Hawaii Five-O

Thought I'd travel back in time today and feature another one of my favorite cop shows from yesteryear. Hawaii Five-O was a fun show, although I don't remember enjoying it quite as much as Mannix or The Man From Uncle. However, it was truly a show with staying power! I didn't realize how long it aired until I looked it up to prepare this post. Hawaii Five-O aired from 1968 to 1980, twelve years!

A new version of the show aired in 2010 and ran for three seasons. I watched one episode for about five minutes. To me, the new version just couldn't compare with the original.

If you're not old enough to remember Hawaii Five-O, here's the lowdown from Wikipedia:

Jack Lord portrayed Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett, the head of a special state police task force which was based on an actual unit that existed under martial law in the 1940s.

Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett

For 12 seasons, McGarrett and his team hounded international secret agents, criminals, and organized crime syndicates plaguing the Hawaiian Islands. With the aid of District Attorney and later Hawaii's Attorney General John Manicote, McGarrett was successful in sending most of his enemies to prison... Most episodes of Hawaii Five-O ended with the arrest of criminals and McGarrett snapping, "Book 'em."... In many episodes, this was directed to

Danny Williams and became McGarrett's catchphrase, "Book 'em, Danno." 
The Five-O team consisted of three to five members...and was portrayed as occupying a suite of offices in the Iolani Palace... Five-O lacked its own radio network, necessitating frequent requests by McGarrett to the Honolulu Police Department dispatchers, "Patch me through to Danno." McGarrett's tousled yet immaculate hairstyle, as well as his proclivity for wearing a dark suit and tie on all possible occasions...rapidly entered popular culture. While the other members of Five-O also "dressed mainland" much of the time, they also often wore local styles, such as the ubiquitous "Aloha shirt."

In many episodes...McGarrett was drawn into the world of international espionage and national intelligence. McGarrett's nemesis was a rogue intelligence officer of the People's Republic of China named 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 saw his foe Wo go to jail.

This television show's action and straightforward story-telling left little time for personal stories involving wives or girlfriends... Occasionally, a show would flash back to McGarrett's younger years or to a romantic figure. The viewer was left with the impression that McGarrett, at that point in his life...was wedded to the police force and to crime-fighting. 

Do you remember the original Hawaii Five-O? Thanks for visiting and have a great week!