Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)

Hawaii Five-O
The opening title sequence
Created by	Leonard Freeman
Starring	Jack Lord James MacArthur Kam Fong Chun Gilbert Lani Kauhi "Zulu" Herman Wedemeyer Richard Denning Doug Mossman
Opening theme	Morton Stevens
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	12
No. of episodes	279 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Leonard Freeman Philip Leacock Leonard Katzman Bill Finnegan
Running time	60 minutes (with commercials)
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 20, 1968 – April 4, 1980

Hawaii Five-O is an American television series produced by CBS Productions. Airing for 12 seasons from 1968 to 1980, the show featured a fictional Hawaiian State Police force and an elite unit run by Detective Steve McGarrett. The series was also known for boosting lead actor Jack Lord's career.

Overview

The CBS television network produced the program, which aired from September 20, 1968 to April 4, 1980. Currently, the program is broadcast in syndication throughout the world and on-demand streaming media via CBS Interactive. Created by Leonard Freeman, Hawaii Five-O was shot on location in Honolulu, Hawaii, and throughout the island of Oahu as well as other Hawaiian islands — with occasional filming in other locales like Los Angeles, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Hawaii Five-O centers on a fictional state police force (named in honor of Hawaii's status as the 50th State) led by former U.S. naval officer Steve McGarrett (Jack Lord), who was appointed by the Governor Paul Jameson (Richard Denning). McGarrett was assisted regularly by State Police officers — a young officer, Danny Williams (played by Tim O'Kelly in the show's pilot, but replaced in the regular series by James MacArthur), Chin Ho Kelly (Kam Fong) and Kono Kalakaua (Zulu). Later, Honolulu Police Department Officer Duke Lukela (Herman Wedemeyer) joined the team as a regular, as did Ben Kokua (Al Harrington) who replaced Kono. Occasionally, they were assisted by other officers on an "as-needed" basis. During the course of the show, the team was also assisted regularly by: medical examiner Doc Bergman (Al Eben), forensic specialist Che Fong (Harry Endo) and a secretary. The first secretary was May (Maggi Parker), then Jenny (Peggy Ryan) and later Luana (Laura Sode-Matteson).

For twelve seasons, McGarrett and his team hounded international secret agents, criminals, and Mafia syndicates plaguing the Hawaiian Islands. With the aid of District Attorney and later Hawaii's Attorney General John Manicote (Glenn Cannon), McGarrett was successful in sending most of his enemies to prison. One such Mafia syndicate was led by crime family patriarch Honore Vashon (Harold Gould), a character introduced in the fifth season. Blaming McGarrett for the death of his son, Vashon swore vengeance using all of the resources available to him. Most episodes of Hawaii Five-O ended with the arrest of criminals with McGarrett's catch phrase to Williams, "Book 'em, Danno!", with the offense occasionally added after this phrase, such as "-Murder one!". Other criminals and organized crime bosses on the islands were played by actors such as Ricardo Montalbán, Gavin MacLeod, and Ross Martin as Tony Alika. For the 12th and final season, series regular James MacArthur had left the show (in 1996, he admitted that he had become tired and wanted to do other things), as had Kam Fong. Unlike other characters before him, Chin Ho did not just vanish from the show but was murdered while working undercover, trying to expose a protection ring in Chinatown (last episode, season 10). Previously Chin's family who lived locally had been mentioned. In this episode, his wife had died and his daughter now lived on the (US) mainland. New characters Jim 'Kimo' Carew (William Smith), Lori Wilson (Sharon Farrell), and Truck (Moe Keale) were introduced in season 12 alongside returning regular Duke Lukela.

The Five-O team consisted of four to five members (small for a real state police unit) and was portrayed as occupying a suite of offices in the Iolani Palace. The office interiors were a soundstage set. Curiously, it lacked its own radio network, necessitating frequent requests by McGarrett to the Honolulu Police Department dispatchers to "Patch me through to Danno". McGarrett's tousled yet immovable hairstyle and proclivity for wearing a dark suit and tie on all possible occasions rapidly entered popular culture.

In many episodes (including the pilot), McGarrett was drawn into the world of international espionage and national intelligence. McGarrett's archnemesis was an intelligence officer of the People's Republic of China, Wo Fat. The Communist rogue agent was played by veteran actor Khigh Dheigh. The show's final episode in 1980 was titled "Woe to Wo Fat", in which McGarrett finally put his arch-nemesis in jail.

The show's action and straightforward story-telling left little time for personal stories such as wives and girlfriends, though a two-part story in the first season dealt with the loss of McGarrett's sister's baby. Occasionally, a show would flash back to McGarrett's younger years or to a romantic figure. The viewer is left with the impression that McGarrett, like Dragnet's Joe Friday, is wedded to the police force and to crime-fighting at this point in his life. Teetotaler McGarrett often worked very late at the office, long after all others had gone home.

In the episode "Number One with a Bullet (Part 2)", McGarrett tells a criminal that "it was a bastard like you who killed my father." His 42 year old father was run down and killed by someone who had just held up a supermarket. Three days later at the funeral, 13 year old Steve McGarrett knew that he wanted to be a cop to stop such people.

Hawaii Five-O survived long enough to see reruns of early episodes enter syndication while new episodes were still being produced. The 12th season was repackaged into syndication under the title McGarrett.

Since McGarrett was also a commander in the U.S. Naval Reserve, he sometimes used their resources to help investigate and solve crimes, hence the Navy was credited in the closing credits of some episodes.

Creation of the show

The story behind the show's inception is inconsistent. A few sources claim the idea for the show came from a conversation producer Leonard Freeman had with then-Hawaii Governor John A. Burns. The governor's office, Iolani Palace, ultimately became the setting for Five-O headquarters. Another source claims Freeman wanted to set a show in San Pedro, but his friend Richard Boone convinced him to shoot it entirely in Hawaii. A third source claims Freeman discussed the show with Governor Burns only after pitching the idea to CBS.

Before settling on the name "Hawaii Five-O", Freeman considered titling the show "The Man".

Casting

Freeman offered Richard Boone the part of McGarrett, although he turned it down; Gregory Peck and Robert Brown were also considered. Jack Lord, then living in Beverly Hills, was asked at the last moment. He read for the part on a Wednesday and was cast for the part and flew to Hawaii two days later. On the following Monday he was in front of the cameras. Freeman and Lord had worked together previously on an unsold TV pilot called Grand Hotel.

Kam Fong, an 18-year veteran of the Honolulu Police Department, auditioned for the part of pilot episode lead villain Wo Fat, but Freeman cast him in the part of Chin Ho Kelly. Freeman took the name Wo Fat from a restaurant in downtown Honolulu. The name Chin Ho came from Chinn Ho, the owner of the Ilikai Hotel where the penthouse shot of Steve McGarrett in the opening title was made. Richard Denning, who played the governor, had retired to Hawaii and was asked to come out of retirement for the show. Zulu was a Waikiki beach boy and a local DJ when he was cast for the part of Kono for the next four years. John Nordlum was hired as a stunt man for Jack Lord.

Production

The first season was shot in a rusty military Quonset hut in Pearl City, nick-named Mongoose Manor by the actors and cast. The roof leaked and rats gnawed at the cables. The show then moved to a warehouse at 22nd Avenue and Kaimuki, which the National Guard subsequently commenced to use. A third studio was also built on 18th Avenue at Diamond Head and was used for the next 11 seasons.

A problem from the beginning was the lack of a movie industry in Hawaii. Many people learned their jobs as they went along—not just the crew and main cast, but notably the many local people who ended up in the show. Jack Lord was known as a perfectionist who insisted on the best from everyone. Some suffered from his temper when he felt they did not give their best, but in later reunions, they admitted that Lord's hard driving force had made them better actors and Hawaii Five-O a better show. Lord's high standards also helped the show last another seven years after Leonard Freeman's death at the end of the fifth season while undergoing open heart surgery.

It was rumored for many years that Jack Lord was a silent partner in all aspects of the production of Hawaii Five-O, even more so as the series grew in popularity during the 1970s. To critics and viewers, there was no question that Jack Lord was the center of the show, and that the other actors frequently served as little more than props, standing and watching while McGarrett emoted and paced around his office, analyzing the crime. But occasionally episodes would focus on the other actors, and let them showcase their own talents.

Very few episodes were shot outside of Hawaii. At least two episodes were shot in Los Angeles, one in Hong Kong and one in Singapore. Episodes shot in these locations were the only ones not to bear the "Filmed entirely on location in Hawaii" legend.

Credits

The opening title sequence was created by noted television director Reza S. Badiyi. The show would begin with a cold open suggesting the sinister plot for the night's program, then cut to a big ocean wave and the start of the dynamic theme song. A fast zoom-in to the top balcony of the Ilikai Hotel would follow, where McGarrett turns to face the camera, followed by many quick-cuts and freeze-frames of Hawaiian scenery (including, memorably, Hawaiian-Chinese-Caucasian model and 1960s Hawaii Visitors Bureau poster girl Elizabeth Malamalamaokalani Logue turning to face the camera), a grass-skirted hula dancer from the pilot, "Cocoon" (played by Helen Kuoha-Torco, who later became a professor at the University of Hawaii community college system, from which she later retired,) and shots of the supporting players, ending with the flashing blue light of a police motorcycle racing through a Honolulu street.

At the conclusion of an episode, after the obligatory "Book 'em Danno!", Jack Lord would narrate a teaser for the next week's episode, often emphasizing the "guest villain", especially if it was a recurring character such as Khigh Dheigh, Hume Cronyn, etc. He would open by saying "This is Jack Lord inviting you to be with us next week for <name of episode>" and then closing the preview by saying, "Be here. Aloha." The next episode teasers were removed from the syndicated episodes to clear time for additional commercial sales, although most have been restored in the second, third and fourth season DVD releases.

There are two versions of the closing credits portion. During the first season, the theme music was played over a short film of a flashing blue light attached to the rear of a police motorcycle racing through Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki heading west. The film is shown at twice the normal speed, as can be seen from people walking across a crossing behind the police motorcycle. In later seasons, the same music played over film of some outrigger canoeists battling the surf.

Legacy

The show was the longest running crime show on American TV until Law & Order surpassed it in 2003. The popularity of the Hawaii Five-O format spawned various police dramas on all the major television networks since its debut.

Known for the location, theme song, and ensemble cast, Hawaii Five-O is also noted for its liberal use of exterior location shooting throughout the entire 12 seasons. A typical episode, on average, would have at least two-thirds of all footage shot on location, as opposed to a "typical" show of the time which would be shot largely on sound stages and backlots.

The term "Five-O" was adopted by American youth culture as a street slang term for the police.

The Hawaiian-based television show Magnum P.I. was created after Hawaii Five-O ended its run, in order to make further use of the expensive production facilities created there for Five-O. The first few episodes made direct references to Five-O, suggesting that it takes place in the same fictional universe as the earlier show.

The vast majority of characters were Caucasian, although only 40% of the population of the state identify themselves as non-Hispanic Caucasian. However, many local people were cast in the show, which was ethnically diverse by the standards of the late 1960s. The first run and syndication were seen by an estimated 400,000,000 people around the world.

A measure of the show's continued high popularity is that it was lampooned in Mad Magazine, in a typical not-very-subtle satire called "How-Are-Ya Five-O", which appeared in 1971. The characters were renamed Steve "McGarrish" and "Dummy" Williams.

The closing-credits image of the police car's flashing light point-of-view would be satirized years later in the opening credits of the TV series Police Squad! and its movie spin-offs, The Naked Gun film series. Coincidentally, those shows starred Leslie Nielsen, who was one of the guest cast in the Hawaii Five-O pilot.

A one-hour pilot for a new series was made in 1996 but never aired. Produced and written by Stephen J. Cannell, it starred Gary Busey and Russell Wong as the new Five-O team. James MacArthur briefly returned as Dan Williams, now governor of Hawaii. Several cameos were made by other Five-O regulars.

On October 6, 2009 FusedFilm.com confirmed that CBS Television was keen on trying once again to revamp the series with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci (Star Trek, Fringe) to develop the series along with Peter M. Lenkov (CSI:NY).

Theme song

Another legacy of the show is the popularity of the Hawaii Five-O theme song. The song was composed by Morton Stevens, who also composed numerous episode scores. The song has been covered by The Ventures. The song is particularly popular with college and high school marching bands, especially at the University of Hawaii, where it has become the unofficial fight song.

Although the theme song is most widely known as an instrumental, it has been released with at least two different sets of lyrics. The first, by Don Ho, starts with the familiar tempo, then settles into a ballad style. The second, by Sammy Davis, Jr., titled "You Can Count on Me (Theme from Hawaii Five-O)", maintains the driving style of the original instrumental throughout. The Radio Birdman version was called 'Aloha, Steve & Danno' only the middle section of the song was the original version, the rest of the song was a tribute to the show "Steve I wanna say thank you for all you've done for me, my nights are dark and empty when you're not on t.v." Another Australian band The Porkers recorded a cover of the Radio Birdman track in 1994 with Chris Masuak from R.B. on guitar.

In the Australian movie The Dish it was requested that a teen age band should play the national anthem of the United States on the occasion of a visit of the U.S. ambassador to a small Australian town. They played the Hawaii Five-O theme song instead.

Episodes

See List of Hawaii Five-O episodes

Suppressed episode

The second season episode "Bored She Hung Herself" has not been broadcast since its original airing in 1970 and is not included in the second season DVD box set, released on July 31, 2007. According to Mrs. Leonard Freeman (wife of the late creator of the show), speaking to some fans at the 1996 Five-O convention, someone tried the hanging technique depicted in the show (supposedly yoga-related, but more like autoerotic asphyxiation) and killed himself. As a result, the show was not rebroadcast and never included in any syndication packages. But it can be found purchased in the Australian DVD compilations.

Remake

On August 12, 2008, CBS announced that it was to bring Hawaii Five-O back to the network schedule, targeted for the 2009–2010 television season. The new version was to be an updated present-day sequel, this time centering around McGarrett's son Chris, who succeeded his late father as the head of the unit. Ed Bernero, executive producer and showrunner of Criminal Minds, was to helm the new take, which he described as "Hawaii Five-O, version 2.0". It was also to incorporate most of the iconic elements from the original, including the "Book 'em Danno" catchphrase, into the remake. Bernero, who was a fan of the original and had a ring tone of the series' theme song on his cellphone, had always wanted to bring the series back to TV. This version didn't go beyond the script stage.

In October 2009, it was revealed that Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci had signed on to script a pilot episode, and Peter Lenkov will serve as the series showrunner should it be picked up as a series. Kurtzman and Orci will be rebooting the original concept similar to their work on the 2009 Star Trek movie, rather than a sequel to the original series.

In February 2010, it was announced that actor Daniel Dae Kim had been cast to play Chin Ho Kelly. He was the first actor cast for the remake. Several days later, Alex O'Loughlin was cast as Steve McGarrett. Actress Grace Park was later cast as a female version of Kono Kalakaua, and Jean Smart was cast as Hawaii Governor Pat Jameson. Filming of the pilot for the new series began in March 2010.

Cast

• Steve McGarrett played by Jack Lord (original cast)
• Danny "Danno" Williams played by James MacArthur (original cast) (1968–1979) (Tim O'Kelly in the pilot)
• Kono Kalakaua played by Zulu (original cast) (1968–1972)
• Chin Ho Kelly played by Kam Fong (original cast) (1968–1978)
• Attorney General John Manicote played by Glenn Cannon
• Ben Kokua played by Al Harrington (1972–1975)
• Duke Lukela (police sgt. with HPD who was promoted to the unit) played by Herman Wedemeyer (1972–1980)
• Governor Paul Jameson played by Richard Denning (original cast) (1968–1980) (Lew Ayres in the pilot)
• James (later "Kimo") Carew played by William Smith (1979–1980)
• Truck Kealoha played by Moe Keale (1979–1980)
• Lori Wilson played by Sharon Farrell (1979–1980)
• May (secretary) played by Maggi Parker (original cast) (1968–1969) (Mitzi Hoag in the pilot)
• Jenny Sherman (secretary) played by Peggy Ryan (1970–76)

Recurring characters

• Wo Fat played by Khigh Dheigh in the pilot, and occasionally throughout the series, including the final episode
• Che Fong (the forensic specialist) played by Harry Endo
• Doc Bergman (the medical examiner) played by Al Eben
• Lieutenant Kealoha played by Douglas Mossman (season 1)
• Jonathan Kaye (from the State Dept.) played by James Gregory (pilot),
  
  Joseph Sirola (season 2–5),
  Bill Edwards (seasons 6–9),
  Lyle Bettger (season 10)
• Doc (just plain) played by Newell Tarrant (season1),
  
  Robert Brilliande and Ted Thorpe (season 2),
  Robert Costa (actor) (season 3)
• Che Fong played by Danny Kamekona (seasons 1 and 2)
• Frank Kamana played by Douglas Mossman (season 7)
• Luana played by Laura Sode
• Attorney General Walter Stewart played by Morgan White (season 1)
• Attorney General played by Philip Ahn (pilot)
• Mildred played by Peggy Ryan (season 1)
• Sandi Wells played by Amanda McBroom (season 8,9)
• Nick (Tom Kellog) played by Danny Kamekona (seasons 5–7, 12)
• Various Asian antagonists were played by Soon-Tek Oh
• Eddie Chu, Cappy Pahoa, Kimo Nahashi, Abraham Melehe, and Tasi played by Manu Tupou
• Isadore Meyers played by Bob Basso (season 1)

Streaming media

CBS Interactive had presented the entire first season of the show online via Adobe Flash streaming media. As of September 2009, selected episodes are available at CBS.com. These are full-length episodes available free of charge, but with ads embedded into the stream of each episode.

DVD releases

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released the first seven seasons of Hawaii Five-O on DVD in Region 1. Seasons 2–7 contain episode promos by Jack Lord. The eighth season was released on March 16, 2010. [1]

DVD Name	Ep #	Release Date	Additional Information
The First Season	24	March 6, 2007	Original pilot Retrospective
The Second Season	24	July 31, 2007	Episode entitled "Bored She Hung Herself" not included in set but it is mentioned.
The Third Season	24	January 22, 2008	Episode Promos
The Fourth Season	24	June 10, 2008	Episode Promos
The Fifth Season	24	November 18, 2008	Episode Promos
The Sixth Season	24	April 21, 2009	Episode Promos
The Seventh Season	24	October 20, 2009	Episode Promos
The Eighth Season	24	March 16, 2010

Other media

A soundtrack album featuring Morton Stevens' theme and incidental music was issued by Capitol Records in 1970. One of the instrumental pieces on the album, "Call to Danger", was excerpted as background music accompanying a "Special Presentation" logo that CBS used to introduce its prime time television specials throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

Hawaii Five-O was the subject of six novelizations. Each one had a plot line written for the book and was not based on a television episode. The first two books were published by Signet Paperbacks in 1968 and 1969. After that were two juvenile hard covers published by Whitman publishing in 1969 and 1971 and finally two more books were published in England.

External links

• Hawaii Five-O Home Page at mjq.net
• The Hawaii Five-O Fan Club
• Hawaii Five-O theme song
• [2]
• Hawaii Five-O at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Emme Tomimbang's "Memories of Hawaii Five-O" (1996) TV show.
• Hawaii Five-O selected First Season episodes at cbs.com
• Hawaii Five-O Episode Guide' at TV Favourites
• Updated Version In 2009