Hawaii Five-O aired from September 1968 to April 1980, one of the longest continuous-running police series in U.S. television history. With few exceptions, it was filmed entirely on location in Hawaii. Its fans list the authenticity and beauty of the scenery as its number one draw; second come the actors and the characters they portrayed.

Another attraction is the series' intelligent writing and intriguing plots, and its title sequence and musical theme (regarded by one critic as "the greatest TV theme of all time"). Its authenticity was further enhanced by the use of many local Island residents in guest roles, which for some led to further roles in other series.

Jack Lord played Steve McGarrett, head of an elite state police unit investigating "organized crime, murder, assassination attempts, foreign agents, felonies of every type." James MacArthur played his second-in-command Danny ("Danno") Williams, with local actors Kam Fong, Zulu, Al Harrington, and Herman Wedemeyer, among others, playing members of the Five-O team. The series was famous for the stellar guest actors who appeared in episodes, including Helen Hayes, Ricardo Montalban, Leslie Nielsen, Herbert Lom, Hume Cronyn, and many more. McGarrett's nemesis, the evil Wo Fat — "a Red Chinese agent in charge of the entire Pacific Asiatic theatre" — was played by Khigh Diegh.

HAWAII FIVE-O ON DVD

SEASON SEVEN - RELEASE DATE OF OCTOBER 20th?

ORDER SEASON SIX FROM AMAZON.COM (released April 21st, 2009).

ORDER SEASONS 1-5 FROM AMAZON.COM:

SEASON ONE  •  SEASON TWO  •  SEASON THREE
SEASON FOUR  •  SEASON FIVE

ALSO AVAILABLE: BOX SET WITH SEASONS 1-5

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The sixth season was released on Tuesday, April 21st. There are rumours that the seventh season will appear on Tuesday, October 20th.

The Fifth Season of Hawaii Five-O was released on Tuesday, November 18th, along with a multi-pack collection of the first five seasons. Originally, there was a little boo-boo in the Fifth Season box set artwork -- Kono was included in the pictures, and he was fired at the end of the fourth season! After complaints from fans, this was fixed.

According to an industry source, the first three seasons continue to sell at a healthy pace each week, and the fourth season in just 1 month sold 60% of what season three sold, which by industry standards is a very good retention rate for ongoing TV show DVDs.

The Fifth Season "reviews" at amazon.com, by the way, are full of complaints from people who are upset at CBS/Paramount's screwing up of music in other DVD releases (not Five-O). If you have purchased Season Five, either from amazon.com or elsewhere, please make your true feelings (hopefully positive!) about this set known there to counteract these negative comments, which theoretically could have an impact on future Five-O releases.

Because several seasons are now available on DVD, I have created a separate WWW page with information about the DVDs.

Quick Frequently Asked Questions
(Quick FAQ)

You can reach us through our new URL: http://www.hawaiifiveo.info
Add to My Favorites in Internet Explorer

Search our site for your favorite actor or show!

EPISODE GUIDE — GOOFS, TRIVIA AND MORE...

OUR RATINGS:

= One of the very best episodes, a must-see.
= Better than average, worthy of attention.
= Average, perhaps with a few moments of interest.
= One of the very worst, a show to avoid.

EPISODE LIST:

Complete list with plot descriptions
Complete list without plot descriptions
Complete list in production order

TV Guide site devoted to Five-O with their descriptions for the episodes

Listings at the Viacom (Paramount TV) WWW site for Five-O:

     1.  Complete listing
     2.  "Digital" remastered episodes (a.k.a. "Family Channel")
     3.  Non-digitally mastered episodes
     4.  Two-hour features

JUMP TO A SEASON:

| Pilot Movie (Episode "0") | | 1st Season (Episodes 1-23) | | 2nd Season (Episodes 24-48) | | 3rd Season (Episodes 49-72) | | 4th Season (Episodes 73-96) | | 5th Season (Episodes 97-120) | | 6th Season (Episodes 121-144) | | 7th Season (Episodes 145-168) | | 8th Season (Episodes 169-191) | | 9th Season (Episodes 192-214) | | 10th Season (Episodes 215-238) | | 11th Season (Episodes 239-259) | | 12th Season (Episodes 260-278) |

SEARCH:

Search using an actor's name or other keyword.

"GENTLEMEN, FIRST I WANT YOU TO TURN THESE WEB PAGES INSIDE OUT:"

• DANNO, FIGURE OUT THE BASIC M.O.:
  • The Hawaii Five-O FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)
  • A list of Five-O directors and writers
  • Facts and rumours about a new Five-O TV show or movie.
  • What's happened to some of the stars of Five-O.
  • Five-O fans gather at the 1996 Mahalo Con and the 1999 reunion in Honolulu.
  • Whatever happened to McGarrett's Mercury?
  • Where can you see Five-O ... on TV ... on video ... on DVD..
  • The Five-O main titles (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • The main titles from the failed 1997 remake of Five-O (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • An analysis of the Five-O main title including the hips and the boy.
  • Jack Lord on the Ilikai -- how was the opening shot done?
  • Commercial bumpers: beginning of show; middle of show #1; middle of show #2 (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • Typical end titles with the guys paddling (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).

• CHIN HO, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS:
  • Composers for the Five-O episodes
  • Check the CBS Collection at the UCLA Library for Five-O scores (search for either specific composers or just under "Hawaii Five-O").
  • Photo of Morton Stevens, composer of the Five-O Theme and numerous episode scores.
  • There was a Five-O soundtrack album... REVISED!
  • Sheet music to the main theme -- page one and page two.
  • Lyrics to the Five-O theme ... hard to believe.
  • Lyrics to "It Ain't No Big Thing," heard numerous times during the series.
  • The Five-O theme song in MIDI format, 10K in size (for those with slow connections)
  • The Five-O main theme (623K) and end titles (334K) from TV broadcast, both in WAV format
  • Main theme (by Morton Stevens) for the failed TV pilot movie in MP3 format, about 900K in size.
  • The Five-O main theme (1.3 megs) taken from the Capitol soundtrack album, in MP3 format
  • Five-O theme, performed by Henry Mancini.
  • Five-O theme, performed by Dweezil Zappa on his "Automatic" album.
  • Five-O theme, performed by Brian Setzer and his band, live in Japan (.AVI format).
  • Australian sub-pop band Radio Birdman's tribute song, Aloha Steve and Danno.
  • Classic version of the title music played by The Ventures.
  • Five-O theme (and other music), performed by Debbie Curtis Radio Big Band (YouTube).
  • Bill Murray as Nick the Lounge Singer sings the Five-O theme on Saturday Night Live (WAV format, 458K).
  • The Post-Industrial-Acoustic-Counterpunk band Hookahman from Edmonton, Canada is proud to have recorded the worst version of the classic Five-O theme song. It's on one of their albums (WAV format, about 600K).
  • The Quebec group Les Baronics has recorded a version of the Five-O main theme (requires Real Player).
  • A song called This is McGarrett, created by Craig A. Little, using samples from the show.
  • Musical themes from the show (all in MP3 format): "Memories"; The "military" theme; The "violin" theme; The "trombone interval" theme (extended version from Vashon Part 2); The "marimba" theme.
  • Two examples of music for "the wave" composed by Don Ray (MP3 format): #1, #2.
  • "You Can Count on Me," vocal version of the main theme, done by Sammy Davis Jr., Real Audio format.
  • Theme from the CBS Special Presentation banner, that opened all of the CBS special programming during the 1970s and 1980s, composed by Morton Stevens, from the music he did for "Hawaii Five-O" (it's on the Capitol Records soundtrack LP) -- requires MP3 player.
  • Home page of Don Ray, who scored or was music supervisor for numerous episodes of the show.
  • A blatant plug for my own music!!

• KONO, ANALYZE THESE NEWSPAPER AND MAGAZINE STORIES FOR CLUES:
  • From 1969 — TV Guide article about Jack Lord.
  • From 1969 — TV Guide article about why James MacArthur got the role of Danny Williams.
  • From 1971 — infamous TV Guide article: "Jack Lord, Superstar".
  • From 1971 — Photoplay article: Jack Lord & Jim MacArthur — Working Together, Keeping Apart"
  • From 1973 — TV Guide article on a press agent's frustration in dealing with Five-O.
  • From 1973 — TV Guide article on James MacArthur.
  • From 1977 — "Hawaii Five-O nine years later"
  • From 1979 — Photoplay article about Five-O's twelfth season stars.
  • From 1993 — Hawaii Magazine article Five-O Forever.
  • From 1996 — National Perspirer article on Jack Lord's health with an alleged recent picture of Lord.
  • From 1997 — James MacArthur (Danno) writes about the new Five-O pilot.

• CHE FONG, RUN THESE SOUNDS THROUGH THE OSCILLOGRAPH...
  • "Book 'em" (McGarrett to Danno — 17K)
  • "Book 'em ... murder one, two counts" (McGarrett to Danno — 117K)
  • McGarrett tells the punk who killed Chin Ho Kelly not to give him any mouth! (44K)
  • "No deals!" (McGarrett to a suspect — 17K)
  • "Aloha, suckers!" (McGarrett to a planeload of crooks — 40K)
  • McGarrett says "Book him" and tells the Feds to get off his case! (from pilot movie, 715K)
  • Che Fong to McGarrett: "Very clever, and you're not even Chinese!" (36K)

• DUKE, SOMEONE IS TRYING TO MAKE FIVE-O LOOK SILLY...
  • The Five-O Drinking Game (Sirah style)
  • Five-O parodies by SCTV and Paul Hogan/Benny Hill.
  • Click here to see the SCTV parody (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • Click here to see the Paul Hogan/Benny Hill parody (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
    NOTE: Revised - video lifted from YouTube (better quality and more complete than the one I had before).
  • Jay Leno comments on the 1996 Five-O Convention in Burbank (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • The MAD Magazine Five-O parody — pages one, two, three, four, five, six (each around 250K)
  • The Cracked Magazine Five-O parody — pages one, two, three, four, five, six (each around 250K)
  • The 13th Season (Some "lost" episodes I have uncovered)

• BEN, I WANT THE POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER OVER HERE ON THE DOUBLE!
  • TV Guide cover featuring Jack Lord, September, 1971
  • TV Guide cover featuring Jack Lord, September, 1973
  • Five-O on location (the episode is Not That Much Difference, #21).
  • Jack Lord's autograph.
  • Mounted displays with Jack Lord's autograph. (#1) (#2) (#3) (#4) (#5) (#6) (#7) (#8)
  • A badge allegedly used by Jack Lord on the show, donated to a charity (140K photo).
  • Pictures of Jack Lord on the Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour (October 19, 1971): (#1) (#2) (#3) (#4) (#5) (#6)
  • Pictures of Jack Lord on the Mike Douglas Show with Gwen Verdon: (#1) (#2) (#3) (#4) (#5) (#6) (#7)
  • Danno visited Vancouver early in 1998. Jerry Pickard (left) and Mike Quigley met him for dinner.

• LORI, GET EDDIE SHERMAN TO LOOK IN THE STAR-BULLETIN'S BACK ISSUES!
  • News of the 1996 Five-O Conventions (out of date, but has some cool graphics and facts).
  • McGarrett's car is for sale.
  • An adult appreciation of Five-O in the column "Honolulu Lite".
  • A young adult's response to his first viewing of Five-O.

• KIMO, SOME PEOPLE WANT TO WRITE ABOUT OUR "OTHER" CASES...
  • Five-O comic from "TV Action", England, 1973 — pages one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight (each around 150K)
  • A plug for Karen Rhodes' Hawaii Five-O book.
  • Killer on the Loose by Deana Lisi
  • A SHADO on Paradise by Pamela McCaughey, based on Five-O, UFO and Magnum, P.I.!
  • Pau Hana — excerpts from Five-O fan fiction.
  • A sneak preview of Bill Koenig's Five-O/Man From U.N.C.L.E. crossover story.

• TRUCK, CHECK OUT WHY WE'RE IN THE NEWS AGAIN...
  • Vancouver Sun article on the Five-O Home Page.
  • CBC interview about the Five-O Home Page.
  • The Five-O Home Page featured on CBS News Up To The Minute.
  • Our site was the winner in the Vancouver Province Super Site contest (November 6, 1997). They wrote: "Talking about sheer work, takes us to the next winning site — The Hawaii Five-O Home Page ... created by Mike Quigley of Vancouver. As he said in his description of the site, it's 'more than you ever wanted to know about the TV show' but it's still a lot of fun. Quigley has to be a fanatic on this. Who else would put up the lyrics to the song 'It Ain't No Big Thing,' which he says was heard numerous times during the series?"
  • Honolulu TV news coverage of the 1996 Five-O convention (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • Jack Lord statue is dedicated on June 19, 2004 at Kahala Mall in this clip from Hawaii TV news broadcast. (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • Read the Hawaii Five-O Usenet newsgroup. If your Internet service provider doesn't carry it, you can read it at Google News Groups.

• JENNY, HERE IS SOME MATERIAL THAT SHOULD BE FILED, BUT I DON'T KNOW WHERE...
  • The Beau van den Ecker List, compiled by Inglewolf.
  • Nice things people have said to me about the Five-O Home Page in e-mail.
  • The Hawaii Five-O Guestbook (where visitors have left comments).
  • Five-O actors and the Oscars — who's been nominated, who won.
  • Covers of two Signet paperback novels by Michael Avallone, Hawaii Five-O and Terror in the Sun, published in 1968 and 1969
  • Covers of two hardcover Whitman books (intended for kids!), Top Secret by Robert Sidney Bowen, published 1969 and The Octopus Caper by Leo R. Ellis, published 1971.
  • Covers of two Five-O novels published in England, The Angry Battallion, depicting a macho McGarrett and Serpents in Paradise.
  • Early review of the show from TV Guide, December, 1968.
  • Photos of the Five-O game -- #1, #2, #3 and #4.
  • Five-O "Periscope Dart Gun" and "Dart Gun Set" (with badge and billy club)
  • Five-O Machine Pistol

"THEN, GENTLEMEN, MAKE THESE WEB SITES A TOP PRIORITY:"

• Bill's analysis of the Wo Fat episodes
• Central Dispatch, home of The Hawaii Five-O Fan Club, info on IRC, and the Five-O mailing list.
• The Hawaii Five-O Car Page
• The James MacArthur Digital Scrapbook
• Joe's Five-O page.
• Home page of Karen Rhodes, author of Booking Five-O.
• Kathy's Home Page, with lots of Jack Lord photos
• The Kresky Home Page, a hilarious parody of 1970's cop show WWW sites (inspired in part by this one).
• Liz's Herman Wedemeyer Home Page
• Mark & Julie's Five-O page.
• Sue's Ben Harrington page, Kokua's Kapers.
• Terri's Jack Lord Connection.
• Terry's Chin Ho page.
• Tim's Five-O Fun Page.
• Todd's Five-O page.
  
• Tap into the Honolulu Police Department's "Iron Brain."

"AND FINALLY, CHECK OUT THIS 'MR. MIKE' CHARACTER ... WHY IS HE SO OBSESSED WITH OUR OPERATION? WHAT ARE HIS OTHER INTERESTS? WHAT MAKES HIM TICK?"

• Mr. Mike's "boring home page."
• His rap sheet.
• His true crime files.

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"I'm pleased to say that no Internet site has ever frightened me more than yours. Congratulations. When I found yours, especially the episode by episode breakdown, allowing me to look up my particular favorite — the bubonic plague hits Five-O — I knew the Internet had gone out of control." — a visitor

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"The fact that you have managed to not only capture every moment of 5-0 for 12 years, but catalog it to near perfection leaves me with no hope for civilization. Every bad plot line, including my favorite which consisted of evil 5-0 imposters, who even managed to construct a fake 5-0 office in an abandoned office to try an infiltrate McGarrett and his bunch, is covered."