Of all the TV cop shows from the 1960's this is one of the few that stands out as being rather good.
Created by Leonard Freeman and starring Jack Lord. The show had the advantage of being filmed entirely in the state of Hawaii. This was no small accomplishment as the entertainment industry in Hawaii at the time was rather lacking for production facilities. In addition, virtually no one in the film crew had production experience, it was a build from the ground up television production.
In a way this worked to the advantage of the series. Most of the episodes were shot on locations throughout Hawaii which gave the show the dual advantages of realism and a location that had not been really exploited to death by Hollywood. A lot of the actors in supporting and featured roles were actually natives.
The show starred Jack Lord played the head of the elite police unit, Steve McGarrett. This was an actor who was completely immersed in his part and dominated every scene that he was in. James MacArthur a Disney film alumni took the part of Danny Williams, who was essentially Steve McGarrett's sidekick. MacArthur was smart enough to know who was in charge and lasted 11 seasons. After the producer Leonard Freeman died during season five, Lord essentially took over running the show. Apparently he was a pretty demanding guy but he kept the series production standards high for the entire 12 season run.
Story episode wise the demands of shooting 24 episodes resulted in the usual mix of good, indifferent and bad episodes. Still many of the show's episodes hold up pretty well and as I stated before the Hawaiian locations are still a major asset for this series.
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