 |
| Honolulu hero: Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett in HAWAII FIVE-O. Image: CBS PARAMOUNT. |
It may not be the greatest of weather in the UK at the moment, but fans of classic TV can at least get a daily fix of warm tropical action and adventure set within the glorious sun and sandy beach confines of the Hawaiian paradise, as the original and best incarnation of HAWAII FIVE-O, featuring that formidable crime-busting detective, and Horatio Caine of his day, Steve McGarrett, played with steel-eyed determination and likable trust by the late Jack Lord- an instant icon with his impeccably styled coolness who put his individual stamp on the show over twelve years and helped to make Hawaii an even brighter commercial holiday hotspot for millions of worldwide viewers to discover.
Starting right from the beginning, in daily strips and weekend compilations on the UK’s CBS ACTION channel, these colourful early episodes are great fun: bright, breezy and with a very late sixties groove that makes them fascinating to watch, with Lord’s youthful no-nonsense character far more in the thick of the action than he would be in later years, backed up with his squad buddies Danny “Danno” Williams (James MacArthur), the bulky frame of islander Kono (played by Zulu) and the amiable Chin Ho Kelly (played by once real-life policeman Kam Fong) . Intriguingly, McGarrett’s relationship with his team in these raw days is often quite spiky when things fail to materialize the way he wants them, especially putting young Danny through some verbal biting. Though by episodes end, and the case firmly closed, he’s back to being chummy with them all with no harm done.
Featuring tightly concentrated early episodes produced by MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE’s talented Joseph Gantman, notable guest stars investigated, pursued or caught up in the drama of the premiere year include some of the all-time greats of the small screen, like Ricardo Montalban, Simon Oakland, Yaphet Kotto, James Shigeta, Kevin McCarthy and the lovely Marj Dusay. Rapidly approaching like one of those famed big kahuna waves, how can we not mention Morton Stevens familiar and exciting main title theme, which upon hearing the first few notes makes you instantly think of the programme, nor the brilliant main title visualization work handled by regular series director Reza Badiyi-though, with this first season, there’s no sign yet of those end credits featuring the perpetually wave crunching islander boaters!
Early seasons of HAWAII FIVE-O are also available in restored quality on UK DVD from CBS PARAMOUNT:
No comments:
Post a Comment