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 playing members of the Five-O team.
I've been in love with Hawaii for years. It's my favorite vacation haunt. I've been there three times now. I dream of returning every year but life gets in the way. My PC background is a photo taken from the porch of our vacation home looking out onto the North Shore. I get lost in it many times a day. And now I have "Hawaii Five-O" to truly bring me back. Yes, this is the seventh season, and yes, the mysteries and the acting and the "Book 'em Dannos" are there... but it's Hawaii I see in the backdrop. And this is no fake Hawaii. The show is famous for shooting on location on the islands, mostly Oahu, which is "my island". The scenery behind the shoulders of the action is beautiful. The actors that continued to flock to the show in special guest appearances enhance this show even moreso. Can you blame them? Free vacation to Hawaii. First class.
Storywise, as always, "Hawaii Five-O" is across the board as far as various plots, villians, perps, etc. We see international criminals, locals, etc. Jack Lord is as deadpan as ever, but not in a terrible David Caruso/CSI: Miami kind of way. Unlike Caruso, Lord delivers here. He delivers each squinty-eyed line with conviction and despite a terrible hairdo he's as cool as ever. This series ran for a long 12 seasons and while this seventh season does have some episodes that don't follow suite compared to previous quality seasons, the majority rule.
No extras to enjoy but overall this is a must have for "Hawaii Five-O" fans... and those of us still dreaming about being back in Hawaii. The series just looks beautiful on DVD.
