Hawaii Five-O
To Kill or Be Killed
TV Flash files “To Kill or Be Killed” as hour 67 of 284 in the TV Flash guide — Hawaii Five-O (1968–1980) on CBS, season 3, episode 17, aired 1971-01-13, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S03E17: listed hour 67 of 284 in the Hawaii Five-O guide, hour 17 of 24 in season 3. It aired 1971-01-13 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “Ten Thousand Diamonds and a Heart” (S03E16). Next is “F.O.B. Honolulu (1)” (S03E18).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
Five-O investigates the death of Vietnam hero Jack Rigney, who fell from a balcony. His father is a World War II veteran, but his brother Michael is a peacenik, and Danno goes undercover as a draft dodger to help solve the mystery of Jack's death.
Viewer FAQ
Where does To Kill or Be Killed sit in the Hawaii Five-O guide?
S03E17 is listed hour 67 of 284 — hour 17 of 24 in season 3, season 3 episode 17.
When did Hawaii Five-O S03E17 air?
To Kill or Be Killed aired 1971-01-13 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Where should I start?
Jack Lord's McGarrett in an early location-heavy hour is the command presence: theme, waves, 'Book 'em, Danno.' You do not need the 2010s reboot to understand the original.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Book 'em, Danno — Steve McGarrett's elite unit chased crime across an islands postcard for twelve CBS seasons. Jack Lord's granite intensity, the Morton Stevens theme, and location photography made procedural TV feel like a vacation with felonies. The most whistled badge theme in the language.
The theme hits before the warrant. CBS's *Hawaii Five-O* premiered September 20, 1968, and ran through 1980: twelve seasons of Steve McGarrett's elite state police unit chasing crime across an islands postcard. Jack Lord's granite intensity. James MacArthur's Danny Williams. Kam Fong's Chin Ho and Zulu's Kono in the unit. Leonard Freeman built cop drama as tourism board and iron discipline. Morton Stevens wrote the surf-orchestra swagger that still chases you. **Book 'em, Danno entered the language. The theme…
Filed against
- Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett
Jack Lord’s Steve McGarrett made Hawaii Five-O a twelve-season postcard with felonies — granite intensity, Morton Stevens theme, Book ’em, Danno as civic punctuation. CBS procedural as vacation weather that still whistles. TV Flash files…
- James MacArthur as Danny 'Dano' Williams
James MacArthur’s Danny “Danno” Williams took the order that became a national catchphrase — Book ’em, Danno, twelve CBS seasons of Hawaii Five-O as vacation-with-felonies television. Jack Lord’s granite needed a partner who would move.…
- Kam Fong as Chin Ho Kelly
Kam Fong’s Chin Ho Kelly rode Hawaii Five-O as islands-postcard procedural muscle — Book ’em, Danno, Steve McGarrett’s elite unit, twelve CBS seasons, Jack Lord’s granite, the Morton Stevens theme, location photography that made felonies…
- Zulu as Kono Kalakaua
Zulu’s Kono Kalakaua rode Hawaii Five-O as island-unit steel — Book ’em, Danno, Steve McGarrett’s elite squad chasing crime across an islands postcard for twelve CBS seasons. Jack Lord’s granite intensity, the Morton Stevens theme,…