NOSTALGIE CRIME BOARD

A Matter of Mutual Concern ***
Original air date: 11/30/71

    This show, where McGarrett has to deal with conflicts between four ethnic gangs, is the ultimate in Race-o-rama! Things start off at the beach, where a visiting gangster from Miami is found dead after being staked below the tide line. When his body is brought to shore, McGarrett notices the guy's left hand little finger has been chopped off (this is depicted in nauseating detail both then and later in a photo blow-up). The Five-O team bust up a pool game (a front for a gambling operation) run by the Samoan Tasi (Manu Tupou). Referring to Chin Ho, Tasi says, "I know my rights, and one of them is not to be felt by this fat-handed Oriental." Danno comments, "All men are brothers," and Chin frisks Tasi, saying "He's clean." Tasi comments, "Not any longer!" As they leave the pool hall, Danno comments, "In case you hadn't noticed, one of you sank the cueball." Things take a turn for the worse with the appearance of David Opatoshu as gang boss Li Wing. Unlike in episode #15 where Opatoshu, also doing a Peter Sellers and playing an Oriental, was given some moderately passable makeup, here he has no makeup at all, aside from his white hair. Trying to accept this guy as Chinese really pushes "suspension of disbelief" into another galaxy! The other two bosses are Seth Sakai playing Afuso and Marc Marno as the Korean Kim Lo Lang. When Tasi is brought to the Five-O office and McGarrett suggests he will contact the other three bosses, Tasi says "I'll not go visit that stupid Jap, or that powdery Chinaman, or the Gook slob." McGarrett says "Wait a minute ... this is Hawaii, U.S.A. It's time for your English lesson. Repeat slowly after me -- Japanese, Chinese, Korean." Tasi turns and says, "You know what you can do with your English lesson, McGarrett," and gives McGarrett the raspberry! After Tasi leaves, Kono comments, "Are those lizard shoes he wears, or does he go barefooted?" McGarrett and Kono then drop in on Li Wing. At the front gate, Kono tells the guard, "Lock up those dogs ... if they bite me, they're gonna get rabies!" Li Wing's nephew Lai Po (Michael Leong) gives McGarrett a lot of mouth, saying that his uncle "doesn't know anything ... he just told you that four times. Is there a prize for five times, Mr. McGarrett? If not, get off his back!" McGarrett refers to the local gangs as "bush leaguers" compared with the Miami mob whose man was knocked off. During a meeting of the gangs, Kim Lo calls Lai Po "second banana" and remarks to Afuso, "I bet you even put water in your sak." He later calls Afuso, "Sukiyaki." Tasi tells the assembled that he "doesn't dirty his mouth lying to cruds and foreigners." Afuso throws up his hands saying "Twenty-four hours from now we'll be street fighting with [Miami mob boss] Uncle's soldiers and I'm in the middle of inventory!" Danno is sent to Miami, and when he calls McGarrett, as usual the phone connection is terrible. The Miami gang sends a thug who looks like an Elvis impersonator (Nick Nickolas) to Honolulu. McGarrett and Chin Ho meet him at the airport, engaging in various banter with him about his constitutional rights. When the thug heads back to his plane, he says "Aloha to you, pal, and ram it!" McGarrett muses: "Someone is trying to run Five-O up a palm tree." There's a great chase with the cops and Tasi swerving dangerously in their boat-like cars around the docks. When he's caught, Tasi says to McGarrett, "Speedometer goes to 120 ... couldn't get it past 90." McGarrett replies, "Tell Ralph Nader." The plot comes down to a confrontation at Li Wing's place with the Korean ready to drill the old man in bed. McGarrett appears suddenly and plugs Kim Lo. As the Korean gangster expires, he mutters "You lousy Chink!" McGarrett whips out a ticket to Taiwan for Li Wing. Incidentally, the chopped finger at the beginning is described as a "Samoan custom," but this is also a common practice with the Japanese Yakuza (Mafia) as well.


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Die vier groen Familien von Tanavasu, Afuso, Kim Lo Lang und Li Wing haben sich die illegalen Geschfte auf den Inseln aufgeteilt. Als einer von ihnen den ganzen Kuchen will und den Killer des groen Miami-Bosses Big Uncle umbringen lsst, gibt es Arbeit fr die Mnner von "Hawaii 5 - 0". McGarrett wei, dass seine Chance am grten ist, wenn sich die Gangster gegenseitig fertigmachen. Er nutzt die Rivalitten unter den Familien geschickt aus und ist am Ende der Gewinner.