Hawaii Five-O
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Hawaii Five-O is a United States television series that starred Jack Lord and James MacArthur as detectives for a fictional Hawaiian state police department, (Hawaii in fact has no state police).
The show was produced and aired by the CBS television network from September 1968 to April 1980. It is currently aired in syndication throughout the world and dubbed in every major language. Created by Leonard Freeman, Hawaii Five-O was shot on location in Honolulu, Hawaii and throughout the island of Oahu — with rare occasional filming in Los Angeles, California.
Hawaii Five-O centers around a fictional state police force of the same name — in honor of Hawaii's status as the Fiftieth State — led by former Navy officer Steve McGarrett (Lord), who was appointed by Governor Paul Jameson. McGarrett was assisted by Danny Williams (MacArthur) and a cadre of elite detectives —most notably Chin Ho Kelly and Honolulu Police Department Officer Duke Lukela.
For twelve seasons, McGarrett and his team hounded criminals and mob syndicates plaguing the Hawaiian Islands. With the aide of District Attorney and later Hawaii Attorney General John Manicote, McGarrett was successful in sending most of his enemies to prison. One such mob syndicate was led by crime family patriarch Honore Vachon, a character introduced in the fifth season. Blaming McGarrett for the death of his son, Vachon swore vengeance using all 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!"
In many episodes, McGarrett was drawn into the world of international espionage and national intelligence. McGarrett's archnemesis on Hawaii Five-O was an intelligence officer of the People's Republic of China, Wo Fat. The Communist rogue agent was played by Khigh Dheigh.
Legacy
The show became the longest running police drama until Law & Order broke the record almost twenty years after Hawaii Five-O ceased production. The popularity of the Hawaii Five-O format spawned various police dramas on all the major television networks since its debut. Another legacy is the popularity of the Hawaii Five-O theme song performed by The Ventures, a surf music band. Also, the term "Five-O" was adopted by American gang culture as a street slang term for the police.
It has been rumored for many years that Jack Lord was a silent partner in all aspects of the production of Hawaii Five-O, even moreso as the series grew in popularity during the 1970s.
The legacy of Five-O continued on into the series that replaced it, Magnum P.I., with many of the characters often referring to both Five-O and McGarrett.
For many years after the show finished its run, GTE Hawaiian Tel included a warning to tourists in its phone books that in an emergency, they should dial 911 and not Hawaii Five-O.
Cast
- Attorney General John Manicote played by Glenn Cannon
- Ben Kokua played by Al Harrington
- Che Fong played by Harry Endo
- Chin Ho Kelly played by Kam Fong
- Danny "Danno" Williams played by James MacArthur
- Doc Bergman played by Al Eben
- Duke Lukela played by Herman Wedemeyer
- Governor Paul Jameson played by Richard Denning
- Kono Kalakaua played by Zulu
- Steve McGarrett played by Jack Lord
- Wo Fat played by Khigh Dheigh
External links
- Hawaii Five-O Home Page (http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/) at mjq.net
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