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Why CBS Didn’t Risk Changing Hawaii Five-O

Kinescope

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Hawaii Five-O didn’t reinvent television, chase trends, or evolve with the times.

And that’s exactly why it lasted.

This video examines how Hawaii Five-O became one of the longest-running police dramas in television history by doing the opposite of what most shows try to do.

Subscribe for more TV deep dives: @kinescopetv

Full chapter breakdown below ⬇
00:00 Introduction and the Pitch
04:38 The Show's Survival and Stabilization
07:48 The Cast and Identity of Hawaii Five-O
11:46 The Show's Success Attracts Scrutiny
13:22 The End of the Series, Syndication, and Legacy

Fair Use Notice:
Archival footage and still images are presented here under fair use for the purpose of historical documentation, commentary, and analysis.

Kinescope is an educational documentary channel exploring the creative and cultural history of television.

20 Comments

@KinescopeTV Creator 8 months ago (edited) Pinned

A quick clarification since this keeps coming up: the image at 3:33 is symbolic, era-representative media imagery used to convey press coverage and television news of the period. It is not intended to suggest any connection between George Wallace, the Civil Rights Movement press conference shown, or the television series discussed.

When working with limited archival material from the 1960s, symbolic imagery is sometimes necessary to avoid repetitive or static visuals. Some still images shown (including representative radio DJs or press figures) are used strictly as era-typical visual shorthand, not to depict specific individuals discussed in the narration.

@edcampion3998 8 months ago

Setting it in hawaii was a stroke of genius as was casting jack lord.

@boataxe4605 8 months ago

When the international gang code for “The cops are coming” is Five O, you’ve really accomplished something.

@iFormationInc 8 months ago

In 1970 I was 12 years old. My family and I went on a trip to the Hawaiian islands, When we were on Oahu we drove a rental car around the island. When we were driving in the Diamondhead area we passed a CBS truck parked in a residential community. We stopped, got out, and walked around the house where crew personnel were doing a Hawaii 5-0 episode shoot. As we returned to our car to leave, Jack Lord came out the front door of the house. As we stood there in awe, he walked up and put his arm around me and told my father to take a picture. He was a super nice guy and earned my eternal favor. Say whatever criticisms you want. I remember him as a TV star who took the time to make a 12 year-olds day.

@maxsmodels 8 months ago

That show made the phrase "Book'em Dano; murder one" a household catchphrase.

@jb1701A 8 months ago

The opening sequence is iconic.

@TheOldTapeArchive 8 months ago

Lord was married briefly when he was very young, then at 29 married a woman who was 15 years older. They were together almost 50 years, and she outlived him by 7 years, passing away at 100 years old in 2005.

@JohnnyULives-lz1ml 8 months ago

Best TV theme music in history.

@paulleckner8235 8 months ago (edited)

Kam Fong Chun who portrayed Chin Ho, was an actual retired policeman in Hawaii.

@joestrike8537 8 months ago

For me, the best part of H-50 was the shot in the opening credits where an aerial camera fast-zooms into McGarrett on a high-rise balcony - then instantly cuts to an inside view of McGarrett turning around for his close-up; there was just something so very cool about the continuity between the shots, almost as if the camera was omniscient. (IIRC, they repeated the effect in the series' revival.)

@JamesLynch-h2x 8 months ago

I remember 5-0 on CBS back in the day. Jack Lord owned that show! I watched Hawaii 5-0 with my dad. He loved cop shows. Aloha!❤

@Healy-Tarkenton 8 months ago

This show must have been the most successful tourism ad campaign in Hawaiian history. When the series debuted in the late 1960s, Hawaii was an exotic destination for most Americans.

@tomm7505 7 months ago (edited)

I was born in 1959 and this was one of my favorite shows when I was growing up. I rarely missed an episode and thought the show was SO cool. Fond memories. Mahalo.

@cseivard 7 months ago

When Magnum PI was considered for a series, the fact that all the grip & Electric equipment was still sitting in trailers in Hawaii? Helped make the decision .

@StevenCohn-b3d 8 months ago

12 seasons is a rare oddity for any show to last both now and back then!

@charlesmorse1901 7 months ago

The Five-O theme was truly God's gift to high school bands all across America.

@votered 7 months ago

Growing up in the 1970s, absolutely loved Hawaii Five O. It was one of the all time best law and order TV shows ever filmed.

@kirnpu 8 months ago

Loved loved loved this show when it was on! I'm relieved to hear they didn't go with Richard Boone as the lead. Jack Lord was born for this part.

@frostyjim2633 8 months ago

Years ago, I was seeing a girl who waited tables at a place in Waikiki. Jack Lord came in to eat and left her a $100 tip, that was a big tip back then.

@sheldonduffy9442 7 months ago

As a child of the 70s Hawaii Five O was iconic, I wasn’t mature enough to understand what was going on, but the images, especially that thrilling music that opened the show as well as that sure wave and that anticipatory driving tune that would precede commercials are all iconic.

The very slang term Five-O for police came from that show, and of course “book-‘em Dan’o”