Hawaii
Five-0: what's real & what's TV?
A frequently
asked question is whether Hawaii Five-0 is real! Sadly,
it isn't, though Jack Lord did live in the islands until his
death a few years ago, and local residents appeared on the
show, which was filmed almost entirely in Hawaii.
The 50th
State doesn't have a police department, relying on the municipal
police departments run by each of the four counties. Therefore,
the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) is the closest we have
to the TV show. Officer Pueo (pueo is the short-eared brown
owl, native to Hawaii) provides lots of information about
our police department for visitors of the HPD
Web Site.
Most fans
of the show know that Hawaii Five-0 headquarters was 'Iolani
Palace. The palace wasn't actually used as the set for
filming, but exterior and interior shots were used. Viewers
may have thought McGarrett's "office" was the penthouse
of the Ilikai Hotel in Waikiki, providing stunning views of
the beach and Honolulu's #1 landmark, Diamond Head, but several
miles from the palace, in fact. The wave at the beginning
of the opening sequence is real, however, and is believed
to have been filmed in the mid '60s at Banzai Pipeline for
a surf film, "Blue Surf-Ari". More: The
title sequence of Hawaii Five-O from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin.
There are dozens of Hawaii Five-O fan sites on the Web. Hawaii
Five-O Home Page is one of the best and most complete,
so you can find most of the others from this.
Hawaii
Five-O was the longest continuous-running police series
in U.S. television history, airing from September 1968 to
April 1980. With few exceptions, it was filmed entirely
on location in Hawaii. The authenticity and beauty of the
scenery is listed by its fans as the number one draw; second
come the actors and the characters they portrayed.
Why does
Aunty Kat have a TV show in the Hawaii Economy section? Because
film-making represents major business in the islands and is
among our most important industries.
The first
benefit to our economy comes when the crews spend weeks and
even months in the islands filming "on location"
and spending money at our hotels, restaurants and stores.
They often have to build sets, too, and this can help out
local businesses who provide materials and labor. Local actors
and musicians may also get work.
The second
benefit is one that's hard to measure, but equally important.
When the snow flies and the winter winds blow in the colder
climates of the world, scenes of Hawaii may just be tempting
enough to book a trip to the islands for a week or so! So,
any movies or TV shows that feature Hawaii serve to help our
number one industry, Tourism.
For more
on Hawaii's film industry, see: Kauai
Film (don't skip the intro - how many movies can you identify?);
Honolulu Film Office;
Maui County Film Office;
and Big Island
Film Office.
Aunty's
planning more pages about Hawaii's economy and industry, so
check back if you're interested!
|
