Hawaii Five-O - Any Interest Out There? (1 Viewer)

[Jeff*H]

One of the reasons I always loved the first 4 seasons a little more than the rest is because they would start each episode with a 5-second title intro, followed by a story teaser that would last about 2-5 minutes setting up a mystery, then the opening title credits. Season 1's 5-second title intro had the gorgeous beach shot with sunset that Jeff# mentions above, then seasons 2-4 featured the traditional rolling wave 5-second title intro that is also featured in the opening credits.

The later episodes started immediately with the title credits, eliminating the story teaser. By the last few seasons, they added a 30-second preview of the episode, followed by the opening credits. These 30-second previews usually get cut in syndication.

Season 1 also featured different end credits than seasons 2-12; the credits featured a flashing siren on top of a police car racing through the streets at night (which "Police Squad"/"Naked Gun" would later make fun of). The rest of the seasons featured the guys paddling in the outrigger.

The traditional opening theme song was re-done several times during the series' run. Season 1 kicked it off, but a new version of it was done for seasons 2 and 3. A slightly modified, more drum-laden version was done for season 4, then yet another version in seasons 5 and 6. Thereafter, it continued to be tweaked each season until the end of the series, during which it had a bit of a disco beat added.

To date, no TV theme has come close to matching the jazzy, cool beats of the Hawaii Five-0 theme.

 

[Jeff#]

The other Jeff is correct except that again, the rolling wave opening before the teaser was featured through most of the 1st season as well.

The middle years (5th through 8th) having only the opening theme before the first act only benefits the rest of the show by allowing for longer segments. Therefore, the last 8 seasons allow more narrative, enabling the guest stars to more fully develop their characters.

Even though the 9th through 12th seasons had scenes from the show before the opening theme (which was typical for 1970s dramatic TV, particularly with KOJAK, The Rockford Files, and COLUMBO), I always felt that worked best for Hawaii Five-O. Those very brief tidbits are a series of teasers Vs. the singular, lengthy cold opening teaser from the first 4 years and are more effective.

 

[Jeff*H]

It will be interesting to see on the Season 1 set if they use the same version of the pilot that Columbia House used in their VHS release. This was a 100-minute version that started with a 2-minute story teaser, followed by a version of the opening title sequence that featured some different scenes and is a little longer than the normal 1-minute title sequence that accompanied the rest of the series. In TV syndication, this pilot was edited down into a 2-part episode titled "Cocoon" and usually shown at the end of season one for some reason (syndicated runs usually kick off with the first regular-length episode, "Full Fathom Five").

On a side note, the pilot also features a different Danno, played by Tim Kelly (James MacArthur took over the role for 11 seasons following the pilot). Kelly's relatively weak performance most likely contributed to MacArthur's hiring.

 

[Jeff#]

He means Tim O'Kelly, folks.

Before he was the original Danny Williams, Tim had previously been in Boris Karloff's last important film "Targets", in which he played a man who was planning to assassinate an elderly movie star (Karloff).

O'Kelly is one of those actors in which you wonder what happened to him, since he apparently retired in the early 1970s.

 

[Van594]

I haven't watched the show in a long time but wasn't there a quick curling wave shot with a certain dramatic music bit right before they cut to commercial after a key scene? With no commercials would that still be in? I think it added a coolness factor but without commericals I'm not sure.

 

[Jeff*H]

The pre-commercial waves should be included if the episodes are truly uncut. Unfortunately, these are cut out in a lot of the digitally remastered syndicated episodes, not to mention an additional commercial break is inserted in each.

 

[Van594]

Thanks for the info...I hope they keep them in for the DVD release, I think it's a nice transition to the next scene.

 

[Roy Wall]

Not to change the subject, Jeff #, but in light of Gord Lacey's news that the studios collectively are no longer going to produce TV shows on DVD prior to 2000 due to poor sales....do you think Paramount will...at some point.... continue to produce the remaining seasons of "Have Gun Will Travel" ????

I hope so...but it doesn't sound promising.

 

[Michael Alden]

Gord said no such thing. Where are you getting this from?

 

[Steve...O]

To the best of my knowledge, Gord never said this. I think this was speculation that another HTF member posted in another thread. It does not appear to be supported by facts as Paramount is releasing Perry Mason, Hawaii 5-0, Lucy Desi Comedy Hour, etc. Other studios are still releasing vintage product as well. Just today we've heard about S5 of "Murder She Wrote", the success of which has me very hopeful that PM and 5-0 will see multiple seasons as well.

Steve

 

[Jeff#]

Of course they will, Roy, because there will always be an audience for classic TV just as there's an audience for classic radio (a.k.a. Old Time Radio).

This year I started to get into OTR with a number of radio series that eventually moved to television. One of them is SUSPENSE , which on radio lasted an amazing 20 years (1942 to 1962) and more than 900 episodes (most of that series) are available FREE online in the public domain. However, the 260 episodes of TV version produced from 1949 to 1954, I've been unable to find anywhere. Anyone have info on that show?

The sales for some old TV series have done quite well. Cases in point: The Rockford Files, M*A*S*H, The Twilight Zone (original series), SCTV, All in the Family, I Love Lucy, MacGyver. The list goes on... As the other guys said, Gord never made that statement.....one of the members did.

 

[Roy Wall]

Thanks Jeff#....I'm glad to hear your unwavering faith in Paramount and others in continuing to produce Classic TV on DVD.

 

[Gord Lacey]

Nope, I didn't say that at all, and I wouldn't ever say that because I know the studios haven't stopped producing stuff prior to 2000. I may have made comments that early shows are harder to sell on DVD, or that they sell fewer copies than new shows, but no, I wouldn't say they've stopped producing earlier shows.

Gord

 

[Jeff*H]

Now that it has been made official by the studio, is there any word on whether the episodes will be uncut and remastered? Any bonus material?

 

[Gord Lacey]

Paramount doesn't provide that information (at least for the bonus material) until a month or so before street date.

Gord

 

[Jeff*H]

I really like the cover art. The classic Five-0 imagery is all there: the giant curling wave, Jack Lord, the show logo, Danno...and the symbolism between the wave and Lord's signature wave-like pompadour is on full display. I think this is a cover that really catches your eye and will help sell units in stores to fans and newbies alike.

 

[Jeff#]

Paramount does a great job on duplicating their series (and also non-Paramount shows that just happen to be on their label, such as CBS programs which will soon include Hawaii Five-O). The problem is that special features / extras almost never seem to be part of the lineup. Do you think there will be any for this show? I don't.

 

[Jeff*H]

I would love to see some special features but I'm not holding my breath for the reason you stated. Plus, there aren't too many people around any more who were directly involved with the show. The show's creator, Leonard Freeman, is dead, along with Jack Lord (McGarrett), Zulu (Kono), Kam Fong (Chin Ho), Herman Wedemeyer (Duke), Khigh Dheigh (Wo Fat), Richard Denning (The Governor), Morton Stevens (theme composer) and Moe Keale (Truck-season 12 and recurring guest actor). Jack Lord's wife even passed away about a year ago. That said, I still think they have a few opportunities for bonus features:

*Interview James MacArthur (Danno) for a retrospective

*Interview former producers who may still be alive for retrospective

*Interview former guest stars (Season 1 guest stars included Leslie Nielsen, Gavin MacLeod and Ricardo Montalban)

*Showcase any archival behind-the-scenes footage that may exist about the history of the show

*Showcase any behind-the-scenes footage that may exist regarding the remastering process used to clean up the episodes (presuming they will be remastered for the DVD)

*Showcase the Hawaiian islands themselves and visit famous landmarks and locations used in filming (I visited the Iolani Palace in 2003 and it hasn't changed a bit).

Even if Season 1 has no extras, hopefully it will sell well enough that they will include some for season 2.

 

[Jeff#]

Once again, Jeff, they don't need to be remastered because they already were back in the 1990s.

 

[Michael Alden]

No, they weren't. They were remastered for syndication at syndication running times, not to their original 50+ minute lengths.