Classic TV: Hawaii Five-0

A late 1960's staple, it probably shouldn't have been as much of a hit as it was.

As a wee lad, I remember watching Hawaii Five-0 on our crappy B&W Television. It was a view into an exotic place that I dreamed of visiting, with all the beautiful people.

40 years later I binged it when it hit Netflix, and I had some observations then.

Now, more than 50 years after it premiered, I am watching it again. Amazon has it on their Free-Vee service, where you can watch with ads. That works for me, although all the ads these days are for Crone’s disease, diabetes, or other mediocre medicines.

Starring Jack Lord as the leader of Five 0, Steve McGarrett, he is a veteran a Navy man, and that is woven into parts of the episodes. Also memorable is the Danny Williams, played by James McArthur. The catch phrase “Book him Dan-O” refers to officer Williams.

Ostensibly, the show was to promote tourism on the islands. In the late 50’s the Hawaiian islands were made a state, the fiftieth (yes, that is why it is Five-0) in the union, and apart from our military installations it was mostly a tourist driven economy. Promoting tourism was good business.

But, as I re-watch the old episodes, I have to wonder about the wisdom. If you watch the show, you will see case after case of drugs, murder, racketeering, mob bosses, foreign spies, and pretty much all the depraved crime.

If you want to encourage people to visit the islands, perhaps not portray them as crime ridden hell holes?

There is also one other observation that I will make. Every scene, in every episode is filmed in bright daylight, with clear skies, wispy clouds and perfect weather.

If you have ever visited Hawaii, you will remember that there is rain pretty much every day. Without a lot of hijinks, it is unlikely that they only filmed without liquid sunshine falling from the sky.

Of course, every few episodes, McGarrett flies to California for something (court case or picking up a suspect) and it is raining in California. Ironic because in the summer, Californian rain is rarer than hen’s teeth, while pretty much every afternoon in Hawaii has showers.

Oh well, it is entertaining, even 50+ years later. Now, get off my lawn

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