Hawaii Five-O - Any Interest Out There? - Page 3

Aryn Leroux · 11-07-2006, 05:01 PM

Good News, I did not see any of the early years of this, unless i caught some episodes in syndication, but i can not remember. I will definately pick this up though. Did the first season have the classic theme song ?

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Jeff*H · 11-07-2006, 07:43 PM

Looking forward so much to this one; I have been waiting for Five-0 on home video for 20 years or so! I'm glad they are proceeding with season sets; I thought they might go the Gunsmoke route and do Best-Of's. Let's just hope that the episodes are remastered AND uncut.

As for the show itself, I have seen each episode 6 times or more, and agree that seasons 1-5 are the best, although a number of good episodes can easily be found in seasons 6-9. The show was in an obvious state of severe decline in seasons 10 and 11, and season 12 was the final nail in the coffin when Kimo (or as I call him, Chemo) was introduced as a replacement for Danno. The finale, "Woe to Wo Fat", was an embarrassment to all involved, noteworthy only for the fact that McGarrett finally caught Wo Fat.

Season 1 has a lot of good episodes, but the series really started to click in season 2. We all have to make sure we support the release of the series by purchasing a set so we can ensure more seasons are released. Paramount has a spotty track record when it comes to completing series (just ask fans of Happy Days and Mork & Mindy).

Jeff# · 11-07-2006, 09:02 PM

I've been waiting a long time for this -- the best police show of all time to come out on DVD! February can't come early enough.

Hawaii Five-O was its most stylish in the early years, but the first 11 seasons of Hawaii Five-O were pretty good overall. Only the 12th season was a disaster, and not because Danno had left (with no explanation), but due to sloppy writing that didn't even come close to matching the much higher quality of the previous year. "Truck" Keola (played by Moe Keale) was OK as a new 5-0 member, but there was 3 replacements for Danny. Another was William Smith's character. The one who didn't work was Lori Martin, played by Sharon Farrell. Sharon is a good actress, but she didn't fit into this series and she was fired early in the last season. Previously she had guest starred in other roles in earlier seasons. William Smith and Moe Keale both had played several bad guy roles over the years, with Moe's first appearance in a typically minor role as a gardener in 1971.

The series was indeed at its most creative in the first 6 years, and the best stories were those involving ingenious heists, scams, and other sneaky crimes that McGarrett has to figure out. "Thirty Thousand Rooms and I Have the Key" and its sequel "Odd Man In" both feature radio and TV drama veteran Hume Cronyn as Filer -- a man who is a thief and master of disguise, who manages to escape from McGarrett and his men on several occasions!! In the middle years, "Draw Me a Killer" featured Elliot Street as a young man with a dangerous obsession for a Hawaiian woman who vividly reminds him of a comic book character!! "Hookman" is about an assassin with a hook hand. "Engaged to Be Buried" was a well-done story about an interracial couple try to overcome prejudice. There was an ambitious trilogy "V for Vashon" that showed the downfall of a crime family. That was one of several episodes in which McGarrett was framed for murder. The 9th season's "Man in a Steel Frame" from 1977 is one of the very few times in which Steve is seen in a relationship, and Jack Lord proved that he really could convey emotion as McGarrett is devasted by the woman's death as he tries to clear his own name in the process.

The series' creator Leonard Freeman died in the middle of the 1973-74 season. There were several other Executive Producers over the years. Veteran Twilight Zone TV producer Buck Houghton briefly produced Hawaii Five-O early in 1978.

The 2-parters are among the finest, a pinnacle of which is reached in the 2 hour Ninth Season premiere in 1976 with "Nine Dragons", in which Wo Fat kidnaps McGarrett and has him taken to China. Steve then finds himself framed for treason!! Other than the Communist angle resurfacing, the episode featured some beautiful and original music not heard in any other episode. Kheigh Dheigh didn't return to his most famous role until the finale in 1980 as mentioned above, and that was the only decent episode they did in the last year.

Jeff*H · 11-07-2006, 10:00 PM

Season 9's "Man in a Steel Frame" and "Nine Dragons" are indeed 2 of my favorite episodes as well, with the latter featuring one of Wo Fat's best outings. However, the all-time best Wo Fat adventure is season 2's "Forty Feet High--and it Kills" in which Wo Fat orchestrates the kidnapping of a genetic scientist by creating a fake tsunami warning. The climactic showdown between McGarrett and Wo Fat is a true classic (often times they did not meet face-to-face). Season 2 also features an additional Wo Fat appearance in "A Bullet for McGarrett".
In fact, Wo Fat appears in every season from #1 (the pilot, Cocoon) through #5 (with multiple appearances in seasons 2 and 3), then again in seasons 7-9 and finally once more in the last episode of the series in season 12.

Jeff# · 11-07-2006, 10:47 PM

"Forty Feet High...and it Kills" was great too, particularly with the music heard over the chase scene with the Chinese agents in the cold opening of the episode. Good guest performances too by Will Geer as a kidnapped scientist and sexy Sabrina Scharf as his daughter.

But "Nine Dragons" is still Wo Fat at his most diabolical.

Van594 · 11-08-2006, 09:49 AM

Don't get me wrong I love full seasons as much as anyone but in this case I just can't see it selling well enough to go 12...or even 4 or 5 for that matter, there is just to much else out there competing with it. I'm just afraid they won't even get to Season 5 then I won't get the V for Vashon episodes which I bet would be included on a best of.
The show was good but it had allot of repetition in it which doesn't bode well for todays DVD buying crowd, they get bored quick.

Mark Lx · 11-08-2006, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Van594

Don't get me wrong I love full seasons as much as anyone but in this case I just can't see it selling well enough to go 12...or even 4 or 5 for that matter, there is just to much else out there competing with it. I'm just afraid they won't even get to Season 5 then I won't get the V for Vashon episodes which I bet would be included on a best of.
The show was good but it had allot of repetition in it which doesn't bode well for todays DVD buying crowd, they get bored quick.

Unfortunately, you are probably right. I mean I regretted having bought the Incredible Hulk Best of (expensive compared to today) when the first season came out, but it's probably all I'll get.

Michael Alden · 11-08-2006, 12:48 PM

Also don't forget the followup to the Vachon trilogy, The Case Against McGarret from season 8 with Harold Gould returning as Honore Vachon. But my two favorites were 3 Dead Cows at Makapuu and The Grandstand Play. Overall all of the two-parters were excellent.

I can't believe that Jeff # and I have a common ground!

RoyM · 11-08-2006, 02:40 PM

Man, I loved Hawaii Five-0... one of my favorite action dramas ever. I especially appreciated that the show (mostly) avoided the campy romantic/ interpersonal/comedy relief subplots that plagued so many other 'cop' shows of the era, and just stuck to straightforward police procedural/crime caper material. To me that is what makes the show hold up so much better than other 60's/70's cop shows.

All of that being said, I am on the fence about buying it. I frankly just don't have much confidence it isn't going to be abandoned after the first season (or couple of seasons, if we're that lucky). With such a long run, it seems highly doubtful we'll even get most of it. I tend to be a little more enthusiastic about collecting shows with short runs, since there is at least a reasonable chance of getting the whole show.

In the end, I may break down and buy season one, if only after it is clear that Paramount is releasing further seasons.

Steve...O · 11-08-2006, 04:37 PM

I hate to throw a bit of caution here, but let's not forget Mark To's comments earlier in the thread about the remastered episodes being syndicated length. Has there been any indication about whether this release uses syndicated versions?

Quote:

I may break down and buy season one, if only after it is clear that Paramount is releasing further seasons

No offense to the original poster, but if enough people do this that is a surefire way to ensure Paramount WON'T release further seasons.

Doug Wallen · 11-08-2006, 05:16 PM

I.m lookingforward to this set. I will buy the season(s) that are released. I agree that Three Dead Cows at Makuupu was a great 2 parter. Loretta Swit and Ed Flanders before M*A*S*H and St Eslewhere. Good stuff. I also remember an episode with Yaphet Kotto as a troubled Vietnam Vet holding hostages in a hospital, another favorite but I don't know the title.

Great news. Looking forward to this purchase.

Jeff*H · 11-08-2006, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve...O

I hate to throw a bit of caution here, but let's not forget Mark To's comments earlier in the thread about the remastered episodes being syndicated length. Has there been any indication about whether this release uses syndicated versions?

If what Paramount is doing with the remastered Star Trek is any indication, then Hawaii Five-0 should be remastered AND full-length/non-syndicated versions.
Star Trek is being digitally redone for broadcast; the producers are sprucing up the entire 51-minute versions, then they are cutting syndicated prints that run about 43 minutes. The 51-minute versions will eventually be released on DVD.

Last year, Paramount went back and completed remastering all of the non-remastered episodes from the first 4 seasons or so of Hawaii Five-0 for broadcast. The syndicated package grew from 175 episodes to 209 (out of a total of 284 episodes). I suspect in hindsight this may have been done so they could have completely remastered season sets ready for the first 4 seasons on DVD. Hopefully they have taken the Star Trek approach and remastered the full-length episodes. Not to mention I hope they go back and finish remastering the remaining 75 episodes of the series from seasons 5-12.