Steve McGarrett

Hawaii of the late 60s & 70s–A little bit of glamour and a lot of kitsch.

Doris Duke's "Shangri-la"

The glamour bit began earlier with the eccentric heiress Doris Duke and her palace, Shangri La…

Then, the late 60s brought Pan Am 747 flights, the fab hotels of Waikiki, Malia fashions and the reign of  the iconic tv series Hawaii Five-O.  Named after the 50^th State, Five-O ran from 1968-1980 and starred Jack Lord as the dreamy Steve McGarrett.  McGarrett and his right-hand man, Danno, fought Chinese organized crime and  multiple felons each episode, with a version of cool merely aspired to by the likes of Miami Vice and CSI:  Miami.  Winner of multiple Emmys and awards, Five-O was filmed almost exclusively in Hawaii and was the longest running detective show until surpassed by Law & Order in the 1990s.

How fitting that, with the return of florals, maxis and the re-luxuriation of Waikiki hotel landmarks, comes a new version of the TV series Hawaii Five-0 this Fall?  It follows the creation of an elite police unit, led by a younger McGarrett, son of the original hunky cop–although it seems unlikely he’ll have as mod a hair-do. Aloha Danno and Five-0!

Hawaii Five-O theme song and opening sequence:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXfyhqXxf3E&feature=fvw

Watch a Five-O episode:  http://www.imdb.com/video/cbs/vi1875183385/ 5-0 episode

Trailer for the new five-O:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruKODTVxy3E

1970s Malia of Honolulu

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Waikiki