Product Description

Filmed entirely on location in Hawaii the show followed Jack Lord as he played Steve McGarrett head of an elite state police unit investigating "organized crime murder assassination attempts foreign agents felonies of every type." James MacArthur played his second-in-command Danny ("Danno") Williams with local actors Kam Fong Zulu Al Harrington and Herman Wedemeyer among others playing members of the Five-O team. Guest stars included Helen Hayes Ricardo Montalban Leslie Nielsen Herbert Lom Hume Cronyn among others. McGarrett's nemesis is the evil Wo Fat "a Red Chinese agent in charge of the entire Pacific Asiatic theatre. System Requirements:Run Time: 1270 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS Rating: NR UPC: 097368891647 Manufacturer No: 889164

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2896 in DVD
• Brand: HAWAII FIVE-O: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (DVD
• Released on: 2007-03-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 7
• Dimensions: .90 pounds
• Running time: 1271 minutes

Amazon.com
There's plenty to like about Hawaii Five-0, the late '60s cop show debuting on DVD by way of this seven-disc set including all episodes from the first season, along with the two-hour pilot that preceded it. Like the music, featuring Morton Stevens' popular theme song. Or the lovely Hawaiian scenery. And let's not forget "Book 'em, Danno," the signature line delivered (although not nearly as frequently as one might expect) by star Jack Lord's Steve McGarrett, not to mention Lord's perfect hair and wrinkle-free slacks. As for everything else, let's just say that Hawaii Five-0 has not aged well. Some of that is inevitably due to the infinitely more sophisticated production values of the series that have followed in its wake; Five-0's technology, sets, and other practical elements are laughably primitive by current standards. Problem is, the cheese factor extends to pretty much every other aspect of the show as well. Most of the action sequences are utterly tension-free, and the pace is frequently glacial, with interminable scenes bogged down by talky exposition. The dialogue is risible: McGarrett refers to one adversary as "a dirty, double-dealing fink," while the so-called hippies who populate the islands utter the kind of idiocies that could only have been written by cubes whose closest contact with the counterculture came from TV commercials for Hai Karate men's cologne ("Looks like splittin' the scene was real cool, baby" is but one egregious example). Lord does a decent job as the stiff-but-heroic McGarrett, variously described as "a hardhead," "an organizational misfit," "a brilliant operator," and "a rebel," but by and large the acting (including guest shots by Sal Mineo, Ricardo Montalban, Gavin MacLeod, and Yaphet Kotto) is wooden. Story-wise, "Cocoon," the pilot, features an intriguing premise wherein U.S. intelligence agents undergo sensory-deprivation torture before spilling their secrets; elsewhere, the elite Five-0 team deals with jewel thieves, gold smugglers, kidnappers, gamblers, murderers, mobsters, all-purpose "criminal masterminds," and even "Red agents" spreading the bubonic plague. In sum: with its light (if not quite frothy) tone, Hawaii Five-0 will offer harmless escapism to some viewers, especially those with a nostalgic bent. Others, however, will long for more substantial fare--you know, like Deal or No Deal. The DVD set includes a single bonus feature: "Emme's Island Moments: Memories of Hawaii Five-O," a retrospective with James "Danno" MacArthur and other cast and crew members. --Sam Graham

Beyond Hawaii Five-0

Virtual Hawaii DVD List

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Customer Reviews

$432 FOR INCOMPLETE "COLLECTION" ---OR--- BETTER/CHEAPER BOXED SET
I was suckered into buying this 1st set, like many others, out of pure LOVE for this series. And it's because of my high regard and respect for those who crafted it, and my own disappointment w/ OMITTED EPISODES, UNSPECIFIED EDITING, [disclaimer-ed on the boxes for all but the 1st Season] and somewhat poor quality (compared to my own Five-O recordings, cheap late 60's cartoon sets, etc. - as if it was not remastered at all), that I am writing this poor review. I wish I had known before I enthusiastically emptied my wallet. I could have better spent the $36/set.

That's $36 x 12 Seasons, carry the one, for a total of $432!! For an INCOMPLETE, EDITED, NOT-SO-SHARPLY REMASTERED "COLLECTION". For my money, if I like a series enough to own it and to pay for better quality than I can get from broadcasts, I want to see/own EVERY episode, unedited, and at least as clearly as my own recordings! You may consider waiting another 2 years (at this release rate ~ 4 Seasons per year) for the inevitable and much less expensive Boxed Set, which we've all seen in stores at Christmas for even much less popular series. And Boxed Sets always have features to make them more attractive, such as "high resolution digitally remastered", "previously unreleased episodes", and "un-edited original broadcasts", the very things they haven't included in these, along with something like a Steve McGarrett replica badge or 1/25th scale Mercury. Not to mention, a MUCH smaller price tag!

LOUSY acting
Reminds me of that ham actor on CSI Miami, except it's not just the star that is a losu actor. The whole staff comes-off as fake, fake, fake. The movements seem unnatural, as if I was watching a high school play instead of professionals.

Clearly this show has not aged well.

As for the stories, it's just your typical cop show fare. Nothing special or unique about these.

good price if you can still play vhs
as the title insinuates.... got these for an old fan of macGarret .. wheelchair bound.