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The Best Episodes of Hawaii Five-O Season 1

Every episode of Hawaii Five-O Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Hawaii Five-O Season 1!

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Hawaii Five-O is an American police procedural drama series produced by CBS Productions and Leonard Freeman. Set in Hawaii, the show originally aired for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, and continues in reruns. Jack

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 1 - Cocoon (1)
    7.8/10(471 votes)

    #1 - Cocoon (1)

    S1:E1

    Red Chinese agent Wo Fat uses a sensory deprivation chamber to procure information from U.S. agents. Steve McGarrett, head of Hawaii Five-O, investigates the death of a close friend who appears to have drowned. Steve's knowledge about his friend and a mysterious white substance lead him into a high-level intelligence matter involving a foreign agent. McGarrett, head of Hawaii's state police force, poses as "control," possessor of the names of other agents. He allows himself to be captured and placed in the chamber; will he be able to withstand the torture?

    Director:Paul Wendkos
    Writer:Leonard Freeman

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  2. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 2 - Cocoon (2)
    7.2/10(338 votes)

    #2 - Cocoon (2)

    S1:E2

    McGarrett is caught and cocooned, and must escape this torture and shut down Wo Fat's operation.

    Director:Paul Wendkos
    Writer:Leonard Freeman

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  3. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 3 - Full Fathom Five
    7.4/10(335 votes)

    #3 - Full Fathom Five

    S1:E3

    Victor Reese and his wife Nora are conning rich widows out of their savings, and then poisoning them and dumping them in the ocean. McGarrett and company hatch a plan to use a female officer to trap the duo.

    Director:Richard Benedict
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 4 - Strangers In Our Own Land
    7.4/10(321 votes)

    #4 - Strangers In Our Own Land

    S1:E4

    Five-O probes into the death of an official who was instrumental in the development of the islands, and discovers a tangled web of lies and deception.

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Herman Groves

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  5. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 5 - Tiger By The Tail
    7.6/10(304 votes)

    #5 - Tiger By The Tail

    S1:E5

    A young singer, Bobby George, plans his own kidnapping as a stunt, but when his father offers $500,000 for his release, his co-conspirators decide to double-cross him and take the money.

    Director:Richard Benedict
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 6 - Samurai
    7.2/10(274 votes)

    #6 - Samurai

    S1:E6

    McGarrett and the gang must simultaneously protect a gangster from Japanese assassins and also try to convict him for his underworld activities.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 7 - ... And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin
    7.3/10(265 votes)

    #7 - ... And They Painted Daisies On His Coffin

    S1:E7

    Danny Williams is accused of shooting an apparently unarmed young boy. Meanwhile, in his investigation, McGarrett comes up against Big Chicken, a nasty dope dealer.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 8 - Twenty-Four Karat Kill
    6.7/10(274 votes)

    #8 - Twenty-Four Karat Kill

    S1:E8

    A woman buys fish from a monger, and is followed home and murdered. McGarrett and the team must discover who killed her and stop smugglers from completing their operation.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 9 - The Ways Of Love
    7.4/10(282 votes)

    #9 - The Ways Of Love

    S1:E9

    After a girl dies during a high speed chase, a trail of clues leads McGarrett to a Los Angeles prison, where he must act the part of convict Steve Crowley to gain the trust of his cellmate for a break-out, which will help reveal the plans of the crime.

    Director:Charles S. Dubin
    Writer:Laurence Heath

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  10. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 10 - No Blue Skies
    7.9/10(279 votes)

    #10 - No Blue Skies

    S1:E10

    When a singer, Joey Rand, finds that his career doesn't pay well enough, he turns to cat burglary. However he doesn't reckon on Hawaii Five-O.

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Herman Groves

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  11. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 11 - By the Numbers
    7.8/10(249 votes)

    #11 - By the Numbers

    S1:E11

    A winning lottery ticket drags an army private into a the murky world of mob politics and vice.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 12 - Yesterday Died And Tomorrow Won't Be Born
    7.7/10(275 votes)

    #12 - Yesterday Died And Tomorrow Won't Be Born

    S1:E12

    When McGarrett is shot and badly wounded on a beachside jog, Danno and the team must work feverishly to find the culprit and prevent him from committing any more murders.

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 13 - Deathwatch
    7.4/10(278 votes)

    #13 - Deathwatch

    S1:E13

    McGarrett must protect a protect a mob underboss so he is able to testify against his superior, Joe Matsukino. However, Matsukino has many tricks up his sleeve to silence his former colleague permanently…

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 14 - Pray Love Remember, Pray Love Remember
    6.9/10(266 votes)

    #14 - Pray Love Remember, Pray Love Remember

    S1:E14

    When a young female student is found murdered on campus, suspicions fall on her boyfriend but McGarrett senses that something is not right.

    Director:Richard Benedict
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 15 - King Of The Hill
    7.6/10(234 votes)

    #15 - King Of The Hill

    S1:E15

    Danno is taken hostage by a Vietnam veteran who is suffering delusional flashbacks and sees everyone as forces sent to kill him.

    Director:Jack Shea
    Writer:John D. F. Black

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  16. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 16 - Up Tight
    7.3/10(246 votes)

    #16 - Up Tight

    S1:E16

    Young Eadie Hastings cannot be saved by Danno from jumping of a cliff, and Five-O think that she was high on speed. They track her source to a crank teacher, Professor David Stone, and Danno must pose as a surfer to investigate the drug pushers and users.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 17 - Face Of The Dragon
    7.4/10(238 votes)

    #17 - Face Of The Dragon

    S1:E17

    A man is found dead after having been robbed by a motorcyclist with a gun, and McGarrett is shocked to discover that the man was suffering from bubonic plague. The islands are quarantined, and the team must follow a series of clues to discover the cause of the outbreak.

    Director:Richard Benedict
    Writer:Robert C. Dennis

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  18. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 18 - The Box
    7.1/10(213 votes)

    #18 - The Box

    S1:E18

    Big Chicken returns in a tense prison hostage drama when McGarrett has to give himself over to the criminals as a bargaining chip and use psychology to take control of the situation.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:John D. F. Black

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  19. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 19 - One For The Money
    7.8/10(252 votes)

    #19 - One For The Money

    S1:E19

    When a girl is found murdered and numbered 'one', McGarrett suspects a serial killer. However the killer seems to be very selective in targeting members of a particular company, and suspicion soon falls on two brothers who stand to inherit the firm from their aged aunt.

    Director:Paul Stanley
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 20 - Along Came Joey
    7.9/10(233 votes)

    #20 - Along Came Joey

    S1:E20

    When the boxing son of a policeman, Phil Kalama, is killed, he starts a personal vendetta, and McGarrett must both solve the crime and stop Kalama from committing another murder.

    Director:Richard Benedict
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 21 - Once Upon A Time (1)
    6.2/10(225 votes)

    #21 - Once Upon A Time (1)

    S1:E21

    When the son of McGarrett's sister falls ill with cancer and she becomes involved in ‘naturology', her husband calls in Steve to investigate and persuade her to stop paying for the useless treatments. However, the quack doctor sets up a court case to prevent McGarrett from closing her practice.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Leonard Freeman

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  22. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 22 - Once Upon A Time (2)
    7.6/10(234 votes)

    #22 - Once Upon A Time (2)

    S1:E22

    McGarrett must use all legal means possible to win the court case against Dr. C.L. Fremont, stopping her fake treatments and saving his sister from more anguish and pain.

    Director:Abner Biberman
    Writer:Leonard Freeman

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  23. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 23 - Not That Much Different
    6.7/10(215 votes)

    #23 - Not That Much Different

    S1:E23

    When a leader of a student peace movement is killed, McGarrett has to investigate the murder against a wall of silence and a distrust of the police by the activists.

    Director:Abner Biberman
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 24 - Six Kilos
    8.0/10(197 votes)

    #24 - Six Kilos

    S1:E24

    Chin Ho and Dan Williams are tracking a safecracker but he pulls a gun and Danno ends up shooting him. McGarrett takes his identity of Harry Brown and must infiltrate a sophisticated gang of international thieves.

    Director:Seymour Robbie
    Writer:Meyer Dolinsky

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  25. Hawaii Five-O Season 1 Episode 25 - The Big Kahuna
    7.9/10(150 votes)

    #25 - The Big Kahuna

    S1:E25

    Sam Kalakua, a distant cousin of Kono, is being frightened into an early grave by an fake apparition of a Hawaiian god created by his nephew, who wants to sell the estate to a land merchant.

    Director:Herschel Daugherty
    Writers:Norman Hudis, Gilbert Ralston

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Cocoon (1)" is the best rated episode of "Hawaii Five-O" season 1. It scored 7.8/10 based on 471 votes. Directed by Paul Wendkos and written by Leonard Freeman, it aired on 9/20/1968. This episode is rated 0.6 points higher than the second-best, "Cocoon (2)".