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.

A "reboot" of Hawaii Five-O started showing in North America in September, 2010 on CBS in the USA and Global in Canada. It stars Alex O'Loughlin (Steve McGarrett), Scott Caan (Danny Williams), Daniel Dae Kim (Chin Ho Kelly) and Grace Park (Kono Kalakaua). It was renewed for a second season starting in September, 2011.

QUICK LINKS

DISCUSSION FORUM  •  FAQ  •  WHAT'S NEW
"ANAL-YSIS" OF NEW FIVE-0
"ANAL-YSIS" OF CLASSIC FIVE-O
SEARCH THE SITE  •  BUY DVDS AND STUFF!

Click here to order the twelfth and final season of classic Five-O on DVD
(released Tuesday, January 10th, 2012).

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Order the first season of the new Five-0 on DVD or Blu-Ray (now available!)
(released Tuesday, September 20th).

This site covers both the original and the new Hawaii Five-O.

Click here to read reviews of the new shows starring Alex O'Loughlin, Scott Caan, Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park. There is also a preview of the "next season" shows!

See links below for "turgid anal-ysis" of the original series.

What do you think about the new Five-O? Leave comments in the Discussion Forum.

Search our site for your favorite actor or show!

WHAT'S NEW

Season 12 of classic Five-O (the final season) will be released on January 10, 2012. The box art has been made available on the TVShowsonDVD.com site. The design of the box originally featured Five-O supporting player Danny Kamekona, whose name is immortalized in the current season's character played by Taylor Wily, as well as Richard "Governor" Denning. However, Danny Kamekona only appeared in minor roles in the twelfth season. After fan reaction, CBS redesigned the box so that it featured Wo Fat and Denning, but then changed their minds again to feature William Smith and Sharon Farrell, two of the three "new" members of the Five-O team during its final season on the front cover and the third member, Moe Keale, on the back cover. The set reportedly contains a music video with clips from the series entitled "Crime Wave."

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The Blu-Ray version of the current Five-O incarnation is still only available at Best Buy in the USA, though it is available from places overseas like Amazon.co.uk. It isn't available at Best Buy in Canada at all, from what I can determine. There is no date known as to when it will be released in other venues like Amazon.com in the USA.

HAWAII FIVE-O ON DVD

ORDER SEASON 12 -- RELEASED JANUARY 10TH, 2012!

ORDER SEASONS 1-11 FROM AMAZON.COM:

SEASON ONE  •  SEASON TWO  •  SEASON THREE  •   SEASON FOUR  •  SEASON FIVE  •  SEASON SIX
SEASON SEVEN  •   SEASON EIGHT  •   SEASON NINE  •   SEASON TEN  •   SEASON ELEVEN

ALSO RELEASED JANUARY 10, 2012: BOX SET WITH SEASONS 1-12 (72 DISCS!!)

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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 this page through our new URLs: http://www.hawaiifiveo.info or http://www.hawaiifiveo.org

EPISODE GUIDE — GOOFS, TRIVIA AND MORE...

A collection of facts and trivia about Five-O, usually combined with "turgid anal-ysis." Some of this information may not be considered "politically correct" today — there are words which will be objectionable to certain sensitive individuals, so if you might be offended, then read no further! There are also plenty of spoilers. Mrs. Rose Freeman, wife of the late creator of Hawaii Five-O, describes this part of our site as an "outstanding presentation." Enjoy! Copyright ©1994-2010 by Mike Quigley. No reproduction of any kind without permission.

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.

ORIGINAL FIVE-O EPISODE LIST:

Complete list with plot descriptions
Complete list without plot descriptions
Complete list in production order
Complete list in alphabetical order (no links).

NEW FIVE-0 EPISODE LIST:

Complete list with plot descriptions

CBS SYNDICATION "SHOW BIBLE":

Complete listing with various options.

JUMP TO A SEASON:

The Original Five-O (Oh) (1968-1980):

| 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) | | 13th Season |

The New Five-0 (Zero) (2010-?):

| 1st Season (Episodes 1-24) | 2nd Season (Episodes 1-?? | "Next" Season |

"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 video ... on DVD..
  • The Five-O main titles (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • The main titles from the 1968 pilot episode ("Cocoon") -- much different than the show (.WMV format).
  • The main titles from the failed 1997 remake of Five-O (requires QuickTime -- iPod compatible).
  • The first "bookem" (from "Twenty-Four Karat Kill," season one)
  • 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?
  • Central Dispatch, the Hawaii Five-O newsletter (archived material from 2004-2009)
  • 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).
  • Plot and anal-ysis of M Station Hawaii, post-Five-O production which used many of the same cast and crew.

• CHIN HO, YOU'RE IN CHARGE OF THE INQUIRY INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS:

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  PURCHASE THE HAWAII FIVE-O SOUNDTRACK (OR INDIVIDUAL TRACKS) FROM AMAZON.COM
  BUY THE SOUNDTRACK ON CD (FIRST TIME!) FROM SCREEN ARCHIVES ENTERTAINMENT

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  • Interesting article about the Five-O theme and composer Morton Stevens
  • 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.
  • "You Can Count on Me," vocal version of the main theme, done by Sammy Davis Jr., MP3 format.
  • Another vocal version of the main theme, sung by Don Ho, MP3 format.
  • 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 for the failed TV pilot movie in MP3 format, about 900K in size.
  • First version of the main theme from the 2010 revival of the show (later discarded).
  • Re-recorded complete main theme from the 2010 revival arranged and conducted by Brian Tyler.
  • Five-O theme, performed by Henry Mancini.
  • Five-O theme, performed by Dweezil Zappa on his "Automatic" album.
  • A total kick-ass version of the main theme, played by Gary Hoey.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • "Hawaiian"-sounding song (possibly composed for the show), first heard in the episode Kiss the Queen Goodbye.
  • Two examples of music for "the wave" composed by Don Ray (MP3 format): #1, #2.
  • 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.
  • Vintage music tracks from the soundtrack, including dialogue and effects.
  • 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 1975 — Amusing story about an appearance that Jack Lord made in a Honolulu courtroom regarding a Five-O issue.
  • 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 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)
  • McGarrett doesn't like to be called "pal"
  • "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)
  • Outakes from the 11th season episode Number One With A Bullet -- Complete List or selected highlights:
    • #1 - McGarrett (Jack Lord) whistles and claps for Sally (Melveen Leed) as she finishes a song.
    • #2 - Sally talks to McGarrett; Melveen breaks up laughing.
    • #3 - Some very funny moments between Jack Lord and Melveen Leed. Jack Lord forgets his lines.
    • #4 - Melveen Leed as Sally forgets her line, recovers and continues with the scene.
  • The 13th Season (Some "lost" episodes I have uncovered)
  • "Book Off, McGarrett!" -- Chin Ho tells what he really thinks about his boss. "Dan Williams" replies.

• 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. NOW WITH VIDEO!
  • 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.
  • Interview with guest actor Michael Anderson Jr., who talks about Jack Lord, Stoney Burke and Five-O.
  • Pages for two actors who appeared in multiple Five-O episodes: Jimmy Borges and Elissa Dulce. NOW WITH VIDEO CLIPS!
  • Nice things people have said to me about the Five-O Home Page in e-mail.
  • The Hawaii Five-O Discussion Forum Archives.
  • 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.
  • Covers of German editions of two of the above Five-O books: #1 and #2.
  • 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
  • The Five-O Bad Words Page.

"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
• Hawaii Five-O (1968) discussion at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Hawaii Five-0 (2010) discussion at the Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
• Hawaii Five-0 Undercover -- Fun site with behind-the-scenes stuff and Island perspective for the new Five-O
• The James MacArthur Digital Scrapbook
• Jeff's Hawaii Five-O Celebration (on Facebook -- Facebook membership not required to view)
• Joe's Five-O page.
• Julie's Hawaii Five-O Episode Guide.
• 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.
• Terry's Chin Ho page.
• Tim's Five-O Fun Page.
• Todd's Five-O page.
• Virginia's Memories of Hawaii 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 true crime files.

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NOTE: Since I have been on the Internet for almost 20 years, my e-mail is very heavily filtered because of all the spam I get.
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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."