Hawaii Five-0 Television Series DVDs

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There's plenty to like about Hawaii Five-0, the late '60s cop show debuting on DVD by way of this seven-disc set including all episodes from the first season, along with the two-hour pilot that preceded it. Like the music, featuring Morton Stevens' popular theme song. Or the lovely Hawaiian scenery. And let's not forget "Book 'em, Danno," the signature line delivered (although not nearly as frequently as one might expect) by star Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett, not to mention Lord's perfect hair and wrinkle-free slacks. As for everything else, let's just say that Hawaii Five-0 has not aged well. Some of that is inevitably due to the infinitely more sophisticated production values of the series that have followed in its wake; Five-0's technology, sets, and other practical elements are laughably primitive by current standards.

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Solving crimes and putting the perps behind bars is Steve McGarrett's bag. Why, he says so himself, and in so many words, in the very first of the 24 episodes collected in this five-disc set comprising the complete second season (1969-70) of Hawaii Five-0. Portrayed by Jack Lord, and described by no less an authority than the New York Times as "a model of steadfast decency" and "beyond cool but still so square he could have been Lawrence Welk’s cop brother-in-law," McGarrett is the leader of the islands' crack, four-man police unit, and as usual, he has his hands full. Perhaps that's why the man has no discernible sense of humor and only the merest suggestion of a social life. Between keeping his famous hair in order, delivering stern lectures about right and wrong to clueless lowlifes, and, as he puts it in another Second Season episode, constantly worrying "about a world without law and justice… where no one gives a damn about anything," who has time for such trivialities? This season finds McGarrett and cohorts Danno (James McArthur), Kono (Zulu), and Chin Ho (Kam Fong) dealing with the usual complement of sleaze: murderers, gamblers, druggies, prostitutes, insurance scammers, low-rent terrorists, and so on. But Hawaii Five-0 offers its share of weirdness as well. In "Forty Feet High and It Kills!", Red Chinese uber-criminal Wo Fat (Khigh Dhiegh) and his crew orchestrate a fake tsunami warning so they can kidnap a brilliant scientist (an amusing performance by Will Geer) and force him to conduct genetic-tampering experiments designed to create a master race. In the fairly ridiculous "King Kamehameha Blues," a group of young folks steal the legendary king's robe from a museum, just to show they can; it's a measure of McGarrett's ultra-hardline attitude that the governor's offer of amnesty to the thieves if they'll return the precious garment really sticks in his righteous craw.

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Solving crimes and putting the perps behind bars is Steve McGarrett's bag. Why, he says so himself, and in so many words, in the very first of the 24 episodes collected in this five-disc set comprising the complete second season (1969-70) of Hawaii Five-0. Portrayed by Jack Lord, and described by no less an authority than the New York Times as "a model of steadfast decency" and "beyond cool but still so square he could have been Lawrence Welk's cop brother-in-law," McGarrett is the leader of the islands' crack, four-man police unit, and as usual, he has his hands full. Perhaps that's why the man has no discernible sense of humor and only the merest suggestion of a social life. Between keeping his famous hair in order, delivering stern lectures about right and wrong to clueless lowlifes, and, as he puts it in another Second Season episode, constantly worrying "about a world without law and justice… where no one gives a damn about anything," who has time for such trivialities?

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Could it be that with Hawaii Five-O’s fourth season, a third of the way into its remarkable '60s-'70s run, the show has gotten... well, cool? Actually, there are signs throughout this six-disc set of 24 digitally-remastered episodes that point to yes. Let’s not get carried away here; Five-O is still basically as square as Tiananmen and Trafalgar, and as long as Steve McGarrett (portrayed, as ever, by Jack Lord) is in charge, its groove factor will never rival that of, say, CSI: Miami, or any other glossy new millennium cop drama. Indeed, the show’s corniness and utter lack of irony remain integral to its charm. But there are a few interesting developments in this ’71-’72 season. There’s a good complement of snappy dialogue (one particularly large perp is "so big he could go bear-hunting with chopsticks"). And although the pacing can be pretty stodgy, the editing is a bit more deft; many scenes flow more naturally, and in at least one instance ("I Want Some Candy, and a Gun that Shoots," wherein a sniper is picking off cops on a coastal highway), the entire episode is more exciting than the Five-0 norm. The direction and lighting are also more stylish, while the music (not just Morton Stevens' classic theme song but the incidental sounds as well) and location scenery, two elements that have always been among the series’ strong suits, are as good as ever; in fact, the islands look so lush and inviting that one wonders why the bad guys can even get motivated to commit their dirty deeds.

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Filmed entirely on location in Hawaii the show followed Jack Lord as he 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. Guest stars included Helen Hayes Ricardo Montalban Leslie Nielsen Herbert Lom Hume Cronyn among others.

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Filmed entirely on location in Hawaii, the show followed Jack Lord as he 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 playing members of the Five-O team.