A Bird in Hand... 

During a stopoff on a bird-watching expedition, tourists photograph an old sugar mill. They don't know that the mill is a front for a gold-smuggling operation and that one of their ... See full summary »

Director:

Beau Vanden Ecker

Writers:

Leonard Freeman (created by), Samuel Roeca

Stars:

Jack Lord, William Smith, Herman Wedemeyer

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett
William Smith	...	Det. James 'Kimo' Carew
Herman Wedemeyer	...	Det. Duke Lukela
Moe Keale	...	Det. Truck Kealoha
John Dehner	...	Anthony Del Vecchi
Lara Parker	...	Angie Walker
George Fisher	...	Klieber
Randy Ruff	...	Marty Watts
Sylvia Clinger	...	Julie Mae Watts
Jim Reynolds	...	Grebbs
Paul Martin	...	Johnny Salomao
Monique Kaeo	...	Loa
Wayne Oxford	...	Clarence Firth
Gillian Dobb	...	Gertrude Firth (as Gillian Dubb)
Edward Vierra	...	Santos

Storyline

During a stopoff on a bird-watching expedition, tourists photograph an old sugar mill. They don't know that the mill is a front for a gold-smuggling operation and that one of their photographs has caught the leader through a window. The leader sends a pack of goons to kill everyone in the tourist party and steal their film. McGarrett and a newspaper journalist, who got hold of the pictures, must try to identify the man in the picture and take down his operation before he gets them.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1980 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Ilikai Hotel, 1777 Ala Moana Blvd, Waikiki, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Television Network

Technical Specs

Runtime:

50 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title comes from the old proverb: A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.

User Reviews

Yet another clunker from season 12.

"A Bird in the Hand" is yet another awful episode from season 12 of "Hawaii Five-O". This is because by seasons 11 and 12, the series had more than run its course and the plot started getting awfully silly or stale. While "A Bird in the Hand" was not 100% awful, it was a remake of a season 9 show, "Double Exposure". So, it certainly lacks a lot when it comes to originality but at least it isn't quite as stupid as many of the shows....small consolation that this is.

The show begins with a small group of tourists on a bird watching expedition. Unbeknownst to the group, they're taking pictures near the hideout of Mr. Del Vecchi (John Dehner). Del Vecchi faked his own death some time ago and is planning on a BIG score in smuggled gold. So, just to make certain none of the tourists took pictures of him by mistake, he has his goons arrange for accidents for everyone--making their deaths look normal. After a while, a pattern clearly has emerged and only a dope would think the deaths were all accidents. So, McGarrett eventually do what any good cops would do in a situation like this-- enter the thugs' hideout without backup and without a clear plan. And, like a badly written show, it all works out just fine! Then, oddly, McGarrett waxes poetic for no reason whatsoever!!

All in all, this is a pretty bad but not horrible show. For purists who want to see ALL of the shows, it's worth seeing--otherwise skip it. Also, note that IF gold was being smuggled in cans like they did in the show, the cans would be fabulously heavy and any idiot would quickly realize that there's far more than pineapple in the cans!