Mark Turner
This review is of the complete series box set just released.A controversy is raging right now that will affect so many movie and TV fans and yet most are probably not aware of it. The sales of DVDs and blu-rays has dropped recently. Most are citing the digital and streaming services that are out there. One thing you need to realize is that if you lose your internet connection or a server crashes all of what you own digitally or watch streaming is suddenly unavailable. This is why I for one support the existence of hands on media in the form of discs. They're always there whenever you want them.And one of the best things to happen with the release of DVDs is the ability to collect a TV series that you either grew up with or have grown to love. A number of these have reached shelves at reasonable prices. Some have come out in season form so that you could purchase them one at a time. But CBS Video has taken it a step further and begun selling off entire series in a box set that takes up less space. It might make for a hefty one time price but it ends up being cheaper than buying each season alone.With that in mind let me talk about one that is being released this week, a box set heavy enough to make a doorstop. If you grew up in the sixties you knew this show and its theme son, one that got heavy airplay on the radio. I know it was in my collection of 45s from the time (kids ask your grandparents what 45s were). The show took place in Hawaii and revolved around a special state government task force to combat crime. The series was HAWAII FIVE-O and the entire original series is now out in a special box set.HAWAII FIVE-O told us the story of U.S. Naval Officer Steve McGarret (Jack Lord), an imposing figure who stood tall, wore a suit and tie and was the epitome of a straight up law enforcement agent. The Five-O task force was put together by the governor and only answered to him. Each week the group would take on anything from kidnappers to secret agents, crime lords to foreign spies. No crime was too big or small for them to take on. Well maybe dognapping but little else.While led by McGarrett he was ably assisted by his team. Danny "Danno" Williams was a younger officer played by James McArthur. It was McGarrett's catch phrase to Williams that most folks remember, the old "Book him, Danno". Williams stayed with the series almost as long as Lord, dropping out before the last season.Also in his task force were two sidekicks. Chin Ho played by Kam Fong who was actually born on Hawaii was an Asian-American actor who actually served as a police officer for 16 years before becoming an actor. He made several movies but it was this series that made him recognizable. The other was Kono played by Zulu. Here again we had another native Hawaiian who made a name for himself in this series.The islands of Hawaii were a major part of the series too, as if they were a partner in it all. The series was shot on Hawaii, something rare at the time. It exposed the rest of the country to the beauty of the islands with opening shots of clear blue skies, beautiful beaches and swaying hips in grass skirts to the opening theme song that became so familiar and was a hit for the surf rock band The Ventures. There is little doubt that the series, even though it depicted crimes taking place there each week, was a great help in promoting tourism on the islands.This series was a hit at the time lasting longer than many. It ran for 12 seasons from 1968 through 1980. It lasted for 281 episodes. At an average of 50 minutes per episode that means there are just over 14,050 hours of show to watch. That means it would take 585 days running around the clock to watch the entire series. All of those episodes are gathered together in this box set. Fortunately if you have it on hand you won't have to watch it in consecutive 24 hour time periods. You can take your time and enjoy them as you like and have them bring back memories of the family gathered around the TV set doing so.As I said, this doesn't come cheap. Right now amazon has it on sale for $116.40 with a suggested retail price of $179.98. But like I said, the amount of episodes coupled with the memories they provide makes it worth the investment for die-hard fans. I mean that comes out to about a penny an hour. You can't even park a car that cheap. If you are one of those die-hard fans then make a point of picking this one up. The show along with a few extras will make you smile for days to come.
silverscreen888
"Hawaii 5-0", which I reviewed for the Encyclopedia of Popular Culture, was the first major series set in Hawaii. Its locale, its central character, and much else have been copied since. From beginning to end of its dozen-years' run, this was a quality production. It began as a TV movie; and from first to last Jack Lord played the head of this special investigation unit, Steve McGarrett. He reported directly to the Attorney General and Governor of the state; and his unit took on murder and all the other most difficult cases. A look at the directors and writers who toiled for the show reveals the quality of the attempt. The directors included TV's biggest names, I assert, among them Danny Arnold, Reza S. Badayi, Richard Benedict, Abner Biberman, Bruce Bilson, Robert Butler, Marvin Chomsky, Barry Crane, Lawrence Dobkin, David Friedkin, Alvin Ganzer, Robert Gist, Gordon Hessler, Alj Kjellin, Paul Krasny, Philip Leacock, Bernard McEveety, John Llewellyn Moxey, Gene Nelsom, John Newland, Michae O'Herlihy, Leo Penn, Seymour Robbie, Sutton Roley, Barry Shear, Bob Sweeney, Jerry Thorpe, Don Weis, Paul Wendkos and Nicholas Colasanto. The fine writers who worked for "Hawaii 5-0" included Ed Adamson, Albert Aley, John D.F. Black, Walter Black, Jerome Coopersmith, Robert C. Dennis, Meyer Doilinsky, Jackson Gillis, Herman Gorves, Darid P. Harmon, Laurence Heath, Shirl Hendryx, Stephen Kandel, E. Arthur Kean, Curtis Kenyon, Anthony Lawrence, Seeleg Lester, Robert Lewin, Jerry Ludwig, Bob and Esther Mitchell, Irv Pearlberg, Gilbert Ralston, Sy Salkowitz, Alvin Sapinsley, George F. Slavin, Jack Turley, Carey Wilber, and Preston Wood. The producers maintained both a mainland and an Hawaii-based unit. The cast included besides Richard Denning as the Governor and several other regulars McGarrett's unit, comprised of James MacArthur as young Danny Williams, Zulu as Kono Kalakaua, Kam Fong as Chin Ho Kelly and Harry Endo as lab man Che Fong for seven years. As regulars left the series, others were hired including Al Harrington, Herman Wedemeyer, and later in the series Sharon Farrell. Regular guest stars. included Kawn Hi Lim, Seth Sakai, Khigh Dhiegh as Chinese spy Wo Fat, Danny Kamekona, Tommy Fujiwara and more. Prominent actors who were hired for prominent guest roles included Stephen Boyd, Mark Lenard, Charlene Polite, Ricardo Montalban, Hume Cronyn, Simon Oakland, Constance Towers, Marianne McAndrew, Luther Adler (the Vachon trilogy), Nehemiah Persoff, and hundreds more. The topics included the degradation of the original Hawaiian culture, plague, murder of tourists, robberies, power-crazed locals and newcomers, organized crime's 'lords', vicious malefactors and fantastic plots of assassination or worse. The show's theme, its locations, Jack Lord's saying, "Book 'em Danno--murder one" became household icons. Finally the series ran out of new cast members and new crimes worthy of an hour's length of narrative film. But the ethical quality of its tough-minded lead, the clear, crisp photography and the swift-paced and intelligent dialogue read in authentic locales set a new standard in each case for what had until 1968 been a rather insular TV production system, shot mostly in Los Angles regardless of the storyline. The show was very fine by my standards; and it is still missed today.
happipuppi13
It was 25 years ago just this past March 5th (2005) that Hawaii Five-O came to an end. There were cop shows all throughout the 70's and plenty after that ,but (as far as action oriented cop shows go)MacGarret & crew still reign supreme. Shows like Hill Street Blues & NYPD Blue (which just missed being on as long as 5-0 by about 20 episodes or so)give us the ultra-real look at cops and their lives and all the dramas that goes with it.Hawaii 5-O,however,is still the show to watch for well written story-lines and great police/bad guy action. Not all the bad guys are crooks,sometimes their people who have suffered some sort of mental breakdown or maybe they are misunderstood youth (of the 60's & 70's). MacGarret,while tough as can be,treats all cases and people involved with them with a humanity that before this was not usually part of a police drama. Unlike Jack Webb of Dragnet,Steve was allowed to make mistakes and be imperfect.Sidekick,Danny (Danno) Williams,is no second banana! I recently watched a show where he himself has to take on a crazed suicide bomber who's exacting revenge on Dan for killing his brother. James MacAurther looks and acts tough in that episode and pulls it off marvelously. Chin and Kono are great go-between guys as well,doing a lot of the necessary footwork.The rest of the cast is tops as well. The best ones would seasons for me are 1 to 11. Season 10 marked a farewell to Kam Fong & his Chin Ho Kelly character. Season 11 was James MacArthur's last also , but I can honestly say ,both seasons are great.Season 12 is hit & miss with some fairly good story lines and Jack Lord's still on top of his game ...but replacement actors William Smith & Co. really didn't fill the void fans felt ,in missing Danny & Chin.At least MacGarret catches nemesis Wo Fat in the grand 1 hour finale (I wont say how!) 5-O forever! (END)
