Hawaii Five-O (TV Series) Hookman (1973) User Reviews

A Killer's Revenge!!

[ellisel · 10/10 · 31 December 2007]

The episode "Hookman" started with a deranged killer -- with the use of prosthetic limbs -- taking aim at an officer during a funeral procession. After the affair, Stoner used his rifle to mortally wound a police officer ... and by leaving his rifle at the cemetery. Next, he took aim at a second police officer ... with the same fatal result. Two officers ended up being murdered at the hands of Stoner. Steve McGarrett and his officers had their work cut out into stopping this vengeful killer.

His metal engraving set and the gold plating bars signified each officer he murdered in the episode. Stoner also kept newspaper clippings of the officers he maimed on his personal bulletin board. During the middle of the episode, a representative in a store realized the gold plating was mainly a cheap job ... which was not actually gold in detail. Stoner took aim at a third officer. McGarrett went after Stoner in a pursuit that led to a port. Stoner drove a 1970 Mustang; McGarrett drove a 1968 Mercury Colony Park in the chase. Stoner's car ended up in the bay to throw suspicion, a trap, or even both ... without an obvious clue. McGarrett became frustrated into not finding Stoner at the end of the chase when a dump truck halted his pursuit.

Stoner then placed Officer Ookanna's name on the gold plate ... realizing he murdered a fourth officer. McGarrett knew the obvious about Stoner's rampage. A potentially fatal trap was waiting for him. McGarrett and Kokua had to plan a trap on Stoner in order to stop his ruthless killings before he became victim number five at the end of "Hookman." The following episode maintained suspense, surprise, unpredictability, and continuity. A Fat 16!! Highly Recommended For Viewing!!

Jay J.Armes...one cool cat

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 15 March 2011]

This episode stars an incredible self-promoter who gained a small level of fame in the 1970s, Jay J. Armes--born Julian Armas. When he was young, he accidentally blew off his hands and became very, very proficient with his metal prosthetic 'hands'. Armes was a cop, private detective and king of self-promotion--and I vaguely remember some sort of Jay J. Armes action figure for kids (made by Ideal) as well! The guy certainly knew how to market himself--down to his moniker. This episode of "Hawaii Five-O" is the only time he took up acting according to IMDb other than an appearance or two as himself.

The show begins with an assassin carefully setting up his rifle and equipment for some unseen target. Eventually a funeral procession passes and the killer shoots the cop in the lead vehicle. In a strange case of premeditation and chutzpah, the killer leaves the rifle with a nameplate on it--with the name of his victim stenciled on it! Oh, and I guess I should point out that the killer did all this with metal claws for hands (Armes).

A bit later, another cop is killed in the same fashion. Then, McGarrett himself is nearly gunned down by the same man. It is then that Steve realizes who the killer is--it's a guy named 'Stoner' who apparently blames several cops for losing his hands--though it all occurred due to Stoner's actions. Like a sociopathic creep, he unfairly blames the police for his handless plight. The fourth intended victim is soon killed and McGarrett must find Stoner--especially since he is the only one apparently left on Stoner's hit list.

This episode had an inventive revenge plot. Plus, it really was pretty exciting watching just how 'handy' Armes was despite his supposed handicap. Imagine....using a high-powered rifle and scope, driving a stick-shift and 1001 other daily activities without hands. Cool. I just wish my parents had bought me one of those action figures!

By the way, McGarrett tossing the sniper rifle to Danno was completely in characters, as in a couple previous episodes Danny showed his prowess with such a weapon.

A Top Three Episode

[ramsfan · 10/10 · 21 March 2018]

Hookman can stand with any episode of the series, such is its quality. Villain Curt Stoner lost his hands in a botched bank robbery years earlier. One by one, he shoots each cop he feels is responsible. With an icy stare and virtually no dialogue, our killer grimly hand stamps the name of his intended victim on each gun stock he leaves at the crime scene. The Five-O crew desperately try to put the pieces together before Stoner kills his last intended target: Steve McGarrett.

In an inspired piece of casting, El Paso, Texas Private Eye Jay J. Armes was tapped to play villain Stoner, a portrayal as good as any in the series. Armes lost his hands as a child in a blasting cap accident, and the hooks we see are real. One marvels how he deftly handles both mundane and more complex tasks with equal ease and efficiency, and he's more than a formidable foe for the Five-O team. Composer Morton Stevens adds to the mood with a tremendous musical score which won him an Emmy.

A taut, suspenseful episode and a personal favorite of mine. A must see!

Amazing music!!

[beckr1 · 3 August 2011]

Just one of the best episodes of H5O. What really propels this one along is the exceptional music. I'm a professional musician and music freak for film and TV and I have got to tell you, this is great stuff. They just don't make music like this for TV anymore. The complex counter-melodies intertwined are beautiful and inspiring. Not to mention the lighting & cinematography. Music: 39:45--some of the best stuff I've ever heard. Inspiring!! The clarinet counter-melody at 40:36 is superb!! The muted trombone underlying all of this adds a sinister element. At 40:50, the trombone, pointillistic and somewhat polyphonic continues the emotional element to the "quest" and the trumpets at 41:02 are harrowing. 41:34 is my favorite part: with all of the counter melodies, the trumpets and trombone take over the rhythmic part from the percussion and continue the melodic line. Genius!!!! Lighting & Cinematography: too much to write about, but check out 42:29 to the end, especially 43:02 and 50:03.

A vengeful, psychotic, hook handed killer plagues Steve.

[cooktigger2 · 10/10 · 20 June 2006]

This episode scared me silly when it first aired, but it was good "shock" therapy! I was but a third grader and loved Hawaii 5 0. I still do! It contains a couple of minor, humorous editing errors, but the flawless acting of Jack Lord combined with the spooky dexterity of J.J. Armes, make for one incredible episode! Mr. Armes played along with the script which eerily resembles his own real life accident which led to his handicap. Some gentle, corny humor ("He's hold up somewhere, SCRATCHING out an existence")provides comic relief! The heart thumping car chase scene excites the senses, as does the suspenseful search of Stoner's apartment. The music must also be mentioned. It perfectly sets the mood. Thanks to the composer of that piece! The final shootout is pure gold; as the bad guy makes his one fatal mistake and falls for the Police department's trick! It all comes together in under an hour! I tip my hat to the writers, directors, Leonard Freeman, Jack Lord, and, of course, Mr. Armes! If Hawaii 5 0 was your thing, check out this awesome episode!

Hookman

[ringfire211 · 10/10 · 2 July 2021]

This one is a stone cold classic for sure!! Pretty much tied for 1st place with season 4's "Rest in Peace, Somebody". I love these episodes where someone has a personal grudge against McGarrett! Hookman is pretty much a silent killer who doesn't contact McGarrett (unlike in "Rest in Peace" where McGarrett was taunted with phone calls). Stoner/Hookman is a creepy villain. So was Cameron in "Rest in Peace". I love the opening with the slow build-up where you watch the Hookman walking through the cemetery and then up to his perch where he sets up his rifle, scope, etc. All this is intercut with the funeral procession as the vehicles make their way down Kalakaua Ave. In Waikiki, then down some other streets, then going through the Diamond Head tunnel (which in reality doesn't make sense lol, why would they be inside Diamond Head crater?). All this is so well done (like a feature film!) and accompanied by a fantastic music score by Morton Stevens (his series best!) for which he won an Emmy award. His earlier Emmy win was for the season 2 opener "A Thousand Pardons -- You're Dead!" which was another awesome score.

Jay J. Armes, who played Hookman, is (or was) something of a celebrity I believe. He was a real-life private investigator and a very successful one at that who solved some pretty high profile cases. There was a cool article about him somewhere. He really did have hooks for hands and really mastered them. Could hold a gun no problem. There's even a book about him on Amazon.

Season 6 starts with a bang

[VetteRanger · 8/10 · 27 January 2023]

Okay, that was a bad joke. We have a sniper with prosthetic hooks for hands who kills a motor officer leading a funeral. Shockingly, he leaves the rifle, which had an attached name plate inscribed with the officer's name.

When a second officer is killed in the same way soon after, McGarrett wants 5-0 to investigate every case involving both officers. They problem? More than a thousand of them!

The nameless, silent killer next inscribes McGarretts name, which I expected, and his silence makes the episode all the more dramatic and poignant, while 5-0 uses forensics until the killer makes a mistake that gives his identity away to Steve. But that doesn't make it over ...

Outstanding episode of H5-0. The back story of Jay J. Armes is incredible!

[FloridaFred · 10/10 · 3 October 2023]

SPOILER ALERT!

A very good "revenge" episode, featuring a killer who is going after the four police officers he blames for losing both of his hands in a failed bank robbery.

What is really incredible about "Hookman", is that guest star Jay J. Armes is for real. He actually does have prosthetic arms and "hands". The story? When he was 11 years old, he stole some railroad explosives, they detonated and blew both of his hands off. He was fitted with artificial arms and hands, and became very adept at using them. Do an internet search for the amazing life of this man, who became one of the most famous private investigators in the world.

In this H5-0 story, Hookman is an expert marksman who is assassinating police officers. McGarrett and his team are trying to find the link between the murdered cops. There is a really good car chase, with the bad guy in a green Ford Mustang outrunning McGarrett on the pier. It evokes memories of "Bullitt"!

We also get an Emmy-winning musical score. Read the other reviews for details on that.

This is one of the best episodes in the entire 12 year run of Hawaii Five-0, thanks again to guest star Jay J. Armes. I rate it 10 stars!

Average, and Way Overrated

[samwa-27311 · 7/10 · 20 August 2019]

I've seen all 279 episodes, and most of them 3-6 times each.

This was one of only two to win an Emmy, and that was only for the music, which is one of the reasons that people convince themselves as to how great this is; the other being that the villain is disabled.

I can list at least 80 episodes better than this.

No speaking at all, by the crook, until a little at the end. That can't possibly make for a great show.

Standard plot, killer has revenge on police.

Ending provided no thoughts, no epilogue, nothing.

Average at best.

Memorable but gimmicky episode

[jarrodmcdonald-1 · 16 October 2023]

I am giving this episode an 8. As another reviewer already said, it's a standard revenge tale, and the program has used that plot often. The antagonist is a different type of killer, with hooks for hands...which seems to be the episode's main gimmick.

It seems pretty obvious that the writers had him seeking revenge against four cops because they needed one death or near-death in each of the four acts to drag it out. They couldn't just have him target McGarrett in the first act and be done with it. As a result, this becomes very repetitious with heightened dramatic music and countless shots of the hooks operating things and even more shots of various rifles, which seems to glorify gun violence.

The writers don't take much time to flesh out Stoner's backstory, except for one expository scene where McGarrett recounts details of the original heist to Danno and the governor, whom I'm sure would have already read documents about that old case. There was no exploration of the killer's family, and as a result, no real character development for him...just that he was a deranged loner, which is kind of a lazy way to write this type of story. I wanted to know more about his life before things went so terribly wrong and he became permanently disabled then turned into a vengeful killing machine.

Speaking of his disability, wouldn't it have made more sense if he had tried to cripple those cops he hated, so that they could have experienced debilitating pain and a lifetime disability like he had? It was way too easy, way too formulaic from a writing standpoint, to just make him another crazy killer bent on murdering others.

His revenge would have been much more thought-out, since he'd had all those years in prison to decide how he could make the cops suffer as much as he had suffered. He would've wanted them to know what it was like to live through a grueling ordeal and cope with that type of hell everyday.