The Friends of Joey Kalima

If you've ever seen the classic movie "Larceny, Inc.", then the plot of this episode of "Hawaii Five-O" should be pretty familiar. Some guys are tunneling from the basement of a record store into a nearby bank. The trouble is, the cop on the local beat (Joey Kalima) keeps dropping by the store. So, to try to keep the cop busy and distracted, they tip off the police that there is gambling in the same home that Kalima is visiting. Now Kalima is an honest cop and knows nothing about the gambling but now he's in a fight with Internal Affairs to clear his name. And, to tie this very local matter in with Five-O, Kalima asks McGarrett to defend him at the upcoming hearing.

This episode is a nice change of pace for the series--which was getting a tad stale after 9 full seasons. While it is a lot like the film I mentioned above, it is original enough to make it worth seeing. The only negative, and it's a small one, is that there's a bit too much macho posturing between McGarrett and the Internal Affairs investigator.

The plot has two almost two different stories going on. A second viewing will most likely help you see it more coherently. The way the secret tunneling and the cop's plight intertwine and then go rather apart and then intertwine again.

An element not explored that much concerned the lady scientist McGarrett paid an official visit to. She was supposed to be the same one seen in a different ep ( but played by a different actress). And speaking of ladies in this fine ep.

Very beautiful Elaine Giftos has a really good part in this as cop Joey's wife. That is one plus right there. She was fine in her several appearances on the show.