User Reviews

When watching older programs like this, I often ask myself if these episodes could air today. This particular episode focuses on the issue of rape and has several scenes which are intense and brutal. Very close up camera angles...tearing clothes off...punching women, etc. The mid-70s were really the beginning of TV shows selling ratings with what was then called "T n A"...and there is plenty of that in this episode. McGarrett tries his best to be empathetic with one of the rape victims, but when interviewing her seeking information about her attacker, he says it will be her fault if there are any other victims if she doesn't help him. I could see companies today boycotting H50 as being insensitive to women. Entertaining show in that it has fairly good acting and the story was well written and kept moving for the entire episode. It was also interesting to see Danno on screen with his then real wife.

This is a very brave and well made episode of "Hawaii Five-O". I say brave because it tackles the topic of rape--and does a good job of it. In fact, the show was so well done I score this one a 10.

The show begins with a woman having a flat tire on an isolated road in Oahu. Along comes what appears to be a cop (John Beck) in an unmarked car and the woman is relieved. However, she doesn't realize the man is NOT a policeman. He subsequently rapes and murders her--dumping the body down a hillside. Apparently this is not the first such crime the guy has committed--but one in a string of rape/murders in recent weeks. The only clue they have to go on is that the car that the killer drove had new tires on the front as well as the brand of tires.

Eventually, another woman is raped but this time, inexplicably, she is beaten badly but survives. Unfortunately, she has a horrible husband who is more concerned with her keeping quiet than anything else. Nice guy, huh? And so, under pressure from her husband, she refuses to cooperate with McGarrett. Had she, the next rape/murder would not have possibly occurred.

Five-O does get a bit of a break, however, as they learn that the sicko is either a cop or posing as a cop, as a stakeout brought him out of hiding--but unfortunately, the lady posing as the next victim thought he was just a cop in the wrong place--only later did she realize he could have been the killer.

Can Five-O catch this despicable jerk? Will the surviving victim summon up the courage to talk? Tune in and see.

There are a lot of pluses going for this one. Foremost is that it takes rape out of the realm of a taboo and brings it to light--something very much ignored at the time. It also handles it well--being very direct and brutal but also not sensationalistic, either. It also has an interesting (and rather sad) twist at the end that works well. To me, perhaps the biggest plus was the acting of Katherine Justice as the victim of chance. She was great and emoted well--pulling off a tough role with lots of grace and conviction. I also liked that the producers cast the very handsome Beck as the rapist/murderer as it went against the myth that such people are ugly old misfits who are ill-adjusted and cannot get a consensual partner (how ridiculous). Also, you might recognize Beck. Aside from having features that are similar to a younger Jack Lord, you would recognize him if you've seen the original "Rollerball", as he played Jonathan's friend, Moonpie.

Gripping, disturbing, excellent - all perfect adjectives for this one. I know many claim "One Big Happy Family" is the most disturbing episode in the entire series (because it's about a white trash family of serial killers) but in my book this one takes the top spot as the single most disturbing episode! The thing about the other episode is while it's creepy and unsettling most of what happens is off-screen. So we don't actually see any of it. It's all just left to our imaginations. With this one we actually see a woman brutally attacked and John Beck's rapist character is particularly vicious towards her. Same thing happens again at the end with the other woman at his apartment building. Or the image of the first victim being dumped out of the car as the car door opens - a chilling scene! Don Ray's score makes it even more creepy with those high pitched screeching violins! It's a really unsettling score and was rightly Emmy nominated. I also love the POV of the police light on top of Beck's car as he prowls the streets looking for his next victim. It reminds me of the shark's fin from JAWS. It's during those POV shots of that police light that Don Ray's screeching violins really get a workout!

Beck is perhaps the nastiest and most vicious character in the entire series and really sends a chill down your spine. He's a psycho alright but he's not the usual Five-O psycho - paranoid, schizophrenic, confused, or babbling. This one is fairly handsome and can put on the charms when needed. And in his cop uniform he looks downright trustworthy. But inside he's basically a primal animal. When he gets blasted at the end off the balcony it's a moment to jump off the couch and pump your fist - YEAAH!!! :) Love the freeze frame and Leonard Freeman's credit over his sunglasses. Jack Lord was on fire here and I do agree that he was a bit too hard on Andrea (who obviously was in shock after what happened) but we've also rarely seen McGarrett so obsessed with stopping this animal. It's understandable that he didn't want another dead body on his hands and since he really had zero leads he literally was grasping at the only thing he had (Andrea) to try to put a stop to these rapes and murders. Anyway, Katherine Justice did an exceptional job as the terrified victim Andrea and also Alan Fudge as her less than supportive husband was very good too. We also see Melody Patterson (Wrangler Jane from F TROOP) as Sherry, the airline stewardess friend of the first victim. She of course was married to James MacArthur at the time. This is my second favorite episode of the season! Used to be "Draw Me a Killer" but recently I've nudged it over to the #3 spot. There's just so many classic episodes this season!

• That apartment building where Beck lived and got blasted away at the end has a very unique look. Kind of a futuristic look to it. Must have been very modern back in the day. It's still there today. I drove past it. It's in Hawaii Kai and called The Esplanade. Just across from Koko Crater.

• The scene at the start where the first victim's car breaks down is just above the gun range at the foothills of Koko Crater. I was there too, doing the Koko hike to the top! Fantabulous view from the top! :)

• The house where Andrea is attacked by Beck is also still there. That's actually just behind Diamond Head (right at the foothills) on the corner of Paikau St. And 22nd Ave.

The suggestive story of a nutcase in a police uniform going around brutally raping and killing innocent lady after innocent lady. The best part of the episode by far is when a young beautiful female cop is on stakeout for the insane maniac and she confuses the fakecop/rapist for real patrolman.

The story premise was good, however, the 'compassion' for a woman who had been raped was NIL. In the episode McGarret said that he had extreme compassion for a rape victim, yet when she was unable to talk due to fear of her attacker who was dressed as a police officer and she had been screamed at by her husband how they would hurt her and protect their own. McGarret told her that any rape and death that happened after this was with her blessing! Later he left a book filled with mug shots of potential suspects and we watched her struggle with her fear and finally look at the pictures. When she was able to identify the man, she had her husband call 5-0, but they had just caught and killed the rapist/murder and McGarret told her not to bother. I hope that woman groups and rape help/groups protested to the writers over their treatment of a rape victim.