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A popular fixture on CBS for over a decade, "Hawaii
Five-O" continues to be a fan favorite with its mixture
of Jack Webb-like approach to crime in paradise. Jack Lord
best known for his TV roles and as playing the first Felix
Lighter in the James Bond flick "Dr. No" took center stage
as Steve McGarrett the head of a special police force that
was under the direct supervision of the governor of the
50th state. This allowed McGarrett to monitor crime both
small (murder) to larger-than-life (a spy ring headed by
Communist Chinese agent Wo Fat). In many respects, "Hawaii-Five-O"
could be seen as a precursor to shows such as "Law & Order".
McGarrett was hard-nosed and those that worked for him from
Danny (James MacArthur) to Kono were equally unmerciful
if necessary. ***
The first season of the show had a great cast of supporting
actors both from film (Yaphet Kotto later to star in another
Bond film "Live and Let Die", Kevin McCarthy best known
for "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and Sal Mineo) to well
regarded TV actors (Harold Stone, Richardo Montalban). Curiously,
the role of Danny isn't played by MacArthur something I
didn't recall (I haven't seen the 90 minute pilot movie
in ages) and don't know all that much about why the casting
changes took place. ---
Image & Sound:
Paradise has never looked so nice. Paramount has done
a terrific job with the series cleaning up dirt and debris
that might otherwise mar the quality of the show. Universal
with their "Classic TV" releases could learn a thing or
two from Paramount's handling of the series. The colors
are surprisingly vivid and sharpness quite good. Audio is
presented in the original mono and sounds quite good considering
the age of the show and location shooting. ---
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