HAWAII FIVE-O ON DVD 
ORDER SEASONS 1-8 FROM AMAZON.COM:
SEASON ONE • SEASON TWO • SEASON THREE
SEASON FOUR • SEASON FIVE • SEASON SIX
SEASON SEVEN •
SEASON EIGHT
ALSO AVAILABLE AUG 3, 2010: BOX SET WITH SEASONS 1-9 (55 DISCS!!)
SEASON EIGHT (released March 16, 2010) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There is an English audio track, with English subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
SEASON SEVEN (released October 20, 2009) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with English, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
The cover for this season originally included Al Harrington as Ben, who starred in 10 of the episodes. Someone contacted the web site http://tvshowsondvd.com/ prior to the release of the DVDs, suggesting that Harrington was fired and did not appear in this season at all. (Harrington did leave the show during the season, but appeared in the last show, which was filmed midway through.) This e-mail was forwarded to CBS/Paramount, who promptly removed Harrington from the cover and replaced him with Herman ("Duke") Wedemeyer. However, Wedemeyer appeared in only 10 episodes, the same number as Harrington, and was not a member of the Five-O team, but a Honolulu Police Department cop. On the other hand, Doug Mossman appeared in 13 episodes as Frank Kemana, working for Five-O. An "anal-ysis" of these appearances appears at here.
SEASON SIX (released April 21, 2009) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with English and Spanish subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
SEASON FIVE (released November 18, 2008) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
Originally, there was an error in the Fifth Season box set artwork -- Kono was included in the pictures, and Zulu, the actor playing him, was fired at the end of the fourth season! After complaints from fans, this was fixed.
SEASON FOUR (released June 10, 2008) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
As in previous sets, the color for the episodes is excellent. A couple of minor annoyances with this set. First, Paramount persists in using the title card for James MacArthur identifying him as "Danny." And second, the two-part show The 90-Second War is spread across two discs, presumably because to keep the order of the shows.
SEASON THREE (released January 22, 2008) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles. The only bonus feature is episode promos.
The main title card for James MacArthur still identifies him as "Danny," rather than "Dan Williams" at the beginning.
In "Trouble in Mind," there is a fragment of a song removed -- Honeysuckle Rose is not included, presumably because of music rights. From the time McGarrett leaves his office at the beginning of the show to when Wilson says "Maybe it's me..." is cut out (approximately 24 seconds). Click here to see the missing material (requires QuickTime).
SEASON TWO (released July 31, 2007) This is a 6 disc set containing 24 episodes. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.
The set does not include the suppressed episode "Bored She Hung Herself" as per a disclaimer on the back of the box, which also says that some episodes are edited. These omissions were only revealed in the last two weeks prior to July 31st when people began to receive review copies of the set; prior to this, web sites suggested that the season was "complete" and would include the suppressed episode, based on information supplied by Paramount.
I have updated my usual "anal-ysis" for "Bored She Hung Herself" with a new and lengthy synopsis of the complete plot of the episode, as well as the beginning and end credits. To see this, click on this link.
In this box set, the main titles are actually the main titles from season one -- Paramount/CBS seemingly never bothered to remaster these. The only difference in the actual second season titles is the line "as Dan Williams" instead of "as Danny" for James MacArthur's credit. If this is the case, then all the second season DVD episodes are "edited." I've also been told that the main titles for the last season two episode -- "Kiss the Queen Goodbye" -- uses the theme music from season one.
On the positive side, the set does include the episodic promos for the next episode which are placed on the DVDs prior to the episodes they refer to (with two exceptions -- there are no previews for the episode "To Hell With Babe Ruth" and the two-part "Three Dead Cows at Makapuu"). These previews look remarkably cleaned up, similar to the shows themselves.
SEASON ONE (released March 6, 2007) This is a 7 disc set with all 24 episodes, plus "Cocoon," the pilot movie. There are English and Spanish audio tracks, with Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese subtitles.
The set includes the documentary "Emme Tomimbang's Island Moments: Memories of Hawaii Five-O," a 45-minute-long show that aired in October 1996 on KHNL, NBC affiliate in Honolulu, at the time of the first Hawaii Five-O convention. In this show, James MacArthur is the co-host with Honolulu TV personality Emme Tomimbang as they reminisce with various cast and crew. Persons featured include Rose Freeman, Marie Lord (Jack Lord's wife), Zulu (Gilbert Kauhi), Glenn Cannon, Kam Fong, Harry Endo, Jimmy Borges and others. This show has been edited to remove any film clips from episodes later than the first season.
Be warned if you purchase DVDs of the show on Ebay and other Internet sites, especially complete sets: anything after the eighth season is not official and is either taken from dubs of TV broadcasts or the Columbia House video tape episodes which are now out of print.
SOME REVIEWS OF THE FIRST SEASON DVD BOX SET:
MovieWeb • DVD Corner • DVD Verdict • TVDVDReviews
DVD Talk • Review from Yahoo Five-O discussion group • DigitallyObsessed
Amazon.Com (user reviews)SOME REVIEWS OF THE SECOND SEASON BOX SET:
MovieWeb • TVDVDReviews • DVD Verdict • DVD Talk •
DigitallyObsessed • Amazon.Com (user reviews)SOME REVIEWS OF THE THIRD SEASON BOX SET:
BlogCritics Magazine -- two reviews: #1 and #2 • Home Theater Forum
DVD Verdict • PopMatters • MovieWeb • TVDVDReviews
DVD Talk • Amazon.Com (user reviews)SOME REVIEWS OF THE FOURTH SEASON BOX SET:
Home Theater Forum • DVD Verdict • TVDVDReviews
DVD Talk • DVD File • Amazon.Com (user reviews)SOME REVIEWS OF THE FIFTH SEASON BOX SET:
Home Theater Forum • BlogCritics Magazine • DVD Talk •
Amazon.Com (user reviews)SOME REVIEWS OF THE SIXTH SEASON BOX SET:
DVD File • Home Theater Forum
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