With a rock-solid leading man and a backdrop that will make viewers jealous, Hawaii Five-0 keeps its spirit alive. Jack Lord plays Steve McGarrett, head of the Five-0. It is a team of special officers who only answered to McGarrett and the governor of Hawaii. Through 12 seasons of this original series, McGarrett, Danny, Chin Ho, Duke, Kono, and other team members worked to rid Hawaii of the criminal element.

Regular viewers of this classic TV show know that Steve’s biggest pain was dealing with Wo Fat. This show was part of a dynamite lineup on CBS. Sure, the show is, what, 50 or so years old from its original airing? It might seem a little dated to younger viewers. For the most part, though, I feel like it still holds up pretty well. Besides, you cannot go wrong with the show’s opening scenes and credits.

Let’s take a look at the top five episodes according to IMDb and see what you think about their ranking.

Over Fifty? (A Hawaii Five-O Classic)

Hume Cronyn shows up as Lewis Avery Filer, a former insurance investigator. He had to retire once a conglomerate took over the business. Still, Filer is busy with robberies at conglomerate-owned businesses. Disguises and tricks of the trade help him out in this Season 3 episode. Oh, he’s also getting public sympathy when getting the best of the police. Will McGarrett and Five-0 nab him?

Hookman

Police officers are getting shot day and night. A sniper nabs a cop on a funeral escort. Then, another officer is killed during a police standoff. Yet bullets taken from both bodies do not match up. When a person tries to shoot McGarrett in a few days, he leaves behind a prosthetic hook in the car. McGarrett reaches a realization: the suspect in both murders is Curt Stoner. He’s a bank robber who blamed the cops for the loss of his arms in a failed bank robbery attempt several years earlier.

Another cop is killed. Now McGarrett is in hurry-up mode to warn another officer before he’s killed. Too late, though. Now, Steve has to work to find the killer before he kills McGarrett in this Season 6 opener.

‘V’ For Vashon: The Father

One family plots to take out Steve. The Vashons are ticked after Steve kills Chris Vashon. Now, his grandfather is looking to let Steve know that he’s facing death. Chris’ father, Honore, played by Harold Gould, is not for this at all. Steve goes to see Honore, who denies that he has anything to do with the killing. An attempt on Steve’s life is made, but it fails. So, Steve knows there is someone out there looking to kill him. He has to find the assassin ASAP in this Season 5 episode.

One Big Happy Family

This becomes a big challenge for McGarrett and Five-0 in this Season 6 episode. See, this family arrives in Hawaii and starts committing crimes and killing people. This stumps Steve. But he gets some intel from the mainland that lets him know that this crew just kills without thinking. Slim Pickens and Bo Hopkins are the ones stirring the pot here.

‘V’ For Vashon: The Patriarch

Luther Adler plays Dominick Vashon, patriarch of the crime family, in this second part of a Season 5 episode. He wants revenge on McGarrett for killing Chris, his grandson, and sending Honore, his son, to prison. Honore, though, helps Pop find a man who has a grudge against Steve. Dominick asks this man to kill McGarrett. Uh oh. That plan does not work because Steve kills the grudge holder first. McGarrett can’t find the gun on that man. John Manicote, played by Glenn Cannon, charges McGarrett with murder in the second degree.

Ultimately, Steve is indicted. Upon seeing Dominick in the gallery, Steve figures out that Vashon sent that man to kill him.