sophisticated plot along with 5-0's tactic to pick it apart.
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