Category: default || By jt3y

I had a birthday recently. None of your business which one, or what day it was. Anyway, regular Almanac readers will remember that I previously admitted that I'm a fan of Hawaii Five-O, mostly for all the wrong reasons.

So imagine my delight when my brother presented me with my birthday presents: the complete first season of Five-O on DVD; the original Hawaii Five-O soundtrack (on vinyl!); Booking Hawaii Five-O, a critical history by Karen Rhodes; and an authentic HPD ... er, sorry ... Honolulu police badge.

I've already got a Mercury and a blue suit, so now I'm only about 4,000 hair plugs and a chin implant away from living out my Jack Lord fantasies.

For those of you who've read this far, here's a little sample from the soundtrack. This is about 60 seconds of a tune called "Call to Danger" by Morton Stevens.

(WAV file here.)

Those of you of a certain age will instantly recognize the ending --- a portion of this same tune was used as the "CBS Special Presentation" bumper in the 1970s and '80s.

As for the DVDs, I don't know if they did much "digital restoration" on these shows, but they never looked this good on your 21-inch Admiral with the rabbit ears. Though the color is a little bit lurid, most color TV shows were in the 1960s (the better to show up on that 21-inch Admiral).

And the less said about the acting, the better, but as I said back in March, "it's shlock with great production values." The only disappointment is the lack of any special features --- no interviews, no commentaries --- save a 1996 "reunion special" taped by a Honolulu TV station.

Anyway, it was one of the coolest birthday presents I've ever gotten, and I laughed so hard when I opened the package, I thought my pants would never dry.

Mahalo, Jim!

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P.S.: About that headline ... dedicated Five-O fans will recognize the song, I think.

. . .

On a Related Note: By sheer coincidence, Alert Reader Jonathan passed along a link to a New York Times (!) op-ed about ... Hawaii Five-O. (The editorial well has run dry in New York, I think.)

The writer notes that Five-O debuted in 1968, and Lord's strait-laced portrayal of tough-but-cool Steve McGarrett appealled to a nation shook up by assassinations, wars, and riots. He longs to replace the Bush Administration with the Five-O crew (like I said, the well has run dry at The New York Times):

McGARRETT: Chin, go down to the border. It's 1,954 miles long Ñ better take Kono. Nobody comes in unless you know it. Go easy on the workers, but the smugglers and dope pushers Ñ you know what to do.

CHIN HO: Good as done, boss.

McGARRETT: Danno, I want these people legalized. Tell Congress to send me a bill. I want it tough, and I want it fair. And I want it on my desk Monday morning. Then get me a sandwich and my suitcase.

On the other hand, a Morton Stevens-style arrangement of "Hail to the Chief" would rock. And I would love to see the presidential motorcade composed of nothing but these.

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Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch: I work and slave on a story about St. Stephen's Magyar Church and the local connection to hinky financial dealings at the Vatican. What do I get as a response? Zilch. I dash out a half-baked parody of Highlights magazine, and I get the freakin' Algonquin Round Table. Yinz crazy kids. Just behave yourself.

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In Case You Missed It: The city's Elbow Room Restaurant and Lounge, on West Fifth Avenue at Rebecca Street, is celebrating its 50th anniversary. Eric Slagle had a story in the Post-Gazette last week. Doesn't a pizza and a pitcher of beer sound good right about now?

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To Do This Weekend: McKeesport's Summer Concert Series continues at 7 p.m. Sunday when the River City Brass Band performs at the bandshell in Renzie Park. Admission is free; Frankie Day from WKFB (770) radio will be the emcee.