Hawaii Five-O - The Complete Ninth Season

The Last Classic Season of 5-0 With Any Quality
Season 9 is arguably the last decent collection of episodes from the original Five-0 stable - I don't consider it to be nowhere near as good as when the show was at its zenith (seasons 3, 4, 5 & 6), but its good nevertheless. In fact, season opener, `Nine Dragons' is outstanding - a real rarity in the fact that it's a post season 6 episode that would probably feature in any fan's top ten list of all time greatest episodes.

So here we have `Nine Dragons' unabridged and thus coming in at circa 98 minutes. Print quality seems ok on this and other episodes - certainly much better than anything I've seen on TV here in the UK. Downside to this is that onscreen `dirt' (black flecks) can be seen from time to time in certain scenes on numerous episodes.

Sadly Season 9 is the last time we see contributions from Five-0 stalwarts Michael O'Herlihy (director) and Jerome Coopersmith (writer). O'Herlihy often helmed some of the best episodes the show had to offer, but here...

FIVE STAR SHOW but revised packaging not so great!
I'll skip the review of the show and get right to the actual product. Unlike the first eight seasons, which featured three separate, 2-disc cases inside the box, Season Nine features a single 6-disc case inside the box. While this doesn't create any problems for the discs, it does create problems for the viewer!

The discs themselves are stored one in each end of the case and four on page-type double disc holders. They are SECURE and don't come loose, so that's not the problem. Unfortunately, the episode descriptions are located INSIDE the case. So, if you actually want to read them, you must first REMOVE either disc one or six and hold it while you read. Secondly, the design of the case latching tabs means that some of the print is located UNDER the curvy latch mechanism which renders the text nearly impossible to read unless you twist things around until you are looking at it sideways.

Whoever the person is who thought up this ill-conceived storage case...

Hawaii Five-O: The Ninth Season
Compelling, gripping, hard boiled 1970s cop show. Love the sideburns, flowered shirts, platform shoes and bell bottomed pants. A reminder of a more relaxed time, before the world wide web provided instantaneous access to information: A time when forensic science was in its infancy and hard working cops used shoe leather on pavement to solve crimes.

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