"Hawaii Five-O" (1968) TV series 1968-1980

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Creator:

Leonard Freeman

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

Release Date:

26 September 1968 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Plot:

The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.

Plot Keywords:

Hawaii | Police | Investigation | Book Em Danno | Archenemy

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 2 wins & 12 nominations

Cast

Jack Lord	...	Det. Steve McGarrett (282 episodes, 1968-1980)
James MacArthur	...	Det. Danny Williams / ... (260 episodes, 1968-1979)
Kam Fong	...	Det. Chin Ho Kelly / ... (241 episodes, 1968-1978)
Herman Wedemeyer	...	Edward D. 'Duke' Lukela / ... (153 episodes, 1968-1980)

Also Known As:

"McGarrett" (USA) (rerun title)

Runtime:

60 min (284 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Australia:PG (some episodes) | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Hawaii Film Studio - 18th Avenue & Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Al Harrington and Herman Wedemeyer both appeared in different roles on the show before assuming the roles of Ben and Duke respectively. Wedemeyer was in the very first episode playing Honolulu police Lt. Balta.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the episode "Hook man" McGarrett is chasing a suspect who is driving a 1968 Ford Mustang. When the police retrieve the car from the bay, it has become a 1966 Ford Mustang.

Quotes:

Det. Steve McGarrett: [after each episode preview] Be there. Aloha!

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '70s: Volume 2" (2006)

Who needs Magnum anyway?

The longest-running cop show on American TV until "Law & Order"'s thirteenth season, "Hawaii Five-O" still has a long life in reruns and probably will continue in that vein long into the future.

Admittedly it did go downhill towards the end (the last season's episodes, ironically, seem even more dated than those from the '68 run) and no one can really claim that the acting was on a par with your Bochcos or your Levinsons, but it worked - yes, the scenery was a plus, along with Reza S. Badiyi's title sequence (still one of the all-time greats), but ultimately the glue that held it together was the late Jack Lord. He clearly thought the show revolved around him, and he was right - stiff, yes, but the man WAS Steve McGarrett; you never doubted for a second that he was in charge.

The show also had more than a few decent stories to go with the Hawaiian setting; that's the main reason this show was popular enough to run for more than 10 years (and more than twice that length in reruns). That and Morton Stevens's theme music, of course - all these years and that still hasn't worn thin yet either. I doubt "Miami Vice" will hold up so well.

The Stephen J. Cannell-backed pilot shot in '97 (and which brought back Chin Ho, killed off in "A Death In The Family") was judged so bad by CBS that to this day it hasn't aired, and probably never will. Like I'm weeping...