Talk:Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)/Archive 1

Error in article
The article states: "Another legacy is the popularity of the arranged Hawaii Five-O theme song performed by The Ventures, a surf music band (The TV theme sounds different than The Ventures one.)."

This is probably wrong. As I wrote in the discussion in Talk:The Ventures article, it was Morton Stevens that wrote and performed the Hawaii Five-0 theme, not the Ventures. The Ventures later covered the song but had nothing to do with the TV-series. But I am not certain. - Kricke 16:07, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Errors in TV Show

 * In the "quick cuts" of the opening credits, a large art-deco administration building is shown before cutting to the image of Punchbowl Cemetery's "Mother Columbia" statue. That building is actually the WPA-built County of San Diego (California) Administration Building, located along San Diego's bayfront.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Acdavies (talk • contribs) 04:59, 1 May 2008 (UTC)

What are you talking about? The shot right before Mother Columbia is the entire Punchbowl monument, which has that statue at the center - here: Punchbowl Memorial. Immediately before THAT shot are a bunch of shots of water and a woman on the beach, preceded further by Jack Lord atop the Ilikai. --Pergish1 (talk) 17:45, 20 May 2010 (UTC)


 * In episode "For a Million..Why Not?":
 * The so called "Armored Truck" is actually a utility truck seen in other episodes.
 * Three guards are killed-yet no mention is made of killed 3rd guard by Hawaii Five-O!!
 * Furthermore while the ending is supposedly set in San Francisco, the Aloha Tower is clearly seen in background!
 * In Episode "Hookman" errors abound:
 * In the Chase scene of McGarrett after killer's car, the criminals car is seen driving away from the docks under control. It is not explained how car ended up in harbor!!
 * Killer has brusies on face after car accident-yet next day there is no bruises!!
 * Before McGarrett enters killer's apartment, killer escapes-but how? Steve McGarret is in the only passageway and aparment window is closed!!
 * When Killer shoots at McGarrett through window-an outside camera shot shows window is painted over!! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 134.53.145.126 (talk • contribs) 23:27, 22 May 2006 (UTC).


 * Wikipedia generally doesn't catalog continuity and other errors, which are generally not notable enough to be encyclopedic! --Dhartung | Talk 17:32, 18 June 2006 (UTC)
 * Information of that detail can also be considered fancruft, which most editors are trying to avoid!! Stuff of that level of detail belongs in IMDB! Groink 09:26, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * That is by no means a universal standard!! It depends on the "notability" of the error! For example, info about the deleted "Jitterbug" dance in The Wizard of Oz is mentioned there because it's so well known and often documented!!! However, info about discrepancies in the number of polka dots in her dress would be excessive!!!! Wahkeenah 13:53, 11 March 2007 (UTC)
 * There's only one "Wizard of Oz;" there are 12 seasons of episodes of Hawai'i Five-0. Use logic (and perhaps fewer exclamation points). --Pergish1 (talk) 22:46, 15 December 2010 (UTC)

In the episode where they went to North Korea, did they refer to a roadise bomb as an IUD? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nino Hero (talk • contribs) 02:00, 24 July 2012 (UTC)

Theme music used in "Shrek 2" (2004)
The theme for "Hawaii Five-O" can be heard at the beginning of "Shrek 2" (2004), when one of the palace musicians begins playing it, instead of the usual royal fanfare music.24.92.48.99 05:08, 15 April 2006 (UTC)Bennett Turk

I edited the part that stated "Another legacy is the popularity of the Hawaii Five-O theme song, composed by Morton Stevens later covered by surf music band The Ventures and by Radio Birdman, a punk-era band from Sydney." It is common knowledge that The Ventures did not cover the song, rather, they performed the original theme music for the show. It now reads: "Another legacy is the popularity of the Hawaii Five-O theme song, composed by Morton Stevens and performed by surf music band The Ventures and later covered by Radio Birdman, a punk-era band from Sydney." Raygun85 (talk) 12:58, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

FBI and "Hawaii Five-O"
I read somewhere, that the FBI mailed a letter to Honolulu, requesting the aid of "Hawaii Five-O", and specifically metioning Steve McGarrett. I do not know if the story is true, or if it is fiction.204.80.61.10 14:20, 17 April 2006 (UTC)Bennett Turk
 * Or perhaps the FBI is not stupid. C'mon, obvious urban legend. --Dhartung | Talk 17:34, 18 June 2006 (UTC)

This could have been a "joke" by the FBI... however I cannot find any references — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.175.81.139 (talk) 18:21, 10 June 2011 (UTC)

Why has there been no release on VHS/DVD ?
Considering all of the television shows that have found there way to being released on VHS/DVD, I am surprised a show as popular as "Hawaii Five-O" has not been one of them. Does anyone know a reason for this omission?204.80.61.10 14:19, 26 April 2006 (UTC)Bennett Turk

Amazon.com has a few select episodes, but no boxed sets US 71 02:50, 27 June 2006 (UTC)

The series has become available on DVD. Seasons 1 and 2 should be out. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Collinf (talk • contribs).

Which character used the catch phrase "Wiki Wiki?
?? - 195.6.25.118 (Please sign your posts)

That was Truck. But, since "wiki-wiki" was already a common Hawaiian phrase, this info is hardly wikipediaworthy. 24.75.243.228 18:04, 2 May 2007 (UTC)

In some of the episodes from the fourth season, Kono uses the phrase several times.152.133.13.2 (talk) 17:29, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

Lots of Spelling/Grammar Errors
I was reading this article, and I noticed that there are many punctuation errors, such as there being no spaces in between periods and the first word of the next sentence in many places. WikiScott (talk • contrib) 01:41, 5 August 2007 (UTC)

Tandy Color Computer Game
Och... I can't remember enough details to add to this, but on the off chance anyone else remembers, there was a CoCo 2 game which lovingly parodied this right down to a "Book 'Em" line. I can remember playing the first bit. Shame that all of the disks we owned have long since succumbed to bit rot... -70.20.68.113 (talk) 04:16, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

Book'em?
Is it just me, alone in the world who thinks that McGarrett never referred to Danny Williams as "Danno" but rather "Dan'l"? Did Lord ever refer to this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 165.12.252.12 (talk) 01:57, 29 February 2008 (UTC)
 * McGarrett I popularly thought of as saying 'Book em Danno' in many/most/all episodes. I had heard of this before properly watching the show-when I did, I found that the exact phrase was never spoken in those words. Format (talk) 09:18, 23 August 2008 (UTC)

In season four, McGarrett uses the phrase, "Book 'em, Danno" several times.152.133.13.2 (talk) 17:31, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

References in popular culture
Putting this here for now... can be sifted through and rewritten to form a more interesting and coherent tale of Five-O's pop-culture influence.--Father Goose (talk) 03:38, 12 August 2008 (UTC)


 * References to the show throughout Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland" (1990), especially ch. 5, set in Hawaii.
 * Surf/rock band The Ventures recorded a version of the Five-O theme in 1969. It was released as a single and went to #4 on the Billboard pop chart.
 * Steve McGarrett is prominently mentioned in the Human League song "Circus of Death".
 * Another measure of the show's continued high popularity is that it was lampooned in Mad Magazine, in a typical not-very-subtle satire called "How-Are-Ya Five-O", which appeared in 1971. The characters were renamed Steve "McGarrish" and "Dummy" Williams.
 * The legacy of Five-O continued on into the series that replaced it, Magnum P.I., with many of the characters often referring to both Five-O and McGarrett. (Also, the show was filmed in Hawaii and many of the sets were re-used in Magnum)
 * In a three-part episode of the situation comedy Sanford and Son set in Hawaii, the fictional Five-O bureau is referenced several times. Although no Five-O cast members appear, the bureau members that are portrayed mention McGarrett and a running joke about his hair while the show's famous theme song plays in the background.
 * In the British police drama The Sweeney, the programme Hawaii Five-O is mentioned in the series one episode Stoppo Driver, which was originally broadcast in 1975. The reference to the programme is made in reference to a police officer suspected of working for a robbery gang only occurring "in Hawaii Five-O". The comment is made by George Carter (played by Dennis Waterman), who moments later in the programme says McGarrett's trademark line "Book 'em Danno".
 * Australian sub-pop band Radio Birdman wrote a song inspired by Hawaii Five-O entitled "Aloha Steve & Danno". It is the first song on their 1977 debut album Radios Appear and contains the chorus "Steve, I want to say thank you for all you've done for me. My night is dark and empty when you're not on TV". The bridge of the song also features a guitar solo rendition of the Five-O theme.
 * Disc jockey LTJ Bukem (real name Danny Williamson) created his stage name out of the "Hawaii Five-O" catch phrase "Book 'em, Danno".
 * The theme song was played in Leroy & Stitch (2006) in the scene where Leroy captures all the experiments.
 * In the Australian movie, The Dish (2000), set in 1969, a band of high-school age boys are told to perform the American national anthem for visiting American politicians, but as they do not know it, they play the Five-O theme instead.
 * The theme song played in Madagascar (2005) when Marty was surfing on two dolphins.
 * In the animated sitcom The Simpsons, Chief Wiggum is often heard saying to his deputies upon arrest of a suspect, "Book 'em, Lou", a reference to Steve's "Book 'em, Danno". Also, in the episode entitled "The Father, the Son and the Holy Guest Star", in which Homer and Bart become Roman Catholic, the Five-O theme is heard as Marge's mobile phone ringtone.
 * In The A-Team episode "A Small and Deadly War" Murdock tells the police officer "Book 'em Danno murder one".
 * Steve McGarrett was the role model for Mr. Hand in Fast Times At Ridgemont High.
 * Steve McGarrett is one of the iconic 'Steves' in the film "The Tao of Steve".
 * The theme music of the show and the phrase "Book'em Danno, murder one!" are quoted by Frank Zappa in the song The Untouchables on Broadway The Hard Way. The phrase also appears as "Book'em Danno, mammy one!" in You Are What You Is on Thing-Fish, and Frank's son Dweezil also did a version of the theme on guitar on his "Automatic" album. Frank Zappa made another reference to the famous line in the song "No Not Now" (from the album Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch) when he sings "Boog, boog 'em Dano...Murder One!"
 * The theme tune was used as soundtrack in "Mr. Bean's Holiday" when the main character is traveling over the Millau Viaduct. Later on he plays it as mobile ring tone.
 * The film New Jack City featured a scene where Kareem Akbar blows Scotty Appleton's cover (as Mr. Washington) where he says the line 'I knew Washington, he's Five-O!' A street hoodlum says the same line later in the film seeking Nino Brown's hideout.
 * In the movie"Sphinx", an Egyptian taxi driver says: "Just like in Hawaii-five-O" to his passenger who tells him to "follow that car!" The dialog is in Arabic with English subtitles!
 * In the movie Shrek 2, one of the trumpet players with the party inviting Shrek to far far away land breaks out into the theme song from Hawaii-five-O.
 * The tv show, The Batman, uses a theme song VERY reminiscent of the Hawaii Five-O theme as its theme for it's last two seasons.
 * The producers of the 2000 Norm MacDonald comedy Screwed paid homage to Lord by making Danny DeVito's character Grover the zealous vice-president of the "Jack Lord Fan Club". The film's focus on this topic included scenes from Hawaii Five-O being watched (and spoken word for word) by Grover.
 * A reference to 'Book'em Danno, murder one' was used in two of Andy Sidaris films - Day of the Warrior and Return to Savage Beach where agent Willow Black says 'Book'em Fu, Murder One' (the character Fu, an ally of the L.E.T.H.A.L. force, is seen in both films).
 * Detroit Lions head coach Rod Marinelli calls defensive end Ikaika Alama-Francis "Five-O" in reference to this show and Alama-Francis's alma mater, the University of Hawaii.
 * St. Louis Rams linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa is often called "Hawaii five-o" because he was a star linebacker at the for the University of Hawaii and wears the number 50.
 * When Mississippi Braves first baseman Kala Kaa'ihue comes to bat at road games, the theme song of Hawaii Five-O is played. This is because Kaa'ihue is from the state of Hawaii.
 * An Oldsmobile commercial starring Gregory Hines and Patrick Warburton referenced Hawaii Five-O in a police pullover. Hines - "Who are you, Jack Lord?" Warburton - "No, but the man's like a father to me."
 * Electronic musician Secret Mommy released an album called Hawaii 5.0, a five-song EP composed of samples taken from a trip to Hawaii.
 * In the Dead Milkmen song "Dean's Dream" from their first album, "with Steve McGarrett from Hawaii Five-O at the steering wheel" is used to describe a frantic car chase. Asat (talk) 09:14, 12 March 2015 (UTC)

Did you(or someone else) completely edit out the similarities between the series' usage of the CBS Honolulu station(KGMB Channel 9) and the usage of their Miami station WFOR(Channel 4) on "CSI: Miami"?...that removal was TOTALLY unnecessary!...please reinstate this tidbit...Baldwin91006 (talk) 01:58, 11 September 2008 (UTC)

Apparently, there's SOMEBODY who persists in editing out a LOT of important stuff that's totally relevant to this page...I'm telling you, there IS a similarity to this series using the services of KGMB and "CSI: Miami" using WFOR's newsvans!...please reinstate this soon...Baldwin91006 (talk) 01:52, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

Baldwin's right!...DON'T delete what you think is irrelevant info, especially how United Airlines is the "official" airline of the series!...please don't upset us REAL "Five-O' fans by this extreme censoring of the facts, whether you neede verification or not!...Michaela92399 (talk) 18:51, 12 September 2008 (UTC)

NPOV
Phrases like 'Jack Lord was a perfectionist and insisted on the best from everyone' are fannish and reduce the article's credibility. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.157.187.103 (talk) 10:07, 12 August 2008 (UTC)


 * Yeah, the article still needs a lot of work. Although I do remember seeing a source that made that exact claim.--Father Goose (talk) 10:23, 12 August 2008 (UTC)

Suppressed episode
The section currently says that "Bored, She Hung Herself", has never been shown again due to fears of someone dying trying to copy a scene from the episode. I have read this, and a differing reason that states that the Hare Krishna mantra resulted in a threatened defamation lawsuit. In the episode itself the victim apparently died from a supposed yoga ritual involving hanging as meditation. All I could find on either story was repeated hearsay, no original source for either story. Does anybody have such a source? —MJBurrage(T•C) 17:35, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

Longest-running police drama?
Excuse me, but the "Law and Order" trilogy does NOT count as "police drama";what comes close would be "Law and Order:SVU", but "Hawaii Five-O" would still count as a REAL police drama!...Michaela92399 (talk) 02:49, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

Michaela's right!... a REAL "police drama" would have a car chase(at least one per episode) and inter-office/inter-precinct blah-blah amongst the regular cops/detectives(and ocasional interference from the boss in Internal Affairs!), like in "NYPD Blue", or "Hunter"!...all three "L&O" shows have NONE of these on a regular/semi-regular basis...please correct this soon!...Baldwin91006 (talk) 02:18, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

"Hawaii Five-O" 2.0 NOT on CBS' 2009-10 fall schedule?
CBS just came out with their Fall 2009-10 schedule, and unfortunately, even though Ed Bernero was told that his "modern-day update" of the series would be on this fall, it WASN'T!...can you please update the section on the page?...thanks...Michaela92399 (talk) 02:20, 22 May 2009 (UTC)


 * I noticed too. There's no article around explaining this though.  It could end up being one of those mid-season replacement or they're not ready yet and will have to wait another year. Arthur Fonzarelli (talk) 16:44, 27 May 2009 (UTC)

Let's all hope so!...Baldwin91006 (talk) 02:19, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Who put the tag on the CBS not releasing a return date for the show? How can you cite something that has not happened or been released? ~ Brother William (talk) 14:52, 28 July 2009 (UTC)
 * It would have been difficult to debut a show that hasn't begun production yet. On Feb. 6, 2010, news broke that Lost's Daniel Dae Kim is in negotiations to play Chin Ho Kelly, but no one else has been cast.  The "reboot" is in the very earliest stages of development; the earliest one could possibly see it broadcast might be 2010-2011. 98.211.124.111 (talk) 13:49, 9 February 2010 (UTC)

Guest Stars
Rather than starting an edit war, I am bringing the matter here for discussion. I do not think that the list of guest stars has any value to the article as it stands now. It is just a runon list of names with no real purpose. All TV shows have guest stars, why does this article (and others for that matter) need to have any section just listing names that happened to appear on this or any other show? Nicholasm79 (talk) 02:08, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
 * There is no context to the list and it's unsourced in any case. Now, if someone wants to develop an episode guide in which the guest stars are listed, that would be OK. And if there was a short, sourced list of guest stars with some kind of context (such as guest stars who have won Academy Awards at some point in their careers, or guest stars who made their debut on the show, for example) that could be a different story. An unsourced, no-context, alphabetic list does not belong. And if it's done in other articles, it doesn't belong there either. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 09:37, 5 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Agreed wherever this information might belong (if it could be confirmed) it isn't here. NOt a directory blah blah blah.Bali ultimate (talk) 15:25, 6 June 2009 (UTC)


 * This belongs at IMDb. The purpose of Wikipedia is NOT to collect all the information held at all other websites, but to write a proper article. This list is not conducive to our purposes,and is nothing but a glut of trivia. ThuranX (talk) 05:21, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Trivial, and unsourced in any case. It doesn't belong here. Dayewalker (talk) 05:32, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
 * The editor used F Troop as an "other stuff exists" example. If you look at how the guest stars are listed there, you'll see that they are listed indivually, and the characters they played are mentioned. You can argue over whether that list is also trivial. But if you're going to have a list, that's more like the way to do it - not as a long single sentence of names with an implied "look it up yourself". Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 09:22, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Hawaii Five-O did not have many recurring guest stars, outside of Wo Fat and a few others. If a celebrity guested on the show, sure it might be noteworthy somewhere (like IMDB), but it's no more than a one-off role and nothing more. Nicholasm79 (talk) 15:42, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
 * Wo Fat was the most obvious recurring role. Seems to me Hume Cronyn also made more than one appearance. Your starting to put some context to it, which is what the redlink refused to do. See how F Troop's list is set up, and you start to see some context also. Many TV series here have episode guides. That would be the obvious place to put lists of guest stars - except then we're just parroting IMDB, so I don't see the point. It's also probably easier to do for F Troop, which only ran like 2 seasons. Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 15:46, 7 June 2009 (UTC)
 * I've removed the list at F Troop, as it is as bad as the one attempted here. It's trivia, and that's it. ThuranX (talk) 22:09, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

error? McGarrett was never given the title "Lead Detective"
If so, please provide source. Thank you.User F203 (talk) 16:18, 6 June 2009 (UTC)

Car or motorcyle?
Looks like a car to me: The best part: Leslie Nielsen was a guest star! →Baseball Bugs What's up, Doc? carrots 23:33, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

Chin Ho Kelly/Hawaii Five-O
I am putting this here for the record. The character's name is Chin Ho Kelly. It is logical to put it anywhere in the article that it belongs in proper context. It seems as if certain users want to remove a mention of it from certain sections of the article. Anyone is welcome to post here in this open forum why that would be a good idea, otherwise it will remain in the article as I can see no reason why it doesn't need to be there. Nicholasm79 (talk) 03:58, 9 June 2010 (UTC)

Disambiguation Incorrect?
The disambiguation says "This article is about the 1970s TV show." For a show that ran from 1968-1980, shouldn't that be "This article is about the 1960s-1980s TV show" ? SpaceHistory101 (talk) 21:16, 3 October 2010 (UTC)

Five-O=Police
Shouldn't this article mention the use of the turm Five-O to refer to police. According to Urban Dictionary this is part of the show's legacy. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.235.33.23 (talk) 21:15, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Hawaiian Eye
Was "Hawaii Five-0" inspired by the TV show "Hawaiian Eye" which preceded it? Anyone know? Thanks. 69.228.116.149 (talk) 14:17, 15 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Doubtful. At the time Hawaii 5-O was done, the Boeing 707 had made tourism accessible, and Hawaii was still a fairly new state, and I think it grew out of that. Hawaiian music, food, you name it was trendy in the early 60s.  When "Hawaiian Eye" was on TV there were a couple other similar shows that traded on the whole beach/sand/surf mania of the time, notably "77 Sunset Strip."  Aside from setting and a common theme of crime, "Hawaiian Eye" and "Hawaii Five-O" weren't much alike. "Hawaiian Eye" is more like a 60s version of the more recent series "Las Vegas".  Drmargi (talk) 16:26, 15 February 2011 (UTC)

Why did original Hawaii Five-O end in 1980?
It states in the article that the last season was in 1980. Was the show cancelled by CBS because of low ratings, lack of original ideas (as stated by James MacArthur), new supporting cast (along with Jack Lord),or some other reason? Or was the show ended because Jack Lord decided it was time to end it? Could someone give a reason why 1980 was the last season, since that fact should be in the article on the program. Magnum P.I. began it's run in Hawaii after Hawaii Five-O, so CBS thought that a show set in Hawaii was still good for ratings, (which turned out to be a wise decision as Magnum P.I. was a big success for the network). When a long running show stops production, I think the reason why it ended should be stated. Thank you very much.74.76.237.57 (talk) 15:05, 1 August 2011 (UTC)Bennett Turk.

Legacy: "gumball machine"
I changed this line because the light in the original series is a rotating light (gumball machine) but the light in the remake is full of LED's.SWMSEMFEM (talk) 21:42, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

Correct, especially since the HPD originally used Harley-Davidson FLHP-Road King motorcycles, while currently, they use BMW K1500P motorcycles...Baldwin91006 (talk) 20:54, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

McGarrett's first name
Shouldn't McGarrett's first name be written as Stephen? It's established in at least three episodes (e.g., "Death is a Company Policy", "The Ninety-Second War, pt II", "Wooden Model of a Rat") that this is the case, in fact it's shown to be Stephen J. McGarrett, although I don't think it's ever established what the J stands for. I know it's a common practice for people named Stephen to write their name as Steve, but shouldn't the first instance of his name be something like "Stephen (Steve) McGarrett"?

Assuming this change were made, if the above episodes were used as verification, would that be considered original research? 209.179.40.208 (talk) 16:31, 28 March 2014 (UTC)
 * It's not "original research" to view a TV show and tell stuff that happened in the show. Chuck (talk) 07:04, 28 March 2015 (UTC)
 * BTW, as an aside, it's a total coincidence I replied almost exactly one year later. :-) Chuck (talk) 07:10, 28 March 2015 (UTC)

Name of Show
Why are we using "Hawaii Five-O" (with a capital 'O') if the actual name of the show was "Hawaii Five-0" (with a zero)? Seems like the appropriate way to both title an article and refer to the subject in an article is with its actual name. If it needs some kind of reference to differentiate it from the newer series, then there are better ways to do that than just "we're going to call it the wrong name". Chuck (talk) 07:09, 28 March 2015 (UTC)