User Reviews

I saw this episode when it first aired in 1969. Joanne Linville had recently turned in a great performance on Star Trek as the Romulan Commander and I was excited to see her again. In this two-parter, she plays a quack doctor who claims to have a machine that can diagnose any disease from just a single drop of blood. If this sounds familiar to you, it's because Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the now-defunct company Theranos, has just been convicted of the same scam in 2022. Ms. Linville gave another impressive performance in this episode, and I actually found myself rooting for her, despite the fact that I had to know she was a fraud. If only Theranos' investors had watched these two episodes, they could have saved themselves billions.

In my semi-humble opinion, the two episodes that make up "ONCE UPON A TIME" are the two best shows of the first season of "Hawaii Five-O". The shows are about a very unscrupulous "doctor" who promises miracle cures using a lot of electronic machines that do nothing to cure anyone. However, because this lady (Joanna Linville) is such a convincing huckster, she has a strong following who see her as a saint and not a con-woman--which she clearly is. McGarrett becomes involved in this case because his sister (who lives in California) has just placed her faith in this quack--and he is furious that Linville is taking every penny his sister and brother-in-law has to give them false hope of their son's cure--though he is dying of inoperable stomach cancer.

This episode is by far the most emotionally charged of the two--with Jack Lord doing a dynamite performance. His range and emotion is something you just don't see in later episodes and this shows that Lord was a much better actor than most might suspect. In addition, Miss Linville was great--slimy and a real scene-eater, but not in a bad way--much like Burt Lancaster in ELMER GANTRY.

I also liked the show because it talked about a serious problem then--and now. The lack of regulation and fantastic medical claims are issues that haven't changed very much. In 1969, it was the use of useless electronic gizmos and today it's outrageous and often untested claims being made by so-called 'supplements' and herbal remedies--that, like the electronics, are not subject to FDA regulation. An important topic to say the least--and one you don't normally see addressed on television.

Great performances and a really timely plot make this a must-see. Just be prepared--it is not one of these 'happily ever after' episodes. Things take many interesting twists in part two.