"Book 'em, Dano!"

Detective shows come and go, a dime a dozen as they say. But when it comes to longevity, when it comes to making a cultural impact, Hawaii Five-O simply has no equivalent. Besides being the longest running crime drama in television history, the show has also managed to live on long after its prime time demise.

Shot entirely on location around the picturesque islands of Hawaii, the show starred Jack Lord as former naval officer Steve McGarrett, the dedicated and intensely focused head of Five-O, an elite unit that was a division of the Hawaiian State Police Department. Reporting directly to the Governor of the state, their prime focus was on combating the elusive Hawaiian criminal underground element. Always at McGarrett’s side was his assistant, Danny “Dano” Williams, and officers Chin Ho Kelly and Kono Kalakaua, otherwise known as “Zulu.” Their number one nemesis was slippery criminal mastermind, Lo Fat, who the offices could never quite apprehend, although they came close too many times to count.

There was nothing overly complex about Hawaii Five-O, but rather a simplistic beauty that endeared viewers to the show. Each episode was neatly wrapped up at the end, the weekly situations were topical, touching on issues such as drug addiction or the Vietnam War, and most importantly, audiences could count on McGarrett to always keep his cool and ensure that justice would prevail in the end – most of which was entirely attributable to the fact that Jack Lord was deeply committed to the show and involved in all aspects of its production. And not only was the show unwaveringly consistent, it provided some of the most beautiful surrounding scenery to ever grace a television series.

And McGarrett, with his perfectly formed pompadour and always-fresh-pressed suit was the epitome of a cool cop. He took crap from nobody, be it the lowest of criminals or the highest placed government official. And he rarely gave a damn about the rights of the perpetrators. He would, for example bark out the order "Gentlemen, I want this place turned inside out." when a search was required and nobody dared question his decision.

The impact of Hawaii Five-O on pop culture was significant. From the popular catchphrase “Book ‘em, Dano” to the catchy theme song, of which The Ventures covered and scored a major hit, to the iconic status achieved by Jack Lord, Hawaii Five-O assured it’s place in the history of television programming for the ages. Of course, it didn’t hurt that the show premiered in 1968 and ran for a remarkable 278 episodes before going off the air in 1980 (oh, and in the final episode, McGarrett finally apprehended the elusive Lo Fat.) Very few shows have ever enjoyed the same longevity and it is no wonder that Hawaii Five-O made the impact that it did.

And the show lives on and on in syndication all over the planet -  in a way that makes the Energizer Bunny seem like a quitter by comparison.  

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