The Payoff

I love "Hawaii Five-O" but one thing you could usually count on with shows like this and other cop shows of the era. If actors such as John Callicos, Anthony Zerbe or Albert Salmi appeared in the episode, you could bet the bank that they were playing the villain! So, very early in the show when Salmi dropped by to see an old friend living in a flophouse, I knew his "friend" was doomed!! And, within moments, Salmi was unloading what appeared to be a .22 into him. Oddly, although he intended to kill him, he only used two shots--not a sure thing with such a small caliber handgun! I almost felt like screaming at the TV--"put one in his head for insurance...that's what a REAL villain would do!!".

And, like I predicted, the shooting victim was not dead. In fact, he had a ton of energy--enough to walk many blocks to a lady friend's house and phone friends in Seattle to tell them about the shooting. Much of the show had to do with McGarrett and company trying to find the guys from Seattle AND Salmi and his scum-bag girlfriend.

Overall, an interesting episode. Why the man was shot, what first brought them together and the woman--all very interesting things you'll need to learn about in the show. I especially LOVED the final scene with the woman and the money--it's a classic. Exciting, well-written (except for the shooting scene) and complex--this one's well worth seeing.

By the way, you may recognize the character Madge as the same lady (Madlyn Rhue) who guest starred on the original "Star Trek" in the "Space Seed" episode where she played a crew member who fell in love with Khan (Ricardo Montalban).