FAQ

A Hawaii state police unit. Its chief, Steve McGarrett, reports directly to the state's governor.

The primary mission of Five-O is to keep Hawaii a safe place. McGarrett was chosen by the governor of Hawaii to maintain the safety of both the residents who live there and the people visiting the islands. Although virtually every case worked on are within the island of Oahu, Five-O's jurisdiction is the eight major Hawaiian islands.

By the time of the first season, McGarrett's own known family is his sister, Mary Ann Whalen, and her infant son, who is dying of cancer. We're also told he is a former U.S. Navy officer, known both as a bold operator and headstrong. He also suffered from polio as a child. In an 11th season episode, McGarrett describes a bit more background. By the time of the series pilot, McGarrett's reputation is he is responsible only to "the Governor or God" and even they have trouble telling him what to do.

Arch-nemesis of McGarrett and Five-O. In the pilot, he is an intelligence operative of the People's Republic of China. By the show's fifth season, we're told that some of Wo Fat's superiors feel he resorts to killings too easily. By the seventh season (the character made no appearances in the sixth), Wo Fat apparently has gone independent. He organizes an attempted assassination of a Chinese leader visiting Honolulu. In "Nine Dragons," the ninth-season opener, Wo Fat attempts a coup of China, using deadly toxins he has stolen from Honolulu. In the final episode, he kidnaps scientists with the intention of developing a space-based laser satellite.

Danny Williams is the second-in-command within Five-O. McGarrett refers to him as "Danno." He was born and raised in Hawaii. After graduating from high school, he attended the University of Hawaii as a psychology major for one year. Then, he transferred to the University of California at Berkeley where he then switched his major to Criminology. After graduating, he returned to Hawaii and became a police officer with the Honolulu Police Department. Finally, he was picked by McGarrett to work with him at Five-O.

Leonard Freeman, who wrote and produced the pilot episode and was executive producer of the first six seasons of the show. He wrote a two-part season one story, "Once Upon a Time" (where we see McGarrett's sister) and plotted several others. He died midway through the show's 12-year run.

Paul Jameson. His name wasn't given until the show's fourth season in "The Ninety Second War Part II." At a high-level meeting attended by the Governor, we see his name on a nameplate.

The following web pages are excellent on-line resources.

There is a brief FAQ here: http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/quickfaq.htm

And a detailed FAQ here: http://www.mjq.net/fiveo/fiveofaq.htm