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Hawaii Five-O

  • TV Series
  • 1968–1980
  • TV-PG
  • 1h
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
8.9K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,853
275
Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)
The investigations of Hawaii Five-0, an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police answerable only to the governor and headed by stalwart Steve McGarrett.
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Cop DramaPolice ProceduralCrimeDramaMystery

Follows the investigations of Hawaii Five-0; an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police, and answerable only to the governor, and headed by the stalwart, Steve McGarrett.Follows the investigations of Hawaii Five-0; an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police, and answerable only to the governor, and headed by the stalwart, Steve McGarrett.Follows the investigations of Hawaii Five-0; an elite branch of the Hawaii State Police, and answerable only to the governor, and headed by the stalwart, Steve McGarrett.

  • Creator
    • Leonard Freeman
  • Stars
    • Jack Lord
    • James MacArthur
    • Kam Fong
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    8.9K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    1,853
    275
    • Creator
      • Leonard Freeman
    • Stars
      • Jack Lord
      • James MacArthur
      • Kam Fong
    • 58User reviews
    • 24Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 4 wins & 23 nominations total

    Episodes281

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    Videos1

    DVD Trailer - Season 12
    Trailer 1:13
    DVD Trailer - Season 12

    Photos883

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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Jack Lord
    Jack Lord
    • Det. Steve McGarrett…
    • 1968–1980
    James MacArthur
    James MacArthur
    • Danny Williams…
    • 1968–1979
    Kam Fong
    Kam Fong
    • Chin Ho…
    • 1968–1978
    Herman Wedemeyer
    Herman Wedemeyer
    • Duke…
    • 1968–1980
    Harry Endo
    Harry Endo
    • Che Fong…
    • 1969–1977
    Zulu
    Zulu
    • Kono
    • 1968–1972
    Richard Denning
    Richard Denning
    • Governor…
    • 1968–1980
    Al Harrington
    Al Harrington
    • Ben Kokura…
    • 1969–1975
    Al Eben
    Al Eben
    • Doc Bergman…
    • 1968–1979
    Peggy Ryan
    Peggy Ryan
    • Jenny…
    • 1968–1976
    Glenn Cannon
    Glenn Cannon
    • John Manicote…
    • 1970–1977
    Danny Kamekona
    Danny Kamekona
    • Nick…
    • 1968–1980
    Moe Keale
    Moe Keale
    • Det. Truck Kealoha…
    • 1971–1980
    Douglas Mossman
    Douglas Mossman
    • Frank Kamana…
    • 1968–1979
    Kwan Hi Lim
    Kwan Hi Lim
    • Tosaki…
    • 1970–1980
    Tommy Fujiwara
    Tommy Fujiwara
    • Charlie Ling…
    • 1969–1980
    Seth Sakai
    Seth Sakai
    • Batai…
    • 1971–1980
    Beau Vanden Ecker
    Beau Vanden Ecker
    • 1st Separatist…
    • 1969–1979
    • Creator
      • Leonard Freeman
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews58

    7.48.9K
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    Featured reviews

    8DKosty123

    Almost Perfect Police Series

    This series was so popular that "Bookem Danno!" became a common phrase teenagers uttered around schools while this show ran. Once you see an episode, you understand why. CBS really went to great lengths to make this series run so well.

    Leonard Freeman's top notch production shows & holds up well after all these years. Jack Lord is the ultimate Hawaii Supercop in charge of FIVE-O. James Macarthur is great as Dan-o, McGarrett subordinate. The use of Hawaian actors int he cast was UN precedented. The choice of shooting locations in Hawaii seems perfect.

    The theme song blows you away & the sequence shown during the theme is priceless as well. The more I think about it, the only way it is not perfect is that with rare exceptions the show became a little too much predictable & formula at times. With the Hawaii locations & always something nice in a bikini around, the formula isn't so bad is it?
    big_bellied_geezer

    WONDERFUL SHOW!

    This show lasted for many seasons because of the talents of Jack Lord and great writing, but I think it helped that it was on CBS as well. CBS always seemed to stand behind it's shows longer, even after ratings begin to drop. Perhaps my memory is wrong, but didn't the show end because Jack Lord wanted it to instead of it being cancelled? There are many memorable episodes of course, but the one that always stands out in my mind was the episode with singer Nancy Wilson as the heroin addicted performer. I thought she did a great job! Hopefully the show will come out in a DVD set. I hope the show will always be in reruns somewhere at least!
    gazzo-2

    book'em danno!

    Can't believe I am the first one to put in some comments on this show! Great show! Loved the cast, the action, the scenery, one of my biggest childhood TV memories is watching the big wave curl over the name of the show. (McGarrett always looked like Elvis, by the way, didn't he? They were pals, if you didn't know..) I felt bad when Jack Lord died a couple years ago, he was much older than I would have guessed...77 was it?

    Anyways, one of the better, more durable shows of the era, kind of think of Kojak or Cannon whenever this comes to mind; I hope to see it in reruns again sometime.
    8bkoganbing

    All Business

    Outside of Jack Webb I don't think you could make a better case for a cop being totally professional than with Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett. Even with Webb you got hints of a private life usually in the squad car as he and Ben Alexander or later Harry Morgan rode around between locations on an episode. In fact usually TV series last because of various personal dimensions gradually introduced into a series for the characters.

    But in Hawaii 5-0, never. Lord was appointed by the Governor of Hawaii to head a special state police force to really go after the high level crooks. His jurisdiction was pretty well anywhere he wanted it. I never saw any complaints from Honolulu PD or any other local police entity about it in the 12 years Hawaii Five-0 ran.

    Lord had a picked team with James MacArthur, Kam Fong and several other local players from Hawaii as other police assigned to him. Richard Denning made some appearances every so often as the governor. In fact MacArthur as Danny Williams was the guy that McGarrett ordered almost every week to 'book 'em Danno' in the show's most celebrated catchphrase.

    Hawaii Five-0 had three great things going for it. The first was Hawaii itself. I for one can't get enough of the scenery. It's the most beautiful place on the planet and that's on several different levels. I don't the show would have lasted twelve seasons if it was done in East St. Louis.

    Secondly the writing was extraordinarily good matched by the editing. I don't recall a frame of extraneous film in any given episode. Like McGarrett and his team, every show got right down to business and moved.

    Lastly it was Jack Lord who created a character that solely and totally focused on his job. Normally those are not warm and fuzzy people, but the absolutely incorruptible Steve McGarrett was a guy that any citizen would want to know is serving and protecting. Even if he didn't seem to have a personal life.

    To live and work in Hawaii, it doesn't get better.
    Victor Field

    Who needs Magnum anyway?

    The longest-running cop show on American TV until "Law & Order"'s thirteenth season, "Hawaii Five-O" still has a long life in reruns and probably will continue in that vein long into the future.

    Admittedly it did go downhill towards the end (the last season's episodes, ironically, seem even more dated than those from the '68 run) and no one can really claim that the acting was on a par with your Bochcos or your Levinsons, but it worked - yes, the scenery was a plus, along with Reza S. Badiyi's title sequence (still one of the all-time greats), but ultimately the glue that held it together was the late Jack Lord. He clearly thought the show revolved around him, and he was right - stiff, yes, but the man WAS Steve McGarrett; you never doubted for a second that he was in charge.

    The show also had more than a few decent stories to go with the Hawaiian setting; that's the main reason this show was popular enough to run for more than 10 years (and more than twice that length in reruns). That and Morton Stevens's theme music, of course - all these years and that still hasn't worn thin yet either. I doubt "Miami Vice" will hold up so well.

    The Stephen J. Cannell-backed pilot shot in '97 (and which brought back Chin Ho, killed off in "A Death In The Family") was judged so bad by CBS that to this day it hasn't aired, and probably never will. Like I'm weeping...

    Best Emmys Moments

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    Related interests

    Ethan Hawke and Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001)
    Cop Drama
    Ice-T, Mariska Hargitay, Danny Pino, and Kelli Giddish in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999)
    Police Procedural
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    Crime
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    Mystery

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Jack Lord is the only actor to appear in all 281 episodes.
    • Goofs
      In some early episodes, McGarrett leaves headquarters in a 1967 Mercury 2-door (coupe), and reaches his destination in a 1968 Mercury 4-door (sedan).
    • Quotes

      [repeated line]

      Det. Steve McGarrett: Book him, Danno. Murder one.

    • Connections
      Edited into Earthquake (1974)

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    FAQ28

    • How many seasons does Hawaii Five-O have?Powered by Alexa
    • What is Hawaii Five-O?
    • What are Five-O's duties?
    • What's McGarrett's background?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 20, 1968 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Dbpedia.org
      • EIDR
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • McGarrett
    • Filming locations
      • The Twin Towers - 2085 Ala Wai Blvd, Waikiki, Honolulu, O'ahu, Hawaii, USA(Detective Lieutenant Steve McGarrett residence)
    • Production companies
      • Leonard Freeman Production
      • CBS Television Network
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h(60 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 4:3

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